"Preference will be given to them!"
Lin Wanwan's resounding promise was like a boulder thrown into the center of a lake, instantly creating a huge wave among the poor people of Beijing.
The next day, before dawn, the area outside the Hundred Herbs Garden was already teeming with people, forming several long queues. There were strong and capable craftsmen, hardworking and simple women, and even many children, all with an almost pious anticipation on their faces.
For them, this was not just a job with double the pay, but also an opportunity to personally serve the "living bodhisattva" empress and accumulate blessings for the orphans of the world.
The construction of the orphanage unfolded vigorously in this enthusiastic atmosphere of unity.
However, Lin Wanwan's ambitions extend far beyond this.
On the very day the construction started, she issued another order that surprised everyone, especially Wang Shouren, the Minister of Revenue—to set up a huge soup kitchen stretching for ten miles next to the construction site!
"Issue my imperial decree," Lin Wanwan instructed the female official Qin Zheng, "From today onwards, all craftsmen and laborers working on the construction site will be provided with three meals a day by the soup kitchen! In addition, the soup kitchen will be open for four hours every day, and all the poor people in the capital who have no means of support can come and receive a bowl of soup for free, as long as they are full!"
Upon hearing this decree, even Qin Zheng, who always obeyed Lin Wanwan's every word, couldn't help but advise, "Your Majesty, in this way, the expenses... the expenses are simply too great! The daily food and drink for tens of thousands of people are flowing like water. I'm afraid... I'm afraid that before the orphanage is even completed, the proceeds from the auction will be exhausted!"
Lin Wanwan simply smiled, her eyes gleaming with profound wisdom.
"Qin Zheng, you must remember that winning people's hearts is never something that can be accomplished by simply shouting slogans. What we need to do is make them truly feel warmth and fulfillment."
Looking at the bustling construction site in the distance, she said softly, "A bowl of hot porridge is more powerful than a thousand words."
Soon, enormous porridge sheds sprang up from the ground. Large pots, each over a meter in diameter, were set up, and the roaring firewood never went out from morning till night. The rich aroma of rice porridge, mingled with the smell of firewood, filled the air above the entire western part of the city, becoming the warmest and most enticing scent in this land.
At first, most of those who came to collect the porridge were construction workers and some refugees who had no other choice but to leave. Holding the steaming bowl of thick porridge with plump rice grains, their eyes were filled with unbelievable gratitude.
When had they ever tasted such genuine "free porridge"? In the past, when wealthy families distributed porridge, it was mostly just thin soup and water, enough to reflect one's image. How could it be like the Empress, who was distributing it as a real meal!
What shocked and moved them even more was yet to come.
Lin Wanwan did not entrust the distribution of porridge entirely to the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department.
She personally led a group of female officials, dressed in plain clothes but still exuding elegance and beauty, to the soup kitchen every day.
Instead of inspecting from a high position, she, like the other female officials, rolled up her sleeves, tied on an apron, and personally served bowls of hot porridge to the ragged people, some of whom even smelled bad.
"Grandpa, eat slowly, there's more in the pot."
"Little brother, don't rush, be careful it's hot."
Her gentle tone and warm smile, devoid of any disdain, were like the most balmy spring breeze, instantly melting away all the humility and alienation in the hearts of these ordinary people.
At first, the people were apprehensive and dared not let her do it herself. But gradually, they discovered that this empress, who was the mother of the nation, truly and without any airs treated them as subjects who needed care.
When they received the bowl of porridge, their gratitude was no longer the only emotion they felt; their eyes held a deep, almost childlike affection for their child.
Another thing that everyone talks about is the first batch of orphans who were sent there.
They were a group of children, pale and thin, dressed in rags, their eyes filled with fear and wariness. They had been found by eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department from all the dark corners of the capital, like frightened birds.
Lin Wanwan did not hand them over directly to the palace servants. Instead, she personally led Qin Zheng and other female officials to a makeshift warm shed, where she washed the children and dressed them in clean, soft new clothes.
She personally untangled a little girl's hair and wiped the dirt off a little boy's face, her movements so gentle, as if she were handling the most precious and rare treasures.
When those children, who were originally covered in dirt, became clean and tidy, and although they were still thin, the fear in their eyes gradually faded, revealing a hint of curiosity and dependence, all the people who saw this scene were deeply moved.
"Her Majesty the Empress... truly loves these children as if they were her own flesh and blood!"
"Yes, with Her Majesty here, these children are truly blessed!"
If these hands-on acts of kindness had transformed Lin Wanwan's image in the hearts of the people from a lofty "goddess" to a kind and respectable "loving mother," then a small bowl of porridge completely elevated her reputation to godlike status.
