Zuo Shaoyang heard from a distance that someone stood half a person tall at the entrance of the yamen, his hands were in the shape of a trumpet, and his sharp voice hissed: "Blind date, everyone!" Hurry up and disperse! The porridge in the Yu shopkeeper porridge factory is finished, everyone is scattered, don't gather here anymore! ”

The man said these words repeatedly, and his voice became hoarse, and it seemed that he had been talking for a long time. However, the crowd does not seem ready to disperse.

The middle-aged man in the brocade robe who came to treat his injuries before also retreated to Zuo Shaoyang's side with a sad face, and muttered: "It's gone, it's all over, it'......s gone, it's gone."

At this moment, there was a great chaos in front, and the crowd began to shake, turning and fleeing in all directions. Zuo Shaoyang raised his eyes and looked over, only to see a group of officers and cavalry rushing over in the distance, holding leather whips, shouting, waving and beating the chaotic victims, shouting and scolding loudly.

There was a sudden chaos in the field, and the flow of people rushed back like a tide, Miao Peilan shook her body, blocked in front of Zuo Shaoyang, and pushed the people who squeezed over hard.

The little squirrel yellow ball in the bag on Zuo Shaoyang's waist swished out, and the two vertical jumps reached Zuo Shaoyang's shoulder, squatting there vigilantly looking at the rush of people.

It was raining sleet for the past two days, and the snow on the ground and the rain had become ice skates when stepped on by the crowd, and now it was crowded with people, so it was easier to slip. Sure enough, at this moment, someone fell, but the people behind still swarmed over, stepping on his body, and fell down, and it was too late to get up, and the people behind stumbled and stepped on the fallen person.

The people behind can't see the end, the crowd is like a stream, and the person who falls is afraid that his life will be in danger!

Zuo Shaoyang shouted urgently: "Don't squeeze!" Someone fell! Don't squeeze everyone! This will trample people to death! ”

Miao Peilan hurriedly said to Zuo Shaoyang: "Brother Zuo, you hold on to the window lattice, don't fall, I'll save people!" ”

"Don't go! It's too dangerous! Zuo Shaoyang grabbed the window bar of the shop next to him with one hand, and wanted to catch Miao Peilan with the other hand, Miao Peilan had already dodged and jumped into the flow of people, only to see her petite body shuttling in the flow of people, like a dexterous loach, and soon came to the two people who fell, violently blocked the rushing flow of people, bent over, and quickly pulled up the two people who fell.

The two of them had been trampled so much that they couldn't breathe, the Venus in front of them was bursting around, unable to breathe, and they were closing their eyes in pain and waiting for death, but they didn't expect their bodies to be light, and they rose into the air, and they suddenly gasped for a breath, seeing the crowd around them, they didn't care what was going on, and they didn't look back and ran out with the flow of people.

Miao Peilan slipped through the crowd like a loach again and returned to the steps on the side of the street.

Zuo Shaoyang grabbed her arm: "You're crazy!" There are so many people, if you don't get it, you will be trampled to death! ”

Miao Peilan didn't care to say so much, blocking in front of him, the three of them slowly retreated along the eaves of the roadside to the entrance of the alley. She blocked the rush of people behind Zuo Shaoyang and pushed the rushing person away, but the strength was just right, not only pushing the person away, but also not pushing the person down. A few people dodged the rushing crowd along the side of the street, carefully backing away.

The officers and men who whipped with leather whips in the back saw that many of the victims were being squeezed down, and they were also afraid of their lives, so they rode their horses back, and the leather whips in their hands only sounded in the air, shouting and scolding.

Seeing that the officers and soldiers were in earnest, these victims of the disaster who had gathered on a few streets in front of the county yamen and waited for porridge to save their lives, as well as the hungry people in the city, fled in all directions in panic. They finally retreated out of the alley leading to Yamen Square. The cavalry did not drive anymore, and rode back to the square in front of the yamen.

Everywhere people passed, the snow on this street was a mess, and the pots and pans that were stepped on and scattered, and the shoes and socks that were scattered were thrown everywhere. The scattered and fleeing victims saw that the officers and soldiers no longer drove their horses to chase after them, and they were frightened for a while, but they did not dare to return to the yamen.

Miao Peilan let go of Zuo Shaoyang's arm: "Brother Zuo, are you okay?" ”

"It's fine!" Zuo Shaoyang looked back at Bai Zhihan, she was fine except for a pretty face that was bloodless. Turning around and touching the little squirrel yellow ball squatting on his shoulder, the yellow ball knew that the danger was over, and crawled down his body again, and got into the pocket of his waist. The middle-aged man in brocade who opened the silk shop with a head injury followed them all the time, but he was fine. But at this moment, he squatted on the ground, hugged his head and cried.

Zuo Shaoyang said: "This big brother, what's wrong with you?" Did you just squeeze into the wound? ”

The middle-aged man in brocade shook his head, choked up and said, "The porridge is gone, what will the family do when I go back this time?" What about the old lady and the child? Isn't it possible to boil silk cotton to eat? Woowoo"

Zuo Shaoyang felt sorry in his heart, thought about it, and said to Bai Zhihan and Miao Peilan: "You two wait for me in front, and I will talk to this eldest brother." ”

The second daughter agreed, and they all walked more than ten steps away, standing on the side of the street and waiting.

