Chapter 95 Complaints
Li Jiren had just been seeing patients at Wan'antang, but he rushed back immediately after hearing the news.
"Where's my son? Is he back safely?"
"What are you yelling about?" As soon as he entered the backyard, his wife rolled her eyes at him, seeing him in such a hurry. "Xuan'er is taking a bath."
Li Jiren quickly stood still and bowed, "Madam, I am just too anxious."
The maidservants in the mansion covered their mouths and chuckled when they saw this. The master had been married for many years, and he and the mistress still treated each other with respect.
Everyone wants to work in the Li Mansion and they are scrambling for a job, but everyone knows that the master is a kind person and never mistreats his servants.
Seeing his expression, the lady handed him a cup of cold tea and said, "Don't worry, Xuan'er is fine and not injured."
Huh... Li Jiren was pleased to hear this. Although he had received the letter before, he could only feel truly at ease when it returned to his side.
After sitting down and drinking a sip of herbal tea, he subconsciously said, "Madam, don't drink too much of this tea. One cup a day at most."
The lady rolled her eyes almost to the sky, "I know, I know, Doctor Li."
Everyone laughed.
Not long after, Li Xuan came out after washing up. Li Jiren hurried forward to pat him and, seeing that he was really unharmed, he grabbed his hand to take his pulse, but was rejected by Li Xuan.
"No, I'm fine. Let's eat first."
"Okay, Dad will eat some more with you."
Li Jiren was particular about health preservation and did not eat after noon, even making an exception for his eldest son.
The meal had been prepared long ago, and the table was filled with dishes brought in one after another.
Although Wan'antang did not charge for medical consultations during this period, some people felt bad about it and sent some vegetables, some chicken eggs... The Li family never lacked food and drink.
Seeing their eldest son eating heartily, the couple smiled at each other and quickly advised him to "slow down".
Li Xuan filled his stomach like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and burped without any image.
"Mom, I want to talk to Dad."
Li Xuan called her mother, but called Li Jiren father. It sounded like nothing happened, as if the father and son had a close relationship. But in fact, only the three of them could understand the difference.
"Okay, you two can chat."
The hall was empty and the two men sat opposite each other.
"Dad, what does my father want to do?"
This sounds awkward, but Li Jiren has become accustomed to it and is at ease with it.
"It's nothing, just distributing food and porridge. Even if the master doesn't tell me, I will do it."
"Is it that simple? No other moves?"
"Really? No, if you don't believe me, ask your mother. I spend all day at Wan'an Hall seeing patients. How could I have time for anything else?"
Li Xuan pondered for a moment, "I heard that the relief grain from the imperial court arrived today, and it was mixed with bran?"
"That's what happened. The people were complaining, and many of them blocked the entrance to the county government office."
"What do we use for our porridge?"
Li Jiren looked embarrassed, but he still told the truth, "Fine grain..."
Li Xuan let out a long breath, probably understanding what his father wanted to do.
The conversation ended here. He knew that his father would not let his father get too involved. He guessed that all the wealthy businessmen and gentry in the county would behave in the same way.
Li Jiren insisted on taking his pulse and found that the patient was feeling a little weak, so he immediately prescribed medicine and returned to Wan'antang soon after.
Li Xuan called Uncle Gong, gave him a few simple instructions, and then asked him to go out and inquire about information.
"Big pot..." The little girl rushed into the house with her short legs.
They had been ordered not to come near, but this was the only one who dared to disregard it.
She trotted over to Li Xuan and hugged his legs. "Da Guo, where did you go to play? You didn't even bring Yan'er with you."
Li Xuan shook his head and laughed, then he picked her up and put her on his lap, scratching her little nose with his hand.
"You are so old and still can't speak clearly. If you don't speak properly, your brother will spank your teacher."
This is his sister Li Yan, the daughter of Li Jiren and his concubine.
God has mercy on him. His father will never have a wife in his life. It is also unfair to this girl, as she is obviously a legitimate daughter.
However, when a female emperor was in power, the differences between men and women, and between legitimate and illegitimate children were weakened a lot, and only one principle was believed: the capable are promoted and the mediocre are demoted.
"Humph! Daguo goes out without Yan'er, so he deserves to be called Daguo."
"Oh...Is that so..." Li Xuan pretended to be distressed, "Then the gift that big brother brought from other counties with great effort can only be given to other girls..."
“No!”
"Brother!" In the village by the river, a group of men rushed into the house.
Each of them was very strong, with a lingering sense of restlessness between their brows.
"What are you yelling about?"
The man sitting at the top was wearing a gray-brown shorts, with strong muscles and bones. His skin was like rough pottery soaked in river water, dark with a hint of dark red.
It was none other than Liu Bo, the leader of the Longmen County branch of the Cao Gang, also known as Tiegan Weng.
He drank the big bowl of tea in one gulp and pointed at someone, "Liu Laosi, you speak."
"Brother!" Liu Laosi stepped forward and told him about the fact that bran was mixed into the relief grain provided by the imperial court.
Liu Bo's nose twitched, and he spoke in a deep voice, "Did you get it?"
"I got it back. Come on, bring a bag up."
A sack was placed in front of him. Liu Bo bent down, instantly pulled out the short knife from his waist, cut open the sack, and revealed the food inside.
He stretched out his left hand, his knuckles as thick as old bamboo roots, and the horizontal lines on his palm were worn white by the rope. He grabbed a handful and then threw it down fiercely.
"Fifty percent bran, is this for human consumption?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room immediately became noisy.
"It must be the court's embezzlement and corruption."
"Those gentlemen in the court don't treat us as human beings. Maybe 50% of them think we are being given a favor."
"Could it be the county magistrate..."
"Shut up! County Magistrate Lu is a good official. Haven't you known this for over a decade?"
"Oh, I heard that the one providing disaster relief was the princess, and she was a soldier. Is that all?"
…
Everyone had been looking forward to it for a long time, but the gap between the result and reality was too big, and there was a lot of complaints for a while.
Silently, complaints spread from the disaster relief food.
"A bunch of idle lords forcibly demolished Huilongtan. I think this is retribution!"
In order to expand the canal transportation, the imperial court ordered the forced demolition of Jiuqu Huilongtan seven or eight years ago.
Because it is a natural flood discharge area, there is such a complaint.
"Humph, that's that..." The person who spoke said it angrily. At this point, he suddenly felt apprehensive and almost swallowed the word "Empress".
"The cessation of worship for He Bo angered the water god. Otherwise, how could such a huge flood have occurred?"
"Yes, I think that's what happened!"
…
Most of the Cao Gang members have made a living on the water for generations, and offering sacrifices to the River God is a custom passed down from their ancestors.
As a result, the empress came to power and issued an imperial decree to make He Bo a wild sacrifice and no one could worship him from then on.
The old man couldn't accept it at all. He kept complaining about it at home, but because of the pressure from the court, he could only keep it in his heart.
Taking advantage of the "bran and chaff" incident, he vented all his resentment.
Liu Bo sat at the head with a sullen face.
There was no stopping the increasingly outrageous complaints, as if they shared the same hatred with everyone...
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