ebookland Chapter 332: Free Porridge Outside the City
Chapter 332: Free Porridge Outside the City
Once outside, Song Ruozhen and Chu Junting exchanged a glance and, with perfect understanding, decided to visit Yunchan Temple.
"Such a capable person has emerged in the capital. Two of them have already appeared among our own people. It is likely that there will be even more people in the capital falling victim to this now."
Chu Junting's expression darkened slightly. Using such methods to profit was a common practice. The master that the Liu family had previously hired had swindled and cheated out a lot of money, but he did not end up well.
Not long after, someone else dared to come looking for death.
Song Ruozhen nodded, "If this person is allowed to continue like this, there will definitely be many victims."
As the two boarded the carriage and left the imperial city, they saw that the number of refugees outside the city had increased significantly compared to before. They were all emaciated and looked very pitiful.
Song Ruozhen glanced at the soup kitchen not far from the city gate. Ever since they learned that many refugees had come from outside the city, the Song family had set up a soup kitchen.
Although it can't be of much help, at least it will prevent them from going hungry forever.
This has always been a tradition of the Song family.
However, she noticed that a soup kitchen had also been set up on the other side, but it wasn't the Song family's, but the Tang family's.
"Miss Tang is beautiful inside and out. Not only did she come out to distribute porridge herself, but she also gave us extra meat buns today. They smell so good that my nose almost fell off!"
"I've been traveling all this way and I'm really hungry. Eating this meat bun makes me feel much better."
"I heard that the Song family in the capital is good at business and can be called the richest family, but they only give us porridge and some pickled vegetables, which is far less generous than the Tang family."
That Miss Song even stole Miss Tang's original engagement! Tsk tsk, the richer they are, the more ruthless they become!
Upon hearing this, Song Ruozhen, who had only been casually listening, smiled with amusement in her dark, beautiful eyes.
really interesting!
After Tang Xuening lost face at the hunting grounds, she hadn't made any moves lately. She thought she had kept a low profile, but little did she know what was waiting for her here.
There are plenty of places to distribute porridge in the capital, but they chose to do it right across from the Song family's stall, and even gave them meat buns. It's not just about gaining a good reputation, but also about humiliating the Song family!
Chu Junting frowned almost imperceptibly, naturally noticing the problem.
"I never expected the Tang family to be so generous, giving meat buns to every refugee. This is a treatment that has never been seen before."
Song Ruozhen said something to Chu Junting and then got off the carriage. Now that she was here, she had to find out the truth.
Listening to the growing discussions around them, it was clear that everyone was praising the Tang family. The Song family had come out of kindness to distribute porridge, but now they were seen as stingy misers.
Is this the meaning of "a small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment"?
Seeing Song Ruozhen's retreating figure, Chu Junting waved to Yun Yang, "Investigate what's going on here."
"Yes, Your Highness." Yunyang quickly accepted the order.
"Fifth Sister, what brings you here?"
When the person in charge of distributing the porridge saw Song Ruozhen appear, he rushed over to greet her, his eyes full of surprise.
Song Ruozhen waved her hand to indicate that he didn't need to be so polite. Looking at their porridge stall and then at the long line of people queuing for steamed buns across the street, she asked:
"When did the Tang family's porridge stall open? Were meat buns always available before?"
The manager was a little flustered and said, "Miss, the Tang family's porridge stall was opened two days ago. Before that, it was a porridge stall just like ours, and everything was fine."
"Miss Tang came today, saying she felt so sorry for these refugees that she immediately ordered people to buy lots of meat buns. Everyone is praising Miss Tang for her kind heart; she's practically a living Bodhisattva."
Song Ruozhen's gaze fell on Tang Xuening, who was smiling and accepting everyone's praise not far away, and a playful look flashed in her eyes. "I see."
"Miss, should we go and buy some other food as well?" the steward asked worriedly.
The Song family has always been known throughout the capital for their philanthropy, but now, because of the Tang family's actions, their reputation has taken a turn for the worse, even though they are doing good deeds.
He was already hesitant about how to explain this when he got back, and then the young lady just happened to run into him, which couldn't be worse.
"No need."
Song Ruozhen raised her hand to stop the manager's suggestion.
"It's the Tang family's business to buy meat buns. We don't need to follow suit. If we do, it will only give them more reason to gossip."
The manager nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Miss."
"Judging from the Tang family's actions, are they planning to continue distributing porridge in this area?"
Song Ruozhen glanced at the well-prepared Tang family porridge stall and understood that the Prime Minister must feel that the last incident was too embarrassing, and distributing porridge was undoubtedly a good opportunity to salvage his reputation.
If Tang Xuening performs well, the people in the city will gradually forget what happened before, and her good reputation will naturally be restored.
“I had someone inquire before, and they did have this plan. To be honest, if they really wanted to distribute porridge, there are plenty of places available. Why do they have to squeeze in with me?”
The manager couldn't help but complain. It was supposed to be a good thing to help people, but now that this has happened, things have become much more complicated.
Not far away, Tang Xuening also spotted Song Ruozhen, and a sense of smugness crept into her heart.
"Miss, I didn't expect Song Ruozhen to be so quick. She rushed over as soon as she heard you were distributing porridge. Does she think she can outdo you?"
Tang Xuening smiled sarcastically, "The Song family has plenty of money, yet they only give out porridge. How stingy!"
Even if she tries to learn from me now, it's too late. Everyone will only thank me for my kindness and acknowledge the goodness of the Tang family!
“What you say is true, Miss. Even if she tries to learn it now, it will just be a poor imitation!”
"Let's go and take a look."
Tang Xuening slowly walked up to Song Ruozhen. Seeing Song Ruozhen dressed in a plain dress, with delicate features and beautiful eyebrows, like a beauty who had stepped out of a painting, a hint of jealousy unconsciously crept into her eyes.
The Song family is full of good-looking people, why is that!
The King of Chu was also captivated by her alluring face. Apart from that face, Song Ruozhen had no one who could compare to her!
"Miss Song, you've come to distribute porridge too!"
Tang Xuening concealed the jealousy in her eyes, a gentle smile spreading across her face. Her kind and gentle demeanor made it seem as if the grudges between the two of them had never existed.
"I happened to be out of town today and I didn't expect to run into Miss Tang personally distributing porridge and giving meat buns to the refugees. She is so generous."
Song Ruozhen spoke casually, as if she didn't care about the matter at all, appearing completely nonchalant.
Tang Xuening sneered inwardly. Song Ruozhen was really good at pretending. Why would she want to leave the city for no reason?
"I saw that these refugees were pitiful, starving, and had been traveling for so many days. Their stomachs were empty, and just drinking porridge wasn't enough, so I had someone buy some steamed buns."
They were just expressing their feelings on a whim; they are still grateful to the Song family. You shouldn't mind, right?