CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: BRAN, IS IT FOR THE ANIMALS TO EAT?_1

Not enough!

The old butler beside him took out an abacus and fiddled with it for a moment before shaking his head. "Young Master."

"It’s Landlord!" Landlord He glared at the butler, huffing, "Call me Landlord!"

The butler hurriedly replied, "Of course, Young Master. I will definitely remember next time, Young Master."

Landlord He was speechless.

The old butler continued, "Based on the 200,000 catties of pork... if everyone in the city comes for the pork and vermicelli stew for all seven days of the disaster relief, each person would get less than an ounce of pork per day."

After all, besides the pork, other staples like rice, flour, and vermicelli also cost money. Moreover, with this kind of free food, no one would ever feel full. It would inevitably lead to people taking multiple servings and stuffing themselves sick. At that rate, forget 200,000 catties; even 2,000,000 catties of pork would be snatched up in no time.

"That’s not right!" Landlord He scratched his head. "Didn’t you say the disaster relief was for the poor refugees who can’t afford to eat? Those 800,000 people are the city’s permanent residents!"

As if he had discovered a logical flaw, Landlord He grew excited. "Taoist Priest, there are only about one hundred thousand refugees."

"Two hundred thousand catties of pork divided among a hundred thousand people means each person gets almost two catties! Add in the staple foods, and they’ll be eating until their mouths are slick with grease."

A faint, knowing smile played on Wang Xiu’s lips.

The butler, however, looked helpless. "Young Master," he reminded him, "every time our great families provide disaster relief, the townspeople disguise themselves as refugees to get the relief porridge."

"If you really provide white rice, steamed buns, and pork and vermicelli stew, the entire city will show up to falsely claim it."

"The competition could get so fierce it might even lead to riots and deaths."

GASP.

Are there really people like that?

Landlord He’s face was a mask of shock. "Is it really that absurd? It’s just a few catties of pork. Why would that make them so frantic?"

Clearly, Landlord He, having grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, didn’t understand the plight of the common people. His old butler, however, was far more experienced and knew their hardships well.

"You must be joking, Young Master," the butler said helplessly. "Even the permanent residents of Maple City can’t afford to eat pork every day. An ordinary person might only have it once or twice a month."

"For families in more difficult situations, they only get a taste of meat during the New Year and other festivals. On a normal day, they can’t even afford rice."

GASP.

It was as if a whole new world had opened up to him. Landlord He scratched his head. "But... I’ve already had the pigs slaughtered. What am I supposed to do now?"

He raised over a hundred thousand pigs, but the local population’s purchasing power was too low to buy much pork. Under normal circumstances, the He Family’s pig farm would slaughter three to four hundred fattened pigs daily. They would then raise new piglets that would be ready for slaughter in a year, creating a self-sustaining cycle. Now that he had slaughtered more than two thousand pigs at once, selling all the meat in a short time would be difficult unless he invited the entire city for a feast.

Wang Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He stroked his chin and murmured, "This humble Taoist does have a good idea."

"Butler? The He Family must be acquainted with the largest rice and fodder merchants around here, right?"

Landlord He was still completely baffled.

The old butler, however, nodded slightly. "The He Family is involved in the rice business, along with the Zhao, Qian, and Sun families."

"As for fodder, since the He Family raises over one hundred thousand pigs, we get priority on the supply from several nearby cities."

Wang Xiu nodded. "In that case, this humble Taoist suggests Landlord He directly trade the meat from these two thousand pigs with the city’s residents. Offer it at a twenty percent discount, and trade only for brown rice."

"This way," he continued, "the townspeople get a good price and will naturally be grateful to you, Landlord He. They’ll willingly trade their own brown rice for the pork, which will also prevent the meat from spoiling."

Hmm. If they traded the pork for brown rice, a city of 800,000 people could certainly consume that much meat without a problem.

But... why only brown rice?

