It was noon again, and there were long queues in front of several scattered porridge sheds in Guang'an County. All the people in the city who couldn't stand it after all the rice and food at home wanted to come here to ask for some food, and they could survive for a day.

Today's Shu family is generous enough. Not only did they bring out several large buckets of steaming rice porridge, but they also sent the thick buns to the hands of these hungry villagers, which made everyone feel grateful. At the same time, the news spread, and people kept pouring over here. In a short while, two or three hundred people gathered.

However, there were too many people and few buns. Before the team had passed half, the food had been completely divided. This made many people who came with hope annoyed, but they had no choice but to ask in a low voice, begging the Shu family to give him some more food.

As a result, the housekeeper immediately received a scolding from the housekeeper: "Do you think the money and food of my Shu family are all blowing from the strong wind? My master is kind enough. This time he spent a lot of money to buy a lot of food just to help more people, but this is just a kindness from my master, and it doesn't really owe you. If you dare to make noise again, you will have no food in the future. Go quickly and leave..." As he said that, he waved his hands repeatedly, which meant to drive people away.

Seeing this, everyone could only sigh and leave. But at this moment, a voice sounded from behind the manager: "Bold! Good! You thief, I kindly help the villagers, but you speak like this, ruining my reputation. It's so outrageous!" As he spoke, the man had already strode to the butler, slapped his hand, and staggered the man.

Everyone looked at it in surprise and immediately recognized that the person who took the angrily attack was Shu Wenqing, the famous merchant and rich man in the county. The person who heard what he said suddenly felt a little expectant in his heart and knelt down and begged: "I'd like to ask Mr. Shu to be pity us, we haven't eaten anything for three days, and we haven't been able to get steamed buns before, just give me a bite of food..."

One person took the lead, and the remaining more than 200 people knelt all over the ground, and there were kowtows to ask for it. Master Shu was so embarrassed that he hesitated. After he immediately spoke: "My fellow villagers have invited me. Thanks to your care today in the Shu family over the years. Now that everyone is in trouble, how can I sit back and take it out? Take it out quickly!" The last sentence was told to the butler who was still covering his face next to me.

This man didn't dare to take Joe anymore, so he immediately agreed and turned around and ran back. After a while, he carried out a few basins of half-cold dry buns, but it was obviously not enough for many people to share here. Seeing that his master's face was sunken again, he quickly explained: "Master, there is really no food at home, and the only food left in our warehouse..."

Shu Wenqing stared at him for a while before waved his hand that had just been raised and put down: "Forget it... Dear fellow villagers, I, Shu Wenqing, are sorry to you. I didn't expect that the food shortage in Guang'an would be so serious before. Although I have sent someone to buy food outside, I am afraid that I will not be able to deliver it for a while, so I can only feel wronged everyone..."

"Master Shu, are you coaxing us? Who doesn't know that your family has a lot of land and produces extremely high grain, and our Huguang is even more granary in the world. Even if we encounter difficulties, we should have a large amount of food. Why is there no food?" someone suddenly asked loudly in the crowd.

Faced with such rude doubts, Mr. Shu was not angry at all, and just smiled bitterly and bowed again: "What this brother blamed is that I was not thoughtful before. I was fascinated by money for a while and actually sold most of the food I had stored in my family. As a result, it was so troublesome that even my family could not be exaggerated. Shu Wenqing apologized to you here..."

"Why... why is this happening? Mr. Shu, what you said is true? Who bought your food?" The man was a little panicked and asked loudly.

"Of course, it's true. The person who bought my food was a foreigner named Lingli. Now he is still in our county town. Also, the food was hidden by him in the warehouse in the west of the city... In fact, after knowing that the situation was not good, I had negotiated with him, hoping to buy the food again, even if it was to spend more money.

"But in the end, the man spoke up and doubled the price of the 15 cents per bull that I sold him, and wanted to sell me 30 cents per bull... Although my Shu family had some wealth, they could not allow him to blackmail, so they left it alone. Now it seems that this man has not left after buying the food, which is obviously another plan!"

"This man is so sinister and greedy. Even though he knew that I was short of food in Guang'an, he actually came to collect food at a high price and sell it twice as much. It was clearly for us! The villagers, that was originally our food, which was used to save our lives. Can we let him, a foreigner, snatch it away?"

