After the al, upon seeing the Shopkeeper approaching, Rong Yan casually asked, "Shopkeeper, there seem to be so few people around here!"
Seeing this, Qin Ye also wasn’t in a hurry to leave.
Upon hearing her question, the Shopkeeper let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, don’t even ntion it, it’s that damned locust plague! It struck right when it should have been harvest season... all the crops that should’ve been gathered were devoured by those damned creatures, leaving nothing but displaced villagers everywhere... With the battles happening beyond our borders, the common people barely have a way to survive..."
Both Rong Yan and Qin Ye frowned at the sa ti.
In fact, Rong Yan had briefly learned about the locust disaster from Manager Hao earlier on in town.
When they were in the mountains, they hadn’t been affected because of their location deep within, combined with the geographical environnt of that county, most of the villages and towns weren’t touched by the locust plague.
In other words, the locusts had bypassed their county.
Outside, the suffering was severe; nearly all the crops in the fields that hadn’t been tily harvested were eaten clean.
Not just the crops, but anything green... fell victim to the locusts’ appetites.
This added insult to injury for the already not so wealthy villagers, turning them directly into disaster victims.
So, the disaster victims in town actually fled in from the outside.
Because there were too many displaced people, and knowing that this county had not suffered severely, those villagers had fled along the greenery to this town.
"How co your restaurant... is still open?" Qin Ye suddenly asked.
If there were too many disaster victims, incidents of arson, looting, and robberies beco prevalent, and for a restaurant to still be open under such circumstances, it would have to be said that they’re quite bold.
Upon hearing this, the Shopkeeper imdiately said, "Speaking of which, we owe our thanks to the governnt’s County Magistrate. He was quick to collect a large amount of grain from so wealthy households beforehand and provided daily rations. Plus, with the governnt officers maintaining order, we’ve managed to avoid incidents of looting and robbery."
With that said, he sighed again, "Even so, it’s difficult to do business now. We’ll probably have to close our doors for good soon if we keep on like this."
Who would co out to dine in such tis? Those with money are staying at ho. The wealthy families have their doors firmly locked, fearing a break-in by those disaster victims.
He was actually scared of being robbed too.
Fortunately, the governnt officers patrolled several tis a day.
Additionally, the County Magistrate reassured the business owners, allowing them to continue operating as usual, which gave them so confidence.
Otherwise, who would dare?
A shrewd look passed through Qin Ye’s eyes.
He gave Hu Dao a aningful glance.
Receiving the signal, Hu Dao quietly slipped away...
Rong Yan didn’t ask further and simply said, "Please prepare so food for the road, we’ll take it with us tomorrow morning."
As soon as she spoke, Qin Ye imdiately added, "We’ll settle the bill together tomorrow."
Of course, that request was no problem, and the Shopkeeper happily agreed, "Rest assured, noble guests, I will have soone prepare it right away."
After all, they stood to make a bit more money.
He turned and hurried away.
This ti, Rong Yan did not speak of relieving the disaster victims, as the governnt was handling the distribution.
Previously... she had seen how pitiful the disaster victims were.
Because it was dark now, she hadn’t seen those victims.
Nevertheless, she had a favorable impression of the County Magistrate.
Nowadays, an official who truly serves the people like this is too rare.
"I’m going back to my room," Rong Yan said as she got up to head upstairs.
Qin Ye imdiately responded, "We’ll go back to our room as well."
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