Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Giving Alone...
Lin Qiuran said gratefully, "Thank you, Second Young Master."
Xu Yuanheng waved his hand to tell Lin Qiuran not to worry. "There's no time to lose. Go pick them up first."
Lin Qiuran asked Shopkeeper Shi to look after the shop while he took Xu Yuanheng back to the Xiao family. Sun hadn't left the house for the past few days, staying at home the entire time, with the door locked during the day.
Now the advantage of having a big house is revealed. Vegetables are grown in the backyard here, and Xiao Dashi also grows crops in the yard at his hometown. The twenty acres of land are not all used to grow grain, but the family has enough food to eat for a while.
Not only did Sun not go out herself, she also told Xiao Dashi not to go out unless necessary. Seeing Lin Qiuran coming back at this hour, she thought something had happened, "What's going on? Why is Mr. Xu here..."
Lin Qiuran said, "Mom, I heard a lot of refugees have arrived from the north of the city. They've all been hungry and have trudged here for a long time. I'm worried something might happen. You and Dad should take Tangyuan and Young Master Xu out to get some shelter."
We should not have the intention to harm others, but we must be on guard against others. Refugees are indeed pitiful because they are displaced by the war, and we cannot do bad things because of this. However, if they are really hungry and start stealing and smashing things, we cannot stop them and can only hide.
Sun was stunned. Xiao Dashi also came out of the room. He said, "What? Your mother and I are going to take the dumplings away. How can this be allowed? What are you going to do?"
Lin Qiuran took a deep breath and said, "Lin Dong and the others are all here, and Jin Dinglou is also here. I can't leave. The Second Young Master is trustworthy. He will bring you back after the storm has passed. It's not that serious. It's just that Tangyuan is small, and I'm worried that he will cry if there is any noise outside."
Lin Qiuran didn't think anything serious would happen, but she still had to be vigilant. Tangyuan was her only child, and if she could, she would definitely protect him from even a fright. Sun and Xiao Dashi were older, so they could go together.
Xiao Dashi frowned and said, "If you don't leave, your mother and I won't leave either."
How could they, two old bones, go out to hide and leave the young people at home to guard it? It would be better for them to guard the Jinding Tower and let Lin Qiuran take Tangyuan away. That would be much better.
Lin Qiuran glanced at Sun anxiously, "Mother."
Sun came back to her senses and pushed Xiao Dashi. "Hurry up and pack your things. Don't waste time. We'll listen to whatever Qiu Ran says."
Don't worry, the house is already in chaos before the outside world. They don't know anything, they just need to take good care of Tangyuan. Staying here will only cause trouble for Qiuran.
Jinding Tower is so big, it’s the result of hard work, even the Sun family would be reluctant to leave.
Lin Qiuran went into the house and hugged Tangyuan. She hadn't seen him for several days. Sun was packing up her things. Tangyuan was still young and couldn't speak. She didn't understand anything, but she was happy to see Lin Qiuran at this time.
Lin Qiuran held him in her arms and showed him to Xu Yuanheng, "Tangyuan, do you still recognize this uncle? He held you in his arms when you were one month old."
Xu Yuanheng pulled Tangyuan's hand, and Tangyuan's dimples appeared. Xu Yuanheng said, "Don't worry, I will take good care of him."
Lin Qiuran nodded.
Madam Xu also packed Tangyuan's things. Seeing this, she became a little anxious. "Madam Lin, I really can't go with you. I have children at home."
Even if Lin Qiuran agreed to take his youngest son with him, Madam Xu still had other children.
Lin Qiuran nodded and happily paid this month's wages. Tangyuan was eating now, but she wasn't drinking much milk, so she could feed her when she got home.
Soon, Sun took Tangyuan and Xiao Dashi and put them in the carriage. Xu Yuanheng was two steps late and said to Lin Qiuran, "I'll leave Manager Xu here and give you a few more guards. Think twice before you act, and avoid them if you can. It's okay to reduce business for a few days. Think carefully before doing anything..."
Xu Yuanheng paused and said, "Think more about the glutinous rice balls."
Lin Qiuran nodded, "I know, take care, Second Young Master."
Xu Yuanheng took the three of them south. He had houses in many places, and he had carriages for easy travel. Lin Qiuran watched the carriages leave. Liu Niang and the others were still at the house. Madam Xu quickly packed up and went home, leaving the house feeling empty.
