At the city gate, the fragrance of congee wafted everywhere, but hidden perils lurked beneath the surface.
Dozens of burly men with fierce looks on their faces occupied the front row. The big bowls in their hands were as large as washbasins. While shoving the emaciated disaster victims aside, they shouted arrogantly:
"What are you pushing for! Can't you see that we're starving?"
"Everyone is supposed to have a share in the porridge donated by the Xu family. We brothers will take it all!"
These men were well-fed and sleek. Obviously, they were sent by Magistrate Li Wencheng to cause trouble. This way, they could exhaust the Xu family's resources and incite the real disaster victims to riot because they couldn't get enough to eat.
On the high platform, Xu Qinghuan watched this scene, her mouth curving up uncontrollably.
These hooligans aren't just hooligans; they're my ticket back to the modern world!
"System! If I mix dirty stuff into the life - saving porridge, does that count as being vicious?"
[Judging... This act seriously tramples on human dignity and is extremely abominable! It is expected to result in double - hits on the infamy value and emotional value!]
Great!
A green light glinted brightly in Xu Qinghuan's eyes. Without saying a word, she jumped off the high platform, grabbed a large handful of loess mixed with stones, dry grass, and even dried cow dung by the roadside.
"Get out of my way!"
With a sharp cry, she rushed towards the one - meter - diameter cauldron and, right in front of everyone, flung the dirt into it with a wave of her hand.
"Whoosh—"
Dust flew everywhere. The originally thick and snowy - white congee instantly became murky, and a few pieces of dry grass were still swirling on the surface of the muddy soup.
The burly men holding the big bowls froze.
"Oops, my hand slipped," Xu Qinghuan said, patting the dust off her hands. She tilted her chin up, looking extremely arrogant. "Since you all are so eager to eat, then by all means! This 'special nutritious meal' with extra ingredients from this young lady is all yours, in plenty!"
"Ugh—"
The leading burly man looked at the muddy porridge in the cauldron, feeling sick to his stomach. He pointed at Xu Qinghuan's nose and swore:
"You crazy woman! Do you think we're animals? Is this muddy soup fit for human consumption?"
"If you don't want to eat, then get out of here!" Xu Qinghuan put her hands on her hips, looking incredibly annoying. "This is how my porridge tastes! Take it or leave it!"
"Damn it! You're being ungrateful!"
The hooligan leader's eyes flashed with a fierce light. If he left just like this, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Lord Li. He rolled his eyes and suddenly smashed his bowl on the ground.
"Brothers! The Xu family has ulterior motives! They're using this dirty stuff to humiliate us. They're trying to poison us all!"
He then turned to the large crowd of disaster victims behind him and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Folks! Don't drink this porridge! This woman has a vicious heart. Let's smash this porridge shed and rob the Xu family! Only by robbing the Xu family can we get clean rice to eat!"
"Right! Smash the porridge shed! Rob the Xu family!" Dozens of hooligans joined in the commotion, picking up clubs and charging forward to overturn the cauldron.
Xu Qinghuan watched the charging burly men. Instead of dodging, her heart raced with excitement.
Here it comes!
Stirring up a civil riot and being beaten in public. This plot development is perfect! As long as this cauldron is overturned, I, this 'vicious supporting female character', will be firmly nailed to the pillar of shame, and exile is a certainty!
"Come on! Hit me! Hit me here!"
Xu Qinghuan even stepped forward a bit, closed her eyes, and spread her arms, her face full of anticipation.
However, the expected punches didn't land.
"Thud!"
There was a dull sound, followed by a pig - like scream.
"Ah! My leg!"
Xu Qinghuan opened her eyes in astonishment. She saw that the hooligan leader who had been shouting the loudest was actually knocked to the ground by a wooden pole.
Behind him, the once - emaciated and numb - looking disaster victims now had red eyes, like hungry wolves guarding their food, and they pounced on the dozens of hooligans like crazy.
"How dare you try to smash our porridge cauldron? I'll kill you!"
"This is our food! This is our life!"
"You fat pigs are full and think it's dirty, but we're on the verge of starvation. What are we supposed to complain about!"
Thousands of... well, not hooligans, but disaster victims, completely exploded.
For those on the verge of starvation, you could mix sand or even knives into the porridge, and they'd still drink it. Anyone who dared to touch this cauldron was like an enemy who killed their parents.
"Stop hitting! Stop... Ah! Help!"
The dozens of hooligans were quickly submerged by the angry crowd. They didn't even make a splash before being trampled into a pulp and crawling out of the city gate, crying for their parents.
Xu Qinghuan stood in the wind, watching this scene, feeling completely stunned.
No... This isn't how the script is supposed to go!
