Chapter 406: Instigating The People To Cause Trouble
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
In the city’s medical center, Doctor Li looked at the patient who came to seek treatment and sighed in embarrassment.
“It’s not that I don’t want to treat everyone, but we’re running out of herbs. How can I treat them without medicine?
Because he knew medicine, he was able to be accepted by the small city and settled in the Medical Hall to treat the people in the city.
The days had been relatively peaceful, but as more and more disaster victims poured in, the small city began to be overwhelmed.
The animals in the mountains and forests outside the city had all run away. In the winter, everything was in a desolate state. Even wild vegetables that could fill one’s stomach were difficult to find. Relying only on the stored food in the city was not enough to support so many people’s food and clothing.
To make matters worse, there were a large number of injured and sick people among the victims, and they were also rapidly consuming the herbal reserves in the medical center.
When the first case of death due to a lack of medicine appeared, Doctor Li had no choice but to report it to the county government. At the same time, he proposed to temporarily seal the city gates.
However, the victims who had already entered the city could not be driven out. There were still people waiting outside the medical center every day, only asking for medicine to relieve their pain.
Doctor Li’s words didn’t have any effect. Instead, it caused even louder complaints and pleas.
“Doctor Li, you’re also a refugee from the outside Can’t you think of a way on account of the fact that we’ve been through this together?”
“Yes, how can there be no herbs in this clinic? You usually prepare a lot of them. Or do you not want to let us use them at all?”
There was a troublesome instigator among this group of people who came to seek medical treatment. Although his injuries were not very serious, he was always there to ask for medicine.
Doctor Li had even heard people say that this person had secretly sold the medicinal herbs he had obtained at a high price and made a fortune in secret.
Of course, he might not be earning money. The most important hard currency now was food.
“I’m just a doctor, not a God. Do you think I can conjure herbs out of thin air for you?
Doctor Li said, extremely dissatisfied.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have the idea of getting those herbs, but the county government of the small town kept a close eye on these life-saving supplies, so he really didn’t dare to commit a crime at this time.
As for the guy who incited the patients to make trouble and force the medicine, he might have already been targeted by the county government and could be in trouble at any time. He was now waiting to see what would happen to that guy.
“Doctor Li, the last time we came here, we saw that there were still a lot of medicines in the medicine box. Now that the city gate is closed, and there are no new patients coming in, it can’t be that they ran out of medicine in just two days, right?”
“If you can’t bring out the medicine today, we’ll report you to the county magistrate!”
The instigator was already very familiar with this kind of threatening technique. He was sure that Doctor Li didn’t want to cause trouble.
Doctor Li himself was covered in burns and was suspected of secretly keeping the herbs for his own use. He didn’t dare to let the county magistrate receive any reports about him.
“This… Even if there aren’t any new patients coming to seek medical treatment, you people still come every few days. No matter how many herbs we have, it won’t be enough!”
It wasn’t the first time Doctor Li had been threatened with this excuse. In the past) when the stock of herbs was still enough, he had no reason to refuse, but now that the stock was about to be used up, where was he going to find more herbs?
The situation in the medical hall was so chaotic, but the situation in the rice shop was even worse.
The front and back doors were guarded by bailiffs. From time to time, there were also people patrolling along the base of the wall to prevent anyone from climbing over the wall to steal the grain.
Now, the entire city had begun to implement food rationing. A porridge shed had been set up in front of the rice store, and a limited bowl of porridge and two coarse rice cornbread were provided every day.
Everyone in the city had this standard, even the county magistrate was no exception.
However, even if the supply was reduced to the minimum, it still could not last any longer. In another half a month, the surplus food in the city would be exhausted.
Originally, this news had been tightly sealed, but someone had accidentally leaked it out. Now, countless people had gathered at the entrance of the rice shop, clamoring to get to the bottom of it.
“This is pure nonsense. The rice store in the city has enough food to last for three years. How can it be out of food in such a short time?
“No matter who is spreading rumors to shake the people’s hearts at this time, they will be severely punished once they are caught!”
The one who stood out to refute the rumors was Advisor Hu of the county office, but the county minister had gone somewhere and did not show his face at all.
“Advisor Hu, at least let us see the grain in the rice store. If we don’t see it with our own eyes, we can’t be at ease!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, and it immediately caused a lot of people to echo.
Advisor Hu looked in the direction of the voice, but he only saw a crowd of people. He couldn’t tell who had just spoken.
“What? You don’t even believe the words of the officials?”
Advisor Hu narrowed his eyes and scanned the crowd, trying to find the instigator.
It was not easy to appease the people’s hearts. Sometimes, when people were persuaded after much effort, the instigators could make all their previous efforts go down the drain with a few words.
“Advisor Hu, it’s not that we don’t believe the official’s words. It’s just that if there’s sufficient food in the city, isn’t one meal a day too little?”
“It’s almost spring now, so we can start plowing the field. But if we can’t even eat enough, how can we have the strength to work?”
These words were reasonable, and Advisor Hu could not refute them for a moment.
However, since he was able to become a grand master, his brain’s reaction speed was also very fast.
“We’re trying to save as much food as possible now to ensure that everyone won’t go hungry when the spring plowing begins. Although there’s enough food in the rice shop, don’t forget that we have a lot of new people in the city.”
“There’s still a group of disaster victims waiting outside the city to enter. If they don’t disperse, are we not going to work? When the population increases, what will we do if we run out of food?”
When Adviosr Hu said this, the hearts of the commoners wavered again.
It made sense. It seemed that they were indeed a little impetuous to come and question him so aggressively.
“Advisor Hu, we just want to take a look at the food. It’s not like we’re asking to eat it right away. Do you think that a look will reduce the food?”
The instigating voice from earlier came again, and Advisor Hu immediately fixed his eyes on one spot.
However, everyone in the crowd had a confused expression on their faces, and
it was impossible to tell who had just spoken.
In the blink of an eye, that person had perfectly hidden himself among the crowd.
Advisor Hu had a bad feeling. This person instigating the people to cause trouble was definitely an old hand.
“Enough! You even dare to question the words of the government, are you trying to rebel? The government’s decision is for you to obey, not for you to doubt it out of nothing!’
“If anyone has nothing better to do and is already thinking of ways to cause trouble, then from now on, they will be deprived of the right to receive food.. For more serious cases, they will be directly sent to prison!”
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