The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 66 The grain store has no grain to sell.
Gan Minglan's outrageous words and actions not only shocked the people of Shitou Village.

The officials and constables treated the family with more politeness and caution.

The torrential rain left Ruzhou three days later.

The officials looked at the scorching sun outside the cave and sighed.

"All the usable firewood and wooden planks on this mountain have been burned! If this rain doesn't stop, we'll have no choice but to eat grass roots and gnaw on tree bark."

"Hey, we can't just eat grass roots and tree bark freely either. The boss said we can't let those five horses go hungry! Isn't that strange? These days, let alone any large game, the villagers of Stone Village haven't even caught a single wild rabbit."

"You've made my mouth water again. That free wild boar meat we got was absolutely delicious!"

"We don't know what the price of grain is outside the mountains, and whether we can buy enough food after we go down the mountain."

"How much grain can we, a few hundred people, buy? Price increases are inevitable, but it's not like we won't be able to buy any."

"hope so"

After two days of scorching sun, the floodwaters finally receded completely.

It took Zuo Wenkang and all the male prisoners, along with all the able-bodied men of Shitou Village, a whole day to clear the path down the mountain.

The torrential rain that lasted for several days made the soil on the mountain road extremely soft, and a layer of moss grew on many rocks.

Walking was difficult enough, so the officials could only remove the chains from the exiled prisoners' hands and feet.

After the wooden cangue was burned, Zuo Wenkang and others felt for the first time how easy it was to walk with a lighter load.

We walked around this mountain range for sixty miles without seeing a single living person.

Almost all the fertile fields were covered by silt.

In the village, most of the houses were destroyed, leaving only the foundations.

Poultry rotting everywhere.

People with a keen sense of smell wish they could plug their noses all day long.

Hungry, they found a drying ground paved with large bluestone slabs and spent the night there.

The main force has run out of food.

Zuo Wenkang and Luo Shi relied entirely on the energy drinks that Gan Minglan cheated on, which allowed them to drink their fill of water.

Fatty licked the remaining meat floss from the corner of his mouth, crossed his arms, and hugged his chubby self with heartache: "Waaah, Mom said the meat floss is all gone, and I'm going to have to suffer again."

The next day, at 4:00 AM.

The people were then awakened by the officials.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the nearest supply point – Lushan County.

At the city gate, which should have been deserted, thousands of people covered in mud were shouting around it.

"Gatekeeper, you've been closed for four days. You must open the gate today, right?"

"We just want to go into town to buy some rice. Once we get the rice, we won't stay in town for more than fifteen minutes, is that alright?"

"Gatekeeper, when will the magistrate distribute the disaster relief grain to us? My eighty-year-old mother and seven-year-old son are starving to death!"

"Open the door! Open the door! We need to buy food! We need to eat!!"

"Gatekeeper, Heaven is watching what people do! You're not giving us a way out. I'll count to ten, and if you still don't open the door, don't blame us for breaking it down."

"Open the door, open the door!"

"Break down the door! Break down the door!"

The shouts of thousands of people were deafening.

The city gates remained tightly closed.

Soon after.

More than a hundred people carried a beam that had been salvaged from the river toward the city gate.

The leader surnamed Huang was terrified: "What are they trying to do? Are they planning a rebellion?"

The subordinate who had squeezed to the front of the crowd and obtained the latest intelligence quickly returned to report:
"Boss, I heard that the magistrate of Lushan County fled with his family on the day the dike breached. Before yesterday, the registrar was in charge!"
This registrar is a coward. Fearing that the people would cause trouble at the county government office after the disaster, he ordered the city gates to be closed! I heard that a few days ago, the water that flooded into the city was waist-deep in some people.

"That group of people plans to break down the city gates and rush in to buy rice!" The leader surnamed Huang hurriedly instructed, "Take some silver and ten men with them. If there are any restrictions on the amount they can buy, send someone back immediately to let them know."

They have more than 300 mouths to feed every day. What can they do if they can't buy enough food?
"dong dong dong"

"dong dong dong"

The sound of banging on a door came from not far away.

With the combined efforts of more than 100 people, the two century-old wooden city gates of Lushan County creaked open.

When the people banging on the door got tired, another batch came in.

Seeing this, the guards knew they could no longer stop them and quietly withdrew.

A quarter of an hour later.

A loud crash.

The century-old wooden door was finally smashed open, and even the stone lions at the top of the door were knocked to the ground by the beams and pillars.

"Hulala"

The refugees, each carrying a burlap sack, rushed into the largest grain stores and general stores in the county town.

The first grain store was closed.

Dozens of people stepped forward and banged on the door, which was easily broken open.

Unfortunately, it was completely empty inside!
The second grain store was still closed.

The kind shop owner posted a notice.

Inform those who came to buy that the store's food was sold out.

They didn't even lock the door, letting everyone come in and tour his warehouse.

The third store is sold out!

The fourth shop had no grain to sell.
The refugees had traveled to almost the entire county.

To their astonishment, they discovered that not only were more than ten grain stores out of stock, but dozens of grocery stores had also closed down.

None of the dim sum shops or butcher shops were operating normally.

Those with plenty of money should hurry to a grand restaurant or tavern.

The restaurant owner said that even their skilled chefs couldn't cook without ingredients.

In the seven days since the city gates were closed, the people inside the city have bought out all the rice, grains, vegetables, and meat in their restaurants.
The refugees were dumbfounded.

With half a lifetime's savings, they couldn't even buy enough food to save their lives in the entire county!
What was the point of them taking such a huge risk to forcibly break open the city gate?
The impatient one sat on the ground, slapped his thigh, and cursed God, even insulting the local official's parents several times.

The whole family was waiting to buy rice to cook, and they cried so hard they were heartbroken and pitiful.

Some people came to the city full of hope, but now they are squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands, at a loss.

Sudden.

It's unclear who shouted it:
"Why are you crying? What's the worry? Our county government still has a granary! We'll go open it right now and distribute free grain!"

The Ever-Normal Granaries in the counties of Bei State were granaries set up by the imperial court to regulate grain prices, store grain for famine relief, and supply food for officials and the people.

Several were built in each county.

Locals can easily find the location of the warehouse.

If we go hungry for a few more days, the whole family will starve to death!

The refugees had no regard for the laws of the imperial court.
All I wanted to do was follow the leader and steal ten pounds of grain.

They broke the law and deserved to be beheaded.

Before they died, their greatest wish was to provide their family with a full meal.

The calls to open the granaries and release grain grew louder and louder.

The leader led a large group of people, heading towards Changping Warehouse in a grand procession.
(End of this chapter)