Chapter 340: Chance Encounter
"Hu Bing, Hubing!" The restaurant owner was soliciting customers at the door.
Last year there was a frost disaster, and after the beginning of spring this year, many people could not afford to eat, which caused panic among the people. Businesses could not continue and had to close down.
After catching up in the second half of the year, the store reopened, but business was slow and there was hardly any customers.
The poor can’t afford it and the rich look down on it.
The restaurant owner was bored at the door of the store, watching the passers-by coming and going. Alas, no sales were made today, and the money he earned was not even enough to cover the cost of firewood.
Suddenly, he saw two young men coming out of the carriage and livery inn, looking exhausted, and he hurried forward to greet them warmly.
"Hu Bing, Hu Bing, you two gentlemen must be hungry. Come into the store and have a bite! Hot porridge and fragrant Hu Bing!"
"Brother!" Su Chenyan looked at Su Shiyan.
The two brothers traveled all the way from Tongxian, and after several trips by land and water, they finally arrived in Xingyang.
It was not the prosperous and bustling Xingyang in my childhood memories. It was deserted. Many shops were open but had no business. Beggars with broken bowls could be seen on the streets from time to time.
The restaurant owner called out to me and I realized that I hadn't eaten all day and was hungry and thirsty.
"Yeah!" Su Shiyan nodded, and the two brothers followed the boss into the store.
"Boss, give me four Hu pancakes and two bowls of porridge!" he ordered after sitting down.
"Okay!" The boss wiped the table attentively, brought four Hu pancakes, and turned to the kitchen to serve porridge.
Finally, a big customer arrived. It was the biggest deal of the day. In the boss’s eyes, the two brothers were simply the God of Wealth.
"Enjoy your meal, gentlemen!" the boss put down the porridge.
"Boss, why is Xingyang so desolate?" Su Shiyan asked.
"Alas, last year Henan and Hebei suffered a frost disaster, and so many people were affected. It's strange. In previous years, when disasters occurred, people would have fled everywhere.
Not long after this frost disaster, many grain shops selling old rice appeared. Although the rice was mixed with sand, they only sold it for nine or ten cents per pound, saving many poor people.
They say Lingnan is recruiting farmers to reclaim wasteland. I went with quite a few a while ago, but I wonder if they're still around? Is Lingnan really that easy to get to? How many people can stand the miasma?
Now that the famine has eased and the rice shops have sold out, the city has yet to fully recover and is in a state of half-death.
I guess we won’t be able to recover until the autumn harvest.”
The boss finally found someone to talk to, and it was so difficult for him to pour out all the bitterness he had been feeling these days!
"I heard that last year someone offended the third son of the prefect and was beaten to death?" Su Shiyan inquired about the news.
"Being beaten to death for offending the third son of the prefect?" The boss was surprised.
"I haven't heard of that! The prefect only gave him a slight punishment, thirty lashes!
That troublemaker deserved it. He had offended the prefectural governor and even used rude words. How could the prefect tolerate this? He politely slapped him twice.
Guess what? Not only did that scoundrel fight with the Third Young Master, he also resorted to dirty tricks and kicked him in the crotch! Is that something a human being would do?
"The prefect was kindhearted and only gave him thirty lashes. If it were me, I would have beaten him to death!" the boss said indignantly.
"Bang!" Su Shiyan slammed the table angrily.
"See, my dear, you can't stand this either! If this kind of unruly person really dies, it will be a disaster for the people!"
The boss became more and more excited as he spoke, and didn't notice Su Shiyan's distorted face.
"You are a bunch of sycophants! You are praising such a disregard for human life!" Su Shiyan stood up and pointed at the boss and cursed.
"?" The boss stared blankly at the ferocious man in front of him, unable to react for a long time. What kind of villain? What kind of person is he who takes human life lightly?
"Brother!" Su Chenyan pulled Su Shiyan to sit down, "Don't blame me, Boss. My brother is in a bad mood!"
"It's okay, it's okay!" The boss was disappointed and walked away in shame.
"Second brother, this world is so upside down, there is no pure land to be found. It's disappointing and frustrating!" Su Shiyan chewed the Hu Bing angrily.
