Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 131 To be the first to worry about the world's troubles
Li Pan walked down the city wall and instructed Lu Beigu to immediately lead the craftsmen to other important water gates, and to ensure that all water gates were installed and tested in the shortest possible time so that the water in the city could be drained as soon as possible.

After receiving the order, Lu Beigu did not immediately turn around and leave. Instead, he took the opportunity during the reply to lean forward slightly and asked in a low voice, "Judge, may I ask if I may ask? I just saw the yamen runners rushing over, as if they had an urgent report? Is there any unusual movement in the price of grain in the city? The people have been suffering from floods for a long time and are now facing a food shortage. I fear that there may be great chaos."

Lu Bei's advice was direct, yet reasonable.

He already had a good relationship with Li Pan, and having just resolved the physical threat of flooding in the city, as the one who offered the advice and supervised the construction, Li Pan wouldn't reprimand him for showing concern about the potential secondary disasters.

Li Pan hadn't expected Lu Beigu to be so perceptive, guessing the grain price issue from the yamen runners' haste. The frustration and helplessness he felt about the empty granary surged up again, and his face darkened even more.

He subconsciously wanted to say that these things had nothing to do with Lu Beigu, a student from the state, and that he shouldn't get involved in this mess.

But when Li Pan saw Lu Beigu's face, wet with rain but radiating genuine concern, and recalled the principles he had shared with Lu Beigu at the ferry crossing on the south bank of Luchuan County a few months ago, he ultimately didn't say the words.

After a moment of silence, Li Pan said in a low voice, almost gritting his teeth, "A grain store in the west of the city has been overrun by starving people, but the price of rice in other grain stores is getting more and more expensive. 'Fengyuhao' has already reached 500 wen per dou of coarse rice."

Five hundred coins?!

Lu Beigu's face was instantly filled with disbelief, shock, and anger!
Although as a time traveler he knew that grain prices in the Northern Song Dynasty could soar to 500 wen or even higher under extreme circumstances, that was usually in the context of war or widespread crop failure.

Although the rainstorm in Luzhou was severe, it did not last too long. The city is not without food, and the Changping and Huimin granaries should have some reserves!

A price of five hundred coins is not just taking advantage of someone's misfortune, but blatant profiteering! Behind this, there must be a price-fixing alliance among grain merchants, and it may even involve deeper issues related to official granaries!

Looking at his young face, Li Pan felt a sense of powerlessness that made him unable to help but say one more thing.

"If you do your job well and help the people recover from the floods, that will be a great achievement! I will try to get you a better reward for this achievement. As for the grain price, the prefectural government will take care of it."

He spoke the words "I have my own plans" with unusual difficulty, his voice carrying a lack of confidence that even he himself could not convince.

He even subconsciously added, with a hint of warning: "Don't ask any more questions, and don't act rashly."

After speaking, Li Pan gave Lu Beigu a deep look, his eyes filled with complex and unfathomable emotions. There was expectation, helplessness, and a hint of warning that was not easily detected.

"I understand." Lu Beigu's voice lowered, and he bowed deeply to Li Pan's back.

He didn't press further, nor did he show any dissatisfaction or indignation; only a strange light flickered in the depths of his lowered eyes.

Li Pan then left the city and returned to the prefectural government office with Prefect Liu Yong and a group of officials.

Everything Li Pan said actually points to a fact that everyone knows but is extremely cruel.

The prefectural government is likely helpless regarding grain prices! The public granaries are probably empty! The ever-normal granaries can't be opened! The so-called "having its own plans" probably just means letting things take their course!

"What are you doing standing still?"

Lu Beigu looked at the craftsmen and suddenly raised his voice: "Although the water gates are completed, the water in the city has not yet been drained. The other water gates are still waiting. Pick up your tools and come with me!"

He stepped into the muddy water and strode towards the next water gate.

His figure appeared somewhat frail in the wind and rain, yet it exuded an indomitable spirit.

Watching Lu Beigu's retreating figure, and then glancing at the silent officials at the edge of their vision, Wang the carpenter and the others felt a surge of inexplicable emotions welling up inside them. They gritted their teeth, grabbed their tools, and followed him, stumbling along as well.

Flood control was something the students from the mainland were tasked with, and it was the only thing they could control.

As for the ever-rising rice prices, the craftsmen exchanged desperate and numb glances, just like the boundless gloom overhead, so heavy that it was hard to breathe, yet they were helpless.

Thanks to the continuous efforts of Lu Beigu and others, new water gates were installed on all six water gates leading to the Tuojiang River. As these water gates were opened, the accumulated water in the city was quickly drained out.

Although many areas still have some standing water due to the terrain, overall, the situation is much better than before when it severely impacted daily life and ground transportation.

At least for now, as long as the water gates remain effective and can drain the water from the city, the city will not flood again even if the rain continues. Unless the Tuojiang River outside the city rises again, causing the water gates to completely lose their drainage capacity.

However, this possibility is not very high, because Luchuan City is adjacent to the Yangtze River, and the water of the Tuojiang River flows directly into the Yangtze River.

After completing the construction and installation of all the water windows, they returned to the state government office.

The prefectural government didn't let them work for free; they gave each person five dou of rice and an umbrella on the spot. The craftsmen were overjoyed, thinking that at least their families could survive for a few more days without having to buy those exorbitantly priced rice.

But Lu Beigu couldn't be happy at all.

He wasn't worried about starving to death. The disaster hadn't reached that point yet. There were less than two hundred students in Luzhou, and their food rations were given the same priority as those of officials. Even if food was scarce, they would at most eat less or worse food each day.

He wasn't worried about his family in Hejiang County, because the area south of the county was higher than the area north of the county, so there was no risk of flooding. Moreover, because his family ran a restaurant, they had far more food and grain reserves than the average city dweller, and they could manage to live a long time without worry.

He was worried about the price of rice.

In ancient times, a tenth increase in the price of rice did not mean that everyone would eat one-tenth less rice, but rather that many poor people would starve to death because they could not afford enough rice to sustain their lives.

"What should I do?"

Holding his new umbrella, Lu Beigu stood by the muddy street outside the prefectural government office, looking at the mud beneath his feet, and for a moment felt a sense of "worrying about the world's troubles before anyone else."

Fan Zhongyan? He was a wise minister who was one in a thousand years, who was willing to endure infamy and be demoted to force the opening of granaries to stabilize grain prices.

But who is Lu Beigu?
A student from the prefecture who wasn't even qualified to participate in the autumn examinations had no power or influence and couldn't even persuade Prefect Liu Yong.

Liu Yong would never risk his career for his "sense of justice".

As for Li Pan, he had even less say in the matter.

"The Dragon and Tiger List," he muttered to himself.

The path to fame and fortune seems more urgent than imagined.

Without sufficient power and status, even with effective strategies to save the world, it is difficult to shake the deeply entrenched social order.

(End of this chapter)