Chapter 116 - Control locusts

After Guan Shi prepared all the rice and grains he needed, Fu Tian began to cook porridge in the east of the city as he said.

Although the victims were hungry for food, they were still wary of outsiders they had never seen before, looking at Fu Tian and his party with eagerness and fear.

Fu Tian had anticipated this situation a long time ago, so he didn't have the trouble of finding those fake monks for the time being. Instead, together with Wei Marting, he used the fake monks' previous reputation to draw closer relations with the victims.

"Our brothers were deeply moved when they heard that Master Purdue was helping the victims in Changliu County, and we followed the example of Master Purdue to cook porridge, hoping to tide over the difficulties with you all."

Wei Yang had a baby face and smiled without a sense of threat. When the victims heard that they had moved out of the Purdue Master, they believed most of them. They saw the bunting workman in front holding a large spoon stirring in a thick wooden barrel and smelling it. With the smell of rice, the victims swallowed unconsciously, and gathered around the barrel.

Fu Tian stood on the low stool and asked them to line up loudly. After shouting several times for everyone, the eager victims held back their desires, lined up in order, and looked at the porridge in the wooden barrel with eyesight.

There were a lot of victims in the east of the city, and the news spread, other people who were not in the east of the city also took porcelain bowls to line up to receive the porridge. The wooden barrels containing the thick porridge were changed from barrel to barrel until the sky was getting dark. Finally finished.

There were too many victims, and then there was a shortage of manpower. Fu Tian and Wei Marting also rolled up their sleeves to help. They were finally relieved after they were busy.

The old man in ragged clothes squatted on the wall with a bowl in his hand and drank the porridge cherished by the bowl. After a couple of sips, he couldn't bear to drink any more. He brought the gaping porridge bowl to the mouth of his wife next to him and asked her to drink more.

"Old man, we will come tomorrow."

Seeing this scene, Fu Tian felt a little bit sour in his heart, and took out some porridge left in the wooden barrel and handed it to him.

The old man raised his wrinkled face, his eyes were already very muddy. He took the porcelain bowl with a trembling hand and thanked him vigorously. Tears flowed from the muddy eyes and snaked through the gully on the loose skin, "Thank you son , The Buddha will bless you, good people get rewards, good people get rewards..."

Fu Tian avoided the old man's gifts and smiled and said: "You eat slowly, don't save, this porridge will be bad for eating tomorrow, we will definitely come back tomorrow."

The old man nodded in tears and drank the porridge from the bowl.

Fu Tian turned his head, and suddenly turned his head to look at Pudu Temple behind. Master Pudu stood at the gate of the temple, looking towards them. Fu Tian squinted his eyes, folded his hands and gave him a cold smile. .

The two are a little far apart, and Master Purdue probably didn't see his expression clearly, and gave a fake gift.

The next day, Fu Tian still brought people to the east of the city to cook porridge. After a day's time, not only the victims in the east of the city knew, people in the entire Changliu County knew that someone was doing porridge in the east of the city. The people took their home early. There are long lines of porcelain bowls.

The porridge is given for a whole day. In order to ensure that everyone can get it, even if some people come back after eating, he doesn't care about it. He doesn't pack up his things until the day is thinning.

So one day, two days, three days...Fu Tian brought people to give porridge every day. After a few days, everyone knew that a great good man came from Changliu County. Worried about being starved to death.

The people's daily hope is to wait for Fu Tian to come over to give the porridge. After a few days, they even stopped listening to Pudu Temple's lectures. After all, a full bowl of thick congee and rice is much more affordable than a vague lecture.

Those who went to Pudu Temple to listen to the scriptures were less visible to the naked eye.

Ten days later, the reputation of Fu Jia Mipu quickly overwhelmed Pudu Temple. Fu Tian and Wei Yang were even called living bodhisattvas by the people. Hope arose in the people's numb eyes, and Changliu County was finally like a dead water. There is a hint of life.

However, on the eleventh day, the group of people who came to the east of the city to serve porridge on time every day had not been seen. The people who had lined up with porcelain bowls were panicked and wondered if they would not come to serve porridge today.

The long queue was noisy. Master Purdue who had been robbed of the limelight for a few days took the opportunity to pretend to appease the people. After being completely ignored for a few days, he could not hold back the benevolent faces, thinking that Fu Tian and the others were here to grab "business" with him. Yes, so taking advantage of the opportunity to appease, he said a lot of bad things about Fu Tian and the others.

The people who were already anxious were even more emotional, and some people even started to complain and abuse them.

It's said that Dou Mi is enthroned with rice, and Fu Tian has given porridge for free for a while. Many people remember his kindness, but they have also raised a small group of people. These people have begun to resent because they have lost a fixed source of food. .

