Chapter 7 — An Luong Doesn't Choose a Female

Yesterday a bag of rice was sixty dong. Today the most expensive card reads one hundred and twenty dong.

“Doubling overnight, is this called a market?”

Tiet Van Son's face did not change color.

“There is a water problem in the upper region, wages are difficult, and it is natural for prices to increase.”

“The boat hasn't stopped yet, the road hasn't broken yet.”

“What you sell is not your salary, but your fear that tomorrow you won't have food to eat.”

The people watching began to talk in low voices. Tiet Van Son raised his voice and said:

“Luong Dao talks about saving people, opens warehouses and collects money.”

“If you truly save people, why don't you give out free salaries?”

As soon as the words ended, the sound of gongs and drums rang out on the street corner. The elder sister led a group of noble ladies from the capital over. Behind them are ten large pots. On the white cloth were written the four words "Thanh Nguyet Nghia Porridge". The elder sister walked in front of me.

“Sister, although Uncle Tiet's words are heavy, they are not completely unreasonable.”

"The victims have suffered enough. Now, collecting an extra coin is like cutting flesh from their wounds."

"I would like to set up a porridge tent outside the city without taking a dime."

The surroundings immediately echoed with compliments. She is always like that. I opened the warehouse to shoulder the shortage and blame, you only need to set up ten pots next to me and you can stand taller than me. I pointed to the line of people lining up outside the warehouse.

“Free salary, who will get it first?”

“Of course the first person to come.”

"Wrong. He is the strongest and has the most families."

I called an old woman out from the line.

“She was in line from before dawn until now, and just now she was pushed to the bottom by the two juniors of the Tiet family.”

“If she opened the warehouse door wide, she wouldn't be able to get a grain of rice.”

The elder sister supported the old woman.

“So send more people to keep order.”

"The three warehouses produce several thousand bags of food a day. The number of people you bring is enough to take care of how many pots?"

She stopped. I gave a salary slip to the old woman.

"Each household relies on a voucher to buy a bag. The poorest do not collect money."

“Those who have money buy it at the normal price, only the saved relief salary can keep those who really can't afford a penny.”

Tiet Van Son laughed coldly.

"In the end, I still don't want to give up money."

“Master Tiet, please.”

I leaned over to give way.

“Now you open a store, selling at yesterday's price.”

“The less money you earn, the more you save the people.”

He didn't speak anymore. The elder sister was still standing there.

“I promised to give away free porridge, I will definitely do it.”

"You take care of your food warehouse, I will save my tyranny."

She led people out of the city. Before leaving, Tiet Van Son glanced at the manager next to her. The manager nodded so slightly that almost no one noticed.

10

That night at the hour of the Rat, Thanh Ha's dike broke. The next morning, outside the city gate was filled with people fleeing. Many people soaked in water all night, not even their shoes were left. The three warehouses did not close all night. Chuc Tam Nuong's boat team brought back more than three hundred people from the upstream, then turned around to pick up the second trip. The merchants who blocked the door yesterday were silent. Father's letter "don't act rashly" was posted outside the Qin family's gate. Dao Chi finished reading and laughed for half a day.

“This time Lord Qin was truly not careless.”

“He stood still and did not move.”

I don't have time to laugh. Something happened to Thanh Nguyet porridge tent outside the city. The first person brought in was a six-year-old child. Vomiting, diarrhea, lip turned white. Then the second and third person. In less than half an hour, more than twenty people were lying in front of the religious door. The women cried and demanded to find Miss Tan. The elder sister rode in a horse-drawn carriage. The clothes were still white, but the shoes were stained with porridge. As soon as she got out of the car, her eyes were red.

“Sister, quickly send someone to invite the doctor.”

“I don't know if there was any dirty thing mixed into the porridge tent, many people got sick after drinking it.”

"Already invited."

I picked up a grain of black rice from what the child vomited.

“It's not the dirty stuff mixed in. It's the rice that's spoiled.”

The elder immediately shook his head.

“No way.”

"That salary was given to me by Uncle Tiet. When I brought it, every package was new."

“Moldy rice stored in Western warehouses and changed to new bags will also become new bags.”

Her face changed.

"I have no evidence, so I can't blame them because of my enmity with the Tiet family."

“Is your salary still available?”

The manager next to her quickly replied:

“After cooking the porridge, it was already burned.”

“Where is the Tiet family's salary slip?”

“The eldest lady did good deeds and did not discuss money, so she did not make a vote.”

It's another act of kindness that doesn't ask for a price. When something happens, even the person responsible doesn't know. I will lead you to the porridge tent. The porridge in the pot was completely spilled. The manager of the Tiet family is sending someone to clean the pot. Wishing Tam Nuong kicked the wooden box away.

