Chapter 117 The Jia Family Steps In to Provide Disaster Relief
"You mean you want our family to handle this famous matter?"
Upon hearing Yuan Hongqu's purpose, Grandmother Jia was naturally pleased, but why didn't the Lin family do such a good thing themselves?
Grandmother Jia naturally voiced her doubts.
“Grandmother, Lord Lin is not in the capital right now, so the Lin family can’t be too high-profile. Besides, how can the Lin family’s influence compare to yours?” Yuan Hongqu smiled. As long as she was willing, it wouldn’t hurt for her to flatter Grandmother Jia and say a few words that the old lady liked to hear.
When Yuan Hongqu arrived at Rongqing Hall, she immediately explained the current situation in the western part of the city to Grandmother Jia. Grandmother Jia immediately realized that this was an opportunity, a good chance for her family to change the Emperor's impression of the Rongguo Mansion.
The era of the "Four Kings and Eight Dukes" is over. Although the group still unites and claims to share both prosperity and adversity, each is actually looking for an opportunity to break out of this circle.
A new emperor brings a new court; the era of the retired emperor is over. Now, the right thing to do is to cling to the new emperor.
Throughout history, there has never been a case where an emperor emeritus could be reinstated!
Even so, their family did not want to do anything ungrateful, but now that Yuan Hongqu had brought up this matter, they did not need to express their stance, but they could still win over the new emperor's favor, which was exactly what their family needed!
"Alright, we'll handle this. Amber Mandarin Duck, go and invite the eldest and second masters over." A shrewd light, beyond the typical shrewdness of an elderly person, gleamed in Grandmother Jia's cloudy old eyes. She knew that if this matter was handled well, the Jia family's wealth and prosperity could be extended for another generation!
Yuan Hongqu breathed a sigh of relief. With the Jia family taking the lead, even if the matter was only half successful, it would be enough to resolve the crisis in Xicheng!
As she walked from the Lin family home, she could clearly sense that the atmosphere on both sides of the road was different from usual. All the shops were closed, and even the once bustling streets were now deserted.
Occasionally, a few pedestrians carrying grain bags would come out to buy grain and knock loudly on the door of the grain shop, but no one would open it.
It seems this blizzard has already served as a warning.
Having food in hand brings peace of mind. But this blizzard has made many people panic.
Too many people are unprepared and are only now starting to prepare. Although it's too late, they still want to try their luck and maybe find a way to survive.
No one expected the snow to be so heavy. The snow hadn't stopped, and grain from outside the city couldn't be brought in.
Those who have grain in their hands dare not easily sell it.
Yuan Hongqu went to Rongguo Mansion to discuss with Wang Xifeng first. She planned to ask the Jia family to take the lead in petitioning the court to provide disaster relief in the western part of the city.
If the government can allocate disaster relief supplies, that would be ideal. If the supplies cannot arrive immediately, then the Jia family will need to do something that might offend some people.
First, the Jia family needs to take the lead in donating their surplus grain and warm clothing and bedding. Wang Xifeng roughly calculated that the grain left in the family was enough for the entire household to eat for a month, with 500 shi remaining. These 500 shi consisted of rice and wheat, and there would be considerable losses if they were to be processed into rice and flour.
In addition, for warm clothing and quilts, since the servants in the household were given a cotton-padded coat every two years, they could collect several hundred old cotton-padded coats and quilts and send them to Xicheng.
The Rongguo Mansion alone had so many disaster relief supplies; there were many families in the capital more prominent than the Rongguo Mansion.
If all of these can be gathered together, the disaster in the western city may soon be resolved.
Yuan Hongqu's idea was simple, and it wasn't difficult to do, but she wasn't the only one who knew about the snow disaster in Xicheng. Why hadn't anyone else reported it yet, and why hadn't anyone started to help with the disaster relief?
Yuan Hongqu pondered all the way. She had little political experience and was therefore completely ignorant of the power struggles within officialdom.
But as a time traveler, what kind of disaster hasn't she experienced? Earthquakes, snowstorms, floods...
Having seen and experienced more, even if she didn't participate often, she still knew what the basics were.
Moreover, based on her understanding of Grandmother Jia's psychology, she believed that no one would be willing to be the first to step forward, but Grandmother Jia would definitely be willing to do so!
Grandmother Jia was acutely aware of her current situation. The Jia family had reached its end. While she was alive, the Jia family might be safe, but once she passed away, disaster would strike.
Now it's better to listen to Yuan Hongqu: just do good deeds and don't worry about the future.
Moreover, Grandmother Jia had a premonition that if her family succeeded in this matter, the benefits would be obvious.
Wang Xifeng accepted the order and began to coordinate the available grain resources in the mansion, as well as collect winter supplies.
After speaking with Grandmother Jia and receiving her affirmative reply, Yuan Hongqu turned around and went to Ningrong Street.
There were more people coming and going on the small street than on the main street, but the food stalls, grain and oil shops, and clothing shops were all closed.
She saw a middle-aged man banging frantically on the door of a familiar grain shop.
"Shopkeeper, open the door quickly! I'm from the shop across the street from yours, I've come to buy some rice..."
Yuan Hongqu looked across from the grain shop and saw a bookstore. She guessed that the middle-aged man was the bookstore owner.
Then they heard the young clerk's voice coming from inside the grain shop.
"Mr. Liu, my shop is out of rice. Broken rice on Rongning Street has gone up to ten coins a pound. If I had rice, wouldn't I take this opportunity to make a fortune!"
The middle-aged man said angrily, "I saw it the day before yesterday. There were still dozens of bags of rice and flour in your shop. It's not like I'm not going to pay. Are you afraid I can't afford ten coins a pound?"
After a while, a voice came from inside the grain shop again. This time, the voice sounded very deep, and it must have been the owner of the shop.
“Mr. Liu, my family has more than a dozen members, including many brothers and sisters. This grain may seem like a lot, but it will be gone if we divide it among everyone. You should go and look elsewhere. Once the snow stops, the grain from outside the city will be delivered, and I will send you some extra as an apology.”
"Sigh..." Mr. Liu lowered his head and let out a long sigh.
He was well aware that grain was precious this year, and he had knocked on the doors of several grain shops since morning.
The first house he knocked on was the one across the hall, but after knocking for a long time without any response, he had no choice but to go elsewhere.
After failing to find anything, he returned to Ningrong Street and, still unwilling to give up, knocked on the door of the grain shop across the street, but still couldn't buy a single grain.
This is only the fifth day of the heavy snow, and the snow hasn't stopped yet. We don't know when the food will be delivered.
Mr. Liu returned to the shop across the street, dejected, with his empty grain sack.
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