After the excitement, it was disappointment. Some people suggested that it was better to go to Fujia Mipu and ask if they would come to serve the porridge today. Some hesitated to stop it. The two sons were willing to come to serve the porridge because of their kindness, but now there is more rice. Expensive, even if you have money, you can't stand the daily porridge.

And Fu Tian, ​​who they were talking about, actually had a good day.

Earlier, he and Wei Yang made porridge to win the goodwill and trust of the people, while the official Qin was in charge of meeting with the county guard at the county guard's house to discuss the details of disaster relief. Now they have a certain reputation among the victims, and they will start to implement it. The second step is planned.

Amidst the chaos, Fu Tian brought two guards out and bowed his hands apologetically, "I'm sorry, everyone is late today."

The noisy people suddenly calmed down, their eyes fell behind him empty, and some eager people couldn't help asking: "Master Fu is not serving porridge today?"

Fu Tian shook his head, "From now on, I will change to Shimi, but I have to change it."

There was a sound of discussion in the crowd, and someone asked, "What can be done."

Fu Tian gestured to the guard to stick the pre-drawn charter on the wall. Because someone was illiterate, he asked the guard to read it out loud twice.

"Locusts are flooding in the city. We are discussing with the county guard and hope that everyone can catch the locusts together..."

"People are about to starve to death. How can I still have the strength to catch locusts? I just said there are no good people. It turns out that they are collaborating with those dog officials to deceive us!" Fu Tian didn't finish his words, and someone shouted loudly below. Tao.

The crowd under the black pressure exploded again, Fu Tian's expression remained unchanged, and he raised his hand and pressed it down, signalling everyone to be quiet.

"It's not about letting everyone do their work in vain. Ten locusts can be exchanged for a penny, and a hundred locusts can be exchanged for a bunch of rice."

Fu Tian's voice was not too loud, but when he finished speaking, the surrounding area suddenly became quiet, and then there was a louder and noisier discussion. Obviously everyone was stunned by the news, ten locusts for a penny. , Those one hundred locusts are ten cents, and now, only one hundred locusts are needed for a hu of rice, that is ten cents!

You know, since the beginning of the drought, the price of food has risen to more than two taels of silver, and ordinary people can't afford it at all. However, the black-hearted grain merchants have agreed, and the prices are ridiculously higher than the other, so It has caused so many people to go bankrupt for a little ration.

But now he says, a hun of rice only costs ten cents! This is the price before the drought!

It took a long time for someone to ask in a trembling voice, "This, this is true? You didn't lie to us?"

Fu Tian Surong, "Of course, this is the result of our discussion with the county guard. If you catch the locusts, you can take it to the county guard house to exchange money or rice. The money and rice will come from Fu's rice shop."

"Thank you son! The son is really a living Bodhisattva!"

The excited people knelt down one after another, and kowtowed to Fu Tian. Fu Tian spoke out to stop them, and persuaded them: "The court is still working hard to rescue the disaster. Don't give up lightly. Let's help each other in the same boat. The natural disaster will soon pass. "

The people knelt on the ground with tears in their eyes. When they cried, they formed teams in twos and threes to catch locusts in the city.

The locusts are everywhere, and the victims do not care about life or death, all of them are caught and stuffed into pockets made of clothes, or in sacks found from home...

Pudu Temple and Master Pudu were completely left behind, and all the victims joined the army of locust hunting.

Some people didn't believe that there was such a good thing. They first took dozens of locusts they caught and went to the official mansion to change. The gate of the county guard mansion was open, and there was a table at the door. The officials in official uniforms sat behind the table and saw someone coming. Take the pocket count.

"A total of sixty, a total of six cents." After the official took a pen to record the name, quantity, and the amount of silver, he took out six cents from the money bag in the belly of the table to the man who exchanged it.

The man was holding Liu Wenqian, a little excited and a little unbelievable, and tremblingly asked, "I don't want money, can I change it to rice?"

The official pointed to the other side, "Go to the other side if you change the rice." Then he shouted to the other side, "I've counted, sixty."

The man carried the cloth sack and looked at the opposite side expectantly. Behind the official here was an opened rice bag with a scaled bamboo tube in the rice bag. After he recorded it again, he asked the man to take a rice bag. Come, scoop most of the Dendrobium rice in a bamboo tube.

Holding the white-flowered rice grains, the man looked happy and excited. He hurriedly took the rice home and hid him. He went to the city to continue catching locusts, but he was dumbfounded when he left. The streets and alleys were crowded with people. , That is to say, there were not a few locusts that were originally everywhere in the sky.