"You're still lying there, why rush to wash something?"

I found half a bag of uncooked rice behind the stove. The bag is a new bag. But at the bottom there was a piece of old ink mark. Use water to wipe it off, revealing half of the word "West". It's the Western warehouse salary used last year. The elder sister stood outside the tent, her lips pursed until they turned white.

“Perhaps the manager took it by mistake.”

"After discovering moldy rice, the Western warehouse was sealed. Where did this rice come from?"

The elder sister hesitated for a moment.

“Uncle Tiet said that before discovering the moldy rice, there was a batch of old rice delivered to the Tiet family's southern store.”

“Just leave it for a while, wash it and you can still eat it.”

My mother just ran over. Hearing this sentence, she immediately stood in front of the elder sister.

"Thanh Nguyet doesn't understand salary!"

“The Tiet family says it's edible, how does it know that people's hearts are so cruel?”

The patient's groans echoed intermittently. The elder sister was forced to take half a step back by those sounds.

“I just want to save more people.”

“Uncle Tiet said that Western warehouse food is only a little old, you can still eat it after washing it.”

"You sealed the warehouse in front of everyone, leaving more than a thousand bags of rotten food in there. I don't want to see you abandon your people because of fighting with the Tiet family."

I grabbed a handful of black rice and brought it in front of her.

"Try a bite."

She turned away.

"I don't understand salary."

"You don't understand, how dare you feed the refugees?"

Her tears finally fell.

"Tan Minh Chau, it's not me who is sick."

“If you have time to ask me, why didn't you save someone first?”

One sentence wants to push all eyes back to me. I let go, moldy rice fell all over the ground.

“The doctor saved me.”

“Three warehouses are also open.”

“I came here to stop what is harming people.”

“Every time my sister caused a disaster, there was someone to clean it up for her, so she thought that if she just cried once, everything would be over.”

“But today, the people lying on the ground don't just need two words of coaxing from their mother to get up.”

The elder sister's crying stopped. I ordered Ton Ba to seal the porridge tent and take away the remaining moldy rice New rice dispatched from Nam Kho. The ladies who followed the elder sister had already dispersed by more than half. In the end, only two young ladies remained to help the doctor deliver hot water. Their eyes looking at the elder sister were no longer as respectful as yesterday. The first child brought in was awake. The child's mother hugged her child and left the porridge tent, just before meeting the elder sister. The elder sister quickly took off her earrings.

“The child has suffered, this pair of pearls you can use in exchange for medicine.”

The woman did not accept.

"Miss, I came to receive porridge because I heard that you don't collect money and truly save the poor."

“But every sip my child takes is spoiled rice.”

"People don't even know what's cooking in the pot, so how dare they tell us to eat with peace of mind?"

The elder sister held the earrings, her face was sometimes blue and sometimes white.

“I was also deceived by the Tiet family.”

“Then go find the Tiet family.”

The woman hugged her child tightly.

"I don't need your pearls, I just hope that in the future no one will take our lives to test our kindness."

She walked around the elder sister and went straight to the medicine distribution tent of Luong Dao. The elder sister stood for a long time before slowly retracting her hand. This time, the pearl could not buy back a word of gratitude. It was not until noon that Tiet Van Son appeared. As soon as he entered the tent, he beat the salary delivery manager until his face was bloody.

"Damn it! I ordered you to give me a new salary, but you dare to arbitrarily change it to moldy rice!"

It's a familiar scene again. Something happened in the warehouse, he kicked the counter clerk Tran. Now change to another manager. There are many people around him, and there is always someone to plead guilty on his behalf. I stopped the stick.

“Don't beat me to death.”

"Who gave him the key to the Western Warehouse? Who told him to change the bag? Kinh Trieu Palace will slowly ask."

Tiet Van Son stared at me.

“Miss Qin must make a big deal out of going to the government?”

“More than twenty people were poisoned, shouldn't we investigate?”

"The eldest lady has a kind heart. When things get big, her reputation will be damaged."

The elder sister suddenly raised her head. I laughed again.

“Master Tiet finally told the truth.”

“What you were afraid of from beginning to end was not something happening to the patient.”

"But my sister's good reputation can no longer cover your bad salary."

11

The second day after the porridge hut happened, the Tiet family stopped all large boats. Six thousand bags of wages in Nam warehouse are waiting to be shipped to Thanh Ha. But on the dock there was not a single sail visible. Uncle Sun ran all over the city, and when he returned, his shoe soles were worn out.

“Twenty-seven boat owners, when they heard that it was a moral matter, immediately shook their heads.”

"Tiet Van Son has passed on the word, whoever helps us with our food, don't expect to earn a living at his wharf in the future."