Chapter 329: Disaster victims fleeing, street girl
Ning Fan was walking on the street with two beautiful maids, Eleven and Twelve, who he brought out from Yihong Courtyard.
"Master, where are we going today?"
"Old place, take you back to the door."
"Come back?"
"Yihongyuan!"
Ning Fan walked towards Yihongyuan with ease. Halfway there, his brows gradually furrowed.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Ning Fan did not answer, but walked straight towards a stall, his expression a little more solemn.
"where u from?"
"Why don't you speak?"
"Don't be afraid, I can give you something to eat."
Ning Fan looked at the gray-faced little girl in front of him with a somewhat distressed look on his face, and gently put his hand on his head.
"Where did it come from?"
"Huangzhou."
"Where is your family?"
"All dead."
"Um?"
Ning Fan gently rubbed her head, trying to wipe off the dirt on her face, but after wiping it for a few times, he found that he couldn't wipe it off at all.
This little girl had big, smart eyes and thick lips. She swallowed her saliva at the stall next to her several times, but she never came forward.
"How long have you not eaten?"
"Three days."
"Girl, go buy some meat buns."
Eleven nodded, Twelve took out a handkerchief from his waist, stepped forward and gently wiped the dust from the girl's face.
"How old?"
"Thirteen!"
"Why are you here?"
"Did something happen at home?"
Ning Fan tried his best to keep his voice gentle. He had seen many suffering people along the way, but he had never seen such misery as this little girl.
His feet were bare, his face was dusty, and his clothes were in tatters, with traces of sewing and mending.
The girl heard Ning Fan's question, but she didn't speak. She just looked at him timidly. It wasn't until Eleven got the meat buns that her eyes lit up and she kept swallowing her saliva.
"Eat."
"I bought it just for you."
"Thank you, sir!"
The little girl wolfed down the three buns she bought on Eleven, and then looked at Ning Fan with a hopeful look on her face, as if she wasn't full.
"Have you been hungry for a long time?"
"Don't eat too much at one time. Overeating will hurt your stomach."
"I'll take you back to eat later, okay?"
"Um!"
The girl didn't seem to be too defensive about Ning Fan. It seemed that being able to fill her stomach was a big deal.
"Are there many people like you?"
"have no idea."
Ning Fan did not continue speaking, but looked at the maid aside and said softly: "Girl, take her back to the house, wash her well, take care of her, and put on some clean clothes."
"Yes, sir."
After Ning Fan finished speaking, he looked around and walked towards the city gate.
"Sir, would you like a bowl of Yangchun noodles?"
"Um!"
Ning Fan nodded, took his seat, looked in the direction of the city gate, and said softly: "Boss, there seem to be more refugees in the city in the past two days. Do you know what's going on?"
"Oh, isn't this normal?"
"The severe snowstorm in the southern border two years ago affected our territory in Huainan, and the people lost everything."
"Nowadays, bandits are everywhere, strongmen appear, thieves are rampant, and the world is in chaos!"
Ning Fan frowned when he heard this: "Don't you have any food left in the people's homes?"
"Surplus food?"
The store clerk said in astonishment: "There is no surplus food. If you can fill your stomach, you are considered a wealthy family."
"In the past two years, King Huai has increased taxes year after year, and I don't know how many people have become tenants."
"Not to mention losing the fields, I still can't fill my stomach. All year round, I am more tired than an ox every day, and I still can't get any harvest."
"Some time ago, King Huai conspired to rebel and led out all the border troops in the south."
"The border is even more chaotic."
"There are bandits coming from across the border from Dali, and there are cavalry from the Southern Barbarians scurrying here..."
"In the past few days, there have been more than thousands of victims entering the city every day..."
Ning Fan's face showed a hint of concentration, and he continued to ask: "Does the Sheriff's Office not care about it?"
"Tube?"
"Can you handle it?"
"There are countless victims in the entire Huainan area, and it is not a matter of one county. How can we take care of it?"
"Yesterday, many disaster victims entered the city. An official came and asked the defenders to drive them out."
"As long as you don't come to my place, you'll have to fend for yourself."
"Ah!"
Ning Fan's expression turned cold for a moment. Without saying a word, he dropped a piece of broken silver and strode away.
"Hey, guest, your lovely noodles."
"Don't eat it!"
…
Back at Cai Mansion, Ning Fan sat in the small courtyard while Eleven and Twelve washed the little girl's body and put on new clothes.
Cai Yan was sitting in the pavilion, looking at Ning Fan who had a serious look on his face, and got up and walked towards him.
"Did you encounter any troubles?"
"I just went out for a walk. There have been many disaster victims in Lingzhou City in the past two days."
"Disaster victims?"
Cai Yan looked startled for a moment, then said sadly: "The world is like this. Huainan has been plagued by disasters since ancient times, especially during the rainy season. Disaster victims flee almost every year, but the rainy season has not yet arrived."
"Why are there disaster victims?"
"Due to years of land annexation, the common people's land has fallen into the hands of landlords."
"From farming and planting by myself, I have become a laborer for others, and I have to hand over the harvest."
"In addition, the world is in chaos."
Ning Fan's brows were almost twisted into a "川" character. If it were a few disaster victims, they would only need to be resettled, but according to the stall owner, there are now countless disaster victims in the entire Huainan!
And there are multiple contradictions, not only natural disasters, but also man-made disasters.
The fall of the Huaiwang Mansion has broken the balance of Huainan for many years. The destruction of the political ecology has led to regional chaos, and even the government has lost its control.
"I will ask Qin Bo to set up a few more porridge stalls outside the city."
"It's just a temporary solution."
Ning Fan shook his head slightly. He could ask Shen Wansan to set up a hundred porridge stalls, or even a thousand porridge stalls, or even more than ten thousand porridge stalls.
Maybe it can be donated for one day, two days, ten days or half a month?
"These are not something you and I can solve. Just do your best."
"Young Master, you have great ambitions and a great heart. That's enough."
"If you want to do something, I'll help you."
Cai Yan stood beside Ning Fan and spoke softly.
Ning Fan was also touched. After a moment's silence, he said, "Speed up the sale of salt."
"In addition, buy me some shops in the name of the Cai family. The more the better."
"I'm going to meet some friends."
"Yes!"
Cai Yan didn't ask why. Instead, she nodded slightly and went down to make arrangements.
"Miss."
"He plays in the snowy places every day and even brings the girls from Yihong Courtyard back to the mansion. Why do you tolerate him?"
"He is happy, Xiao Cui. You can't just look at the surface when judging people."
"Young Master Zhao is a man with great ambitions. He has his reasons for doing this."
"Oh!"
The little maid nodded depressedly and stopped talking silently.
...