A snowflake fell to the ground, and the streets that had been swept clean began to be covered with a light layer of white snow.
Nearly a month has passed since the war in Jiangning City, but many traces of the war can still be seen everywhere in Jiangning City.
There was a lot of noise in the streets. The sound of hawking goods, the sound of bargaining and arguing. There are jugglers and actors singing. Amid all kinds of laughter and begging for food, the Jiangning Mansion at this time was showing a "strange" prosperity.
Yes, "weird".
Perhaps in the eyes of people of this era, it is remarkable that a city can have such peace and prosperity. But for Zhang Rui, who has experienced modern life, these are far from the world Zhang Rui wants.
There are still many beggars on the street wearing various patches of plain linen clothes begging for food; there are many poor coolies waiting for work on the street; there are even some children with straw stuck in their heads, waiting to be sold...
In order to keep out the cold, they dare not take off their clothes and change them even if they become black and smelly. It's okay to have a beggar who can wrap himself in warm clothes, but how many people who have no extra clothes to wear because of poverty can only endure the hunger and cold in that long snowy night?
One night passed, and in the early morning, besides pedestrians, carriages transporting people who froze to death on the streets passed by the wide-open city gate.
If these cannot be changed, how different is this world from the Manchu and Qing Dynasties?
However, it’s not that Zhang Rui doesn’t want to change its current situation. But Zhang Rui is really powerless at the moment.
Long before the war started, the Qing army robbed the people around Jiangning Mansion of all their food. In the end, when they were defeated, most of the food was burned down in a fire. As a result, Jiangning Prefecture has hundreds of thousands of refugees. Although Huguang's grain ships are constantly transporting grain, and the bandit suppression army is also trying its best to rescue the people, it is still not a matter that can be solved in a short time. After all, the army's supply is the current priority to ensure.
"Let's go!" Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhang Rui could only grit his teeth and sigh, then said to Hu Qianhui and others who were following him.
Since the capture of Jiangning Mansion, Zhang Rui has been busy with various things. Today was a rare half-day of leisure, so I went out for a walk on the street.
At this time, Zhang Rui was still wearing plain cotton clothes. In this era of monotonous colors, which are mainly gray, this is in line with the mainstream.
Zhang Rui's body is much stronger now than before, but he still looks like a wild boy from the countryside, which is not surprising. It's just that he is surrounded by several equally strong young men, but they don't look like good people, which makes people look a little intimidating.
"Woo...Woo...Woo..."
Around the corner of the street, a low cry could be heard.
It was the cry of a little girl.
Listening to the sad cries, Zhang Rui, who originally didn't want to do anything, couldn't help but turn back to see what was going on.
I saw a thin girl about six or seven years old, wearing rough patches, wiping her tears and crying. Those almost skinny little hands looked no better than those malnourished African children of later generations. Although he saw many hungry and thin people, Zhang Rui still felt a pain in his heart when he saw them.
"Kid, why are you crying here? Where are your family members?" Zhang Rui approached and squatted down and asked in Mandarin. Although he didn't know if she could understand it, that was all he could do.
"Xi'er was hungry, and the cake was snatched away by others. I chased after her, but my brother was missing." The little girl seemed to be able to understand the Mandarin, but she finally stopped crying and started crying again.
"Bake?" Zhang Rui immediately understood what was going on, and then asked someone to buy some sesame seed cakes.
Taking advantage of the time to buy cakes, the two sat on the steps beside the street and had a brief exchange. Zhang Rui knew that the little girl was called Zhai Xi. She was now nine years old, but she looked much younger because of malnutrition.
Zhai Xi's family was originally well off, but it fell into decline after her parents were killed by Tatar soldiers in the city three years ago. She is now taken care of by her brother.
Her brother lost his hearing due to illness a few years ago and was unable to help others. He could only make a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. Originally, life could be barely maintained, but because of the war, there was no business. The cakes she ate were also made from rice bran mixed with tree bark and ground into powder. Although it was hard to eat, it could at least fill her stomach.
"Here, kid. Eat a piece of cake first!" Zhang Rui said after taking the cake from the guard and handing it to Zhai Xi.
"Brother, can I really eat it?" Zhai Xi bit her finger and asked in disbelief as Zhang Rui handed over the sesame cake.
This was white flour sesame cake. Seeing the aroma emanating from the grease-covered cake surface, Zhai Xi's stomach growled unceremoniously a few times. It had been a long time since he had eaten such delicious white noodles. Zhai Xi probably forgot about it because he must have been dreaming about it!
"Eat it. This was originally bought for you." Zhang Rui said with a smile. Looking at her hesitant expression, Zhang Rui couldn't help but admire her good tutoring. How many children could have such hesitation?
Hearing this, Zhai Xi gratefully took the sesame seed cake and took a few bites hastily.
"Cough...cough..."
She coughed a few times, but she ate too hastily and choked a few times.
"Don't be in a hurry, eat slowly." Zhang Rui reached out and brushed Zhai Xi's back, asked the person next to him for a water bag and handed it to her. Zhai Xi took the water and drank a few sips before feeling comfortable.
"Aren't you hungry? Why don't you eat?" Zhang Rui asked a little strangely, seeing Zhai Xi holding half a piece of sesame seed cake in his hand but not eating any more.
"I'm hungry, but these sesame cakes are so delicious. I want to save some for my brother to eat." Zhai Xi said very happily, as if he saw his brother praising him.
"Haha, it seems that you love your brother very much!" Zhang Rui felt a little envious when he heard this.
"Yes, my brother is the best. Of course the eldest brother is also very good." Zhai Xi nodded and said.
"You are such a brat. Eat the sesame biscuits in your hand first. These sesame biscuits in my hand are all for you. I'm just afraid that if you don't know how to exercise control, your body won't be able to bear it if you eat them all at once. I didn’t give it to you right away. If you don’t finish the sesame seed cake in your hand now, I won’t give it to you.” Zhang Rui said with a smile.
"Yes, thank you, big brother." Upon hearing this, Zhai Xi quickly finished the sesame seed cake in his hand without any hesitation.
"Brother, can I ask why you are so nice to me?" Zhai Xi asked curiously, and Hu Qianhui couldn't help but glance at Zhang Rui after hearing this.
"Why? Because I have been hungry before, and I know the feeling of being hungry. It feels uncomfortable." Zhai Xi's words reminded Zhang Rui of the scene when he had just traveled through time. Zhang Liu was starved to death at that time, and Zhang Rui still remembers that feeling deeply. How many people can understand that a ball of rice dumplings can taste like delicacies from mountains and seas?
"My brother was once so hungry that he couldn't walk. So from that time on, I secretly vowed to change the world. I would work hard to prevent everyone from being bullied and to have a full stomach. I would live in a big house and wear new clothes every day. , eat meat every day, and go and play wherever you want." Zhang Rui said as he couldn't help but touch Zhai Xi's head and asked:
"Do you think this life is good?"
Although Zhai Xi didn't quite understand, when he heard that Dun Dun had meat to eat, he nodded subconsciously and said, "Of course."
