Chapter 55 : Young lady, if you behave yourself, we promise not to hurt these people.

The one shouting was a man even taller and more robust than the others.

Cui Yunzhao spotted him immediately due to his imposing stature. He appeared relatively young, with a square face and downward-slanted eyes, giving him a brutish look that immediately suggested he was not a good person.

Unlike many in the crowd, he was not gaunt or sickly; rather, he stood out distinctly among the beggars. When he shouted, the other homeless people turned to look at him, their expressions revealing a hint of fear.

Cui Yunzhao could tell at a glance that he must have caused trouble among the beggars before, likely bullying others frequently.

If it had been in the past, the beggars would have surely tried to avoid him. But today, in front of the porridge stall where they were hoping to fill their bellies, they weren’t as afraid of him anymore.

This time, the other beggars didn’t give him a chance to continue shouting. An elderly man stepped forward and said, “They’re here to offer porridge out of kindness,why must you rush them? Can’t you see the porridge isn’t ready yet?”

Another man chimed in, “Exactly, it’s free food, why are you complaining so much?”

The two speakers clearly had some authority among the beggars, as the crowd’s attitude shifted as soon as they spoke up. Some began to shout in agreement “Yeah, everyone is waiting for porridge, are you trying to hog it all for yourself?”

Seeing the hostile looks directed at him, the first man sneered, shot a dark glance at the porridge stall, spat on the ground a couple of times, and then turned to leave.

Once he left, the beggars waiting in front of the porridge stall quieted down. The pale, emaciated old man stepped forward and clasped his hands in front of the stall. “I apologize,” he said.

Cui Yunzhao smiled as she tied on an apron and replied, “No worries. We are indeed a bit slow, but the city gates just opened a short while ago. If the porridge gets cold, it won’t taste good, so we can only cook it fresh.”

Her gentle demeanor made some of the women whisper, “She’s so kind.” The old man was taken aback by her politeness and responded, “Thank you for your kindness, miss.”

Cui Yunzhao smiled again. “Now that you are here in Boling, we are all fellow townsfolk. When fellow townsfolk are in trouble, it’s only natural to lend a helping hand. That’s just human decency.”

“You’re too kind; it’s just a small effort,” he replied, the words beautifully spoken.

The beggars had been wandering for years, looked down upon by everyone, treated as if they were nothing more than hungry stray dogs. Who would want to be treated like a dog?

Hearing Cui Yunzhao’s words, the pain of their recent suffering surged in their hearts, and some began to wipe away tears.

At that moment, the aroma of the porridge began to waft through the air, and more and more beggars gathered in front of the stall, filling the area to capacity. Cui Yunzhao glanced back at the cook, who said, “We’re almost ready.”

She thought for a moment and then said, “Everyone, please bring your own bowls and line up here. We can form three lines, and we will distribute the porridge one by one.”

She continued, “We don’t have much rice at home, and the porridge will be thin, but we will do our best to provide porridge for several days, so everyone can at least have some hot food.”

Of course, the porridge couldn’t be made entirely from japonica rice; even two-year-old rice was quite expensive. Besides that, other grains left in the grain shop, such as brown rice, mung beans, soybeans, and millet, were also cooked into the porridge to yield several times more.

Cui Yunzhao had discussed with Manager Sun that they could provide porridge for eight days. With the remaining grains in the shop, they could extend it for a few more days, enough to last about half a month.

This half month would give Guo Ziqian time to issue orders on how to arrange for these beggars, and they would soon know whether they would stay or leave.

Naturally, Ho Tan wouldn’t hide the matter of bringing honor to his wife, he had reported it early in the morning.

As soon as Cui Yunzhao’s words fell, loud cheers erupted from among the beggars. The crowd suddenly became chaotic, some rushed back to get bowls, while others who had already brought bowls scrambled to line up.

The power of the porridge was overwhelming. Before long, the once disordered crowd had formed three lines. To prevent further pushing and shoving, Cui Yunzhao turned to the old man who had been directing the crowd and said, “The patrol guards will arrive soon, you don’t need to worry.”

But the old man still looked troubled and sighed, “I hope the guards come quickly.”

