Chapter 219: Merit Entry and Exit
Chapter 219
Today's good deed +1.
Treated someone's illness.
Also increased income.
Made a small contribution to the social economy and GDP growth.
Porridge distribution good deed +0.1+0.1+0.1+0.1...
The first day of distributing porridge had the best effect, it was lifesaving for some people.
After several days of continuous distribution, the effect diminished day by day.
If you distribute porridge for years and then stop one day, you become an unforgivable villain.
Such is human nature.
Jiang Mianmian wasn't truly a naive sweetheart.
She was wondering what to do next.
Then she saw a group of prettily dressed young girls, accompanied by their family guards, coming over in grand style.
Wow, look at them carrying pots, rice, flour, and oil~
Jiang Mianmian was very happy inside.
Finally.
These children from other families were also coming to distribute porridge.
Governor Wu's daughter Wu Yi'an gave Jiang Mianmian a challenging look.
As if to say, "You're not the only one who can gain fame."
Actually, she had wanted to distribute porridge from the beginning, but her parents thought it was too chaotic outside after the earthquake. In case of aftershocks, it would be dangerous, so they didn't let her come.
After waiting for a few days, when things seemed fine, they finally gave in to her persistence and agreed to let her come.
The porridge on Jiang Mianmian's side was very thin, chopsticks definitely couldn't stand up in it.
She had originally cooked it for epidemic prevention, to relieve heat and reduce inflammation, adding a bit of rice to attract more people and fill their stomachs a little.
Wu Yi'an, on the other hand, wanted to outdo Jiang Mianmian.
So she had people cook thick, sticky porridge that chopsticks could stand up in.
The medicinal ingredients were more expensive too. Jiang Mianmian saw them throw in a ginseng root - goodness!
They were really being generous.
Probably stolen from home.
Otherwise, what parents would let you waste things like this?
With Governor Wu's daughter leading, several young girls came together.
With more people, opinions varied, and the porridge distribution ended up being like hosting a feast.
Watching everyone lining up over there, Jiang Mianmian saw that her big pot of medicinal porridge was almost empty. Perfect. She had Fatty Ya pack it up, told the servants to clean up everything, and finished work.
As she was leaving, she greeted her classmate Wu Yi'an.
"Do you need a small stool?" Mianmian asked as she was about to leave.
Wu Yi'an saw that when she arrived, she had taken all the people queuing in front of Jiang Mianmian, and felt a little embarrassed. But it wasn't intentional; she was giving out better things, so it was natural for people to come over.
Like a proud little rooster, she raised her head and said she didn't need it.
"Standing all day will make your calves thick, you know."
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With that, Jiang Mianmian sauntered off.
She was overjoyed.
She had been worried that suddenly withdrawing would cause a bad reaction.
That it would disappoint those who were looking forward to it.
Now it was great, someone else could be the bad guy.
That ugly man Zhang Kuibiao, who had been squatting there just to eat his fill, didn't continue to wait. Seeing them leave, he followed from a distance.
Jiang Mianmian was curious.
She waved him over and said, "Weren't you here to eat your fill? Their porridge is thick and good, made with new rice and added tonics. You'll definitely get full. Why aren't you staying?"
Zhang Kuibiao scratched his head and said, "Never seen people give out rice and tonics before, afraid there might be a fight. I ate my fill this morning. Because of my mistake, someone was killed, afraid of retaliation, so I'm following."
Jiang Mianmian hadn't expected this scruffy-looking strong man to speak with such a sense of chivalry. He seemed brainless, yet somehow also intelligent.
"I'm going to the government office, it's fine. You can go queue up first, get a meal, then come back," Jiang Mianmian said.
Zhang Kuibiao felt this made sense. The young miss was so clever.
But his sense of duty wouldn't allow it.
You help whoever feeds you. If something happened over there, he wouldn't be able to help in time.
So he continued following.
Jiang Mianmian ignored his following and took Fatty Ya to the government office, carrying the leftover soup from the porridge distribution.
Unexpectedly, when Jiang Mianmian arrived at the office today, she received especially warm and respectful treatment.
Previously, it felt like people respected her just because she was an official's daughter, out of obligation.
Today was different.
The smiles were especially genuine.
It felt like her reputation had grown a bit.
Jiang Mianmian brought the medicinal porridge to the office kitchen. The office provided simple work meals, lunch, and meals for staff on duty.
The medicinal porridge was very thin, basically just a bucket of medicinal soup.
Jiang Mianmian had it divided up and personally brought some to her father and teacher.
Those who distribute porridge should also drink the porridge they distribute; it's also a kind of virtue.
It was a heat-relieving medicinal soup, a bit bitter, but effective.
Ancient officials wore many layers when working, which was very hot.
However, when Jiang Mianmian arrived at her father's office, she saw her father and teacher both looking unhappy, as if they had been arguing.
Children raised with love don't read adults' facial expressions.
Because they're not afraid of being hit.
They know their fathers would never bear to hit them.
Inspector He and Jiang Changtian were reviewing the things Jiang Wan had said.
The two government officials took a dialectical approach to discuss the fake dream reincarnation plot.
When Jiang Wan first said that Jiang Changtian's entire family basically died out, Inspector He thought it was absurd.
What kind of malice was this, wanting an entire family to die even in a dream?
Besides, Jiang Er and his family were fine now.
But the other party described it in such detail, explaining how everyone died so clearly, it gave a chilling feeling.
Later, when it was said that the He family would be executed to the ninth degree of kinship, and Inspector He himself would die at home from a heart attack after vomiting blood.
At that moment, Inspector He really felt like his heart had stopped.
