Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 136 Nursery Rhyme
After bidding farewell to Han Ziyu, Lu Beigu felt somewhat at ease.

But the price of grain hangs like a sword of Damocles; as long as it doesn't fall, the city will never be at peace.

The next day, the rain showed no signs of abating. Although the floodwaters in the city had not completely receded thanks to the continued operation of the floodgates, the streets were now passable.

However, this did not bring much joy to the people of the city.

Grain prices were like a runaway horse. After "Fengyu" put up a sign that said 500 coins per dou of coarse rice, several other large grain stores followed suit, with some even raising the price to 550 coins!
The prefectural government posted a few notices as a symbolic gesture, but in the face of reality, they were as pale as waste paper ripped by rain.

Starving people had begun to gather and shout curses outside several grain stores that were most aggressive in raising grain prices. The yamen runners were exhausted from trying to drive them away, but it was like trying to boil water; they could only barely maintain order to prevent it from collapsing.

In this oppressive and suffocating atmosphere, an undercurrent was quietly surging through the streets and alleys of Luchuan City.

At the street corner where children usually play, several teenagers kicked wet pebbles and sang a newly made nursery rhyme in their clear, childlike voices.

"Dragon of the East Sea, wild by nature,"
I want virgin boys and hot girls!
Little Nezha, so skilled!
The Universe Ring flashed with golden light!
Cramping the dragon's tendons, pulling the dragon's ribbon,
"The evil dragon king will flood Chentang."

The nursery rhyme was very catchy and had a simple plot, but it was full of elements that children love, such as heroes fighting monsters. So it quickly spread to the streets and alleys nearby.

The children didn't quite understand the deeper meaning; they only thought that "Little Nezha," who was their age, was powerful, "Dragon King of the East Sea" was hateful, and "gentlemen of Chentang Pass" were bad people.

Immediately afterwards, in several teahouses in the city where business was doing well, the storytellers suddenly switched to new stories.

With a clapper, he began to recount the myth of "Nezha subduing the evil dragon of the East Sea" with great emotion.

The story is much more detailed than the nursery rhyme. Li Jing's helplessness, Nezha's resentment, the gentry's shortsightedness and baseness, the Dragon King's cruelty and treachery, Taiyi Zhenren's immortal methods, and the exciting scene of Nezha riding the Wind Fire Wheels and wielding the Fire-tipped Spear to fight the Dragon King after his rebirth are all vividly portrayed.

In particular, Nezha's question of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" before he committed suicide, and the scene where the Dragon King still turned against him and flooded Chentang Pass after offering his son, made the audience in the teahouse grit their teeth!
"Those gentry, bah! They only care about their own immediate needs, they deserve to be flooded!"

"The Dragon King is a despicable scoundrel! He doesn't keep his word!"

"Nezha is truly amazing! He can come back to life even after dying, and beat that old mudfish to a pulp!"

The teahouse was buzzing with discussion and high spirits.

This story seems to be an outlet, projecting the pent-up frustration, resentment towards grain merchants, and disappointment with the government onto the characters of "Dragon King" and "Gentleman".

Nezha's tragic fate and his powerful rebirth embody people's yearning for a "savior".

Peddlers who traveled from street to street also became storytellers, telling the story along with other vendors while selling needles, thread, and cheap goods.

At the same time, a rumor began to circulate in the streets.

"Have you heard? It seems the Han family is making some moves! They say they want to do something virtuous, like Nezha."

"Really? The Han family?"

"Shh, keep your voice down! It's probably true! The old patriarch of the Han family was a well-known philanthropist when he was alive! Maybe even his children and grandchildren couldn't stand it anymore!"

"Sigh, I wish it were true."

Rumors are like pebbles thrown into a stagnant pond, spreading out in ripples.

The story of Nezha and the news that the Han family, who were well-known in Luchuan City, might intervene were intertwined in a peculiar way, igniting a faint spark of hope in the despairing city.

