Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Chapter 157 Natural disaster or man-made disaster

After seeing off the two little guys who had eaten the white steamed buns, Qin Bingrui and his group continued on their way.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't eaten yet so early in the morning, the young yamen runner licked his lips and his stomach growled twice. Seeing this, Luo Yu immediately took out a box of cakes and gave it to him.

"Thank you, girl. You are such a good person."

"Just call me Miss Bai. The one driving the horse is Master Qin, and the one riding is Master Murong."

"Then just call me A Tian. My last name is Kong, so my name is Kong Tian."

"Ah Tian, what are you yamen runners doing at the dock?"

"Alas, you don't know. Although Wangzhou was the worst hit by the disaster, it also affected us. Food is too expensive in the city now, and there are no merchants selling food. I heard that they were afraid that the victims would steal the food, so they sent dozens of us yamen runners to guard the dock. But it's useless. We've been guarding for several days and haven't seen anyone come to sell food."

"Don't you think of a way to attract merchants to sell grain? There must be rich people in the county, right?"

"The rich fled when disaster struck. Only a few established merchants stayed and sold grain from their warehouses. The prices were sky-high, but there was nothing they could do. Without relief grain from the imperial court, everyone was afraid they wouldn't survive the winter."

The young yamen runner was clever and aware of his surroundings.

The carriage swayed as it entered the city. If the outside of the city was desolate and miserable, then the inside of the city could only be described as dilapidated, depressed and silent.

The people walking around lowered their heads, looked indifferent, and their clothes were mostly patched. A few people saw a carriage entering the city and stood there in a daze, watching the carriage drive in.

The shops were all open here and there, business was not very good, the shop owners all looked miserable, and it seemed that it was not easy for anyone.

Ah Tian jumped off the carriage and pointed to another road: "Entrance to the government office is from this road. You guys go to the inn to rest first. I will go back and report the situation to the master."

"Okay!"

Pingshan County is not small. Judging from the buildings and roads, it must have been a beautiful small town in the past.

There weren't many people on the road, it seemed many people had left the area.

We entered a fairly large inn. The waiter, who was sitting on a small bench, almost dozed off. But when he saw a guest arriving, he immediately perked up.

"Sir, do you want to be a top-notch person or stay in a hotel?"

"First, please help arrange three good guest rooms, and then prepare lunch."

"Okay."

Only when there are customers can we make money, so the waiter will naturally be happy.

The accommodation was not bad, one room cost one hundred wen, but when it came to meals, three meat dishes, one vegetable dish and a bucket of rice for three people were five times more expensive than in other counties, costing eight hundred wen. He was even faster than robbing people.

Qin Bingrui called the waiter.

"How do you calculate the price for this dish?"

Even though you have money, you can't be cheated.

"Sir, you've seen that Pingshan County isn't doing as well as usual. The floods this year have been severe, and the rice has all been drowned, and not many vegetables have survived. The water in our city has risen over ten feet, and it hasn't gone down in several days. We didn't have time to move the food we had stored at home, so a lot of it was destroyed."

"The flood rose in the middle of the night?"

Qin Luoqi frowned. It seems that they are not prepared for the heavy rain at all. Who would store food in the cellar?

Then he thought, most courtyards in ancient times were one-story, so it was no wonder they lived there. He chuckled, realizing that his brain was still not reacting.

"Sir, go ask around in the shops. Rice and flour are selling for 80 to 100 wen per jin, and pork is around 150 to 200 wen per jin. You may not even be able to buy it."

"Is that so? Then wouldn't it be possible to make several times more money by importing goods from other cities and selling them?"

Qin Bingrui's eyes were shining with gold. Who would complain about having too much money?

"That's possible, but there aren't many businessmen coming here!"

The waiter saw that they were dressed in fine clothes and thought they might be businessmen, so he said a few more words to them, "Even if merchants came, the prices are too high and not many people will buy. The rich are almost gone, and the poor are almost becoming beggars. Who can afford to eat here?"

Young Master Murong had seen the disaster area and naturally knew that the court would have a solution.

"There should be disaster relief grain, why hasn't the magistrate distributed it yet?"

