Floating Chopsticks (2)

Most of them were like this. They were kind but didn’t have the ability to help much. It was difficult to find a place for such a huge number of refugees to settle down. Even providing snacks was already considered as sending charcoal in a blizzard.

[Note: sending charcoal in a blizzard (Chinese idiom) = to help in one’s hour of need; to give timely assistance]

The reason why these refugees were still alive was because of the kindness of some cities. It was just enough sustenance for them to continue their journey.

After all, in this world, there are bad people as well as good people!

“Porridge… Porridge… I’m starving…” Ye Lang suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten in ages. Now that the porridge was in front of him, he didn’t hold back.

Ye Lang was never picky when it came to food because his mother said wasting food was a sin. This was referring to his original mother, of course!

Long Anqi, as a princess, wouldn’t have had this realisation- she didn’t come from a family that needed to worry about food.

Ye Lang scurried to where the porridge was being served, slurping the porridge upon receiving a bowl of it.  Although he was wearing good quality clothes, his clothes soon appeared the same as the refugees after being in contact with so many of them and toiling around dirt and dust along the way. The only difference was that his clothes were still undamaged, while the clothes of the refugees were torn.

Ye Lang had saved a couple of refugees who were nearly dead along the way. This made everyone realize they were following an aristocrat who was also a doctor. What they didn’t know was the extent of his medical abilities.

That was why many people felt upset watching Ye Lang eating porridge…

If Ye Lanyu and Zhen Xiaoyan saw him in this state, they’d probably cry- Ye Lang was a precious child to them! Zhen Xiaoyan had always prepared good food for him but she wouldn’t bear watch him endure so much suffering!

To them, Ye Lang eating porridge was suffering, and it was unacceptable!

It wasn’t like this porridge wasn’t anything special, but keep in mind many people didn’t have a chance for a mouthful even if they wanted to. Ye Lang was a little different to them though, he didn’t need to suffer like this!

“Sir, how can you eat this…” said one of the refugees, their hearts aching for Ye Lang as he had to eat porridge just like them.

And this was because they had given away all of Ye Lang’s food!

“You mean I can’t eat it? But I’m hungry…” Ye Lang was holding the bowl of porridge and he looked a little confused. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t eat it- wasn’t it for everyone?

It was obvious that he’d misunderstood and thought that the others didn’t allow him to eat this bowl of porridge.

“No, it’s not that you can’t, it’s just that…” The refugees couldn’t express what they wanted to say at that point, they couldn’t find the right words to do so.

When they heard Ye Lang saying he was hungry, they then only realized that he’d never eaten anything since he met them. The refugees hadn’t been aware until now.

“Sir, it’s not that you’re not allowed to, it’s just…You should eat something better and not porridge like us,” said the skinny dark man.

“It’s okay, anything that can fill up my stomach is a good thing. But this porridge reminds me of something…” said Ye Lang while shaking his head after he finished eating the porridge.

“What is it?” Everyone was puzzled.

“Up with the chopsticks, off with the heads!” said Ye Lang.

“?? What does it mean?” asked the skinny dark man with his hoarse voice. He asked this question on behalf of everyone.

Ye Lang looked at the porridge and said, “It’s a story from a horrible era when there were severe food shortages. Soup kitchens were set up to make porridge for the victims. However, there were places that produced porridge almost like a clear soup. This made the supervisors furious, instructing that if a pair of chopsticks was able to float in the porridge, the officials that were responsible for it would have their heads chopped off!”

“Oh!” Everyone knew why Ye Lang would think of this story. This was because although it was indeed a bowl of porridge in front of them, it was very diluted.

At this moment, the one who served the porridge fell silent. It could be seen that he was fuming from his eyes, but he didn’t dare speak a word.

“At least it’s better than nothing. How dare you all request for more when you are just refugees?” said the person who spoke rudely just now. He looked at Ye Lang with disdain and said, “They call you Sir? Hmmph, a little prince of lowly commoners…”

They’d noticed the way everyone talked to Ye Lang. They didn’t expect that there would be a lord among these people, they took it as a joke.

They were certain of it because of the state of Ye Lang’s clothes!

Little Xin was still in the crowd at this moment because Ye Lang hadn’t commanded her to come out. Otherwise, they would’ve believed that Ye Lang was an aristocrat, and he wasn’t any ordinary rich person.

Little Xin was spotless as was she well protected by Ye Lang. Anyone who saw her would think she was a noble lady!

“How dare you insult our prince!” They were starting to get angry. They couldn’t let anyone disrespect Ye Lang, especially during this heart-warming moment.

“?? Aren’t you all the one he insulted?” Ye Lang was confused and asked, “He called you all lowly commoners, no?”

“…”

… You don’t get it, do you?

“Forget it. Finish up your porridge, don’t waste food!” said Ye Lang to the crowd. He didn’t mind spending money to get better food, but there was too much porridge leftover and of course, the porridge couldn’t be wasted.

Same old, wasting food wasn’t good!

Those refugees nearby who had been starving agreed, so they decided to eat the porridge first then deal with those people later.

In a short time, the crowd of thousands finished all the porridge…

At this moment, the rude person clapped his hands and prepared to return home. His task for the day was done, and he didn’t want to sit in the sun. He seemed to look down on Ye Lang and the crowd too.

Ye Lang then said something which stopped him in his tracks…

“We’re coming in!”

What?! They’re coming in? Did I make a mistake? Did they really think they could? The man stopped and looked at Ye Lang in surprise. Ye Lang’s face was expressionless. He seemed very calm as if he’d said a very normal thing.

That’s right. It was normal to Ye Lang.

“Stay where you are!! You can’t enter this town. Didn’t you hear what I said?” shouted the officer. Theoretically, he could be considered an officer. While he might be just a minor officer, he was still an officer nonetheless.

It was obvious from his attitude that this officer was the type who looked down on people, especially on civilians- like Ye Lang and his refugees.

Of course, if Ye Lang came alone, his attitude would’ve been completely different!

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