While Landlord He remained completely bewildered, the butler was lost in thought. "The Taoist Priest is truly brilliant," he said, a look of realization dawning on his face. "Substituting pork and vermicelli stew with thin brown rice porridge... that’s an excellent idea."

"If we use thin brown rice porridge for the relief effort, the cost will be a fraction of what it would have been."

"The number of townspeople making false claims will also drop significantly—probably by more than half!"

In fact, when refugee waves had hit Maple City in past years, the four great families would join forces for disaster relief and use the same method. They would serve brown rice porridge, but so heavily diluted with water it was practically rice-water soup. This not only saved money but also discouraged many townspeople from making false claims and wasting resources.

It was unexpected. This Daoist Wang Xiu hailed from the Sanqing Immortal Sect and was a True Disciple—a transcendent figure, almost like an immortal—yet he had such a profound understanding of the suffering of common folk. It was truly admirable!

Hearing the butler’s praise and seeing the look of adoration on Landlord He’s face, Wang Xiu slowly shook his head. "If the number of false claimants is only reduced by half, it’s not enough."

"It’s far from enough!"

"Even if you cut 800,000 people in half, you’re still left with 400,000. If they all go for the free porridge, the real refugees will never be able to compete."

After all, the helpless refugees are far too weak, whether in terms of physical strength, personal connections, or influence.

"But..." A look of helplessness crossed the butler’s face. "There’s nothing to be done if they can’t compete. It’s free food. Even if it’s just thin brown rice porridge, some people will inevitably be tempted."

Wang Xiu shook his head, his gaze burning. "If people still make false claims for the brown rice porridge, then we’ll just add another ingredient."

"Another ingredient?" The butler blinked. "What does the Taoist Priest intend to add?"

Wang Xiu said calmly, "Bran."

The butler: (⊙ˍ⊙)

Landlord He: (⊙ˍ⊙)

"Bran!" Landlord He swallowed hard. "Isn’t... isn’t that what we use for pig feed?"

He looked at Wang Xiu, his face a picture of horror.

Good heavens. I thought my old man was ruthless, but this Taoist Priest from the Sanqing Immortal Sect is an even bigger monster! Adding bran to the relief porridge? That’s... that’s just too humiliating!

The old butler, however, had some education. He pondered for a moment before slapping his thigh and exclaiming, "Brilliant! Young Master, the plan is absolutely brilliant!"

Landlord He asked, "What’s so brilliant about it?"

The butler’s face was full of admiration. "Bran is for livestock, and brown rice is for people. If it’s just brown rice porridge, no matter how thin it is, petty people looking for a free meal will still make false claims."

"But if you mix bran in with the brown rice, no one will take it unless they’re truly starving. No matter how much they love a freebie, they won’t stoop to claiming it."

"If the Taoist Priest’s plan succeeds, it will completely eliminate false claims at the source!"

"It’s genius, I tell you, absolute genius!"

"However..." The butler seemed to think of a problem, his expression turning troubled. "The common folk can be ignorant and sanctimonious. If we really use bran for the relief effort, and word gets out... it could easily incite public outrage. At that point, it would probably harm the reputations of both the He Family and the Sanqing Immortal Sect."

"If this isn’t handled well," he concluded, "you and the Taoist Priest could be reviled for generations to come."

Wang Xiu nodded slightly and looked at Landlord He with a smile. "If bearing that infamy would save the lives of a hundred thousand refugees, would you be willing to do it, Landlord He?"

I alone could bear the infamy and save one hundred thousand refugees? GASP. Why do I feel a fire igniting in my chest?

The young Landlord’s face flushed red, and his eyes welled with hot tears. "This is what a true man should do! I, He Daren, will bear this infamy!"

"Very good," Wang Xiu said, patting Landlord He on the shoulder. "Since you are willing to bear this infamy... then this humble Taoist will not need to make an appearance!"

He Daren: (⊙ˍ⊙)???