There are hundreds of thousands of refugees, and these are just those who fled. The number of those affected by the disaster is several times or even ten times that. You can imagine how much money and how many supplies are needed. If Ye Lang, a Prodigal Son, were to provide relief, it probably wouldn't be enough.
Because of this, Ye Lang felt that his money should not be wasted on other things!
"Yes, we all have them!" These refugees all come from the same empire and naturally have imperial status.
"That's fine. Count the number of people. Except for me, who is worth one Silver Coins, the rest of you are worth ten copper coins. Calculate the City Entry Fee!" Ye Lang said. This was not only for the refugees, but also for the people in the small town.
Now the town is facing a dilemma: if these people can pay City Entry Fee, should they be allowed in? If they go in and don't come out, the stranded refugees will place a huge burden on the town, and it might not be able to afford it.
"Damn grain official, what does this have to do with you? What are you saying?" The group of guards looked at the Petty Grain Official with unfriendly eyes. They had always disliked this grain official, and now it was even more so.
"Grain officer, what right do you have to say that? Don't think that just because you're the Regiment Commander's brother-in-law you can overstep your bounds!" the guard sneered. This time it was related to his duties, and they could no longer tolerate it.
"Hmph! Do you not want to stay here anymore? How dare you talk to me like that? Let me tell you, I'm the one in charge here!!" The Petty Grain Official, of course, wouldn't back down and continued to speak arrogantly.
"You're in charge, but you have to be able to take responsibility for it! You might have been able to get away with embezzling food from these refugees and enriching yourself before, but let's see how you can hide this one!" the guard said disdainfully.
This statement made it clear why those who had been distributing porridge were angry with the grain official. It was because the grain official had done such a thing, and needless to say, the reason why the porridge was so thin was because of him.
If even disaster relief grain could be embezzled, one can imagine how despicable this grain official was. Who knows how many refugees died because of his misappropriation of relief grain? Certainly!
"You deserve to die!" Ye Lang said directly to the grain official after hearing this.
Although everyone wanted to say this, no one expected Ye Lang to say it so directly, which made everyone feel a sense of relief.
"What's wrong? They're just a bunch of lowly people. If they die, they die. Why waste our food?!" The grain official was still arrogant, not feeling he had done anything wrong. His expression was disgusting.
Everyone present, including those from the small town, wanted to beat up this grain official. They felt that such a person was the scum of society and should not exist in this world at all!
At this moment, everyone is holding their breath, and if that breath were to burst out, it would be terrifying, and that scoundrel of a grain official would suffer a terrible fate!
"Go up and beat him! If he dies, I'll take responsibility!!" Ye Lang said softly, but his words struck a chord with everyone. They were like a rift that allowed everyone to unleash their pent-up anger.
The crowd surrounded the Petty Grain Official, clenching their fists, and inching closer...
"What are you trying to do? Let me tell you, my brother-in-law is... ah..." The Petty Grain Official was terrified at the sight, but he still tried to put on a brave face, thinking that his brother-in-law could save him at this moment.
However, at this moment, even if his father were the emperor, he would still be overwhelmed by the anger of the people!
"Kill that bastard!"
"Hit them! Hit them hard!!"
"..."
At first, it was the refugees who were punching and kicking the Petty Grain Official, but later, even people from the small town joined in, secretly kicking and punching him...
"Ah ah..."
"Ah..."
"..."
The Petty Grain Official's screams grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared completely, but the crowd did not stop and continued to punch and kick him.
Some people never realize that they are nothing special. In the eyes of others, they are insignificant and cannot withstand the anger of the crowd. Yet, they ignorantly provoke the anger of the crowd, and in the end, they are overwhelmed by it.
"Um, has the tally been completed?" Ye Lang was currently negotiating with the guards of the small town and didn't care about what was happening over there.
"Well, Young Master, if you want to enter the city, it will be very difficult for me," the guard said, frowning, looking somewhat troubled.
"What's so difficult for you? We can go in and buy your things, stimulate your economy. What harm would that do you?" Ye Lang was a little confused. Why would they refuse such a good offer?
Of course, at this moment, Ye Lang did not consider that he was leading a group of refugees, and what others were afraid of was that these refugees would not want to leave.
"Of course I want the benefits, but if you don't leave... wait, what did you just say?" The guard suddenly realized there was a problem: Ye Lang said he wanted to buy something.
The reason they turned away these refugees was because they had no money to buy things and could only be given aid. If these refugees had money to buy things, it would be a completely different story, and they would welcome them without hesitation.
But can those who can buy things still be called refugees? They're tourists!!
"Don't worry, we'll leave right away. We were originally planning to stay in a hotel, but it seems camping is more comfortable!" Ye Lang said. Camping with so many people together actually has a unique charm.
"No, no, I'm not kicking you out. Are you sure you have money to buy things?" The guards were skeptical; it was simply hard to believe.
"Of course there are. Hurry up and finish counting the number of people. We need to enter the city. If you have any doubts, you can follow me!" Ye Lang said. At this moment, Xiao Rui was summoned back to his side, which made him even more convincing.
"Okay, okay, I'll count it right away! No, you can go in, as long as you can buy the items here later, what's this little City Entry Fee? Consider it a gift from us!!" The soldiers probably noticed that Ye Lang was different from others. They understood that while others might not have money, Ye Lang definitely did, without a doubt.
"Oh, thank you then. This is your way of helping these poor people who are suffering!" Ye Lang nodded and said politely.
"Young Master, that person is dead..." At this moment, the other side also ended, and the crowd, after their anger subsided, seemed to feel a little afraid.
People only think about the consequences and start to be afraid after they've acted impulsively!
"Impulse is the devil"—this phrase perfectly encapsulates the current feelings of some people!