Cui Yunzhao could tell that this old man had seen a lot in his life and had likely been someone of importance before; unfortunately, circumstances had left him as a beggar now.

Just as Cui Yunzhao was about to speak to him, she heard one of the kitchen workers call out to her, “Madam, the porridge is ready!”

The three large pots of porridge were steaming hot, and the lined-up beggars, who had been ravenous, were now smelling the fragrant porridge, their stomachs growling.

Most of the beggars were numb to their circumstances, barely hanging on and lacking the energy to fight back. However, a small portion, likely new to being beggars, were more aggressive and would fight for food.

Just like now.

The kitchen workers quickly poured the porridge into large containers, then started preparing the next batch. The hired men with long-handled ladles began serving porridge to the waiting beggars.

They worked skillfully, stirring the heavy grains at the bottom of the pot before ladling the porridge into the containers, ensuring a balanced mix of liquid and grains.

Cui Yunzhao felt reassured after just a glance; it seemed Manager Sun had briefed them beforehand, and the workers were doing well.

At first, the order was maintained. The beggars received their porridge, with some drinking it on the spot, while others carefully cradled their bowls and made their way back to their makeshift shelters. Most of them had relatives who were unable to move.

Cui Yunzhao was helping too, ladling porridge alongside Wang Huzii, while Li Qing and Mother Xia assisted the kitchen workers in preparing more porridge. Everything was running smoothly.

However, soon various chaotic sounds began to rise. There were men shouting and women crying out in pain, and it sounded very wrong.

Cui Yunzhao looked up but only saw a ragged, numbed crowd, she couldn’t see what was happening. Frowning, she checked the sky. Ho Tan would take a while to arrive, so she decided not to intervene further and continued serving porridge.

Inside the porridge shelter, the steam from the three large pots kept things warm, and soon Cui Yunzhao was sweating profusely.

One by one, the beggars finished receiving their porridge, and soon it was the turn of a woman with dirty, unkempt hair. She happened to be in Cui Yunzhao’s line, and because of the injuries on her neck and her disheveled appearance, Cui Yunzhao glanced at her longer than usual.

The woman kept her head down, so Cui Yunzhao couldn’t see her face clearly. Perhaps sensing Cui Yunzhao’s gaze, the woman flinched slightly and pulled her hand back, but she didn’t leave.

Cui Yunzhao felt concerned. The woman also had bruises on her wrist. Pretending to stir in the container, she quietly asked, “Are you okay?”

The woman lowered her head even further, her chapped lips moving but no words came out.

Cui Yunzhao knew that things were chaotic among the beggars, and with the crowd waiting to line up, she couldn’t deal with the woman’s situation right away. Instead, she whispered, “If you have difficulties, you can come find me after the porridge distribution is over. I can help you.”

As she spoke, she filled a bowl of porridge for the woman, who trembled slightly, as the portion was thicker than the others.

In the end, the woman said nothing and left, weaving through the bustling crowd.

As more beggars arrived at the front, Cui Yunzhao had no time to look around and continued her work. Soon, the porridge in the containers was nearly gone.

The fire beneath the cooking pots was still blazing, and Cui Yunzhao asked the kitchen workers how long they needed. They replied that they would need a moment longer. She then turned to the beggars in line.

However, this group seemed to have waited too long, or perhaps they were just very hungry, as they began to grow restless.

At first, they whispered among themselves, but soon the murmurs grew louder, and feelings of frustration and discontent spread through the crowd.

Cui Yunzhao knew this couldn’t continue. She contemplated saying a few comforting words when suddenly a startled cry broke her train of thought.

The beggars in front were blocking her view, and she couldn’t see anything. But in the next moment, she heard several cries of alarm.

Furrowing her brow, she exchanged a glance with Manager Sun, who started to step out of the porridge shelter to see what was happening.

However, before he could move, the beggars suddenly cleared a path. They pushed back, creating space in front of the shelter.

A filthy woman was struggling to crawl forward, blood gushing from her mouth as she seemed to be gravely injured.

At first, Cui Yunzhao didn’t recognize her, most of the beggars looked similar in their tattered gray clothes and messy hair.

The sight of her was alarming and fear-inducing. The noise from the crowd swelled as the atmosphere of panic spread, and they all cried out, stepping back in shock.