Shouldn't you feel humiliated? Shouldn't you direct your anger at me, the one who started all this?
Why are you helping me fight?
"Damn it, it seems I overdid it and drove them crazy..." Xu Qinghuan felt so guilty that she wanted to run away.
Just then, an old man in ragged clothes shuffled out of the crowd. He didn't pay attention to the hooligans on the ground. Instead, he rushed straight to the murky porridge cauldron and scooped up a full spoonful with a broken bowl.
Regardless of the heat, he gulped it down. The sound of his teeth crunching on the sand was ear - grating, but he seemed to be savoring ambrosia. He even licked the muddy soup that ran down his chin clean.
"Good porridge... This is such good porridge!"
After finishing the porridge, the old man knelt down in front of Xu Qinghuan with a thud and kowtowed heavily. The sound of his forehead hitting the ground was startling.
"Thank you, young lady, for saving my life!"
Xu Qinghuan was on the verge of a breakdown. She pointed at the muddy porridge and said, "Uncle, wake up! This is mud! This is sand! I'm a bad person!"
"No! This is great wisdom! This is the compassion of a bodhisattva!"
The old man looked up, his face streaked with mud and tears. His voice was hoarse but deafening.
"If it were that fine white congee, those hooligans and bullies would have snatched it all up long ago. How could we beggars get a single sip?
"Only this dirty porridge mixed with sand, moldy, and not even worth a dog's attention, is what those so - called decent people disdain to fight over. Only then can we people with worthless lives really get a sip of life - saving soup."
These words woke Xu Qinghuan up as if from a dream.
Looking at the murky porridge that no one was fighting over, the countless disaster victims behind her instantly understood the good intentions of this "vicious young lady".
In order to let them, the lowly people, survive, Miss Xu was willing to soil her reputation and offend the powerful and the hooligans!
"Miss Xu... She did this for us!"
"Whoosh—"
The huge crowd knelt down like wheat being cut, and the sound waves soared into the sky:
"Thank you, Miss Xu, for the kindness of adding sand!"
"Miss Xu is brilliant! The Xu family is brilliant!"
Listening to the deafening shouts of "brilliant", Xu Qinghuan's vision went black, and she almost fainted on the spot.
Kindness of adding sand?
What the hell kind of kindness is this! I really just wanted to disgust you!
...
On the outskirts of the crowd.
The third prince, Xiao Jingyan, who was incognito on a private inspection, was now staring intently at the "helpless" (in fact, shocked) young girl on the high platform. His eyes were ablaze with an unprecedented light.
The head of the guards covered his nose, looking extremely disgusted. "Your Highness, this Miss Xu from the Xu family has gone too far. She's actually feeding the common people mud! I'll go and expose her right away!"
"Stop!"
Xiao Jingyan strode forward, picked up a broken bowl discarded by a hooligan from the ground, walked to the cauldron, and right in front of everyone, scooped up a spoonful of the porridge at the bottom with the dry grass.
It tasted raw and astringent as it entered his mouth, with a pungent smell of mold and the grit of sand rubbing against his teeth.
But he remained expressionless and swallowed it forcefully.
"Your Highness!" The head of the guards was so scared that his soul almost left his body.
"Good!" After swallowing that mouthful of coarse porridge, Xiao Jingyan turned around. His eyes were shining as he looked at Xu Qinghuan, as if he were looking at a peerless national hero covered in dust.
"What a brilliant move of adding sand to the porridge and driving out the good with the bad! In ancient times, there was Lian Po carrying thorns on his back to apologize. Today, there is the Xu family adding sand to the porridge!"
Xiao Jingyan took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Xu Qinghuan, who was looking utterly bewildered.
"Miss Xu, you're willing to bear eternal infamy just to save the people of this city. With such a broad - minded approach, even those first - rank officials in the court who claim to be upright may not be able to match you! I, Xiao, have been enlightened!"
This bow immediately elevated Xu Qinghuan to the lofty position of the "Sage of the Great Qian Dynasty". She couldn't step down from it without the consent of the common people.
【Ding! It is detected that a high - ranking figure has been extremely shocked. A retirement bonus of 100,000 yuan is awarded!】
Listening to the system's notification of good news, looking at the handsome guy in front of her who seemed to see through everything, and then at the disaster victims kowtowing on the ground, Xu Qinghuan's lips trembled, on the verge of crying.
I don't want this kind of prestige!
Dad! Please be a bit corrupt! If you don't, our family might be stuck with the label of 'loyal and good' forever!
At this moment, Xu Youde, who was counting money in the county yamen far away, suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose. "Strange. Why do I feel like there's a lucky omen from our ancestral grave? It must be my daughter squandering money again. Hehe, what a filial girl!"
