Chapter 226: The Price of Rice Rises

Chapter 226 -218: The Price of Rice Rises

The Jin guard glared at him. “What’s it to you? This is from Miss Bai for me.”

Meng Nan came over as well, snatching the food box from the Jin guard’s hands. “This is clearly for me. Why are you butting in?”

Jin Xiao’an grew frantic. “It’s for both of us! Don’t you dare hog it all.”

Meng Nan snorted. “So what if I hog it all? I’ve missed two meals. Can’t I have this one all to myself?”

Jin Xiao’an shouted, “I’ve missed a meal too! I’m starving. Don’t be so selfish.”

Bai Zhi was speechless looking at these two characters. There were still constables from the county government around, yet they were fighting over food like children, completely disregarding their image.

“Alright, alright, there’s plenty. It’s enough for both of you. Go on inside.” Bai Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she pushed Meng Nan and the Jin guard inside.

‘I originally came here to treat a patient, but it looks like I’ll have to wait for them to finish eating…’

The food box wasn’t large, but it was stuffed to the brim: a plate of pan-fried dumplings, a plate of shumai, and six egg crepes.

After tasting a single pan-fried dumpling, Meng Nan and the Jin guard simply couldn’t stop. They wanted to ask what this delicacy was, but they didn’t want to pause their mouths. The moment one stopped, the other would get to eat one more piece, and neither was willing to suffer that loss. And so, a scene of them snatching food from each other unfolded.

Meng Nan let out a satisfied burp, though he still clutched two egg crepes in his hand. “These are mine. I can’t eat them now, so I’m saving them for lunch. Don’t you try to take them.”

The Jin guard’s hands were empty. ‘Why hadn’t he thought to grab one to save for lunch? What a blunder!’

Bai Zhi said, “Binge-eating like this isn’t good for you. It’s very unhealthy.”

The Jin guard swallowed his last bite of shumai and sighed. “Miss Bai, ever since we had that meal you made five days ago, we can barely stomach the food from the cook here. We’ve been wishing on the stars every day, hoping you’d come.”

Bai Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Didn’t I tell you? If you want to eat my cooking, you can come find me in Huangtuo Village. Is there any need to sit here wishing for me all day?”

The Jin guard said, “Miss Bai, you don’t understand. We’ve wanted to go every single day! But lately, a huge number of refugees have poured into the city, and there are riots every day. The Young Master hasn’t had a moment’s rest. Today is the only free time he’s gotten, and that’s only because he faked an illness. Otherwise, he’d definitely have been dragged off by Lord Gu to the front hall to hear cases.”

Hu Feng shook his head, his eyes full of contempt. “You take a salary from the county government. Holding court and handling cases is your duty. Yet you feign illness and shirk it, all to satisfy your gluttony. Have you no shame?”

Meng Nan put down his teacup and waved his hands repeatedly at Hu Feng. “You can’t say that. I’m the Assistant Governor, not the County Magistrate. Holding court and handling cases isn’t my primary duty. I helped him before because he had business that took him away from Qingyuan Town. Now that he’s back, these matters should naturally be returned to him. Besides, the refugee situation is very complicated. It’s not something a minor Assistant Governor like me can handle. He’s the one who has to wade into these muddy waters.”

Bai Zhi said, “I don’t understand much about other affairs, but there is one thing I think you officials ought to handle.”

Meng Nan looked curious. “What is it?”

Bai Zhi said, “Before the refugees even entered the city, the rice shops started raising their prices. Now, with a constant stream of refugees pouring in, the price of rice has been rising again and again. I heard that one tael of silver can only buy a single dou of rice now. This is practically drinking the blood of the common people! If this goes on, who knows how many poor families will starve to death.”