Chapter 162 - 162: Life-Saving Money
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The imperial court is so incapable.” Qiao Mai shook her head and walked towards the nearby refugees.
Seeing someone approaching, the refugees’ eyes all lit up. They were hoping someone would lend them a hand.
“Miss, do you have any food? Please, we’re starving.”
“Isn’t there porridge distributed every day?”
“There’s too little food for too many of us. There’s just one pot of porridge, and they leave after serving it.”
Qiao Mai looked at their emaciated figures and sighed. “Relying on the court’s aid alone won’t work. You have to find a way yourselves.”
“But we need money on hand, right? When we settle in a village, don’t we need to build a house, buy two acres of land, and ensure our family has enough to
“Why not find work in the city?”
“There’s not enough work. We’ve sold everything of value. We’ve been waiting here for two months, and the court still hasn’t arranged anything for us. We are struggling to survive.”
Qiao Mai sighed again and took two steamed buns from her backpack, handing them to one of the refugees.
“Eat. I am the granddaughter of Madam Pang, the owner of Bichun Garden in the capital. She sent me to help all of you. Don’t worry. Soon, you’ll be able to queue up and receive aid. Everyone will get their share.”
“Is it true?”
Qiao Mai nodded. “Yes, it’s true. The shopkeeper from the grain store will be here soon.”
“Thank you, young lady. Thank you, Madam Pang!”
The man ate the steamed bun while kneeling in gratitude. The commotion quickly caught the attention of other refugees, and when they learned that relief aid was coming, they all knelt before Qiao Mai, grateful and excited.
Qiao Mai raised her voice to maintain order, fearing that any unrest might give the wrong impression to the authorities.
“Those who want to live, send one person from each family to the city gates. No grabbing and no fighting! Everyone will have their share, understand? If anyone tries to take more, they won’t receive aid next time.”
She used her inner strength to project her voice clearly, and the refugees obeyed her instructions.
“As long as we all get our share, we’ll queue up and not fight!”
Qiao Mai looked back at the city gate. A wagon filled with grain was approaching her.
“Customer, our shopkeeper sent me with this. It’s twenty bags of cornmeal, fifty pounds each. Ten taels of silver, please.”
Qiao Mai handed a silver ingot to the shop assistant, “Go back and send a few more wagons.”
“Yes, customer!”
Qiao Mai stood in front of the wagon. “Come, line up, and take your share. After that, hurry home to cook.”
The refugees lined up, receiving fifty pounds of cornmeal and two ten-tael silver from her.
One wagon carried twenty bags, enough for twenty families, but there were thousands of refugees outside the city gates.
Wagons kept coming and going. When the refugees saw that every family would receive their share, they stopped causing trouble and patiently lined up to collect.
They thought they would only receive food, but to their surprise, each family was also given twenty taels of silver. This moved them to tears.
“Who is this Madam Pang?”
“She is the younger sister of the current Grand Perceptor Pang. She just returned and sold her jewelry to help all of you as soon as she heard of your suffering.”
“Dear Miss, please thank her on our behalf!”
“My grandmother can’t bear to see others suffer. She’s getting old and couldn’t come, so she sent me. Now that you have food and silver, please settle down as soon as possible. Don’t stay at the city gates all the time.”
“We’ll eat a full meal and then search in the nearby villages.”
For an entire day, Qiao Mai remained at the southern gate. Whenever a cart loaded with grain arrived, she would settle the accounts and watch as the refugees received their share of food. She also distributed relief funds to them.
Each cart carried a thousand catties of grain. With ten carts, that totaled ten thousand catties. She practically bought all the white flour and cornmeal from that grain shop.
Before nightfall, the people outside the southern gate, each receiving fifty catties of grain and ten taels of silver, were all taken care of.
They cooked on the spot, and the rising smoke from their fires brought a smile of satisfaction to Qiao Mai’s face.
The next day, she planned to visit the northern gate, where there were fewer refugees. Since the capital didn’t allow refugees to enter without silver, some refugees hoped to go north and depart from the northern gate.
They were all observing and waiting to see if the court would provide any arrangements.
Returning home, Qiao Mai drank from her teapot, feeling refreshed. Old Mistress Wang asked, “Were you outside the city all day?”
“Yes. The southern part has the most refugees, and the court hasn’t taken action. ”
“How much grain did you buy?”
“I don’t know. I settled the accounts for each cart as it came. We had cornmeal and white flour. I bought dozens of carts and gave each family twenty taels of silver. With this, I hope they can settle down soon. Winter will arrive in about a month.”
“Are you going there again tomorrow?” “I’ll go to the north gate. There are fewer refugees there.”
“Do you want me to accompany you?”
Old Master Wang also came to see her. “Young lady, you’ve done a great job. As soon as you have some money, you think about the commoners. You’re not like those who are wealthy but unkind.”
“I earned quite a bit yesterday, so I thought I should spend a little.”
“Haha!”
The kitchen brought in some food. Old Mistress Wang, full of concern, picked out some dishes for her.
“You must have spent a lot today.”
“Not too much, perhaps tens of thousands. Compared to what I earned, it’s a small sum.”
“Are you planning to spend all the money you earned yesterday?”
“Well, I wanted to give more, but I was afraid of attracting thieves if I gave too much. So, I gave each family twenty taels of silver along with the food. I’ve spent nearly sixty thousand taels.”
“The court doesn’t even want to provide this much. Those people would rather spend tens of thousands on useless hair ornaments than help these disaster victims. Sigh.”
“We should focus on doing what we can.”
“Yes.”
Qiao Mai rested for a night and went to the grain shop again. The previous shop was sold out, so she visited another one.
Due to her extensive purchases the day before, grain prices in the capital had risen. Cornmeal was now fifteen coins per catty, and white flour was forty coins per catty.
Qiao Mai clenched her teeth and went to check the northern gate. After estimating the number of refugees there, which was about a hundred families, she bought six carts of cornmeal from another grain shop and distributed it to the victims. As usual, each family got twenty taels of silver.
It was much less work than the previous day. However, many impoverished families lived in the northern part of the city, often referred to as the slums. When they heard that refugees were receiving help from a benefactor, they came to try their luck.
Seeing these desperate people, Qiao Mai decided to help them as well.
She purchased ten more carts of grain, and just like the refugees in the south, she provided each family with fifty catties of grain and twenty taels of silver.
This twenty taels of silver might be a small amount for the wealthy, just enough for a snack or meal, but it was a lifeline for the poor.
The story of Madam Pang from the Wang family providing relief to disaster victims soon spread throughout the capital.
Those who had spent a fortune on hair ornaments regretted it when they learned that Madam Pang had sold her jewelry to raise funds.
This comparison made them appear heartless.
One sold her jewelry to help disaster victims while they spent a fortune on hair ornaments for their vanity. Those who had bought the hair ornaments dared not show their faces, feeling ashamed.
Even the palace had heard about this matter. They wondered why it was always the Wang family involved. The Wang family operated workshops, collected sweet potatoes and sesame seeds, providing additional income for the commoners. It was a good thing. Now, they were helping disaster victims, highlighting the emperor’s inability to govern.
In truth, the emperor had his own difficulties. When the southern region faced disasters, he allocated grain funds, but it was far from sufficient.
The imperial treasury was empty, and they relied on the upcoming autumn harvest to collect grain taxes..
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