People began to unconsciously anticipate that "Nezha," who rode the wind and wielded the fire-tipped spear, would actually appear in Luchuan City, which was suffering from floods and famine.

These expectant gazes unwittingly converged on the door of the Han family's "Han's Rice Shop," which had remained tightly closed since the torrential rain began.

In fact, most of the wealthy families in the city acted similarly during this incident, neither participating in price gouging nor selling grain to the public. In the backyard of Han's Rice Shop, Han Ziyu was talking quietly with a middle-aged man who appeared to be the manager.

"What about the grain? How's the mobilization going? How confident are you in the success?"

Han Ziyu looked at the drizzling rain outside the window and asked.

"I'm absolutely certain we've gathered enough grain. We'll only sell it to the elderly, weak, women, and children registered in the city, limiting each person to one dou (a unit of dry measure) per day. As for the price..."

He paused, then announced a price: "Coarse rice, fifty coins per dou."

Fifty coins, much lower than the usual rice price of around seventy coins, means that even with transportation and storage costs, it's a loss-making venture.

The reason why it was only sold to the elderly, weak, women and children in the city, and not to everyone, was because it was feared that if there were no restrictions, there would be troublemakers who would gather hundreds of people to dawdle in line, causing those who really needed food to not get any.

Most families in the city who needed food rations certainly had elderly, weak, women and children at home. At the very least, there were always people who could come to buy a bushel of cheap rice every day. If they were careful with their food, this rice would be enough to sustain the family.

These matters were decided by the head of the Han family, who is also Han Ziyu's father.

Han Ziyu understood that the Han family was bound to lose a large sum of money at this price.

But as Lu Beigu said, this money may be earned back with interest in the future when the salt law changes.

Moreover, my father's eventual agreement was probably due to the grain merchant's unseemly behavior and the increasingly tense situation in the city.

If they don't intervene soon, and the starving people completely lose control, causing a major upheaval in the city, the Han family's numerous assets will also be hard-pressed to remain unscathed.

"We'll open promptly at the first quarter of Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow! Tonight, have the staff put up a notice at the entrance, clearly stating the purchase limit and prices!"

"Furthermore," Han Ziyu lowered his voice, "arrange for a few dozen clever and reliable men to mingle in the crowd. If any grain merchants or scoundrels dare to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble, loot, or deliberately incite unrest, give them a good beating! Show the Han family's power! But remember, only punish the ringleaders. Be careful not to kill anyone, and don't give the state government any leverage!"

"Understood!" The steward nodded emphatically.

The Han family's ability to stand strong in Luchuan for a century is not solely due to their philanthropy.

The rain continued into the next morning.

The heavy wooden door of "Han's Rice Shop," which had been tightly closed for many days, creaked open precisely at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) and slowly opened inwards.

The crowd, who had been waiting patiently in the cold wind for who knows how long, suddenly became restless.

When it was confirmed that it was indeed fifty coins per dou of rice, a price only one-tenth of that of other grain merchants, exclamations erupted instantly, like boiling oil being poured into cold water!
The crowd surged forward wildly, almost drowning out the newly posted notice!

"Don't push! Line up! Line up!" The shop assistants shouted hoarsely to maintain order. "Look at the notice! Look at the notice! Only for the elderly, weak, women and children with city household registration! Limited to one bushel per person! Disruptors will be severely punished!"

Some people tried to push their way forward, but were immediately grabbed by the collar by a sharp-eyed man in shorts and thrown out of the crowd like a sack of potatoes, where they lay in the mud for a long time, unable to get up.

This swift and decisive action immediately deterred many restless individuals from making any moves.

And this news spread like wildfire throughout the city.

The mythical nursery rhyme "Nezha subdues the evil dragon of the East Sea" seemed to be a prophecy, and indeed, "Nezha" appeared, bringing hope to Luchuan City, which was also plagued by water!

And all of this was seen by someone.

(End of this chapter)