Lin Xia was a little panicked. It was not even past noon, not even the usual busy evening business hour. With Mrs. Tangyuan Sun gone and Madam Xu gone too, she couldn't help but ask Lin Qiuran, "Madam, are we still going to do business? What are we supposed to do?"
Lin Qiuran said, "Stay at home and don't go out to join in the fun. If no one comes back, cook for yourself."
Xu Yuanheng was right; it wouldn't hurt to do less business for a few days. However, the refugees were still outside the city, so Lin Qiuran wanted to see if business was still going on elsewhere before making any plans.
Lin Qiuran didn't want to treat the refugees as a scourge, but he was worried someone might take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. Yu'an was surrounded by mountains, and there were bandits everywhere, and the Jinding Tower was a big sign...
She took Manager Xu and several guards to the Jinding Tower. Manager Shi was standing guard there in a panic. He had already come out to check several times. He said, "Jin Ruyi has closed down, and all the valuable jewelry inside has been moved out."
This is a place that sells gold, silver and jade, all of which are valuable items. If it doesn't do business, it won't make money. If it opens, there's no guarantee that someone will rush in and rob it.
Closing is justified.
Lin Qiuran led her group into the Jinding Building. She asked, "What about the other shops? Are they still doing business?" Shopkeeper Shi replied, "It's hard to tell right now, but the city gates are closed, so it won't affect anything for now."
If the city gates were open, the county government would have opened its granaries to provide disaster relief, and the refugees would have had food to eat and settled down in Yu'an, there would probably be no trouble. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the imperial court was recruiting soldiers, food prices had risen, the north city gates were closed, and the refugees were outside, the civilians would have had no idea that a war was going on in the northwest.
A while ago, a group of people left to join the army, but no grain was collected, so it didn't affect some families. However, Lin Qiuran's husband is in the Xuzhou military camp, so I guess he also went to the northwest.
Shopkeeper Shi sighed inwardly. This was unavoidable. Someone had to defend the country, or else everyone would have to flee.
Lin Qiuran said, "Let's not do business tonight. Let's take down the lanterns on the second floor."
Once the lanterns on the second floor are lit, the plaque of Jinding Building becomes particularly eye-catching. It is guaranteed that the first thing you see when you come to this street is Jinding Building.
Whether and when to let the refugees in depends on the opinions of Zhao Zhizhou and Li Xianling. If they don't let them in this afternoon, it will be too late tonight, so we have to do it tomorrow morning.
Lin Qiuran and Shopkeeper Shi said, "Let's see when the county government gives out alms. We'll also give out porridge based on the time. We'll stock up on some food these days. It doesn't matter if it's a little more expensive."
When Steward Xu heard Lin Qiuran wanted to buy food for the porridge, he didn't say anything. He had asked Lin Qiuran earlier if she wanted any, but she herself refused. Regardless of the reason, he simply followed the Second Young Master's instructions and protected Madam Lin.
Manager Xu felt a little unfair for Xu Yuanheng. After all, Lin Qiuran was someone else's wife and the mother of someone else's child. Why should he be so nice to her?
Lin Qiuran didn't know what Manager Xu was thinking, so he told him to go back if he had anything to do, and a few guards would stay behind. For a while, no one outside could get in, and the people inside wouldn't leave.
Nothing happened at night, and the streets were deserted, with fewer people doing business and walking around. Before dark, Lin Qiuran left Lin Ming and a guard to guard the shop while he returned with Lin Dong and the others.
The next morning, Lin Qiuran woke up very early. Before dawn, he could hear the sound of birds singing outside. The streets were quiet and there were no refugees. However, Manager Shi said that there were many more tents in the east and west of the city, which were probably prepared as accommodation for the refugees.
The north of the city is mostly inhabited by Yu'an's wealthy people. The space is large, but it is difficult to settle them. The south of the city is too crowded and inconvenient, so they can only settle in the east and west of the city.
Seeing that no one would be allowed in today, Jindinglou continued its business for another day.
Business was pretty good, probably because the commotion outside was too loud, disturbing the people of Yu'an, so they were happy to get together to eat and drink.
Shopkeeper Shi was busy serving food and pouring wine when he heard a guest at one of the tables complain, "They're setting up a tent right next to my house. How unlucky!"
"Well, that's not the way to say it. Didn't we take refuge in the neighboring county when Yu'an was hit by a flood twenty years ago? As long as we don't cause any trouble, it's fine. Settling down here is like having a home."
The more people there are in the county town, the better. No one goes to the small town yet.