Analyzing it, he felt that the content Jiang Wan described might be similar to a place that exists. Like a mirror. If there was another world inside the mirror, they would all be there, identical, living and doing things exactly as Jiang Wan had described.
Otherwise, it couldn't be explained how Jiang Wan, whom Inspector He didn't even know, could give him his manner of death.
Inspector He also recalled that when he first came to Jingzhou, he encountered a young couple strolling. The woman wore a veil and seemed to act strangely when she saw him, turning her body away.
At the time, he had only glanced at them without thinking much of it, but now recalling that scene, it became clearer and more interesting.
That woman was Jiang Wan, and Jiang Wan knew him.
Jiang Changtian's family was still alive, proving that things could be changed.
But that night when they all wanted to kill Jiang Wan to eliminate future troubles, they encountered an earthquake as if punished by heaven.
This seemed to indicate that they couldn't directly act against Jiang Wan.
However, when Jiang Changtian deceived Jiang Wan into taking a secret drug, there were no consequences.
Both were old foxes, skilled in using others to do their dirty work. If they couldn't kill her themselves, they could have someone else do it.
Jiang Wan spoke of love, hate, and romance, a journey of palace intrigue, uncontrollable emotions, troubles of the heart, with all kinds of love.
Inspector He set aside the romantic entanglements and looked at the future trends of the imperial court.
In conclusion, the Seventh Prince couldn't ascend to the throne.
The Seventh Prince was truly a vicious person, yet always maintaining the image of a devoted good man, making everyone sympathize with him. His princess consort was childless, yet he still wholeheartedly supported her. Even when her family fell from grace, he didn't look down on her at all.
He used the princess consort's misfortune to highlight his deep love and harmlessness.
Once he ascended the throne, his true face was revealed, even more absurd than the current emperor.
He died within two years.
He left the court in chaos, the people destitute, and the empire falling apart.
If the mirror world truly existed, then at this moment the Former Crown Prince should have met with misfortune, the Seventh Prince would be emerging, and Inspector He would need to rush to the Capital City.
The Jingzhou earthquake was also a turning point, a heavenly punishment that would require the emperor to admit his mistakes.
Inspector He needed to hurry back.
The two men wore serious expressions as they discussed how to kill someone.
At first, Inspector He thought Jiang Er was a greedy rebel, rashly becoming an official just to amass wealth.
After meeting him, Inspector He felt Jiang Er was a capable rebel, deeply scheming with decisive methods.
Now as he was about to leave, he saw that after the Jingzhou earthquake, the people weren't homeless, there was no famine, no rebellion, no epidemic.
It was as if they had tripped, gotten a bit hurt, then got up and continued walking, a bit slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed and returning to normal.
They would summarize how they fell, try not to fall next time, and if another accident happened, what method to use to get up and recover better, walk faster, or what posture to use when falling to propel themselves forward, possibly saving effort and moving a few steps ahead.
From the earthquake to the aftermath handling, Jiang Er was truly capable, very good at being an official and getting things done. Inspector He greatly admired him.
From initially seeing him as a thoroughly evil rebel to now seeing him as a refined and cunning good official.
Jiang Mianmian knocked on the door and entered confidently.
Seeing her father and teacher looking rather solemn, she said:
"Father, Teacher, I've brought you some cooling soup."
Inspector He, seeing the little one arrive, remembered how she had covered someone with a white cloth, revealing a severed hand, with blood splattered like embroidery. He suddenly felt a bit more clear-headed.
Seeing the medicinal soup she brought, Inspector He took it and started drinking.
His body's fever subsided slightly, and his mood also improved.
Jiang Changtian also picked up his bowl and drank slowly and methodically.
From his daughter, even bitter medicine tasted sweet.
"Are you not distributing porridge today?"
Jiang Changtian knew that if the daily porridge distribution was missed, they would certainly be scolded. However, such a young child usually wouldn't listen to words. People teach people to do things, but can't always succeed; things teach people to do things, and they understand in one go.
Although reluctant, within his area of supervision, Jiang Changtian was prepared to let the child experience the cruelty of the world, to prevent her from saying things like "Why don't they eat meat?" in the future.
Jiang Mianmian smiled and said, "Except for the first two days when many people couldn't find a place to stay, were injured and confused, and really needed medicinal porridge, later on, some people gradually went to settle their families and clean up. Those who kept coming became people who don't like to work normally. They would drink the medicinal porridge and just lie around. I couldn't drive them away. Fortunately, today Wu Yi'an and others came to distribute porridge too, so I took the opportunity to withdraw. I brought the remaining medicinal porridge to you."
Inspector He, who was drinking the medicinal soup, had a mouthful of soup that he couldn't swallow or spit out.
So, what she specially brought was the leftover soup from the porridge distribution. No wonder it was so clear, with only the medicinal broth left.
This student really knew how to save face!
After thinking for a moment, he still swallowed it. If the common people could drink it, so could he.
Then he heard Jiang Changtian saying to his daughter, "Very good. If someone else comes to distribute porridge, you don't need to go anymore. Later, if people complain, it won't be directed at you. It's good to want to help people, but you don't need to take the lead and get scolded. You need to be methodical in doing things. We should take credit for good deeds, but let others be the bad guys."
Jiang Mianmian nodded, accepting the lesson: "Father is so clever."
Inspector He thought: ...You're going to spoil my student.
Never mind, he drank the bitter medicinal soup.
Perhaps because it was the dregs, each sip was more bitter than the last.
But as he watched Jiang Er speaking seriously to his daughter, he saw nothing but warmth and affection.
Some people use despicable means only for their own selfish interests; such people are contemptible and shameful.
Some people use despicable means, but for the benefit of the common people; they can be called moral models, even sages.