The woman quickly crawled to the front of the porridge shelter. When she lifted her head, Cui Yunzhao finally recognized her as the woman from earlier.

But now, blood smeared her face, obscuring her features. Her eyes were vacant and dull, and if she hadn’t been moving, Cui Yunzhao might have thought she was already dead.

She reached the front of the shelter, startling the workers who quickly stepped back.

Suddenly, the woman stopped moving.

She stretched out her hand, pointing directly at Cui Yunzhao.

Cui Yunzhao was momentarily stunned. She bent down to ask what was wrong when a rough voice boomed from behind.

“This isn’t a distribution of porridge, they’re here to take our lives!”

The man’s voice was loud and commanding, echoing like thunder in the crowd. Cui Yunzhao quickly looked up to see the man who had tried to incite trouble that morning stepping forward, flanked by a group of young men, all raising their arms and shouting.

“They want to kill us all, so the officials can stop worrying about our fates!” The man’s voice was deafening. “What they give us isn’t porridge, it’s poison!”

“Look!”

The tall man didn’t give Cui Yunzhao and the others a chance to respond. He pointed at the injured woman. “My wife came here to get porridge and went home to spit up blood!”

“They’re murderous , you can’t eat their porridge!”

His shout sent shockwaves through the beggars.

Of course, many of them were already numb to their situation and continued eating without reacting, but others, seeing the woman’s condition, were shocked and lost their appetite.

The murmurs of discontent grew louder, like a tidal wave crashing toward the porridge shelter.

In the next moment, another voice cried out, “My stomach hurts! My stomach hurts!”

Immediately, the beggars gasped.

Crying and shouting erupted, with some individuals angrily charging toward the porridge shelter, seemingly intent on attacking the “murderous .”

Just a few words had transformed the numb crowd into a raging mob.

Cui Yunzhao raised her head sharply. She spotted the tall man among the crowd.

He was looking at her calmly.

Then, as if he noticed her gaze, he suddenly smiled, speaking across the distance.

“Do you want to live or die?”

Cui Yunzhao’s sharp eyes understood the implication immediately.

Her expression darkened as she realized he had come prepared, intending to profit from inciting the beggars. His malicious intentions were despicable.

The beggars had already lost their homes and were living in makeshift shelters during the harsh winter. Today, they had managed to get some porridge, thanks to someone else’s kindness.

Life was incredibly tough.

This man, driven by his selfish desires, was stirring up emotions, and if the beggars were too frightened to come for porridge, it would mean more starvation for many.

At that moment, Cui Yunzhao felt a rare surge of anger.

But the situation was pressing; the beggars had been starving for days and had already suffered unimaginable losses. Now, with someone inciting them, they were beyond rational thought.

The pent-up resentment spread like wildfire, causing them to gather in front of the porridge shelter step by step.

Some began shouting, “What are your intentions?”

Others yelled, “Are the officials trying to kill us?”

The angry shouts and questions stirred everyone’s emotions.

Cui Yunzhao took a deep breath, disregarding Manager Sun’s protests, and stood up on a stool, looking down at the suffering crowd.

She took a moment to gather herself before declaring, “Be quiet!”

The three words rang out firmly. Although her voice was still soft compared to the shouting crowd, her calm demeanor commanded the attention of the people at the front, who fell silent.

Seeing her words had some effect, she quickly continued, “Listen to me!”

Noticing the instigating man had moved to the fallen woman’s side, she didn’t let Manager Sun go to help her but focused her intense gaze on the crowd.

For some reason, her unwavering calmness made everyone quiet down.

No one was shouting anymore.

It was as if they had been awakened, standing confused in the crowd, not knowing what they were doing.

Cui Yunzhao took a deep breath and continued, “I am from the Cui family of Boling, the second daughter of the Cui family.”

As soon as she spoke, some in the crowd gasped.

The Cui family of Boling was a prestigious lineage with a history of serving the state and producing many notable ministers. Even if they weren’t well-informed, they had heard of the Cui family.

At that moment, the person distributing the porridge turned out to be a woman from Boling’s Cui family.

In an instant, they were almost ready to trust Cui Yunzhao.