"Alas, all the tax money we paid went into settling the refugees. I don't know when the fighting will end. With so many refugees, I guess we've lost a lot of cities..."
"That's not necessarily true. Perhaps they were worried about harming the people, so they ordered them to evacuate south early. Who cares? It's not their own money that's being spent." The man took a sip of wine and comforted his friend. "Think about it, foreigners don't care about the people of Dai Viet, but our soldiers do."
"That's true..."
The shop was open later than usual today, and the customers finished their meals and left. There were no customers on the second floor. Lin Qiuran figured the tent would be ready in one day, and since the restaurant wouldn't be open for business tomorrow at noon, he decided to wait and see.
When Lin Qiuran woke up the next day, he heard a noise coming from afar, but he couldn't hear it clearly.
She rubbed her ears and stood up. Liu Niang called out from outside, "Madam, are you awake? The city gate seems to be open."
Lin Qiuran's heart lifted a little, "Yeah."
*
The city gates were opened early in the morning and refugees poured into Yu'an. County Magistrate Li led people to distribute porridge and food in the east and west of the city early in the morning. These refugees had to settle down temporarily in Yu'an. In addition to cooked porridge and steamed buns, each person was given a pound of raw rice so that they could cook in their tents.
Even though they were fleeing south, they all carried luggage and belongings. They might have spent money along the way, but most of their belongings were still there and they could cook and eat.
But forget about meat and vegetables, the county government didn't have that much money. All County Magistrate Li could do was to prevent these people from starving to death.
There was a large crowd and it was very noisy. It was because the Xiao family lived close to the east of the city that they could hear these noises.
Liu Niang said, "I heard that things outside were quite peaceful."
They're probably all waiting for dinner now, and no one's causing any trouble; it's all peaceful and happy. How wonderful it is, helping each other out, settling down, finding work, and living a good life.
Lin Qiuran nodded, "That's fine, I'll go out and take a look later."
After washing up, Lin Qiuran changed into old clothes, put on a copper hairpin on her head, took off her earrings, and only dared to go out after taking two guards with her.
The refugees' tents were not far from them. The day before yesterday, Lin Qiuran had only heard that there were many refugees outside the city, but he had not seen what they looked like.
She watched from a distance. These people were very thin and all came from the same family. They did not eat together, but a few people ate first, leaving one person to watch over the food.
Seeing Lin Qiuran looking at them, there was a hint of wariness in their eyes, and then they quickly finished the porridge in their bowls.
It is easy to see that this group of people did not have a good life on the way south, and they have gone through a lot of hardships to get here.
Lin Qiuran went to South Street again. The refugees had been settled in the east and west of the city, and there weren't many outsiders in the south. The people of Yu'an were still getting up early to set up stalls and work, just like usual.
Lin Qiuran went to the Jinding Tower. From the second floor, she saw that the situation on the street was not bad. She said to Lin Ming, "Go to the county government office and find Wang Zhubu. Ask him how many times a day the government gives alms and when the alms will be distributed."
Lin Qiuran also wanted to do something. Even the smallest fly is still meat, and even just one or two times could help these refugees feel fuller. Furthermore, Xu Yuanheng had helped, so she wanted to take this opportunity to distribute some porridge in the Xu family's name. Doing something would also make her feel at ease.
Lin Ming went to inquire about it and returned soon. Wang Zhubu said that he planned to do the work for three to five days and then leave it alone. These people have hands and feet, so they can find work.
Otherwise, with hundreds of people receiving two meals a day per person, the county’s granary would not be able to sustain the daily meals for long.
Moreover, the autumn harvest had just passed, and the county government had surplus grain, but they couldn't use up all the grain in the granary. What if something else happened in a few days?
Moreover, when fighting in the northwest, we have to be prepared for insufficient military pay, otherwise County Magistrate Li will have nowhere to go even if he cries.
Lin Qiuran said, "Then we'll wait three to five days before distributing porridge."
Two meals a day is considered good. After all, the people in the village and South Street here eat two meals a day unless they are planting in spring or harvesting in autumn.
If the county government didn't provide porridge, she could still fill in here. Otherwise, if they only provided three meals a day and then stopped providing food, there would definitely be a commotion. Lin Qiuran wanted to help and didn't want to cause trouble for Lord Li.
Jin Ruyi still did not open its doors today. Lin Qiuran planned to stop doing business on the second floor for a few days and continue doing business on the first floor first. Otherwise, it would not make money just by giving out porridge and it would not last long.
