GBP Chapter 31: There's more to the disaster relief grain than meets the eye...
Chapter 31: There's more to the disaster relief grain than meets the eye...
impossible! ! !
The Ministry of Revenue clearly stated that the disaster relief grain was to be distributed according to need and was enough to help the disaster victims for half a year. How come it was not enough for only one day?
Pei Yunjing carefully avoided the objects on the ground, his face grim as he rushed out of the tent. His brows were furrowed, his eyes filled with doubt and anger, and he questioned in a low voice:
"what on earth is it?"
The soldier who brought the message looked flustered, his body trembling slightly, and his expression extremely troubled. He stammered, "..."
"Reporting to...Reporting to the Sixth Prince, when the grain was being distributed and porridge was being cooked just now..."
He paused suddenly at this point, as if he found it difficult to speak.
"What happened while the porridge was cooking? Tell me quickly!" Pei Yunjing urged anxiously.
The soldier lowered his head even further, an embarrassed look on his face. He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "When we were opening the rations to cook porridge just now, we found that only the top one or two bags contained rice, the rest... the rest..."
"What is it?" Pei Yunjing's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
The soldier took a deep breath and answered with a forced smile:
"It's all rice husks mixed with pebbles..."
rice husk!!
cobblestone?!
Pei Yunjing's eyes instantly turned icy cold, devoid of any warmth. His tone was equally flat, yet it exuded an invisible pressure.
"Rice husks? How could it be rice husks?"
After saying this, he turned and strode quickly toward the tents where the grain was stored...
With a "whoosh" sound, it rang out.
Without hesitation, Pei Yunjing drew the sword from the soldier's waist. His movements were swift and decisive, startling the soldiers behind him who, thinking he was about to kill someone, immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
"Sixth Prince, this is not our fault, we did not do anything wrong!"
Pei Yunjing coldly said, "All of you, get up!" With that, he plunged a knife into a nearby grain sack, then pulled the knife out of his hand...
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."
He pursed his lips, a storm brewing in his eyes. What flowed from the breach was not white rice, but golden rice husks and dark pebbles...
Oh!!
The Ministry of Revenue has some clever tricks up its sleeve. Who is behind this?
Pei Yunjing half-squatted down, grabbed a handful of rice husks with one hand, and said with a gloomy face, "Keep these rice husks safe. When we return to the capital, I, the prince, will definitely demand an explanation!"
Hmph, so they all think he's young and ignorant? They all wish for his death, don't they?
He did not comply with the wishes of those wicked people...
I will definitely return to the capital safely from the Central Plains, slap those people in the face, and make them pay the price!
However, after hearing his words, the soldiers all looked troubled, exchanged glances, and showed helpless expressions.
The situation is already so difficult that just surviving is a luxury, let alone returning to Beijing.
Has the Sixth Prince gone mad?
Are they too young to handle setbacks?
[This is insane! They're all going to starve to death now!]
They secretly gestured in unison while carefully observing Pei Yunjing's reaction.
Pei Yunjing slowly stood up, his sharp gaze sweeping across the soldiers' faces, taking in their subtle movements.
He coughed twice to get their attention, then slowly raised his hand and gestured:
[This...prince...is...not...crazy!]
!!!
To the soldiers' surprise, the sixth prince knew their unique secret code.
Pei Yunjing put the knife back into the scabbard of the soldier's sword and sighed.
"Keep these rice husks safe. If I say I can return to the capital, I will! You few, wait outside my tent in half an incense stick's time!"
He pointed to a few soldiers, then walked back to his own tent, wondering how General He had done with the preparations.
Pei Yunjing walked quickly back into the tent and looked up to see that the items that had been piled up were now neatly arranged by He Qiang.
Rice was arranged in one row, bottled water in three rows, flour in two rows, and some other things that I couldn't quite place...
Pei Yunjing glanced at it, and his lips twitched.
This is so neat!
"General He, you heard what was just said, didn't you?" he asked, looking up.
He Qiang finished stacking the last bag of rice, dusted off his hands, and said honestly, "Sixth Prince, I heard it. I don't need to guess, it must have been done by those bastards from the imperial court!"
He cursed inwardly.
Pshaw, I despise those civil officials who only know how to play dirty tricks behind people's backs!
Pei Yunjing did not deny it. He lowered his voice and said, "General He, you are the only person I trust most right now! You can check later whether the soldiers I've chosen are reliable..."
Alternatively, you could select a few reliable individuals to transport the grain from the camp for disaster relief, while simultaneously concealing from the court that the disaster relief grain was actually rice husks!
After he finished speaking, he looked earnestly at He Qiang.
He Qiang was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Sixth Prince, rest assured, I will definitely select a few reliable soldiers and will absolutely not let the court know about this!"
His gaze was unwavering, and this incident completely changed his previous opinion of Pei Yunjing!
Pei Yunjing nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, General He. We must be careful this time and not make any more mistakes!"
"Hey! Alright, it's the Sixth Prince. I was wrong before, I apologize to you, please don't take it to heart!" He Qiang apologized earnestly in his Nanhe accent.
Pei Yunjing waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's alright, alright, go find some people to move the grain!" With that, he sat back down in front of the bronze mirror, head bowed in deep thought…
"Alright! I'll go select people right away!" He Jingdian nodded and walked out of the tent.
…………
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Fast forward to the present day, and Nian Nian's room has undergone a major renovation. The original window has been enlarged and turned into a floor-to-ceiling window to facilitate the passage of the conveyor belt.
The phoenix bronze mirror was also moved back into the room. The Fu family has temporarily built a cold storage for the other items that were not placed inside the bronze mirror.
Niannian was so tired from working for so long that she fell asleep in bed. After Grandpa Fu covered her with a blanket, he slowly got up and left the room...
At this moment, Wen Wan slowly walked out from around the corner, looking at Old Master Fu's back with a complicated expression.
During this period, in order to coax Fu Tong to be obedient, she specially took Fu Tong to Disneyland for half a month. She did not expect to encounter such a big scene when she came back!
Wen Wan's face darkened, and a wave of jealousy and resentment rose in her heart.
She felt that the old man favored Niannian too much, while being much colder to his own daughter.
"Hmph, the old man really went to great lengths to make his granddaughter happy. He doesn't even care about his own granddaughter who's been out playing for so many days..." Wen Wan muttered under her breath, her tone tinged with bitterness.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but glare at the direction where Old Master Fu had left.
Strangely enough, all the servants in the Fu family were saying that the bronze mirror could eat things!
Her gentle gaze gradually fell on Niannian's room. She slowly approached and reached out to press the doorknob...