The government is so corrupt that even the common people cannot tell right from wrong. It really makes him feel disheartened!
My mother and sister died innocently and tragically, but my cowardly father not only refused to seek justice but also concealed the news.
I had hoped that my grandparents would step in, but I didn't expect that my uncle was killed by someone. I wonder where my grandparents are?
The more I think about it, the darker life seems to me, and the world is full of injustice!
Su Chenyan ate the cake silently, he was also confused and hesitant.
He wanted to seek justice for his mother and sister's tragic deaths, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't know who to ask for justice from, and he couldn't blame anyone!
His maternal grandparents were also in trouble, and he felt like he had fallen into a puddle of mud. The more he struggled, the more mud he got covered in.
He wondered if he had gone in the wrong direction.
"My two gentlemen, please be kind and give us something to eat!" A beggar with a sour smell on his body walked up to the two brothers.
He stretched out a black broken bowl, a black hand, and black mud under his nails.
Su Shiyan was so irritated by the sour smell that he leaned back, covered his nose, and threw the half Hu pancake in his hand into the bowl, "Go, go!"
"Old man, here is one more!" Su Chenyan gave him the remaining Hu pancake in the food basket.
"Thank you, sir. May you two live long lives!" The beggar kept bowing and expressing his gratitude.
Su Shiyan felt the voice was familiar. "Hey, wait, where are you from?"
"My dear, I am from Qinjia Village." The beggar said tremblingly.
"Do you know Qin Fangcheng?" Su Shiyan stood up and stared at the beggar.
His hair was disheveled and his clothes were tattered. He hadn't washed in who knows how many days. His face was so dirty that it was unrecognizable. Only his two eyes were moving.
"?" The beggar raised his head in surprise and looked at the young man in front of him. He felt vaguely familiar between his eyebrows and eyes. "It's this old man."
"Ah!" Su Shiyan exclaimed, grabbing his grandfather and saying, "Do you know who I am?"
Qin Fangcheng hesitated and said, "Shi, Shi Yan?"
"Grandfather, it's me, it's me! Woo woo..." Su Shiyan said excitedly, "Grandfather, I finally found you!"
Just when I was wondering where to find someone, I happened to meet him here.
Qin Fangcheng was not as excited as expected, but hurriedly pulled the two brothers out.
"Weren't you exiled to Lingnan? Why did you come here?" Qin Fangcheng whispered when they reached a deserted place.
The fugitive actually dared to run so far. It would be strange if he wasn’t beheaded if he was caught!
"Don't worry, grandpa, my father and his family have been pardoned! Now my father is the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works! We are officials!" Su Shiyan said proudly.
"Really?" Qin Fangcheng didn't believe it. Being exiled to Lingnan was not a government-sponsored tour.
"Grandpa, please take a look at our records!" Su Shiyan took out his ID.
Qin Fangcheng couldn't read, but he recognized the official seal. "Is he really pardoned? Has your father become a Yuwenlang?"
"Yes! Grandpa, come back to Chang'an with us and you won't have to suffer anymore!" Su Shiyan said while supporting Qin Fangcheng.
"Grandpa, where is grandma?" Su Chenyan saw that his grandfather was alone.
"In a shack outside the city! I haven't eaten for two days!" Qin Fangcheng sighed.
"Wait a minute!" Su Chenyan ran back to the restaurant and bought a few steamed buns.
Arriving at a remote place outside the city, a haggard old woman was lying in a leaky shack.
He didn't breathe for a long time, as if he had no air.
"Baoer's mother, wake up quickly, our grandson is here to pick us up!" Qin Fangcheng shook the old woman.
"Grandma, grandma!" The two brothers felt sad as they looked at the dying old woman.
After a long moment, the old woman slowly opened her eyes and said weakly, "Am I going to die? Why did I see Shi Yan and Chen Yan?"
"Grandma, it's us! Come on, eat something!" Su Chenyan took out the warm steamed buns.
"God is taking pity on me, an old woman. I can see food before I die! It smells so good!" The old woman stared blankly and talked to herself.
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