With so many refugees still waiting, Xu Yuehuai didn't want to waste time; she wanted to end this farce as soon as possible.
Manager Liu had only come to cause trouble because he felt that she was blocking his path to wealth. Now that his intentions had been exposed, he was naturally embarrassed.
But he still forced himself to speak: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could a woman like you have such big ideas? There must be someone behind you, and there must be something bad in this porridge."
He struggled to his feet and scooped up a mouthful of porridge from the pot.
As expected...
“Fellow villagers, look! There are clearly millet husks in this porridge. She is definitely not a good person.”
Qi Guze originally wanted to see what else Xu Yuehuai didn't know, but as he watched Manager Liu produce one piece of evidence after another, fearing that she might not be able to handle it, he was about to speak when he heard Xu Yuehuai's words.
"I added millet husks to this porridge to distinguish those who aren't actually refugees but are deliberately begging for food," she said coldly. "Those who are truly starving won't care what's in the porridge, but those who are deliberately taking advantage of the chaos to get food will definitely make a scene over such a small matter. Doesn't Manager Liu understand this simple principle?"
Xu Yuehuai was indeed a woman, but she did her best to ensure that every refugee had food and that the food could be used to its fullest potential.
Zhao Ping remained by her side, speaking up for her.
Seeing this, the refugees naturally all spoke up for her, and in an instant, Manager Liu and the others became the weaker party.
But they were not willing to give up so easily. Since acting was not an option, they had to take another approach.
Shopkeeper Sun immediately shouted, "Fine, even if you have no relation to those orphans, dare you say there's no moldy rice in your porridge? Xu Yuehuai, you sold all your grain back then, how could you possibly have any left to distribute as porridge?"
Moldy rice?
Xu Yuehuai found these words increasingly ridiculous.
She never imagined that these people would say so much to stop her from distributing porridge. Just as she was about to continue arguing, some of the refugees threw down their bowls.
"This is moldy rice! I've already drunk most of it. I hope I'm not in trouble."
No one knows who said that first, but everyone who followed became uneasy.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but sneer. The refugees who had just spoken up for him were now starting to doubt his intentions based on a single unsubstantiated statement.
In this situation, nothing she said would make a difference.
“Mother, let’s go. Since they’ve taken our kindness for granted, let’s not worry about their lives.” Zhou Wan said, reaching out to tug at her sleeve.
Since these people don't appreciate their kindness, they'd rather feed it to the dogs.
However, Xu Yuehuai avoided her hand and instead picked up an empty bowl, scooping out a full bowl of porridge.
Without saying a word, she finished the bowl of porridge, then slammed it to the ground: "If I had given you moldy rice, would I have drunk it myself? Would I have dared to drink it myself?"
Her actions instantly silenced the previously noisy crowd.
For the first time, Xu Yuehuai felt mentally exhausted—this time, she received no reward for distributing porridge; she had put all her own money into it, yet all she got in return was their doubts, which made her feel disheartened.
Nevertheless, some refugees still dared not drink it.
Just then, Qi Guze also picked up a bowl and, imitating her, ate a bowl of porridge.
He believed in Xu Yuehuai's character and was even more certain that he hadn't misjudged him.
He held up his empty bowl so that everyone present could see it clearly: "I am the Regent. Today, I can guarantee with my life that Manager Xu has no selfish motives and would never deliberately put moldy rice in the porridge to harm you. If you still have any doubts, you are welcome to come and find me."
After saying this, he put down the bowl in his hand, then raised a long sword and cut off the hair of the two shopkeepers, Sun and Liu.
"If anyone else comes to cause trouble, this sword of mine will not be used to cut hair as a simple matter."
All words are less effective than actions.
By nightfall, the refugees had not been fully settled, and Pei Xuan's hands were too sore from writing for so long that he could no longer lift them.
Xu Yuehuai felt heartbroken seeing this.
"Ah Yue, you should go back quickly. I will arrange for soldiers here. The night watch is about to begin, and it's not safe for a woman like you." Qi Guze was the first to approach.
Since the farce, he has been busy settling the refugees, and only now has he been able to find time to come and see Xu Yuehuai.
His gaze swept over Xu Yuehuai's wrist, which was swollen from distributing porridge for an extended period of time.
Xu Yuehuai spun around uncomfortably twice.
She is a martial artist after all, and sometimes she can practice boxing for a whole day and night without seeing any reaction from her body. Now she is indeed rusty, and she can't even hold on after only a little bit of skill.
But she was worried about what was happening here: "You and Lord Pei have been busy all day, you should go back and rest."
"No, let's get things settled here as soon as possible so we can get some rest." Qi Guze shook his head and then told people to prepare to send Xu Yuehuai back first.
Xu Yuehuai turned around, but before she could take a step, she suddenly thought of something.
“If you’re really worried, you can stay here and keep an eye on things, but delegate the tasks to others. That way, you can get some rest.” She immediately turned back to Qi Guze and said excitedly.
"Hmm?" Qi Guze raised an eyebrow.
They already have enough manpower here.
Xu Yuehuai continued to explain: "These refugees who have already been settled have had a full meal. Since we are going to let them become self-reliant, why not start now? There must be some of them who are literate and can write. We can set up more tables and a few doctors. This will greatly improve efficiency. Then let the refugees who have already been settled settle the rest of the people. If we take more people with us, wouldn't we be able to settle them all very quickly?"
Qi Guze thought this made sense.
“But those people might not move, and if we want to get them involved, we must first find the person they trust the most,” he added.
Xu Yuehuai hadn't considered this, but that didn't mean she had no clue.
She didn't speak, but began searching for Zhao Ping in the open space. Since this little guy could be trusted by those orphans, he must have become familiar with the refugee community.
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