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Finally, she sighed, “Ladies and gentlemen, although the idea of distributing porridge was proposed by my husband, the grain for this porridge is in fact procured from the earnings of my dowry shop. It is used to fill in the gaps here.”

As soon as Liu Sisi finished speaking, the crowd queuing in line discussed in hushed whispers, yet nobody stepped forward.

“Everyone should know that the price of grain is currently on the rise. A stone of grain that originally cost 3 taels of silver now costs 4 taels and 3 maces. The reason for this significant increase is closely related to the significantly reduced yield of early rice this year, and I believe everyone present understands that.”

Liu Sisi’s gaze swept across the crowd, “Every day, Sisi uses the silver earned from her dowry shop to supplement everyone’s food. Just now, someone said they saw Sisi herself and went so far as to say that the fat on Sisi’s body and the gold and silver ornaments on her head weigh the same. I’m standing right here, so everyone can clearly see the clothing I’m wearing and the clothing of the maids and woman-servants behind me. See if I am indeed, as he claimed, clothed in gold and silver and living in luxury!”

She is actually not worried about these idle and scatterred gossip, but now the position of Macheng County Magistrate is vacant, and during Di Yelei’s temporary takeover during this special period, there mustn’t be any issues.

The murmurings around her gradually grew louder, and finally, someone stood up.

“Could someone impersonating Mrs Di have come forward?”

“No, not a chance! I’ve had the privilege of seeing the lady from afar, this is indeed the genuine Mrs Di.”

“So who are the bastards spreading rumors and tarnishing the reputations of Lord Di and Mrs Di?”

“Find him! Beat him to death!”

“Yes, find him, drag him out here, and kill him!”

The shouts of the crowd grew louder and more resonant, each person scrambling to find the old man who had previously slandered their reputation. That old man, being cunning, had already sneaked away the moment Liu Sisi started speaking. The crowd was riotous for a long time, yet nobody could capture him.

Liu Sisis looked up at the sky, not wanting to waste any more time here.

“Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, please hear me out! Everyone!”

Liu Sisi tried hard to quell the agitation of the crowd, “Everyone is aware that the price of grain is becoming more and more expensive. Sisi is but a humble woman, and there won’t be any good fortune like manna from heaven falling onto my head. Therefore, we have made a painful decision.”

She suddenly stopped talking, looking up at everyone around her.

Everyone’s eyes were wide open, looking up at her, she wasn’t going to cancel the distribution of porridge, was she?

“Everyone knows that recently, locusts have run rampant, eating crops and ruining many seedlings. Therefore, starting from today, anyone who brings in 1,000 locusts can come here to exchange them for a small bowl of coarse grains! There is no limit. As to when to cease these exchanges, I will inform everyone separately!”

Liu Sisi solemnly looked at everyone, “After everyone catches the locusts, put them in a bag first, and then pierce the locusts with a bamboo stick. Make a string of 50 locusts. It will not only be convenient to pick up, but also to count. Then you can bring them.”

“Exchange coarse grains with locusts? These locusts can even be exchanged for coarse grains? This is simply incredible.”

“Really strange. These locusts eat our crops year after year, causing no harvest in the fields. What is the lady going to do with these bought locusts?”

“What does it matter what she does with them? 1,000 can be exchanged for a bowl of coarse grain. There are locusts everywhere on the mountainside outside, let’s hurry and catch them!”

“Yes, there are locusts all over the mountains, and they are easy to catch. In one day, we might get several bowls of grain, which is enough for my family to get by.”

“I’ll go home and call my kids to help. Hehe, they will definitely catch a lot…”

Seeing the potential for profit, some people didn’t even bother to queue up and ran away.

“Gentlemen! Gentlemen, I’m not done talking yet!”

Liu Sisi hurriedly yelled out to everyone.

“We are also collecting locust eggs! 5000 locust eggs can be exchanged for a small bowl of coarse grains. You can find as many as 50 eggs in a place where the soil bulges up, it’s easier to catch than the locusts! Everyone, please be quick. We’re collecting locusts and their eggs only until the end of this month, the more, the better, the more, the better!”

No sooner than Liu Sisi finished her words, more than half of the people queuing up for porridge left.

“There’s one more thing, due to recent food shortage, the food given out during the porridge distribution will be reduced to half a bowl per person so that more people can receive it. Remember, remember!”

As the task of collecting locusts had been mentioned earlier, no one raised any objections when Liu Sisi brought it up again at the moment.

Everyone’s faces showed readiness instead, seemingly eager to start.

Liu Sisi spoke loudly: “Pass the word, put these orders up next to the city gate. Shopkeeper Gu will be in charge of this matter, ensuring its proper execution.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The servant hurriedly spread the message.

Having stepped down from the porridge distribution podium, Liu Sisi then turned back to inquire about the porridge distribution status with the few soldiers. With the daily consumption of about 50 jins of grain in the recent porridge distribution, even if the porridge was made by blending coarse grains and rice, several large pots are used up every day. Combined with the cost of firewood, the daily expenditure in silver was indeed significant.

Looking at the bustling surroundings, Liu Sisi lifted her head and sighed. For the time being, let it be. At the very least, they need to get through this month first.

The foundation of the Di family is still too weak.

Although Ye Lei is a sixth-rank Captain, compared to those centuries-old noble families, the difference is far more than a bit.

Having finalized matters, she only decided to return. Gao and Granny Hu beside her hurriedly instructed everyone to make way for Liu Sisi. Liu Sisi did not pay much attention and led YingEr towards the carriage.

As her gaze randomly swept across, she saw a pair of wolf-like eyes in the crowd.

Her heartbeat skipped a few beats!

She quickly turned back to look carefully, but the prickling sensation akin to a sharp thorn piercing her back had disappeared.

She frowned and scanned the crowd several times, looking for that gaze. However, it was almost impossible to find it again amongst the tumultuous crowd at this moment.

“Madam, locusts have become a plague outdoors. All these locusts we’ve caught and brought back, how are we going to make use of them? This…this cost is really too great.”

The woman beside, Granny Hu, was confused and asked.

“You don’t understand.” Liu Sisi gathered her thoughts and shook her head.

“Nowadays, Old Master is Lord Captain, and he is also the highest official in Macheng County. At the moment, there is a transition between old and new officials, and we absolutely cannot have any mishaps. The other day, we saw a swarm of locusts during our journey. Old Master went to the west yesterday where the locust plague is even worse. If at this point our Macheng County experiences a locust disaster, I’m afraid there will be people in the court who will take this opportunity to attack Old Master.”