Chapter 330: Relief for Refugees
Today, the soy sauce brewed by Qianhuan has become a household condiment. Qianhuan sets several prices according to the length of time the soy sauce is brewed.
The shorter the brewing time, the cheaper it is, and ordinary people can afford it. The longer the brewing time, the higher the price. Although it is expensive, the soy sauce that has been dried for a long time will have a stronger soy sauce flavor, and rich people are naturally willing to pay a high price to buy this soy sauce with better taste and quality.
After the prince left, Qianhuan put all her energy into expanding her business empire. Now that her soy sauce has become well-known, she has no worries about sales. She plans to set up soy sauce workshops in other states in Dayuan.
The Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince used the official silver seized from the Prince's Villa to buy a large amount of grain. They transported the grain to Cangzhou and began to distribute it to the disaster-stricken people. They finally calmed the people's hearts. Then the two began to think of ways to control the flood.
Because the prince had failed to do his job properly, a large number of refugees had already poured into the capital.
Some people suggested opening the granaries to provide relief to the refugees, but some old ministers stood up to oppose it. This was because the grain in the granaries of the Dayuan Kingdom's court was prepared for war, and now the treasury was already very empty. If even the grain was used to provide relief to the victims, once the war broke out, the soldiers would have no food and fodder, and Dayuan Kingdom would be in danger.
In the end, Emperor Jingxi ordered the opening of a granary to provide relief to the refugees, but the number of refugees was so large that the food in the granary was exhausted within a few days.
If they continue to open the granaries to provide relief to the refugees, then within a month, all the food in the granaries will be eaten up. If outsiders get to know this and take advantage of the situation, then they, Dayuan, will have no choice but to be defeated.
Emperor Jingxi was troubled by this. None of his ministers could come up with a reasonable solution. In the end, he had no choice but to order an end to the relief of refugees. The court was afraid that the refugees would cause trouble, so it did not allow them to enter the city.
Qianhuan also heard about the refugees outside the city, but she thought that the court should send people to settle these people, so she didn't think much about it.
Until this day when she took people out of the city to do some business, she saw with her own eyes that outside the city were ragged people everywhere. These people were all pale and thin, and many of them were so hungry that they could only lie on the ground. The children snuggled in their parents' arms, their eyes helpless and desolate.
When Qianhuan saw this scene, her heart was filled with sympathy and pity.
She couldn't help but say to Master Cai, "Brother Yunlong, go down and find out what's going on. Why didn't the court send anyone to settle them? Doesn't His Majesty care about the lives of these refugees?"
Young Master Cai pulled open the curtain, jumped out of the carriage, and went to inquire about the situation.
The refugees saw that only the master and servants, dressed in luxurious clothes, were sitting in the carriage. The bold ones took the opportunity to gather around and ask for food. "Good people, please have mercy on us and give us some food. I beg you..."
Seeing how pitiful those people were, Yin Hua couldn't help but suggest to Qian Huan, "Miss, they are really pitiful. Why don't we give them the cakes and pastries in our car?"
Qianhuan did bring some cakes and pastries in the car when she went out, but she knew that those cakes and pastries were not enough to distribute to the refugees. If she was too kind now and let the refugees know that there was food on the car, she was afraid that there would be looting.
Seeing Yinhua was about to take out the cakes from under the seat, Qianhuan quickly stopped her and said, "Yinhua, you must not do that."
Yin Hua stopped immediately after hearing this, and Qian Hua said to the refugees directly, "Sorry, we don't have any food on the bus."
Then he ordered Ji Feng, "Ji Feng, turn around and go back to the city."
Upon hearing this, Ji Feng turned the carriage around, only to see that the group of refugees were still unwilling to give up and were still running behind the carriage.
After entering the city, Qianhuan ordered Ji Feng to find Mr. Cai who was asking for information.
Yin Hua asked in confusion, "Miss, we obviously have a lot of food in the car, why don't you want to give it to the refugees? You are usually very generous."
"Yinhua, although we brought a lot of cakes and pastries, there are too many refugees. We don't have enough food to share with them. If they start a scramble for the food, many people will get hurt. Some brave refugees may try to rob our carriages in order to save their lives, and we will be in danger then."
Yin Hua finally understood. She bowed her head in shame and apologized, "Miss, I'm sorry. It was my fault that I was too reckless. I almost hurt everyone just now."
"It's okay, you're just too kind-hearted and don't think too much. In the future, you should learn more from Banxia and think more when encountering problems."
Yin Hua nodded, "Yes, I understand."
At this time, Ji Feng and Master Cai also came back. Master Cai reported the situation to Qian Huan, "Miss, it's not that the court doesn't want to take care of these refugees, but it's more powerless than it wants. Your Majesty previously used a large sum of money from the national treasury to build the Zhaixing Tower, and Cangzhou took out hundreds of thousands of taels for disaster relief. Now the national treasury is very empty."
"Don't we still have granaries? Why don't we open them to help the victims?"
"Miss, you don't know that the food stored in the granaries of the Great Abyss Kingdom is all prepared for war. His Majesty has already opened a granary to help them, but the number of refugees is too large. The granary will be empty in a few days, and the court is now helpless."
Qianhuan then understood the court's concerns. Thinking of those poor people, she felt that she had to do something.
Therefore, Qianhua decided to use her business acumen to find a way to provide some help to the refugees. She began to think about how to provide the refugees with basic living security without consuming too many resources.
After returning, she took out a large sum of money and gave it to Master Cai, "Brother Yunlong, find someone to build a few large sheds for the refugees outside the city so that they have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Then go buy some food and cook it into porridge to distribute to the refugees."
Mr. Cai was a chivalrous man, so when he saw that his young lady wanted to help refugees, he naturally agreed.
However, he was also a little worried. "Miss, helping the refugees is a good thing, but there are too many of them. Even the imperial court can't handle it. It all depends on us to contribute money and effort. I'm afraid it will be difficult to help them for a long time."
"Brother Yunlong, just follow my instructions first. I will find other ways to settle these refugees later."
"it is good."
The news that Princess Jingrou paid out of her own pocket to help refugees spread throughout the capital in no time. Common people all praised Qianhuan as a living Bodhisattva, and more and more people patronized their business.
Chu Yichen knew about this and also took out a lot of money to sponsor Qianhuan's charity.
When General Qian learned about this, he quickly ran to the backyard to find Madam Qian, "Madam, the court can no longer take care of the common people, but Qianhuan is building sheds and distributing porridge outside the city to help the refugees out of her own pocket. Our family should also give her some money to support her. She is not only helping the refugees, but also helping Your Majesty to share his worries."
Madam Qian took out the banknotes she had prepared and said, "I have heard about what that girl did a long time ago. Look, I have even prepared the banknotes and am about to send them to her."
"Madam is so considerate."