The pitiful little beggar went to Yongfu County.
At that time, the sky in Yongfu County was cloudy and drizzling.
She heard that the south side of Yongfu County was filled with people from the Family Zhang Courtyard. When she thought of the Family Zhang Courtyard, she thought of the ten sticks and three slaps in the snowy night. She thought of Nanny Huang's embarrassed smile and the bloated Dalang in the pond.
She was afraid that the Family Zhang Courtyard would suffer. Since then, she didn't dare to go to the south side of Yongfu.
In the north side of Yongfu, Squire Xu, who was known for his charity, was giving out porridge and rice to help the poor refugees because it was his precious granddaughter's birthday.
The pitiful little girl was starving. She trembled as she supported herself with her walking stick and went to Squire Xu's house.
There was a long line outside the porridge stall set up by Squire Xu's family. They were all scrawny commoners in ragged clothes with hungry faces.
Everyone could only get a spoonful of porridge.
The Xu family's relief workers were impatient and wore long gowns.
The pitiful little girl was most afraid of such adults and gentlemen. She didn't dare to make a sound and quietly lined up at the back.
"Here!" A spoonful of porridge swayed in the broken bowl. It was as clear as the river water.
In front of him, there was an old woman in ragged clothes who was so thin that only her ribs were visible. She swayed and begged weakly, "My lord, good man, Bodhisattva, I have a granddaughter at home, please give me another bowl …"
The expression of the person who got the porridge changed. "Go away! People like you don't know how to be content! This year, the nearby counties didn't have a good harvest and the price of food is expensive. My family took out 900 catties of food to help the victims, but it's still not enough. If you eat one more bowl, the others will have one less. Is someone else's granddaughter not a granddaughter? "
The old woman wanted to say something, but she heard him shout, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! If you think my porridge is thin, go to the Family Zhang Courtyard! Let's see if they give you a stick or a bowl of porridge! "
Hearing about the Family Zhang Courtyard, the old woman's face turned pale. The other commoners behind her also felt that this person made sense. Some scolded, some persuaded. The old woman was pushed to the side by the Xu family's servants.
The old woman silently supported herself against the wall and left. The pitiful little girl saw that she was as thin as a child and was so hungry that she was trembling as she walked. She felt sad and hurriedly pulled her away, "Mother-in-law, she quietly took out the half bun that she snatched from the dog's mouth and hid it like a treasure.
The old woman didn't take it. Tears flowed from her muddy old eyes, blocking the other people's view. With great effort, she slowly stuffed it back into the child's arms, saying, "Good child, take it yourself. The Xu family's Bodhisattva was right. My granddaughter is a granddaughter, other people's children are also children. Sigh … "
The old woman found it difficult to even speak. After taking a few steps, she fell into the dust with a plop. The soup in the bowl spilled all over the floor.
The pitiful girl was stunned. She didn't care that she was still in the queue. She hurriedly ran over and called out, "Grandma."
The old woman was motionless. He was dead.
One of the Xu family's servants saw this and couldn't help but say, "Ah, I'm starving to death! Child, come and line up too. Don't look anymore. "
As he spoke, he called for someone to drag the old woman's corpse away.
But because of this delay, when it was time for the pitiful girl to line up, there wasn't even a grain of rice left.
The pitiful girl was hungry and dazed as she looked along the street. She touched the bun in her arms but didn't dare to eat it. She was afraid that if she ate it today, she would starve to death tomorrow.
She squatted in the corner, thinking about the old woman, thinking about those hungry people, thinking about herself. She felt sad and thought, 'If only there were more good people like the Xu family and fewer bad people like Family Zhang.'
When she was so hungry that she was dizzy, someone put a pancake in the broken bowl in front of her. "Eat it," someone said.
It was a middle-aged man, but he was still tall and straight, and had a handsome face. He looked like a scholar … or something else.
When the pitiful girl saw the pancake and picked it up, she heard that person sigh to his companion in official language as he walked, "Pitiful. This year's harvest is clearly better than previous years. But it's bad because of this good harvest. "
That person's companion sneered, "Ruoshan, look, they're still giving porridge!" His tone was full of disdain.
That person's companion was pointing in the direction of the Xu family.
At this time, there weren't many poor people who understood official language, but the pitiful girl did. Because Family Zhang didn't allow servants to speak in their own language at home. They were all forced to speak official language.
The pitiful girl was beaten up a few times because of this.
This year's harvest is good? Then why … why …
When the pitiful girl heard this, she didn't know why, but she subconsciously followed behind the two people.
Because she remembered that when she begged all the way here, she didn't see any natural disasters along the way.
Her footsteps were as light as a cat's. The two people didn't notice her for a while.
One of them gave the pitiful girl a pancake. The person called "Ruoshan" said, "It's just a competition of who's worse. What natural disasters, they're all man-made. This old man of the Xu family is much smarter than Family Zhang. He's really a 'good person' who 'fixes bridges and paves roads'. "
"Hmph. I heard from the people that his family sent 900 catties of grain for disaster relief. Old Master Xu's precious grandson and granddaughter even prayed for the people overnight. They even prayed for their cousin, Family Zhang, at the same time. It's said that it was Family Zhang and County Magistrate Gui who imposed all kinds of exorbitant taxes and took everything by force, forcing the people here to make a living. "
The two of them stopped in front of the biggest grain store in Yongfu County. "Ruoshan" smiled faintly, "That's true. Their family didn't directly participate in the mess between this County Magistrate Gui and Family Zhang. They just followed Family Zhang and used the excuse of a good harvest to buy the farmers' rations at a low price and then sold it at a high price. They bought 10,000 catties of grain at a low price and sold it at a high price. Then, they used the money from selling the grain at a high price to buy the land of the farmers who were about to starve to death. They also took 900 catties of grain for disaster relief. 10,000 catties and 900 catties. Old Master Xu's abacus is as iron as Family Zhang's. Not only did they get money, they also bought a lot of good land at a low price and gained a good reputation. Who knows, by buying and selling this time, his precious granddaughter's dowry would have been earned back. "
"Ruoshan's" companion said, "Forget it, let's not talk about these things. You said that you wanted me to help you find your niece, do you have any clues? "
As they spoke, they turned and walked away.
They left the pitiful little girl behind, stunned.
"If you eat one more bowl, the others will have one less bowl. Is someone else's granddaughter not a granddaughter? "
"My granddaughter is a granddaughter, other people's children are also children."
The pitiful little girl's mind echoed the words of the Bodhisattva. And the old woman's words.
Her whole body was cold, and she didn't even realize that the biscuit had fallen to the ground.
After a while, she screamed crazily, and under the shocked eyes of the passersby, she scrambled away from the Xu family's porridge stall.
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