They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 418 Food Shortage
Liang Mingliang was so angry he almost burst out laughing.

"I wouldn't dare to see you off; what if we clash and something happens?"

"Am I being wronged?"

"find someone else."

Liang Mingliang drove off in his mule cart.

Zhang was furious. "Look at this! Look at this! How can there be such a person again?"

No one paid any attention to her.

What Mingliang said is absolutely right. He kindly offered to pick you up, but instead, you acted unreasonably and hurled insults at him.

The Zhang couple were worried about their son, so they had to find another car.

They did consider using Liang Lizheng's mule cart and asking another villager to help drive it.

Unexpectedly, after Liang Mingliang returned home and unloaded the cart, he led the mule cart to graze in the mountains, leaving Uncle Liang and his wife dumbfounded.

That oddball Zhang wanted to find the mule to pull the cart, but the village head's wife said to them sarcastically, "Our mule has been running for half a day and it's tired. Why don't you find an oxcart instead? What if our mule gets too tired and refuses to run on the way? Don't let it cause you to misunderstand and think we're incompatible. That would be too embarrassing."

Zhang was speechless for a moment, and Uncle Liang's face also felt hot and uncomfortable. He couldn't say anything else.
Having no other option, the two borrowed an oxcart from the village and slowly made their way into the city.

By the time they got back to the village, it was already dark.

The couple didn't look too good, but everyone assumed Liang Mingxiang was in bad shape and kindly comforted them.

People were saying things like, "I heard Mingxiang broke his leg and can't move? He should rest a bit, it's not serious, right?", "There are good doctors in the city, Mingxiang will definitely be fine.", and "If he rests well and eats good food, he'll definitely recover quickly."

The more Zhang and his wife listened, the more awkward and unpleasant their expressions became.

It would be strange if it looked good. Of course, they knew perfectly well whether Liang Mingxiang was really injured or not, but that kid refused to come back no matter what. He said he didn't want to stand with Liang Mingxuan. If they stood together, he would have to listen to the villagers comparing the two of them and saying unpleasant things. He would rather not come back at all.

The couple was heartbroken when they talked about this. However, Bai was, after all, her own aunt. Now that she was gone, it wouldn't be right for her nephew not to go back, kowtow, and offer incense.

Besides, does that mean we have to avoid Liang Mingxuan all the time from now on?
What about the Mid-Autumn Festival? What about the Lunar New Year?
Not replying either?
Liang Mingxiang didn't speak, but his attitude was clear: he wouldn't reply.

I won't go back this time, at least not this time.

The couple had no choice but to return home on their own.

How could one not be angry after hearing what these people in the village were saying!
Zhang almost got into an argument: Who said her son broke his leg? Who said her son was no good? Nonsense! All of it is nonsense!
Fortunately, Uncle Liang anticipated her move and glared at her before she could spout nonsense, stopping her. He forced a smile, thanked everyone for their concern for their son, and quickly ended the conversation.

After Bai's burial, Liang Mingxuan should return to the county school.

Only then did he learn that his older brother was not home.

Liang Mingxuan felt that something was wrong. His older brother had been away from home for so long before returning, and he genuinely liked his current sister-in-law. How could he possibly leave his sister-in-law alone to visit friends?
Or rather, what exactly happened that made him abandon his sister-in-law and leave home?

His sister-in-law was clearly just giving him the runaround, so she must know the reason. Liang Mingxuan hesitated for a moment, but decided not to ask any further questions.

Since my sister-in-law is unwilling to say, I will not make things difficult for her.

"Sister-in-law, did brother say when he'll be back?" As long as brother and sister-in-law are safe and sound, he can just ask indirectly.

Xu Zhichun was taken aback, instinctively averting her gaze, not daring to look Liang Mingxuan in the eye. "Hmm, it won't be long."

She wants to know too.

Liang Mingxuan: That's good. When my brother comes back, could my sister-in-law come with him to the county school to see me?

Xu Zhichun sighed inwardly, but could only nod with a smile, "Yes, of course I'll go."

She thought so too.
The strange feeling intensified, but Liang Mingxuan couldn't bear to ask his sister-in-law any more questions or put her in a difficult position, so he returned to the county school with a belly full of doubts.

Perhaps he could visit Brother Yu when he has time; maybe Brother Yu knows something.

The news that King Yuchang had rebelled and was at war with the imperial court finally spread to every corner of the country, becoming the most heated topic of conversation among the people in the streets and alleys.

Xu Zhichun openly asked Manager Zhong to keep an eye on the matter and inquire about more information about it, and he also made a special trip to visit Madam Lu.

The flames of war spread far and wide, and the two sides fought several rounds, with each side experiencing victories and defeats.

Besides the lives of soldiers, war also consumes vast amounts of supplies.

Prices are soaring.

Panic over the shortage of supplies quickly spread throughout the province and county, with the soaring grain prices being particularly noticeable.

The villagers in the countryside are better off. After paying taxes, they keep the surplus grain harvested from the fields to feed their families for a year.

Although most families cannot afford to eat white rice every day, they can still manage to eat it sparingly, mixing in other grains, and as long as no major changes or accidents occur, they can keep their stomachs full for a year.

The people in the town suffered greatly.

No one stores a year's worth of food at home.

As soon as the news of the war between the imperial court and Prince Yuchang spread, the entrance to the grain store was packed with people from morning till night.

Magistrate Lu reacted quickly. On the first day of the panic buying, he ordered Constable Yu to lead the yamen runners to maintain order, limit the amount of purchases, and post notices to appease the restless people.

The effect was minimal, but at least it didn't trigger further panic.

However, with all sorts of true and false, half-true and half-false, rumors of a buying frenzy spreading everywhere, the panic buying intensified.

While it wasn't to the point of widespread panic, public order in the county town had clearly deteriorated, with a significant increase in the likelihood of fights, theft, and fraud.

Magistrate Lu, Assistant Magistrate Zhao, Clerk Shao, and Constable Yu were all extremely busy.

Everything else is fine, but the most troublesome issue is the food problem.

Grain stores attempted to hoard goods, but under the coercion of Magistrate Lu, they had no choice but to open every day. However, the daily supply was extremely limited. Some people queued for several days but still couldn't buy a single grain. They broke down, cursing and fighting. Such incidents were commonplace. Like trying to hold down a gourd only to have another pop up, panic spread uncontrollably throughout the city.

Even so, Qingshan County was relatively better off under Magistrate Lu's jurisdiction; the situation in the two neighboring counties was much worse.

I heard there was a brawl over panic buying of food, resulting in over thirty injuries, six or seven of them serious; I also heard thefts were frequent, even robberies in the streets, and child traffickers were running rampant, with one child nearly being abducted.