Lin Qiuran felt that Yu'an was relatively peaceful, but this was only apparent. At noon, Aunt Yu came to complain to Sun, but unfortunately Sun was not there. Lin Qiuran just said that the two of them were away on a long trip, and Aunt Yu could only talk to Lin Qiuran.
Aunt Yu complained, "These people really have no sense of law..."
Lin Qiuran handed Aunt Yu a glass of water.
Most of the businesses on South Street were still open. Some refugees who were hungry went to the street to get steamed buns, while others went to Aunt Yu's stall to get sauce-flavored cakes.
He took it and ran away without washing his hands, so they were dirty. The rest could not be sold, which made Aunt Yu very angry, but she couldn't do anything about it.
Da Hu is already married, and his new daughter-in-law is also soft-tempered. Aunt Yu used to think it was a good thing, but now she feels that the whole family is being bullied.
The pancake on the cutting board was uneatable, so she put it away to feed the chickens when she got home. It was like Auntie had cleaned the cutting board and everything else. Someone else came to sell again, but this time Auntie Yu closed the lid and didn't let them take it. But the other stall owners couldn't stand this humiliation and chased them away with brooms.
Some of them held knives and some picked up shovels, and together they drove the people away.
Aunt Yu sighed as she spoke, "You said Magistrate Li opened the city gates and let the people in, and the county government also gave out porridge and rice, and everyone got it. We are all healthy people, we can find work to earn money to buy what we want to eat. It's not easy for us to get up early to do business at our small food stall, so why are we coming here to rob things?"
Lin Qiuran sighed, "Aunt, let Uncle Li and Brother Dahu go to do the business these days. It's better for men to go out."
Aunt Yu nodded. "That's what I think. We still have to make money. We can't just stay indoors with our whole family. No one's coming to the restaurant to cause trouble, right?"
Lin Qiuran said, "I didn't do any business at noon, so I plan to try to do some business in the evening."
Aunt Yu said, "You should be careful too. These people are rushing around without a care in the world. I'm really scared."
Lin Qiuran's expression was also somewhat solemn. Now that there were fewer people, he could still fight them off, but what if there were more people? "It would be better if I could hide a little. Money is just a thing outside of my body. Nothing is more important than life."
Aunt Yu stayed for a while and then left. Lin Qiuran went back to the kitchen to prepare dinner. There was no business on the second floor, so she didn't need to say anything. No one had asked if they could make a reservation on the second floor these days. They probably didn't want to spend a lot of money at this time.
The Chinese people do love to eat, but they prefer to stock up on goods and money before big events.
Lin Qiuran didn’t make much today, but it wasn’t sold out yet, so he closed earlier than usual.
It was unsafe to go back too late, so Lin Qiuran divided the food among them and asked them to take it home to eat. Lin Ming stayed in the restaurant to watch over it. Lin Qiuran also left him a guard, two big dogs, and blocked the door with tables and chairs, so it was quite safe.
The guards given by Xu Yuanheng came in handy, otherwise she would not dare to go home so late.
After a night, Lin Qiuran felt that it was a little cold today. He opened the door and saw that the leaves in the yard were falling and the sky was a little gloomy. He didn't know how Tangyuan and the others were doing.
Lin Qiuran put on another piece of clothing and took his people to the restaurant.
Lin Ming opened the door early in the morning and bought some things he needed for the day. He said, "There were some noises during the night, but Da Huang and Er Huang barked a few times and then nothing happened."
Lin Qiuran nodded, "How's it going outside?"
She found it pretty good. They ate in the tents early in the morning and some of them even made fires.
Lin Ming: "There were some troublemakers on South Street this morning, and they were taken away by the county government."
There are benefits to suppressing one or two things, otherwise there will be no scruples, but it can't be too much, Lin Ming is worried.
Lin Qiuran said, "When Shopkeeper Shi arrives, tell him to tell Lu Fan and Zhao Xing to take care of the family. It's okay if he can't come."
Lin Ming nodded.
Lin Qiuran glanced at the sky and went back to the kitchen to work. She hadn't asked Wan Niang to come over these past few days. It was inconvenient to take Ying Jie'er out, so it was better for her to stay at home.
It was not until noon when business started and the shop became more crowded that there was a hint of life.
Jiang Sijie came here to have a meal. She couldn't go back to Xuzhou, so she stayed in the inn. Whenever she could go out, she would come to Jindinglou to eat. However, she didn't take a carriage and her clothes were simple.
