RPAGF Chapter 621 Collusion between Government and Businessmen
Chapter 621 Collusion between Government and Businessmen
Luo Junhe raised his narrow peach blossom eyes and said, "Okay, then we will wait for you to grow up and repay us."
Gu Hao nodded, and then he said, "Brother and sister, you two are not locals, right?"
Ji Yuntang replied: "No, we just arrived at Liangzhoukou."
"Xiao Hao, can you tell us about the situation in Liangzhoukou and why the rice is so expensive outside? Doesn't your city lord care?"
Hearing this question, Gu Hao's young face showed a bit of sadness.
He lowered his head and said, "Our place was originally called Langtao Mountain. Later, I heard that the emperor in the capital sent people to investigate here and found that it was very poor and cold here, so he changed the name to Liangzhoukou. Then, somehow, it became the place of exile for prisoners in the capital."
"The city lord here has changed several times. The current city lord's surname is Jiang, and his name is Jiang Wangbei. He is also the youngest city lord in Liangzhou so far."
"I heard that he is a big shot transferred from the capital. Now everyone in Liangzhoukou who has some status is trying to curry favor with him."
Upon hearing this, Luo Junhe immediately asked: "What kind of person is this City Lord Jiang?"
A trace of anger appeared on Gu Hao's dark face. He gritted his teeth and said, "If it weren't for him, the people in Liangzhoukou wouldn't have to live such a hard life, and many people wouldn't have starved to death."
Ji Yuntang frowned and asked in confusion: "Why do you say that, Xiaohao?"
Gu Hao wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "Brother and sister, you don't know that the merchants in Liangzhoukou have been in cahoots with this Lord Jiang for a long time."
"Liangzhoukou has been suffering from a severe drought for half a year and the fields have long been barren. They knew that the people could not get any food, so they deliberately bought a batch of food from outside at a low price and sold it at a high price in Liangzhoukou."
He paused for a moment and continued, "The reason why these merchants dare to raise the price of grain so high is because City Lord Jiang has accepted their benefits and will help them from behind, so they are fearless in bullying us ordinary people."
"In the past, you could buy a pound of brown rice for five cents, but now they have increased the price dozens of times. How many of us ordinary people can afford such rice?"
"The tree bark and grass roots in the fields have all been eaten up. If this continues, the people of Liangzhoukou will probably starve to death here."
After hearing these words, Ji Yuntang felt a chill in his heart.
In any dynasty, the thing that people feared most was collusion between officials and businessmen.
In the face of interests, what does human life matter?
Especially, places like Liangzhoukou.
This place is like a cage, and those locked inside are those who have been exiled here to suffer.
But outside are the people who can't even afford to eat.
In such poor areas, once the city lord is corrupt and the merchants are unscrupulous, there will basically be no way for the lower class people to survive.
Ji Yuntang and Luo Junhe had only been at Liangzhoukou for an hour when they already felt the darkness there.
One of them is a doctor, and the other is a former war god. The thing they hate most is to see the common people starve and suffer.
Thinking of this, Ji Yuntang approached Luo Junhe and suggested in his ear in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Ahe, since we are here, we can't just stand by and watch them die. Why don't we find a way to help the people here!"
When they came here before, their purpose was just to rescue An Qi and Long Yin.
But now, Ji Yuntang changed her mind. She felt that since they were already here, there might be more they could do.
Anyway, both she and Luo Junhe had changed their appearance, so she was not afraid that others would recognize them.
Luo Junhe had the same idea. If nothing else, in order to avenge An Qi and Long Yin, he felt that he should crack down on the corrupt officials here.
The two people had the same idea. Ji Yuntang saw Gu Hao out of the corner of her eye, and she suddenly thought of something else.
She half bent over and asked Gu Hao, "Sister just heard you say that your brother is sick and urgently needs to eat brown rice. Can you tell me what disease he has?"
"My sister is a doctor, maybe she can go over and help him."
After Ji Yuntang finished speaking, Gu Hao's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately said: "I don't know what disease my brother has, but he has been suffering from abdominal pain and diarrhea since yesterday, and vomiting non-stop, and the vomited water is still yellow. As of this morning, there is no improvement."
"My mother also asked me to invite a barefoot doctor from the village to treat my brother, but the doctor just took a look and said he couldn't cure him and asked us to find someone else."
"After my mother begged him, he told us to find some brown rice and cook it for my brother. He said my brother's stomach was empty and his body was very weak. If he couldn't eat, he might vomit to death."
"But we don't have any extra food at home, so I can only buy brown rice from the rice shop in the city. If I don't buy brown rice, my mother will definitely scold me when I go back."
Gu Hao's face turned pale. He turned his head and looked at the rice shop timidly, and found that it was closed.
He stood there, looking nervous and at a loss.
A trace of heartache flashed in Ji Yuntang's eyes. She seemed to see the shadow of the original owner in Gu Hao.
She said softly: "Don't worry, Xiaohao, it's just a little rice, what's the problem?"
Not to mention brown rice, there are thousands of stones of refined rice in her space.
Ji Yuntang thought about it and found an excuse to leave.
When she came back, she was holding a bag of rice in her hand.
The rice was in a black cloth bag, which she handed to Gu Hao.
"Look, is this enough rice for your family to eat for three days?"
After Gu Hao got the bag of rice and opened it, he was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.
Because, all that’s in here is refined rice.
And judging by the weight, it must be more than ten kilograms.
He was so excited that he asked in surprise: "Sister, where did you get this refined rice?"
Ji Yuntang had already thought of an excuse, and she said, "Actually, my sister and brother came to your Liangzhoukou to do business, and the main thing we sell is rice."
"We don't have brown rice here, only old rice and polished rice. We only sell the polished rice for ten coins per pound, and this bag is only a hundred coins. Just think of it as a gift from your brother and sister. Take it back quickly and ask your mother to cook it for your brother."