"The counties in Wangzhou City were the hardest hit. Who cares about our lives? We did distribute rice last month, but each family only got three pounds of old rice. It's not enough to eat!"

If he continued, the waiter would have to start pouring out his grievances from the beginning, from dawn to dusk.

Only after Qin Bingrui paid the money did he force out a slight smile.

After leaving the inn, Qin Bingrui and Luo Yu went to various shops to ask about the prices. It would have been fine if they hadn't asked, but they were shocked when they did.

Not to mention the price of new rice, even old rice is sold for 30 wen per pound. The bun shops have gone bankrupt because white flour is too expensive. Vegetables are in demand but have no price because fresh ones are impossible to eat.

"Actually, if we buy goods from across the river and then sell them here for double the price, we shouldn't lose money. Why don't those merchants want to come?"

Qin Bingrui was puzzled.

"It must be due to human factors." Master Murong said slowly after a while.

"What do you mean?"

No matter how smart Luo Yu and Qin Bingrui are, they don't quite understand the social rules of ancient times.

Murong smiled mysteriously at the two girls. It seemed that the two girls still did not understand the true root of human suffering.

Luo Yu and Qin Bingrui smiled at each other and decided to go talk to the magistrate.

After a walk around and returning to the inn, the little yamen runner A Tian was waiting for them downstairs.

"Miss Bai, you're back."

A Tian was the first to greet Luo Yu. After all, she looked gentle and kind, and was the easiest to get close to.

Qin Bingrui looked unhappy: "Oh, he is the closest to Miss Bai. He is really a lecherous brat."

Ah Tian chuckled foolishly. Luo Yu rolled his eyes, and Qin Bingrui immediately looked up at the sky.

"Miss Bai, Master Qin, Master Murong, our magistrate invites you."

"Why are you inviting us? Dinner?" Qin Bingrui asked casually, and A Tian chuckled.

When everyone arrived at the gate of the county government office, Qin Bingrui was shocked again. How come the gate of the county government office was no different from the refugee camp? There was a group of ragged men, women, and children lying there in a mess?

Ah Tian hurriedly explained, "These are the people affected by the disaster in the city. They have nothing to eat and are starving, so they came to the government office to make trouble. The county magistrate is at a loss. The county government has used up all the grain it had stored to make porridge and distribute it for several days, and now they are almost starving. A few days ago, the county magistrate asked the Yanzhou prefect for permission to allocate some food to help them, but there has been no response yet."

To avoid stepping on the victims, several people hopped into the county government office on one shaky foot.

As soon as I entered the door, the magistrate of Pingshan County and the lawyer greeted me with a smile.

No matter who they are, as long as they are dressed richly, they are guests of honor.

Kochi Prefecture is in his early forties, with thin cheeks, dark circles under his eyes and half of his hair is silver. It seems that he is very worried about this matter.

Before Qin Bingrui and the others could speak, Kochi Prefecture was extremely enthusiastic.

"Three distinguished guests, please come in."

"Master Gao is very polite. We are not honored guests at all."

Kochi Prefecture chuckled dryly. Never mind whether he was a distinguished guest or not, anyone who could charter a large boat to cross the river by himself on ordinary days was not a poor person.

But it is a bit strange that this group of people came to Pingshan County. The docks here have been abandoned by the Cao Gang. What are they doing here?

After entering the main room, several people looked at each other in amazement. Compared with the drought, the good thing about the flood was that there was still tea and water.

Qin Bingrui didn't bother to be subtle and asked Gao Zhixian directly: "Why don't you go out and import food? Rice in Lezhu County across the Wanjiang River is only seven or eight cents a pound, brown rice is around five cents, and aged rice is probably around three cents. Even if the price is tripled or quadrupled by shipping it in, it's still much better than it is now. At least ordinary people can afford it."

"Alas, I think so too, but unfortunately no boatman is willing to take us, and the people from the canal gang are unwilling to come to us."

"Who is doing the trick in the middle?"

The person that even the Cao Gang fears seems to be no simple person.

Kochi looked at Master Wan, and Master Wan looked up at the roof, and the two remained silent.

It has nothing to do with them anyway.