The sudden slaughter of the crowd made the people who were already panic and desperate because of hunger burn like hay when they encountered Mars: "No! Our food cannot be snatched away by these treacherous foreigners!"

"Yes, that's our food. They used conspiracy to take it away, so we'll take it back. As long as we take back this batch of food, we won't have to go hungry anymore, and our family can have enough food! It's manly, so follow me and take back our food!"

"Let's go and take back the food!"

"We want food!"

Accompanied by waves of shouts and inciting, these hungry people finally put aside all their worries, lined up randomly, and headed straight towards the west of the city. Behind them, Boss Shu Wenqingshu, who led the disaster to Li Ling, showed a smug smile.

As expected, when survival is a problem, as long as a little provocation is made, the people in the city can use it for themselves. Does Lingli think that he has some people who have never violated the law and can be invincible? He doesn’t think about whose land it is here? In Guang'an City, can a foreigner gain the upper hand?

At the same time, similar scenes occurred in front of other wealthy families in the city, ranging from a hundred people to at least twenty or thirty people. These hungry people were bewitched by their words, thinking that they had come to this point because the foreigner named Lingli bought the food on the market, so they wanted to snatch back the food!

As several teams gathered at the Cross Street in the middle of the county town, the number of people was approaching seven or eight hundred, so loud that everyone else had to retreat when they saw it, and they were also alarmed to the county government.

Seeing this, several responsible officers wanted to go and ask, but were quickly stopped by their colleagues: "There is an order from the superiors. No matter what happens in the city today, it has nothing to do with us!"

"But……"

"This is what the master means. Do you dare to disobey?"

When they heard that it was the order issued by County Magistrate Huo, these positions immediately stopped. They just watched the team slowly pass through the long street in front of the yamen and head straight towards the west city.

By the time of the afternoon, hundreds of people were already around the warehouse, and the leaders began to shout: "You foreigners are returning the food to us quickly, otherwise we will rush in!"

Some people shouted slogans loudly: "Foreigners, return our food!"

The screams came into the warehouse, causing many people who were doing things to show fear, fearing that the people would rush in and they would be implicated. They couldn't help but look at Boss Ling, who had been here early in the morning but did nothing and just closed his eyes to rest. Now it seems that he probably guessed that someone would come to make trouble and wait here specifically.

As the shouts from the outside became more and more intense, as if someone would break into the door at any time, Li Ling finally opened his eyes and stood up and called out: "Let's go out to meet the villagers in Guang'an."

Li Moyun and Yang Zhen, who were guarding him, immediately moved, and walked out of the house one after another, walked through the courtyard, and came to the closed gate. At this time, several guards and more than 20 brothers from Baiyitang in the gate were staring at the front nervously, preventing the people outside from rushing into the door. Seeing Li Ling coming, Xue Jiong couldn't help saying, "Boss Ling, how do you plan to deal with it next? You can't really let us attack these innocent people, right?" This is obviously something that many brothers from Baiyitang could not agree.

Li Ling only smiled at him: "Of course I made it clear to them. Open the door!"

Although he was a little confused about his thoughts, the Baiyitang people still moved the thick door bolt as they said, and then opened the huge warehouse door with force.

The creaking sound came out, and the door slowly opened, which made many people who were still clamoring outside calm down. Some people even took a step back subconsciously, obviously still feeling guilty.

Li Ling took advantage of the situation and walked out of the door in a few steps, walked over the high threshold, and then swept down. When he became an official for many years, he had been releasing the momentum he had cultivated by the power of his hands, he immediately shocked everyone at the scene and subconsciously took a step back.

"What are you waiting for here to disturb me?" He asked in a deep voice after suppressing the audience. Because he controlled the scene, no one clamored anymore, and he could actually pass the words into everyone's ears.

It was quiet at first, and then someone shouted bravely: "Are you the foreign businessman named Lingli?"

“That’s right!”

"You snatched our food?" With this question, everyone seemed to react immediately, shouting and reprimanding: "People with the surname Ling, please return our food quickly, otherwise we will take it ourselves!"

"Sir Ling, don't think you can do whatever you want if you have money. This food is our Guang'an. What you buy is our life. If you don't want to have something to do, it's still time to hand over the food now!"
Chapter completed!