Behind the immense honor of the Cui family lay centuries of hard work from their descendants, a legacy built through sacrifice and dedication.

Just a few words from Cui Yunzhao turned the tide of the situation.

Seeing the tall man preparing to incite again, she immediately spoke up, “I have now married General Huo Tan of Boling. His name should be familiar to the people of Wuping.”

Huo Tan had distinguished himself in the recent campaign against rebels, and many had certainly heard of him.

Sure enough, murmurs spread through the crowd.

Cui Yunzhao continued, “The reason I am here to distribute porridge is that my husband returned from battle and told me there are many beggars in Wuping. Seeing the harsh winter and heavy snow, I couldn’t bear to see you suffer from hunger and homelessness, so I had the grain store gather food to distribute porridge.”

“Being from the Cui family of Boling and married to a military man, how could I possibly harm lives?”

“Isn’t it a waste to have all this grain?”

Cui Yunzhao clearly articulated her reasons for distributing porridge, word by word.

Some beggars had been waiting outside the north gate of Boling for months and had even met Huo Tan. They began shouting, “General Huo is a good man, he has a kind temperament.”

In these times, most officials were hot-tempered and ruthless, but Huo Tan was regarded as a gentleman among them.

Especially toward beggars, he was known to lend a hand when he saw someone in need, earning him a great reputation.

With the Cui family in front and Huo Tan behind, Cui Yunzhao’s words quickly gained credibility.

As a result, some in the crowd began to speak up, “On such a cold day, a kind person comes to distribute porridge, how could they possibly harm us?”

“Exactly! I was almost at the front of the line, and now I have to line up again, isn’t that just unfair?”

Cui Yunzhao spoke directly and succinctly, addressing their concerns without any unnecessary words, and in just a few sentences, she had turned the situation around.

Seeing the change in the crowd, the instigating man’s face darkened; he hadn’t expected a mere woman could wield such influence but was unwilling to back down.

So he stepped forward and bent down to lift the weak woman in his arms.

The woman was so thin that she was just a bag of bones. She vomited blood again. At this moment, it seemed that she was breathing in more than out. If she was not treated, she would have a hard time.

Cui Yunzhao frowned and looked down at the man with a rare look of disgust. “What you said sounds good, but why did my wife vomit blood?”

“She didn’t eat anything these days. She ate your porridge and immediately vomited blood.”

The man shouted viciously “You are murderers. You killed my wife. You have to give me justice.”

His voice was very loud and he was very excited when he shouted. The woman in his hand was like a fallen leaf in the wind, scattered and swaying, helpless.

Cui Yunzhao took a deep breath to prevent herself from being enveloped by anger. She asked, “You look well-dressed and strong. You should be able to find a job, but your wife is skinny and covered with scars. I heard that she hasn’t eaten rice or water for a few days. I want to ask, as the head of the family, don’t you need to support the family?”

Cui Yunzhao said sharply, “I think your wife is like this because she was beaten by you. You are so vicious. I will go to the government to sue you.”

The man was obviously used to being domineering on weekdays. Among these refugees, he has always looked down on others because of his burly figure.

Being looked down upon by Cui Yunzhao and unable to intimidate, he was full of anger and had nowhere to vent.

Cui Yunzhao saw that his ugly square face had flushed red.

If he didn’t have a hostage in his hand, Cui Yunzhao would never let him go easily, but now, the woman has not made much sound.

Seeing that the man was irritated by her, Cui Yunzhao said directly “If you don’t want to raise a wife, you can give her to me and I will treat her, how about that?”

She resorted to this desperate measure simply because she was kind-hearted.

Other refugees nearby saw the general idea and immediately said “That’s right, Liu Shiba, we all know that you beat your wife all the time, why treat your relatives like this.”

“Give her to Cui’s wife, poor thing, that’s a life.”

How could Liu Shiba give her to Cui Yunzhao, but he was quick-witted. Seeing that Cui Yunzhao cared about his wife, he rolled his eyes and raised his hand high.

Soon, more than a dozen young men surrounded them. When the other refugees saw them, they were afraid to give way and did not dare to argue with them.

These people were obviously Liu Shiba’s men.

