Fake Eunuch: Discovering the Emperor is a Woman!-Chapter 98: Distributing Porridge

However, what the Fourth Prince did not know was, while he was taking pleasure in the disaster, there was someone who was even happier than him.

In a sprawling compound within the Capital City, a dignified-looking man hugged a young lady in his arms, listening to the report from a subordinate.

After hearing everything, the corner of the man’s mouth couldn’t help but reveal a hint of a playful smile.

"Hehe, when the snipe and the clam grapple, it is a joyous and congratulatory event for me. Go, have them come up and sing a song."

After saying this, he turned his gaze to the servant who had come to report, and spoke indifferently:

"Go and add some fuel, make this fire burn even brighter."

Upon hearing this, the servant immediately bowed and retreated.

At this very moment, Lin Yi had already arrived outside of the city. When he arrived with a large quantity of grain, he saw that along the base of the city wall, a row of gruel sheds had already been set up.

At a glance, the number of these sheds was not small, there were at least a hundred or so.

Apart from the sheds, there were already quite a few people gathered around them, undoubtedly all in tatters, men and women both, and of course, mostly young adults.

It was obvious that these were displaced people.

This was not only evident from their ragged clothing, but also from their gaunt faces.

When they saw that the gruel sheds were being set up, they immediately crowded over, knowing that the distribution of gruel was about to start.

This made them ecstatic, having had very little to eat on the way here, their bodies were barely holding any strength.

This was because they were relatively strong, all young adults, so they had arrived first.

As for the women, children, and elderly?

They were still far away from the Capital City at this time.

Seeing this scene, Lin Yi couldn’t help but inhale a breath of cold air, feeling deeply moved.

He had lived two lifetimes and yet this was the first time he had seen such miserable people, their plight of having nothing to wear or eat was presented in its utmost extremity.

Especially when they looked at the gruel sheds, their gazes were akin to hungry wolves staring at meat.

Seeing this situation, Lin Yi had no choice but to abandon his original plan.

Initially, his plan was just to set up the gruel sheds today and start distributing gruel tomorrow.

After all, a large number of refugees were still behind, and he assumed it would take them another two days to arrive.

However, when he witnessed the tragic state of these people, he changed his mind on the spot.

As soon as they started cooking and the first whiff of gruel aroma spread outside the city, everyone couldn’t help but stand up and gather around the sheds, eagerly watching the pots of rice porridge tumbling inside.

At the same time, they constantly swallowed their saliva.

Had it not been for the guards wielding knives standing around, they probably would have rushed forward in a swarm.

This situation, evidently, was something the guards were accustomed to.

Although they had not distributed gruel before, it did not mean they were unaware of the hardships of the common folk.

After all, they themselves had come from the common folk, so they were no strangers to starvation during famine years. It would not be unusual for some to starve to death during a severe famine.

Hence, they faced this group of disaster victims without the same soft-heartedness as Lin Yi.

Therefore, they were better able to maintain order in this place.

"Captain Lin, is our porridge too thick? Should we add more water?"

Lin Yi was initially stunned upon hearing this, but quickly regained his composure and hurriedly addressed the soldiers:

"Add water, definitely add water. Distribute this pot of porridge into several other pots and then add water to them.

However, control the amount well; aim for the porridge to be half rice and half water."

Lin Yi’s actions were not unscrupulous, nor did he intend to embezzle this food intended for disaster relief.

It was only after this reminder that he suddenly came to his senses.

After all, this was the first time he truly encountered these refugees.

Their current state was far more miserable than anything depicted in television dramas, by a countless margin.

Therefore, the impact on Lin Yi was significant, to the point where it threw him off balance.

And after this reminder, he quickly regained his composure.

If the porridge was cooked too thick, although it would make them full, it was actually quite disadvantageous.

There’s a saying, "A rise in rice brings gratitude, a measure of rice brings enmity." freewebnσvel.cøm

If you serve them such porridge today, they will be grateful, but if you switch to watery porridge tomorrow, by then, they will no longer appreciate what you’ve done before.

And that’s just one aspect.

Furthermore, there is now a large number of refugees who haven’t arrived yet.

Whether the subsequent food supply can be replenished is still uncertain for Lin Yi.

Therefore, so much food naturally cannot be consumed within just a few days.

Under the current circumstances, as long as they can eat and not starve to death, that is enough.

Looking at the group of refugees, as they watched the soldiers distribute the freshly cooked thick rice porridge into several empty pots and then dilute it with half a pot of water,

they, however, had not a single complaint, nor any dissatisfaction.

Even their gaze did not ripple in the slightest...

Nowadays, for them, as long as they can have a bite to eat and cling on to life, that is better than anything else.

Moreover, the hardships they have endured along the way were far too many.

In some places claiming to provide relief food, the porridge they cooked for them barely had four or five grains of rice per bowl.

Especially when they received a bowl of porridge with half a bowl of rice, they were thrilled beyond measure and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls.

But the ceaseless travel these past few days, along with everything after the disaster, had seemingly numbed them.

After finishing their porridge without a word, they expressionlessly found a patch of empty ground and lay down there to rest.

And as the pots of porridge were distributed, even more people chose to lay down after drinking it. Quickly, at the foot of the city wall and near the porridge sheds, a large group had already lain down.

Gazing at the sprawled out swathes of refugees, Lin Yi couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

This was just the first day, and already over a thousand people had come here for porridge; one could only wonder how much this number would increase by tomorrow.

...End of Chapter...