Jiang Sijie also asked Lin Ming and Lin Qiuran to say something. When she came, she saw a few ragged people peeking through the crack of the jewelry shop next door.
There must be people eyeing the Jinding Tower as well.
Lin Qiuran thought that since there were guards watching and Manager Shi and the others were also there, Jinding Tower should be fine.
At night, before the restaurant closed, two customers who had just left the shop came in angrily and cursed: "We just left and our wallets were robbed. They were taken from the door of your restaurant. You have to pay for it."
This is a purely unexpected disaster. Manager Shi wiped his sweat. If he had to pay the money, those refugees would come to the restaurant to rob things tomorrow.
He said, "Sir, your belongings were stolen. You should report it to the police. How can you ask us to pay for it? Besides, although the meal was eaten at the restaurant, the wallet was not lost there, and the land at the door does not belong to the Jinding Building. It doesn't make sense for you to ask the Jinding Building to pay for it."
Some customers spoke up for the restaurant, saying that whoever stole the goods should pay for it, so why bother accusing Jindinglou of this?
After much persuasion, Shopkeeper Shi persuaded the man to leave and said to the other guests, "Yu'an has been a bit chaotic lately, so everyone should be careful when going out. If there is anything, Jindinglou will definitely help if it can. Everyone, eat and drink well."
The guest nodded and continued eating, but he also learned his lesson and paid the bill, put his wallet away, and left the restaurant.
It was very dark at night, hiding many eyes. The guest tightened his clothes and walked away quicker.
After the restaurant closed, Lin Qiuran urged Manager Shi and the others to go home, and asked Lin Ming to take care of the shop before returning with his guards.
The next day was still cloudy. The county government distributed some rice in the morning, but when distributing porridge, they said they would not distribute it in the evening. The rice was enough for the refugees to eat for several days.
If you want to settle down in Yu'an, you can't just wait for the county government to provide food.
Lin Qiuran planned to distribute porridge and steamed buns in the east of the city at night. Only a few people were causing trouble, but most of them were elderly women with children, and the men in their families had been conscripted.
It's also very pitiful.
Lin Qiuran asked Lin Dong and others to cook porridge and steamed buns, and divide them into two portions, one in the name of the Xu family and the other in the name of Jindinglou.
One must leave a name behind when doing good deeds, so I just hope that for the sake of the porridge, you won’t cause trouble here.
In the afternoon, the porridge and steamed buns were ready, and Manager Shi and Lin Ming split up to distribute them. Seeing that it wasn't too busy, Lin Qiuran went out to take a look. She brought her guards with her, otherwise she wouldn't have dared to go.
The refugees have been in Yu'an City for a few days, but they have only been eating porridge and steamed buns. Their expressions have not changed much, and they are still skinny.
Lin Qiuran had Manager Shi set up a charity stand. When she went there, Manager Shi was serving porridge. Each person was given two spoonfuls of porridge and a steamed bun, which was basically enough to fill them up. Since both sides were sharing the charity, no one would take one and then go to the other.
There were a lot of people and they didn't line up properly. It was useless even if Manager Shi asked them to line up. It was really a mess.
Lin Qiuran couldn't help but say, "Line up and follow the order, otherwise no one will get the porridge."
The women in the front looked numb, and no one was willing to move. The people behind them complained, "Can you move faster? You're taking so long to distribute porridge. Didn't they say the restaurant would provide porridge? Why are there only steamed buns and porridge? How stingy!"
"That's right, how much money do you make in a day to feed us?"
Two men in their thirties and forties shouted, "There's a saying that those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. We've been hungry for several days, so why should we care about good or bad?"
Shopkeeper Shi couldn't help but frown, "What kind of logic is this? We're distributing porridge and we've made a mistake."
No one wanted to listen. The one who was shouting threw the bowl in his hand towards Lin Qiuran, "We want to eat meat!"
The man was only separated from Lin Qiuran by a platform and a few people. Lin Qiuran's heart tightened, and even Manager Shi didn't react.
In a flash, someone grabbed her arm and she fell to the side. The clay bowl fell to the ground and broke into four or five pieces.
Xu Yuanheng supported Lin Qiuran and looked at the man with a stern look, his eyes full of hostility. "You haven't even put down the bowl yet, and you're already cursing?"
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The author has something to say: It’s the last day of the month! Requesting nutrient solution!
Shake again~[Let me feel good]
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