Liu Shiba shook the woman in his hand, grinned, and showed a mouthful of yellow teeth. “You want her? No way.”

As he said, his ugly drooping eyes rolled around and his eyes wandered over Cui Yunzhao.

“Mrs. Cui, you are such a kind-hearted girl. What a pity,” the man narrowed his eyes. “What a pity, you are so stupid. You don’t know whose territory this is, and you dare to come here to do good deeds.”

He said so, and threw the woman in his hand to the ground. The next moment, he raised his arm and shouted, “Come on.”

“If we catch the Cui family girl, how much money do you think we can get in exchange? If we catch her alive, we can exchange money with the Cui family!”

Cui Yunzhao’s face suddenly darkened. Before she could react, Wang Huzi beside her dodged and blocked her.

Wang Huzi was only thirteen or fourteen years old this year, half a head shorter than Cui Yunzhao, and very thin. He was just a half-grown child. But he stood in front of Cui Yunzhao so firmly.

Manager Sun and several other temporary workers also reacted and came forward and surrounded Cui Yunzhao. Behind Cui Yunzhao, Mother Xia and Tao Fei also came to protect him.

In an instant, they surrounded Cui Yunzhao in the center.

Although Wang Huzi was just a child, he was very brave. He only had a soup spoon in his hand, but he tried to act majestic. “Are you going to rebel?” These words were very heavy.

But they were not wrong. Cui Yunzhao was the daughter of Cui family, the daughter of an official, the wife of a military envoy, and a military dependent. Attacking and kidnapping her, in a big way, was not only dissatisfaction with the government office, the defense envoy, but also dissatisfaction with the current government.

When the younger brothers who followed the strong man to make trouble heard this, some of them hesitated.

At the beginning, when Cui Yunzhao said his identity, they were a little timid. Now that Wang Huzi said this, they dared not move.

They had also seen the Huo army. Although he was always kind, they had also seen how he killed the enemy.

The ruthless character who didn’t even blink when blood splashed on his face was incomparable to ordinary people.

Seeing that some people were retreating, the strong man shouted, “What are you afraid of? We are so powerful. Let’s leave immediately. The emperor is far away and no one can control us?”

“Do you want to starve to death here? Think about your families. Give me your lives!”

Being threatened and intimidated by him, those people also calmed down, with ferocious light in their eyes, and pounced on them like hungry tigers.

These people are all desperate people. They must have done a lot of burning, killing and looting on their way to becoming refugees. They are very skilled in doing these things.

Cui Yunzhao even found that they actually had troops in front and behind, with some chasing and blocking, and some paving the way.

Manager Sun’s hand holding the soup spoon also shook.

He stood side by side with Wang Huzi, guarding in front of Cui Yunzhao, and shouted loudly “Who dares to come forward!” He turned back and whispered to the four temporary workers “Find the right opportunity later, protect the boss’s wife and run quickly.”

In a few words, the desperadoes had already rushed forward, and the leading ones had already climbed onto the table nimbly, holding long sticks and jumped into the porridge shed.

These people looked very fierce. They swung the long sticks in their hands and walked forward step by step, forcing Cui Yunzhao and his group to retreat.

“Young lady, if you behave, we promise not to hurt these people.”

At this time, the leader Liu Shiba also jumped in, strode forward with a grim smile. “If you don’t listen.”

The strong man said, stretched out his hand and grabbed the long spoon that Wang Huzi attacked fiercely.

With a “bang”, he raised his big foot and hit Wang Huzi’s abdomen directly, kicking him to the shelf on the side.

Wang Huzi’s whole body hit the shelf like a sack, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

The sound of the thud made Cui Yunzhao’s heart rise to his throat. Wang Huzi lay on the ground and couldn’t get up for a long time.

Cui Yunzhao called him “Huzi!”

Wang Huzi struggled to raise his head, revealing his dusty face. He opened his mouth to say something, but only spat out a mouthful of blood.

At this moment, Cui Yunzhao was furious. She suddenly turned around and looked coldly at the leading man. She didn’t seem to be scared at all, and there was no fear on her face, only calmness and determination.

“I have discussed with my husband when I came out. Judging from the time, he has arrived.”

“You can’t run away.”