Zuo Shaoyang squatted down, leaned into his ear and whispered: "I still have a bag of black noodles at home, I can exchange silk and silk cotton with you." To change or not to change? ”

"Really?" The middle-aged man in brocade was ecstatic, turned around and grabbed Zuo Shaoyang's hand: "What you said is true?" How to change? ”

Zuo Shaoyang sighed, lowered his voice and said, "Didn't you just say that no one is willing to sell you rice noodles for ten times and one bucket?" It's converted at the price of ten times a bucket. Five buckets is fifty pieces, how much silk and silk cotton can be bought, you can drag it to me. We don't have much food, and seeing you so pitiful, that's why I changed it with you, don't go outside! ”

"Yes, yes! I won't say half a word if I kill me, don't worry! I swear, if I leak half a word to others, I will be thundered five times a day, and there will be no place to bury me! ”

"That's good."

"Eun Gong, thank you so much! You're a lifesaver for our family! Engong, I'm kowtowing to you! The middle-aged man in brocade knelt down on the stone steps and kowtowed.

"Alright, get up!" Zuo Shaoyang grabbed him and said in a low voice, "I only have this extra black noodles to exchange with you, five buckets of grain, save food, and add some wild vegetables or something, it should be able to last your family of six for more than half a month." If the food from outside can be brought in at that time, it will be able to receive help. ”

The middle-aged man in brocade had tears in his eyes, thinking that there was such a benevolent and righteous good person, holding Zuo Shaoyang's hand and shaking it constantly: "Thank you so much, little brother." My surname is Fu, and the silk shop is called 'Fu Ji Silk Shop', and when this disaster passes, your relatives, friends and family come to my silk shop to buy silk and satin garments, and I don't dare to say that you don't want a penny, then you won't come in the future, I will sell it to you, and I won't earn you a penny! Neither side loses, okay? ”

"Okay!" Zuo Shaoyang smiled and said, "Go back quickly." After dark, you dragged the silk and silk cotton in a cart and dragged it to the alley behind my house, which was the alley opposite the Seifuji Temple. I opened the back door and waited for you. Remember, come back after dark. But not later than curfew! ”

"Okay! Eun Gong. ”

The middle-aged man in brocade grabbed Zuo Shaoyang's hand and shook it twice to express his gratitude, and then turned around with a handful of snot and tears, and staggered away.

The reason why Zuo Shaoyang insisted on coming to see the situation of the porridge was to know how many hungry people there are in the city and what extent the food shortage has reached. The scene just now made his heart heavy, the hungry people were simply crowded, and a considerable number of them were residents of the city. In other words, in the past few days after the food shortage, many residents in the city have already eaten up their food stocks, and if the situation continues, I am afraid that it will provoke a civil uprising, which will be miserable.

Zuo Shaoyang walked over, and the second daughter didn't ask him what he said to the middle-aged man in brocade. Following him, stepping on the messy snow, he slowly returned to Guizhi Hall.

Zuo Shaoyang called his father Zuo Gui and mother Liang to the bedroom, closed the door, and whispered what had just happened. Zuo Shaoyang said again that he took five buckets of rice to exchange the silk and silk cotton for the middle-aged man in brocade who opened a silk shop.

Zuo Gui frowned and said: "Zhong'er, although we still have a lot of food, but now we don't know when it will be a head, if we change it like this, if we can't get our food, what can we do?" ”

Zuo Shaoyang said in a low voice: "I've calculated, we now have a total of two hundred and two buckets of rice noodles, just our family of three, we can last for three years, if you add my sister and brother-in-law's family, we can last for a year, even if we add Pei Lan and Bai Girl, we should be able to last for half a year." This is a dozen people who need our care. From the situation of last year's rebellion introduced by my brother-in-law, two or three months is the longest trouble, and it is impossible to make trouble for half a year, and it is impossible for tens of thousands of Tang troops in our city to hold on to starving to death without fighting them for so long. So our food should be abundant. ”

Zuo Gui stroked his beard and nodded slightly: "So you want to take advantage of the current shortage of food to exchange food for some things or silver money?" ”

"yes, that's why I spend all that money on food and vegetables! If you eat alone, we don't need so much food, once the rebellion is quelled, the food will continue to arrive, then the price of food will fall sharply, the food in our hands will be worthless, we must take advantage of the present in exchange for what we need, although this is a bit of a fortune to make a fortune, but now it is like this, we don't sell, and it will not help. Those who do not have food in their hands will starve to death. Scarce things are expensive, and now the price of grain has risen to ten per bucket, and it is still impossible to buy it. We sell it at the market price. It's not bad, right? ”

"Hmm......" Zuo Gui nodded.

Liang was always worried about insecurity, and said, "Then we can't change too much, keep more food just in case." ”

Zuo Shaoyang said: "Don't worry, mother, I know it in my heart." ”

Zuo Gui asked, "How much silk and silk cotton did you exchange with him for five buckets of rice?" ”

He said that their family had already run out of food, and the family was dying of hunger, and he offered a price of ten yuan and one bucket, and no one was willing to sell rice and noodles to him. So I sold him five buckets at the price of ten buckets. That's fifty. At this price, he exchanged it for his satin and silk cotton, etc. Does the second elder think it is cost-effective? ”

(To be continued)