Two constables stood by the large pot. "We know many people in the county town, and we can't hide anyone's situation from us. People who have rice but no firewood can exchange rice for porridge. Bring whatever you have. If someone is really poor, I will inspect their situation before they can receive it for free. Rich people can buy three bowls of porridge for one coin."
There are plenty of people who like to take advantage of cheap deals. If those who really need them can't get them, and instead the idle people get rich, then people in the county will really die.
Soon the aroma of rice filled the air, and everyone brought whatever they had at home to exchange for the corresponding amount of porridge. One yamen runner distributed the porridge, and another yamen runner added a little pickled cabbage. After finishing a bowl of porridge, people who hadn't eaten anything hot for several days were almost in tears. In just half an hour, most of the people in the county knew that Shen's Hot Pot Restaurant was distributing porridge at its entrance.
In no time, everyone came, carrying firewood and rice, forming a long queue. After the pot of porridge was ladled out, Lu Yunfeng and Ma Dage carried a bucket out of the shop, added water to the large pot at the entrance, and put it under the pot. They carried the firewood over and stuffed it into the pot in the blink of an eye.
The county magistrate also rushed over. Lu Yunxing invited the magistrate to the shop. "Your Excellency, my elder brother is asking to exchange goods because this is the only long-term solution. I suggest that you add a clause: anyone who clears snow and obstacles on the official road outside the city will be provided with two meals of porridge a day. Only by opening up the official road and connecting it to the countryside can we get the goods to solve this predicament."
The magistrate praised him repeatedly and immediately went to the gate to announce that the guards led a large group of men to find Constable Li. Constable Li led over a hundred men to clear the trees, stones, and snow from the road. Before dark in the afternoon, they finally brought back three cartloads of radishes, cabbages, and two bags of rice from five miles away.
One porridge distribution point was too busy, so the county magistrate set up another porridge distribution point in front of the county government office.
A thin woman with two children paced anxiously around the hot pot restaurant. The cotton inside her gray-black cotton coat was knotted. The children shivered from the cold, their faces ashen, and stared longingly at the porridge distribution area. "Mother, they're all going to eat, let's go too."
The woman's eyes showed fear. "We...we have nothing to exchange."
They had just escaped from Linshui County. They came here after hearing that Fenggu County was accepting refugees, but they didn't expect that they would need to exchange things for food.
She could see clearly that a man had just gone to ask for porridge, but was driven away by the yamen runners. They said that this young man was not doing his job of clearing the road, but just wanted to eat for free. If he did it again, he would be arrested and imprisoned, and then sent to do hard labor.
As the gray sky completely darkened, Lu Yunfeng gave the last of the porridge to a few ragged beggars. When he was about to carry the large pot inside, he saw a mother and her two children in the corner. He went over and asked, "Why didn't you come to eat the porridge?"
The woman was frightened when she saw such a tall and strong man. "We...we're not hungry."
The two children were already licking their lips and clutching their rumbling stomachs.
Lu Yunfeng simply said, "We need someone to wash the vegetables. Would you like to come? We'll provide two meals a day, and we'll take care of the kids too."
The woman couldn't believe it. "Come on, let me do it."
The three of them had been busy and tired all day. When Lu Yunfeng returned, Ma Dage was already cooking porridge again in the shop, Tian Xiaoshu was washing the large pot with his head down, and Ma's wife was boiling water and washing vegetables. The woman hurried over and said, "I'll wash it, I'll wash it."
Afraid that people would find her dirty, she carefully washed her hands with cold water before washing the vegetables. Her frozen hands shivered when they touched the hot water, then she put them back in. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so warm. The two children cautiously approached the stove, not daring to touch anything in the shop, but their eyes were fixed on the cabbage porridge on the stove.
There was still some food stored in the shop before it closed. Ma Da Ge originally wanted to keep the shop open, but then there was a heavy snowfall and Zhao Yong didn't deliver any chickens or ducks. The shop didn't have enough ingredients, so he had to close the shop.
Fortunately, he closed the shop two days earlier, and there was still some firewood and food left in the shop, otherwise there would have been nothing to cook or use today.
Ma Da Ge took out some meat and cut some into the porridge. The aroma of the meat quickly filled the air. The group was hungry and tired, and the women and children were especially salivating.
Lu Yunxing took a bowl and scooped half a bowl for each of the children. "Eat first, then scoop more. Blow on it while you eat, don't eat too fast."
The children didn't understand these things and thought the older brother was worried that they would eat too much. The woman, however, knew the scholar-like man's good intentions. The two children were very hungry and eating too fast would easily cause stomach aches. The woman knew she had met a very kind person, and her eyes welled up with tears. She and the children wanted to kowtow to them.
She had been fleeing famine with her child for more than half a month, and this was the first time she had encountered such a kind person.
Lu Yunfeng also ladled a bowl for the woman, saying, "As long as you work hard, no one in our family will starve."
The woman was moved to tears.
The Lu family's porridge distribution was not free; on the contrary, fewer people caused trouble. That's how people are; the more you act kindly, the more others take advantage of you. It's better to set a price from the beginning.
The snow kept falling, and the two brothers couldn't go home even on New Year's Eve.
Wang Lan waited at the door early in the morning. The world was a vast expanse of white, without a single person in sight. There were many women in the house, and her two sons had not been heard from all day. Zhao Fang was also restless and kept looking around. Lu Yan ran over and asked, "Mom, it's New Year's Day today. Aren't my eldest and second brothers coming back?"
Zhao Fang sighed, "Perhaps they're busy in the county town."
Qin Xiaozhou took out a couplet and handed it to Lu Yan, saying, "Go and put up the couplet."
Lu Yan said "Oh," and handed the wild yam to Qin Jinxiu. She then took the wild yam and tore off the old couplets on the wooden door. The wild yam was very sticky, making it perfect for pasting couplets.
The snow continued to fall until the afternoon, as if trying to bury the earth. Qin Xiaozhou lit a fire in the corner shed. Regardless of whether his two brothers came back or not, the New Year still had to be celebrated.
With so many rooms in the house, it took Lu Yan and Qin Jinxiu almost half an hour to put up the couplets. The red couplets stood out even more in the snowy weather, adding a touch of festive cheer.
Fish is a must for New Year's Eve. Qin Xiaozhou scaled and chopped the fish quickly and efficiently. Zhao Fang was in the kitchen cooking rice. Wang Lan lingered at the door. In the end, Lu Xiaosi insisted on going to see the rabbits, which finally stopped her.
As darkness fell, the food on the table grew cold, and the person still hadn't returned. Qin Xiaozhou got up and went to the door to set off firecrackers. "Let's eat."
Wang Lan's eyes were cloudy. "Wait a little longer."
"Let's eat." Qin Xiaozhou started eating first. "They still won't be back tomorrow, so I'll go to the county town to check."
“That won’t do, you’re just a woman.” Wang Lan sighed. “The snow is heavy, and it’s very chaotic outside. Everyone should stay home and not go out.”
It was the Lu family's turn to be apart during the Lunar New Year, which made them feel bad. After dinner, they stayed up all night by the fire in the kitchen, not going to sleep until after midnight. Qin Xiaozhou tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally falling asleep. In her drowsy state, she seemed to hear something running past the corner of the wall, and the sound of a wild boar.
Wang Lan cried out from outside, "Wild boar! Wild boar is coming down the mountain!"
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