“I know, I know.” Wang Zhao held his father’s knees. “Father, my life is in my own hands. If those rioters really release my wife and children, I will bring them back. If they don’t release them… just pretend you don’t have a son like me. I will kowtow to you.”
The three men of the Wang family all went to Linshui County. The Lu family also heard the news. Lu Yan couldn't help but sigh, "Fortunately, we were prepared. We bought so much grain and firewood after the autumn harvest. Otherwise, with so many people in the embroidery shop and the textile factory, we wouldn't have been able to make it to the Lunar New Year's Eve holiday. The county magistrate is also amazing. As soon as the first snow fell, he ordered that rice and flour in the county town should not be sold outside. Otherwise, if the county town were short of grain, there would definitely be chaos. Look at the great difficulties that Linshui County has encountered."
Lu Yunfeng pondered for a moment, "My second brother and I will go to the county town to take a look. There are only a few women guarding the shop, and I'm not at ease with them."
Normally, unless people are forced to that point, no one would take the risk of doing something illegal. But Wang Zhao came all the way from Linshui County to his home to get food, which shows that there is no food left in Linshui County. I'm afraid that some refugees in Fenggu County will not behave themselves.
The Lu family still had some rice and flour in their shop, and some vegetables in their garden. Although it was a drop in the ocean, every little bit helped. The two brothers each carried a basket of vegetables on their backs and waded through the snow towards the county town.
The official road was lined with trees lying haphazardly, leaning to one side and the other side, making it difficult to find the path. Lu Yunfeng had walked this road many times before, and he used a bamboo pole to probe the way ahead. Near the county town, people were clearing snow, creating a small path on the official road. There wasn't much left in the county town, and the magistrate had organized people to clear the road. If they could clear the snow to the villages, at least they could buy some radishes and cabbages to eat.
The once bustling county town looked as if it were buried in snow from afar. The leader of the road clearing was Constable Li, who greeted Lu Yunfeng with great enthusiasm, as if he were seeing an ancestor. "Young Master Lu, you've arrived? Are you opening the shop? We haven't had a proper meal for two or three days."
"How could it be so serious?"
“It started snowing in the north in October, and the price of rice and flour has been rising all the way. The county magistrate forbade rice merchants and people from selling grain to northern merchants at high prices. Who would have thought that our county would also have such heavy snow, and we also took in 5,000 refugees, so we don’t have enough food.”
When the snow first started, no one took it seriously. Snowfall before the New Year was common. But as the weather got colder, the snow blocked the road between the village and the county town. People selling vegetables in the village couldn't get in, and people in the town who needed to buy things couldn't get out. Soon, the grain in the county town was almost gone, and the snow didn't stop. That's when everyone started to get worried.
Officer Li explained the situation in the county town: "With the New Year approaching, we thought that after the New Year, the Spring Equinox would come and it wouldn't snow again. We didn't expect such a large-scale disaster to occur before the New Year. The refugees can't even leave their homes, and it's difficult for them to even go to the mountains to collect some firewood."
Lu Yunfeng asked again, "If something is scarce, it becomes valuable. Why wouldn't anyone risk going to the surrounding villages to collect rice and vegetables?"
"Yes, of course there is." Constable Li sighed. "People are never satisfied. Many are just jealous that others are selling rice at a higher price than them. They kick each other while you kick them, making the rice price a mess. They haven't solved any real problems. Several people even got into fights and died. In the end, the county magistrate ordered the rice price to be controlled. Everything was fine until a group of refugees poured in from the west, and the county town became unsettled again. Those refugees came aggressively, and it took most of the city's garrison to suppress them. But we can't just watch them starve to death. We have to give them some food."
The three sighed. Lu Yunfeng asked Constable Li for two men to come to the hot pot restaurant, and then moved all the edible and usable firewood from the Lu family's several shops to the hot pot restaurant.
Suddenly, on the street that was originally freezing cold, a large pot was set up and the fire crackled and popped. Neighbors came out wrapped in thick quilts. "Hey! It's the Lu family. The Lu family is back."
What kind of food do you have at home?
Lu Yunfeng poured rice into the large pot. He didn't know when the snow would stop, so he couldn't use up the rice in just a few days. "We're selling porridge today, cabbage and rice porridge. Bring your own bowl."
"Porridge for sale!!" The neighbor exclaimed in surprise. These days, everyone is too busy managing their own affairs to even think about selling porridge.
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