"Miss, Taoyuan County is ahead."

Ping'an, who was leading the way in front, came to the carriage and explained to Xiting:

"Miss, the sun is about to set, there are still more than ten miles from Taoyuan County to the next post station, we will definitely not be able to catch up tonight, why don't we rest in Taoyuan County for one night and then set off tomorrow?"

Xiting looked up and saw that the city wall in front of him was covered with dust from the cyan stone bricks.

The dark brown plaque has been eroded by wind and rain for a long time, and it hangs crumblingly on the city gate, and the plaque is painted with gold and written "Taoyuan County".

Xiting stared at the plaque and ordered, "Go into the city, rest here for the night." ”

Before the carriage reached an inn, Xiting had just stepped out of the car when she saw a group of people rushing past her, almost knocking her down.

Momiji subconsciously grabbed her arm and turned sideways to block the rushing crowd.

Xiting's eyebrows twisted slightly, pushed away the red leaves slightly, and couldn't help but follow the group of ragged people and walk forward together.

A moment later.

I saw that the front of the street was full of displaced people, and the porridge shack that was supposed to be used for soup soup was crooked, and the ground was sprinkled with rice grain and porridge water.

Some of the porridge water trickled out of the two cauldrons that had been poured on the ground, seeping into the feet of several officers and soldiers and men in tattered clothes.

One of them, a man about 30 years old and dressed in tatters, raised his wooden stick and shouted at the officers and soldiers in front of him: "How can I drink this porridge? ”

The onlookers also coaxed: "Yes, this bowl of porridge is only a few grains of rice to eat, and it is all old rice and bad rice, how many old people and children are sick after eating it." ”

When the officers and soldiers saw that everyone was making a commotion, and the men standing in front of them were all raising wooden sticks and facing them as if they were about to rob and kill, they all subconsciously pulled out half of the sabers on their waists.

One of the officers and soldiers with thick eyebrows and square faces directly raised his saber to drive away those homeless people, although he looked fierce and vicious, but when he spoke, he could still hear some lack of confidence: "If you don't like the porridge and rice distributed by the government office, you can buy it yourself, why do you need to come here to make trouble?" ”

"You're right, before the flood, it was only three dollars a pound of rice, but now those rice merchants sell it for twenty taels and one pound, who can afford it?"

"Yes, after this flood, everyone's money, food, and houses have been washed away by the flood, how can they still get the money to buy rice?"

“......”

The onlookers nodded in agreement with what everyone said.

"The imperial court has already distributed relief grain, how can it be all bad rice? I think they must have hidden all these good relief grains in the granary of the government office, and then exchanged some old rice and bad rice for us! The man with the wooden stick stared at the officers and soldiers viciously and said angrily.

After the words fell, he raised his head and shouted to the crowd: "Everyone, since we are all going to starve to death, why don't we rush into the granary of the government and divide the rice inside!" ”

As he spoke, the man blocked the swords in the hands of the officers and soldiers with a wooden stick, and then rushed out of the crowd and rushed towards the palace.

When the others saw this, they also suddenly gained courage, picked up the bowl in their hands, and ran forward with the man.

There was chaos all around.

When the officers and soldiers saw the situation, they also panicked, and let the crowd pass past them and rush forward.

Xiting was rushed by the crowd and staggered a few steps forward, and Momiji was also frightened by the sudden chaos, and only knew how to hold Xiting to prevent her from being knocked to the ground by others.

Just when Xiting and Momiji were at a loss, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from the front, and the crowd paused instantly.

Xiting looked up suspiciously, only to see a group of officers and soldiers with swords and spears rushing in from the right front, and the homeless people who rushed in front of him stopped for a moment.

Seeing that the situation was suddenly reversed, several officers and soldiers who were already trapped in the crowd and outnumbered hurriedly ran to those officers and soldiers, and said to the officer and soldier with a scar on his face who was standing at the front: "Jiang catches the head. ”

The officers and soldiers who called Jiang Zhutou nodded and motioned for them to stand beside him.

Jiang Shun, the head catcher of the county government of Taoyuan County, stared viciously at the homeless people who were making trouble, and the scar on his face as long as an index finger looked hideous and terrifying, which frightened the homeless people to shrink back subconsciously.

"Come on, arrest all these troublemakers in prison, and don't let any of them leak!"

As soon as Jiang Shun's words fell, he saw the group of catchers behind him running forward like fish, picking up the men with wooden sticks in front of him with knives and walking back.

The rest of the homeless people saw that the men were dragged to the county government by the collar, they looked at each other, and just wanted to lift their feet, but when they saw Jiang Shun's fierce and vicious look, they paused, and finally no one dared to continue to step forward.

Seeing this, the little guy who had shrunk behind a pillar because the homeless people had seized the porridge shack saw this, and hurriedly ran to the crowd and shouted angrily: "Scattered, scattered, today's soup soup is over, come back another day!" ”

After speaking, he said to Jiang Shun again: "Jiang catches the head." ”

Jiang Shun saw that the crowd had been evacuated, and then stared at the two cauldrons that had fallen to the ground and ordered: "You order someone to rebuild these porridge sheds, don't delay the soup kitchen." If there is still a disturbance, report it to the government immediately. ”

The little guy hurriedly sneered and agreed: "Yes, yes, yes, let's do it for the little one." ”

Xiting crowded into the crowd and witnessed the ups and downs of the whole incident, as if it was over in a trance before he could figure out the cause of the incident.

At this time, an old woman in tattered clothes was leading a thin boy towards Xiting.

The boy was frightened by the chaotic scene just now, while holding the old woman, he quietly wiped his tears, his little hands were dirty, mixed with tears, his whole face seemed to be smeared with a layer of carbs, and the bowl in his hand was missing a big hole, and the bowl was empty.

"Old mama, what's going on here?" Xiting stopped the old woman and asked.

Seeing that someone was stopping her, the old woman raised her eyes and looked up and down at the Xiting Pavilion, with a hint of vigilance in her eyes, and subconsciously pulled the little boy to her side.

Xiting smiled slightly, turned around and took the mung bean cake that Momiji carried with him and handed it to the boy: "Little brother, eat this." ”

The boy's eyes instantly lit up, and he looked up at the old woman cautiously, and saw that the old woman nodded slightly, grabbed the mung bean cake and devoured it.

Xiting subconsciously touched the boy's head and smiled, "Little brother, eat slowly." ”

"Little lady, listen to the accent, you're not a local, are you?" The old woman asked.

Xiting turned his eyes to look at the old woman and nodded: "Yes, we are passing through here. ”

As she spoke, she glanced at the porridge shack that had already been empty at the moment, and only a mess remained, and wondered, "Old mama, what is going on?" ”