PFC Chapter 9 Offering Grain
Chapter 9 Offering Grain
Three days later, a beggar boy of eleven or twelve years old walked into the dilapidated temple from outside and whispered, "I'm coming, I'll be there soon." He then walked to the fire, picked up a sweet potato, peeled it, took a bite, and looked on with obvious enjoyment.
With a glance from Wu You, the little beggar next to him shouted loudly, "Why can't we eat it? I want to eat it! We finally managed to fish it out of the water!"
“If you can’t eat it, you can’t eat it. You’ll get sick. Eat the things I brought you.” Wu You’s tone was firm.
“This is chicken! We’re not afraid of getting sick. We haven’t eaten meat in a long time. The food you brought is delicious, but we can’t eat it for more than a few meals,” another little beggar shouted, as if afraid that others wouldn’t hear him, as if he were arguing for the food.
“You’ve all been pulled out of the flood, so you might be carrying diseases. Aren’t you afraid of dying? Besides, my sweet potatoes are not only delicious, but they also yield over a thousand catties per mu. Planting a few mu will be enough for you to eat next year.”
"I'm hungry, I don't want to go hungry."
Zhang Shuo was the imperial envoy for disaster relief. After arriving in Xuancheng, he issued a series of orders based on the disaster situation described by the city lord Zhao Xin, including building disaster relief shelters, distributing porridge to help the people, and providing medical treatment. Only today did he have time to come out and inspect the disaster site.
The houses were in ruins, the beams had collapsed, and the livestock had died. The water had not yet completely receded, and the people were weeping over their houses, creating a noisy scene.
After seeing this, Zhang Shuo led two guards back to the city from the other side. On the way, they came across a dilapidated temple and decided to rest there before returning to the city. However, before they even got close, they heard a series of arguments. They thought it was the little beggars inside arguing over a bite of food.
As they drew closer, the argument grew louder, and at the same time, a fragrance they had never smelled before wafted over.
Zhang Shuo was still thinking that the food in Xuancheng was different from that in the capital, and that even beggars could eat good food, when he heard about the epidemic and the yield of 1,000 catties per mu. He was shocked. Where did the epidemic come from, and what could produce 1,000 catties per mu? You should know that the average yield of crops per mu is less than 300 catties now, and even experienced old farmers can only grow less than 500 catties per mu in the best fields.
Zhang Shuo strode into the dilapidated temple. Several young beggars were gathered around a fire, eating slowly. The aroma was coming from above. A woman dressed in simple clothes poked at the fire with a stick and pulled out a few black lumps.
Zhang Shuo stepped forward and greeted them: "I am the imperial envoy for disaster relief. I just heard you mention the epidemic. Which village or town has it occurred in? I will report to the court and request assistance immediately."
Upon hearing the voice, Wu You was secretly delighted; they had taken the bait. He raised his head and said nonchalantly, "There isn't any disease outbreak anywhere, but disasters usually bring disease, especially when it comes to food. I suppose these little beggars don't understand this. They pulled some livestock out of the flood and want to eat them, and I was just trying to persuade them not to."
"The floodwaters washed away all the food for the disaster victims. Even if there's no food to eat, we can't let go of anything we can salvage," Zhang Shuo sighed.
"But you can't eat anything that's been soaked in water either. Illness enters through the mouth. The floodwaters soaked corpses, animal remains, and feces. Eating them would greatly increase the chance of getting sick, and then it would spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, forming a plague. At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of food anymore." Wu You took a bite of the golden sweet potato, feeling extremely satisfied.
Pointing to a few sweet potatoes and potatoes on the ground, he said, "These are the snacks I brought. They're already roasted. Would you like some?"
"Thank you very much then." Zhang Shuo wanted to refuse, but the aroma was so irresistible, and the four or five little beggars next to him were all happily eating one, so he agreed.
Two guards carried three slightly flat stones outside the temple and placed them not far from the fire. The three of them sat down, each picked up a black lump from the ground, and peeled off the outer skin to reveal the fruit inside, just like everyone else. They took a bite, and the sweet and soft texture filled their mouths. It was so delicious that they almost swallowed their tongues.
Zhang Shuo looked on with enjoyment and asked in confusion, "Miss, what is this? It's so delicious after being simply roasted. I've never eaten anything like it before."
"These slightly round ones are called potatoes, and these oblong ones are sweet potatoes. They are both simple foods that can be fried, steamed, or boiled, and they all taste good," Wu You explained one by one.
"I just overheard the young lady talking about a yield of a thousand catties per mu. Is that what they are?" Zhang Shuo asked calmly, though he was anxious.
“Yes, both of these crops can be worth two or three thousand gold pieces, or even more, if they are well cared for.” Wu You seemed to know nothing and told him everything.
"Excellent! Such a wonderful thing exists in the world!" Zhang Shuo was filled with excitement, his voice trembling slightly. "I wonder how many of these potatoes and sweet potatoes are left? I will buy them all. When the harvest is plentiful, just as you said, I will definitely ask the Emperor to bestow a reward upon you."
"You flatter me, sir. Does the Great Xi Dynasty not have this crop? I thought it was just them who didn't have it," Wu You asked, feigning ignorance, pointing to the little beggars and the others.
"Actually, this dynasty doesn't have any. I don't know where else it came from. By the way, I haven't asked your name yet, young lady, and where you live?"
“My name is Wu You. I have been cultivating in the mountains since I was a child. This time, my master wanted me to see the world, so he sent me out of the mountains. All of these things were brought out of the mountains. This is the first city I have ever seen.”
"Seeing the natural disaster here, I stayed to see if I could help. I heard that people here need travel permits to go out, so I specially spent money to get one, which I can use when I go to other places in the future. There are still some of the two kinds of crops at the rented place in the city, not many, but I will give more to the adults later."
Wu You fabricated a lie, then spoke in a way that seemed both true and false, so that he could deal with any inquiries.
“So you are a cultivator. It’s not surprising that you possess things that don’t exist in this world. Thank you in advance, Miss Wu. If the yield is truly a thousand catties per mu, you will be a lucky star for millions of people in the Great Xi Dynasty.” Zhang Shuo said with a serious expression.
"It's good that I can help the people. I dare not take credit for it." Wu You pretended to be profound.
"By the way, Miss Wu said before that there would definitely be an epidemic after the disaster. Is that true?" Zhang Shuo asked quickly, remembering the previous topic.
"Of course it's true. Although it's not certain, it's highly likely." With the added weight of his mysterious identity, Wu You's words carried more weight.
"What do you think we should do, Miss?" Zhang Shuo asked curiously, wondering if there was a solution in the mountains.
“The damage has already happened, and all we can do is minimize casualties and prevent the spread of disease. As for hygiene…” Wu You then shared the useful information he found online with Zhang Shuo, who and the two guards nodded in agreement.
When the topic of post-disaster reconstruction came up, Zhang Shuo complained bitterly: "This place has been plagued by torrential rains and frequent floods. The imperial court spends a lot of money on disaster relief every year, and now it has to send grain, money and people to help the people rebuild their homes."
"Do we have to rebuild every year? The shelf life is too short. Let the people rebuild it themselves. Floods are natural disasters, and the imperial court can't control them. The imperial court can provide money and grain, and the people can do work relief, which can solve the problem of spending money twice. After the flood recedes, the people can rebuild their houses and then build the dikes."