During the Double Ninth Festival, the rich families in the city hold a Double Ninth Festival banquet every year, inviting all the elderly people in the city to drink chrysanthemum wine and eat Double Ninth Cake.
Knowing that there were refugees outside the city, the wealthy family was kind-hearted and specially ordered people to prepare porridge and steamed buns and send them out to the elderly refugees.
Therefore, this porridge and steamed buns are not given to all refugees.
Knowing this, many young refugees screamed unwillingly, wanting to make a fuss and grab it, but they did not dare to do anything when faced with the long and white weapons in the hands of the soldiers.
There were soldiers maintaining order, and soon a long queue formed in front of the carts.
As soon as Old Man Xu heard that only the elderly could receive it, he quickly asked the sons of each family to line up with their parents holding bowls.
Except for the Zhang family, all other families have elderly people.
In addition, regardless of whether you can get it or not, Old Man Xu not only asked Mr. Shi, Mr. Shi, and Zhou Dachuan, who were over forty, and their three wives, to line up, but also asked Xu Chunhe and other people who were almost forty to line up.
Come and stand in line. It’s not a hassle to stand in line anyway. What if someone considers them old and just accepts them?
It is said that the rich man in the city has a kind heart, and he only gives gifts to the elderly. How many of the refugees outside the city are the elderly?
Let's say he has no kindness. An old man can receive two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge. The porridge is still unclear, but he can really stand up to chopsticks.
Starting from Old Man Xu and ending with Old Man Zheng, all the elderly people from several families received food. When it was Boss Shi's turn, the servant saw that his hair was gray and his back was very hunched, so he also beat him without asking.
Porridge.
Mr. Shi, who is forty-four this year, shook his hands and received the steamed buns. Forty is an old man, so he should be old. If he can get food, he is willing to be old.
He was not full and wasted, he was rough, and he looked so slovenly that it was hard to tell how old he was. Therefore, according to the arrangement arranged by Mr. Xu, Mr. Shi and others received porridge and steamed buns, and the rest were less than four years old.
The tenth ones, those who looked older with the vicissitudes of life, also led several of them.
This is really something to be happy about. Everyone praised Old Man Xu for his good arrangement. He hurried back with the bowl and steamed buns in his hands. Passing by the group of refugees, the refugees who couldn't receive them all stared at them eagerly, and some young people even had their eyes opened.
It popped out and was eager to grab it.
But Old Man Xu was escorted away by strong laborers from several families. Even that huge group of people prevented the refugees from rashly trying to rob it.
There are many people who dare not bully. There are lonely old people or those who seem easy to bully. Before they can eat the food they receive, they are robbed by others.
The soldiers didn't care about this kind of thing, and as soon as the porridge and steamed buns were distributed, the people retreated back to the city, and the city gate was closed again.
For a while, there were cries outside the city gate.
And human beings' joys and sorrows are never the same. Although Old Man Xu also felt pity for those who were robbed and finally received the food, he was just sighing. Asking him to meddle in other people's business or show kindness? That won't work.
There are people in their 70s and 80s, and they can’t even arrange it themselves.
Old man Xu, old lady Xu, old man Zhou, old man Deng, old lady Shi, old man Zheng and old lady Zheng, these seven serious old men and ladies all received it.
In addition to them, a total of thirteen people including Mr. Shi and Uncle Zhang also received it.
That adds up to twenty bowls of porridge and forty steamed buns.
Because Old Man Xu made good arrangements, everyone gave him the porridge and steamed buns they received.
This person has eaten one meal but not another. It is not easy to get so much. After one meal, he will be hungry again tomorrow.
Therefore, Old Man Xu ordered the twenty bowls of porridge and twenty steamed buns to be divided among them, leaving the twenty steamed buns to be divided tomorrow.
With seventy or eighty mouths open, one person can barely get a mouthful of porridge and a small mouthful of steamed buns.
"If there is water, one bowl of such dry porridge can make a pot of gruel. These twenty bowls will make twenty pots. We can all have a good meal." Old man Xu looked at such thick porridge.
Porridge, unfortunately.
Old man Zhou looked at Xu Dajun eagerly, "It would be great if Liulang could hear where there is water again."
Xu Dajun:……
"Then let me listen and see."
"Hey! Okay, Liulang, please listen." Old Man Zheng also said, while quickly calling Old Man Xu: "Brother Xu, let's not rush to share the food first, wait for Liulang to talk."
Xu Dajun winked at Xu Yinyin, got up and walked over there.
Xu Yinyin followed Xu Dajun step by step. The siblings walked a little further, well, mainly because they were farther away from Guanshan. Xu Dajun turned to Xu Yinyin and said: "There is no water source nearby outside the city. I am starving to death. Let's
How can we find a way to get the water out of space?"
That's white porridge. Does he want to drink even one more sip?
"How to get it out? Think about it." Xu Yinyin licked her lips.
Dig a hole and say there is water? Pour all those bamboo tubes together and see if there is half a bucket of water. If you pour it into the hole, it is not enough to wet the mud.
Come on.
Xu Dajun turned around and went back, shaking his head at Old Man Xu, "I only heard that there is water in the city."
Old Man Xu sighed, "Okay, don't expect too much, let's just divide it like this."
Twenty bowls of porridge, six families, about three bowls per family based on the number of people, the Zhou family and the Shi family had the most, and the other families got half a bowl more.
The same goes for steamed buns.
After one point, Mrs. Xu got three bowls of porridge and three and a half steamed buns, and then another point.
Each person in the family had two mouthfuls of porridge and a small piece of steamed bun.
In the end, every bowl was licked clean and there was no need to wash it at all, just as if it had been washed.
It's just this little food, and after struggling for a long time, I'm exhausted.
Everyone licked their mouths, hugged themselves tightly, one by one, curled up into a ball, and went to sleep.
…
On the second day, all the refugees under the city gate who could move began to move one after another.
Old man Xu asked the old man yesterday to inquire about the situation.
The old man said: "These city gates are not open, and we are not allowed to enter at all. I heard that the prefect of Qingyang Prefecture is a good official, and maybe he can let us enter the city and give us a way to survive, so we plan to go to Qingyang Prefecture."
Try your luck."
After the old man finished speaking, he left. After a while, the refugees under the city gate were almost gone.
Old man Zhou looked at old man Xu and said, "Where are we going?"
Qingyang Mansion goes to the left, Yiyang Mansion goes to the right, they are not the same direction.
Old Man Xu looked at the refugees' backs as they left, thought for a while, and decided to continue walking to Yiyang Mansion. Anyway, he would go to Yiyang Mansion to see the situation first.
"What do you think?"
Old man Zhou said hurriedly: "We came out together, no matter what happens, we have to go together."
The other families also nodded in agreement, saying that they would go together wherever they go.
Only then did Old Man Xu look at Guan Shan, "Xiao Guan, do you have somewhere to go? What are your plans?"
Guan Shan didn't walk with them from the beginning. Because he led the way along the trail, they got to know each other and walked such a long way together.
The situation in Qingzhou is like this now, and the future is unclear. If Guan Shan still wants to continue to go with them, Mr. Xu welcomes it.
Obviously Guan Shan had his own way to go, he said: "I'm going to Qingyang Mansion. I have a distant relative there, and I plan to go and join him."
"Then let's go our separate ways now. You should be careful when traveling alone. See you again when you have the opportunity in the future." Old man Xu waved his hand and was very optimistic about this little young man who had come all the way.
The two parties now parted ways, and Guan Shan caught up with the refugee in front.
Several families also turned onto the road on the right, heading to Yiyang Mansion.