The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 67 Robbery from the Rich and Giving to the Poor
Outside the largest granary in Lushan County.

The hordes of refugees were eager to get started.

To their surprise, Changpingcang showed no signs of flooding because it was built on high ground.

Moreover, the officials who usually guarded the granary gates were nowhere to be seen.

Did they run away after hearing that they were coming?
The ringleader was still unaware that something was wrong.

He originally intended to set some rules for everyone.

Everyone should be warned that there should be limits to the rush to buy things.

It would be best to leave a little soup for the others who arrive later.

The starving refugees, already dizzy with hunger, paid no heed to any further words and charged toward the warehouse gates, howling as they went.

The gate of Changping Granary was not one of the two ancient wooden gates at the city gate; a dozen or so people pushed it open easily with a little effort.

very good!

Everything went very smoothly.

The granary was right behind the door, visible at a glance.

The leader got excited too: "Charge! Quickly open all these grain depots, and get your burlap sacks ready!"

"Here it comes, here it comes!"

"Huh? Where's the grain?"

"Oh no, the warehouse is empty!"

"What did you say? The neighbor's place is empty too, not a single grain of wheat in sight!"

The ringleader wiped the cold sweat from his brow, trying to calm the situation:
"Don't worry, don't worry, there are four granaries in Lushan County. I'll lead you to granary number two right away."

"Okay, okay, okay! Big brother, take us there quickly!"

"Brother, there's no food left in Warehouse Number Two!"

"My God, the No. 3 warehouse is flooded! Luckily it was empty, otherwise the grain would have been ruined!"

"Warehouse number four is full of mud and sand. We just searched it, but there's no grain hidden in the sand."

"Heavens above! Who on earth dared to touch our Lushan County's Ever-Normal Granary?"

"Who could it be? It must be that damned corrupt official, he's really not leaving us any way out!"

"."

The entrance to Lushan County.

Two hours of waiting on an empty stomach was really hard to endure.

Amidst everyone's eager anticipation, the two officials who had been sent to buy grain returned first to report the news.

The first piece of bad news was delivered to everyone: there was no food available to buy in the entire county.

Half an hour later.

The dozen or so villagers from Shitouzhai who had followed their leader to Changpingcang to distribute grain returned in a huff.

Seeing that they were empty-handed and their faces showed great indignation, I knew things were not going well.

Old Zhong went up and talked with them for a while, then came over with his head down to summarize the news with the two leaders.

"All four granaries were opened, but there was nothing inside! They just went to the county government office, only to find out that the clerk and the yamen runners had all run away."

To make matters worse, it's like when it rains, it pours!

The two leaders, who had originally planned to seek help from the county government, stopped in their tracks.

The two discussed it.

Should we head straight to our next destination, Xingwu County, or try to find a way in Lushan County?

Old Zhong quickly rejected their first plan:
“Lushan County is lower in elevation than Xingwu County, and has several times more fertile land! If we can’t get grain in Lushan County, it will be even more difficult to get it in Xingwu County.”

There's nobody in the county government office, so where are they supposed to find a way in?

The officials hadn't figured out where to go yet, but the leader had already come up with a plan.

Standing at the entrance of the county government office, he addressed the equally resentful people and shouted, "The officials of Lushan County have abandoned the city and embezzled the grain from our Changping Granary. We are all obedient citizens who pay our taxes in full every year!"
"So, are you all just going to give up and go back to starve to death, or are you coming with me to earn a few decent meals for your families?"

"I don't want to starve to death, I haven't lived enough yet."

"We all need to eat our fill!"

"Big brother, whatever you say, we'll do!"

"Alright, listen to me! I'll take you to pay your respects to the landlords of Lushan County and beg them to give us a meal."

Upon hearing that they were going to beg for food, the previously listless people perked up.

Oh my, the landlords in Lushan County are all rolling in fat.

What storytellers usually talk about most are chivalrous thieves who rob the rich to help the poor, right?

Even if you gave them the courage of a bear or a leopard, they wouldn't dare to have such a crooked thought.

With so many people responding now, what's there to be afraid of?
Immediately, a young man in his early twenties ran out from the crowd to act as a recommender.

He told the leader that his relatives were tenant farmers of the Liu family, a landlord family in Lushan County.

"My cousin said that Master Liu currently owns eight estates of varying sizes, the largest of which is over a thousand mu and the smallest is still two hundred mu of fertile land!"
Despite the dozens of bushels of wheat that rotted in his granary every year, he was very harsh on his tenant farmers.

Most other landlords take 60% of the land rent, but he insisted that his estate had high yields and only left 30% of the grain for the tenants!
Even the eggs laid by the chickens raised by the tenant farmers on the farm had to be shared with him in large quantities.

What does it mean to be rich but heartless?

It's Liu the landlord!
The refugees felt no guilt whatsoever about begging for food from such landlords.

The leader immediately gave the order: Go and visit Landlord Liu first!

After listening to the report from a certain official who had followed the leader all the way.

The leader surnamed Mao stared wide-eyed: "So, the Liu family really entertained more than three thousand people?"

The subordinate nodded:

"More than three thousand people went to knock on the door, what could he do?!"

Five of the Liu landlord's granaries were flooded, containing a total of 500 shi (a unit of dry measure) of newly harvested wheat.

His housekeeper said that the product would be sold to the public at 20% of the market price early tomorrow morning.

There are already many people lining up in front of his house; this is the fastest way for us to buy cheap food.

The leader, surnamed Huang, looked shocked: "Eighty percent below market price?"

The subordinate scratched his head:

"The wheat that Liu the landlord soaked in water has sprouted these past few days! If he doesn't sell it cheaply, it will be useless if it sits for a few more days. I guess he's also afraid that those three thousand people will keep staying at his house."

That's it!

Several of the cooks, including Mrs. She, were summoned by the officials for questioning.

"Can you still eat wheat that has sprouted?"

"Will I get poisoned if I eat this for ten days or half a month in a row?"

"If it's edible, how should I prepare it to preserve it for a long time after buying it?"

What kind of family backgrounds do the wives of city dwellers from prominent families come from?
They would never have the chance to eat sprouted wheat.

They knew nothing when asked, and stared at each other blankly.

Gan Minglan: Sprouted wheat grains?

Isn't that one of the raw materials for making maltose?
This is what the elderly people in the ancient villages used to do most often to coax children.

She doesn't crave sugar herself, but it's all for her little one.

Sweet maltose is definitely a lifesaver for soothing babies!
Cheap wheat, must buy!
She has something to say about this:
"Sprouted wheat is still edible! But it must be carefully washed to remove impurities from the surface and cooked or steamed before consumption."

However, eating too much of this kind of wheat rice can cause bloating, so it's not advisable to eat too much.

To preserve it for a longer time, after washing it clean, you can stir-fry it in a pan until it's fully cooked before grinding it into flour.

(End of this chapter)