"Hey, have you had some? The porridge Her Majesty the Empress provides is no ordinary porridge!"
"What's so special about it?"
"Let me tell you, that porridge is 'divine porridge'! A few days ago I had backaches and felt weak all over, but after drinking it for a few days, hey, guess what? Now I'm full of energy at work!"
"Really? Is it that amazing?"
"Why would I lie to you! My neighbor Wang the Pockmarked, who has had a chronic cough for years, has gotten much better after drinking this porridge! Everyone says it's because the Empress is so kind that she moved Heaven and added some divine energy to the porridge!"
Such conversations quickly spread among the people of the capital.
At first, people just listened to it as an interesting anecdote. But gradually, more and more people discovered that after drinking this porridge, they were indeed refreshed and much healthier than before.
Thus, the name "Immortal Congee" spread like wildfire!
The rumors grew increasingly fantastical, with claims such as "The Empress herself served us the porridge" and "After eating the Empress's porridge, our illnesses improved" becoming the latest common saying among the people of the capital. Countless people who were initially just observing or even harboring doubts flocked to the porridge stalls in the west of the city, eager to taste this legendary "divine porridge" and share in the Empress's "blessings."
When Lin Wanwan heard these rumors in Kunning Palace, she could only laugh and cry at the same time.
There's no "ethereal aura" here.
She simply took advantage of the convenience of her small kitchen, allowing Qin Zheng and the others to add some herbs like astragalus, codonopsis, and red dates—inexpensive yet highly nourishing herbs that could replenish qi and strengthen the spleen—to the porridge she had prescribed.
She used only a little knowledge of modern nutrition to help these people, who had been suffering from chronic hunger and physical depletion, to regain some vitality as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, he was so deified by the people.
But she also knew that this "deification" played an unparalleled role in completely shattering those ignorant rumors about the "ominous place."
Nowadays, in the eyes of the people of the capital, the location of the orphanage is no longer a "shady place," but clearly a "blessed place" imbued with the Empress's supreme virtue! Being able to come here to drink a bowl of porridge or do a day's work is a great deed that can accumulate good karma for future generations!
Amid this nationwide craze for "accumulating blessings," one person seemed particularly restless.
She was an elderly woman with gray hair.
She was the first person to cry out "bad luck" when she was used as a pawn by those thugs at the site selection three days ago.
These past few days, as she listened to the neighbors praising the Empress, and watched her own lazy son working on the construction site every day because of the high wages, and becoming energetic after drinking the "immortal porridge," the shame and fear in her heart grew wildly like weeds.
Especially this afternoon, when she went to collect the porridge, she witnessed a scene that deeply moved her.
Her grandson, a mischievous teenager, was pushing and shoving in the crowd when he accidentally fell to the ground. Just as she cried out and was about to help him up, a gentle figure was faster than her.
It's the Empress!
The Empress herself bent down and helped her dirty grandson up from the ground. She even brushed the dust off him and gently comforted him, asking if he had hurt himself.
Her grandson was stunned by the sudden turn of events, staring blankly at the person before him who was even more beautiful than a fairy in a painting. The Empress, however, was amused by his bewildered expression and personally took a delicate pastry from the food box of the lady-in-waiting beside her and placed it in his hand.
At that moment, the old woman felt her face burning like a hot coal, and she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground!
Just a few days ago, I actually slandered such a living bodhisattva-like figure!
The intense shame and self-blame weighed on her like a boulder, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
She returned home in a daze and didn't sleep a wink all night.
The next morning, as soon as the porridge stall opened, an unexpected scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
The old woman who had once led the boycott of the orphanage actually led her entire family, from her son and daughter-in-law to her grandson who still had yesterday's snacks in his arms, to kneel down in front of the soup kitchen!
Seeing this, Qin Zheng was about to step forward and ask.
But then the old woman, facing the direction of the soup kitchen and the figure of the Empress serving soup to the people, kowtowed heavily.
Her aged and trembling voice, filled with endless regret and shame, echoed throughout the morning.
"Your Majesty! This old woman...this old woman is guilty! A few days ago, this old woman was blinded by greed and listened to the slander of petty people, thus offending Your Majesty's good deed! This old woman...is not human!"
She cried and screamed while slapping her own mouth hard.
"We beg Your Majesty...we beg Your Majesty to have mercy and give this old woman and her family a chance to atone for their sins! We...we don't want wages, we only ask...we only ask to do some volunteer work for this charity, to contribute our efforts, and to accumulate some good karma for ourselves and for our descendants!"
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