usatvline Chapter 49: I want to see what their expressions are like.
Chapter 49: I want to see what their expressions are like.
The five brothers took the silver and went to the grain shop to buy grain.
Before long, Xia Chengzong led his men to a grain shop.
He went straight into the inner hall and met Prince Zhongshun, who had already arrived.
Prince Zhongshun was invited by Xia Dong, whom he had sent.
This grain shop belonged to the Prince Zhongshun's residence.
As for whether this counts as cheating—
Xia Chengzong believed that his four good brothers would make the same choice as him.
Upon seeing Xia Chengzong, Prince Zhongshun laughed and said, "Brother Zong, this grain shop is owned by your fifth uncle. Why did you need to call me here?"
"A new batch of fine rice has arrived here. Just take as much as you need. Your imperial grandfather is testing you, so how could your fifth uncle not help you?"
Bigeng rice?
Fifth Uncle truly doesn't know the hardships of ordinary people. This green rice is the finest rice that only masters like Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu in the Rongguo Mansion can afford to eat.
Xia Chengzong smiled and said, "Fifth Uncle, since this is a test, we must act within the rules."
"I will do what my grandfather gives me, however much silver I have. If I rely on external forces, it will only backfire."
Upon hearing this, Prince Chungshun asked, puzzled, "If that's the case, why did you summon me here?"
Xia Chengzong smiled and said, "Firstly, I want to ask Uncle Wu for a favor, and secondly, I want to give Uncle Wu a business deal."
Prince Chungshun said, "Tell me about it."
Xia Chengzong said, "Now that we've suffered a snow disaster, grain prices are bound to rise, and I'm afraid they'll change every day."
"Therefore, my nephew is thinking of buying a thousand taels of silver worth of coarse rice at once, storing it in the shop, and then coming here to get it when needed. But I need my fifth uncle's approval first."
Prince Zhongshun frowned and said, "You're foolish. Your imperial grandfather is testing you. If you're not frugal enough, why are you giving rotten rice to the disaster victims?"
"Do you know that there are regulations for disaster relief? The porridge must be thick enough that chopsticks can stand upright in it. If this is discovered, you will lose your head."
"If your imperial grandfather found out, what would he think of you? How could he treat disaster victims like this?"
Xia Chengzong laughed and said, "Fifth Uncle, you don't know this, it's not that I don't want the disaster victims to eat well, it's just that I can't afford to feed them too well."
Prince Chungshun asked in astonishment, "Why is that?"
Xia Chengzong said, "Fifth Uncle, the disaster relief effort is right at the city gate. Do you know how many eyes are watching this place?"
"If good rice is used and it is cooked to a very thick consistency, it will surely attract many people from the capital to disguise themselves as refugees."
"How much more food will be consumed then? How many days will a thousand taels of silver be enough to feed the disaster victims?"
Prince Chungshun was very surprised, and he looked at Xia Chengzong with a strange expression.
Xia Chengzong asked, "Why are you looking at me like that, Fifth Uncle?"
Prince Zhongshun chuckled and said, "Could it be that you were born with innate knowledge? You're so young and have never even left home, where would you get so much knowledge from?"
Xia Chengzong laughed and said, "You'll learn these things by reading more books!"
Prince Zhongshun suddenly smiled knowingly and said, "Those people certainly don't know what you're talking about."
"They must be cooking such thick porridge that chopsticks stuck in it won't fall over, and who knows how much will be wasted."
"Furthermore, they will surely complain to your imperial grandfather that you are mistreating the disaster victims!"
"Hahahaha... I can't take it anymore, I can't stop laughing just thinking about this scene! It's so hilarious!"
Xia Chengzong asked, "It shouldn't be that bad, right? Even if they don't understand, their parents will."
Prince Zhongshun scoffed, "Even your fifth uncle doesn't understand, so how could they possibly understand?"
Xia Chengzong still didn't believe it: "But they still have advisors, wouldn't those advisors say something to remind them?"
Prince Zhongshun laughed and said, "You're overthinking it. How many of those advisors actually understand practical matters?"
"Besides, even if they did understand, do you think they would speak up and remind them? Once this is exposed, how will they continue to embezzle?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Chengzong finally realized what was happening.
He found himself trapped in the limitations of history.
In his later years, he watched countless dramas and naturally assumed that everyone understood this principle.
However, it is not.
Take the TV series "The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan" as an example. The corrupt official Heshen understood this principle, but the upright official Ji Xiaolan in the series did not.
Then the crown prince and other princes and other members of the royal family would be even less likely to understand this principle.
Their advisors were mostly people like Jia Jing and Jia She, who had no practical experience, so how could they understand this principle?
If I do that, it's almost certain they'll complain to my grandfather.
Thinking about this, Xia Chengzong also found it amusing.
Next, he took out nine hundred taels of silver to buy brown rice and stored it in the grain shop.
He had someone bring the coarse grains he needed for the day and headed straight for the shantytown he was in charge of in the east of the city.
This place was originally managed by someone, but now it has been assigned to them, and the original people have been removed from their posts.
When they arrived with the grain, they found that the disaster victims were already eagerly waiting.
Xia Chengzong counted them and found that the number far exceeded one thousand, by at least one or two hundred.
Xia Chengzong felt that the porridge that people used to cook probably wouldn't have been very thick.
If it were replaced with a thick porridge that could hold chopsticks upright, I'm afraid that within two days, countless more people would flock here.
At that time, I'm afraid even the real disaster victims will be so crowded that they won't be able to get enough to eat.
Thinking of this, Xia Chengzong instructed the eunuchs who were cooking to add more water and less rice, and also to add a few handfuls of sand to the pot.
He also wanted to provide good food for the disaster victims, but he would only do what he was able to.
He only had thirty people with him, which was enough to cook porridge and maintain order.
However, they lack the ability to distinguish between actual disaster victims and ordinary people posing as disaster victims.
Therefore, this was the only option left.
This porridge is certainly not tasty, but at least it can keep the disaster victims from starving.
After the porridge was cooked, he instructed the eunuchs to maintain order and let the disaster victims receive the porridge in sequence.
He noticed that at the front of the line, more than half of the people did not look pale; their complexions were mostly rosy, and 99% of them were ordinary citizens of the capital.
They took the bowl full of porridge, and when they saw that the porridge was so thin they could see their reflections in it, their faces immediately showed disgust.
They took a few bites with disdain, but suddenly bit into a piece of grit that made them cry out in pain, grimacing and covering their cheeks with their hands.
When no one was looking, they secretly poured out the porridge, put the bowl away, and left with disgust.
Even though the actual victims were disgusted, they still drank the porridge mouthful by mouthful.
They spat out the grit that had pierced their teeth and continued to sip their porridge.
All they ask for is a bite to eat, all they ask for is to survive—that's what true disaster victims are like!
Next, after the new quilts and charcoal arrived, he made new arrangements.
Instead of distributing it to the disaster victims immediately, he went to Prince Chungshun.
I asked him to help me replace a new quilt with two old quilts and to replace the charcoal with charcoal powder.
Prince Chungshun readily agreed.
Xia Chengzong then chatted with Prince Zhongshun about business matters.
Prince Zhongshun didn't take it to heart, treating it as just playing along, and he agreed to whatever Xia Chengzong said.