CHAPTER 197: BROKEN BOWL

Leonard thought that these men were discouraging people from being able to receive free porridge by requesting them to bring their own bowls.

He had read the file about the slum before.

Not everyone in the slum could afford a proper bowl. It would be a miracle if they held a bowl that barely had any cracks on it.

His belief seemed to be true when he noticed the elderly woman’s bowl was very old and dirty. The three kids next to her were also holding some broken bowls.

"The Crown Prince is this stingy?" Leonard asked in disbelief.

"They actually refuse to offer some bowls to the people who want free porridge to eat?"

He scolded the Crown Prince openly, only to end up receiving a fierce scolding from the elderly woman.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Young man?" The elderly woman glared at him with exasperation.

"How could you talk down on the Crown Prince? I thought you were some innocent young man and wanted to offer you some guidance. But I never expected you to be an ungrateful person." She gnashed her teeth and seemed ready to fight him.

"U-Ungrateful?" Dumbfounded, Leonard was starting to wonder if the elderly woman had developed Alzheimer’s.

What kind of relief was it supposed to be when the people receiving it were required to bring their own bowl?

If these people could afford a proper bowl, then why would they even bother coming to the relief stall and receive some porridge to fill their stomachs?

"What do you know, Young man?" The elderly woman scolded. "There were a few times when those who didn’t need the porridge came to get it. The guards in charge knew they didn’t lack the money to sustain themselves, so they expelled them."

Realization quickly dawned upon Leonard.

It appeared that he had been mistaken about the guards in charge of the relief stalls.

These relief stalls were set up at designated locations to ensure the poor people who suffered the hardest could have a full belly.

Despite the clear intention behind the stall placement, there were bound to be some greedy folks who wished to disguise themselves as poor people or those from the slum to receive them.

"These bowls were meant to identify our status and let the guards know that we are truly in need." The elderly woman said bitterly.

"The guards in charge wanted to give us a cleaner bowl once they confirmed our status, but we all refused. We’re already grateful for a chance to enjoy delicious seasoned porridge filled with rice and not plain water."

Upon hearing that, Leonard promptly apologized for his rude remarks earlier.

"I’m sorry, Elder. I came from afar to reach here because I heard there was free porridge. I didn’t know any of the rules."

"As long as you know your mistake. The Crown Prince is magnanimous enough to take us into consideration. If it’s still the past, then many of us would have starved to death."

When the elderly woman recalled the past, she couldn’t help but hold the three kids to her embrace.

The three kids also reciprocated the actions and wrapped their skinny arms tightly around the elderly woman.

Seeing this scene, Leonard didn’t need to investigate to understand what kind of trauma they went through to survive.

Young boys would be sold to work in labor, whereas young girls would be sold to the brothel.

While he was in a daze, the elderly woman suddenly gave her broken and dirty bowl to him.

"Here, take the bowl, young man. I reckon you haven’t eaten well lately from your attire." The elderly woman said.

As if afraid he might reject her kindness, she swiftly took the three kids with her to line up at the front.

Leonard could only occasionally shift his sight from the broken bowl and the elderly woman.

Despite not having an exchange of names or much interaction, this brief interaction still held significant meaning to him.

’How laughable. The merchants and nobles were unwilling to share even a tiny bit of profit, but these people who could barely fill their tummy were willing to offer me a bowl.’ He shook his head and proceeded to line up.

He wanted to personally see whether the porridge was up to taste by his own, and not through word of mouth.

Time quickly went by, and soon, Leonard arrived at the front of the line.

As he offered his broken bowl to have it filled, the men in charge looked at him with an indifferent expression.

"Do you want a new bowl?" The person asked.

"No need," Leonard flatly refused.

Nodding in agreement, the person promptly scooped up a large portion of porridge into his bowl.

Unfortunately, with the crack in his bowl, it leaked out some.

Just when they were about to fall to the ground, a young girl suddenly dashed forward and used her own dirty bowl to catch it.

"Phew, it didn’t go to waste." The young girl heaved a sigh of relief and was about to drink it from her bowl.

However, she didn’t get the chance to do so when Leonard smacked away her bowl.

When the people in the line saw this action, they were livid.

"What is wrong with you, young man?"

"How could you destroy the little girl’s bowl!"

"Are you trying to cause a scene?"

While the crowd was agitated and started pointing fingers at him, the person in charge of giving out the porridge remained quiet. They had noticed the reason, but refrained from interfering with the scene.

They were only in charge of distributing porridge.

"The little girl’s bowl is filled with parasites." Leonard coolly said and approached the stall.

He ignored everyone’s gazes as he grabbed the clean bowl by the side and personally scooped up a large portion for the young girl.

Naturally, the person in charge was about to stop him, only to sense a threatening gaze and pressure from him.

"A broken bowl can still be used, but a bowl that has contamination cannot be used." Leonard handed the bowl to the young girl.