Chapter 79: Big Brother Goes to Beg for Food

"Sir! We're being wronged!" The refugees, hearing this, hurriedly knelt and shouted their grievance.

Li Jing muttered inwardly, "That little dandy of the Wei family! The lesson from last time hasn't been enough!"

"If it weren't for your father scheming to plead on your behalf, you'd still be squatting in the big prison of Jingzhao Prefecture right now!"

But outwardly he had to maneuver, ordering his subordinates: "Quickly, have them move aside! Clear the way for Young Master Wei!"

Then to Wei Bing'an he said: "Third Young Master, the sun is scorching; you should hurry back to the residence and stop causing trouble."

Wei Bing'an, seeing the path cleared, smugly laughed at the Tuan Tuan siblings, slipped back into the carriage, and rode off.

Li Jing sighed: "Third Young Master, Little Princess, you should also hurry back to the residence; the heavens are dry, the earth is parched, there are many refugees—don't linger here, it would be bad if trouble arises."

Xiao Ningxun looked at the refugees, brow furrowed: "Lord Li, with so many refugees, does Jingzhao Prefecture ignore them?"

Li Jing, with a worried expression, said: "It's not that I don't care; it's just that the number of refugees keeps growing, and we can't accommodate them all. Even I, as a diligent official, am like a clever housewife trying to cook without rice!"

Tuan Tuan looked up at him with her small face: "What did they used to do before?"

Li Jing was startled and replied: "Little Princess, most are disaster‑stricken peasants, honest and diligent farmers."

"Peasants? Farmers?" Tuan Tuan blinked, "Then why not give them money so they can farm here? With land to till, they'd have food to eat!"

Li Jing's eyes lit up at the words, then he shook his head with a wry smile: "The area around Jingcheng is mostly mountainous, not plains, so it can't be cultivated."

"Mountainous land?" Tuan Tuan tilted her head, seeming not to understand, "You can farm on mountains too!"

"Huh? How… can you farm on mountains?" Li Jing looked utterly bewildered.

Tuan Tuan stretched out her little hand, sketching in the air: "Just turn the mountain into layers! Like the realm of the Taoist Priest!"

"Each layer would be flat, so you can plant things! Water poured on it wouldn't run off!"

Her childish words left Li Jing bewildered: "What… layers?"

Tuan Tuan, seeing she couldn't explain, pouted: "Why can't you understand…"

She looked left and right, then suddenly ran to the roadside, picked up a small twig, crouched on the ground, and began drawing on the loose soil.

Li Jing and Xiao Ningxun hurried after, and a few bold refugees quietly joined, craning their necks to watch.

She first made two strokes, drawing a protrusion: "This is a mountain!"

Then on the slope she drew parallel horizontal lines, dividing the mountain into tiered "steps": "This is, layer by layer!"

Finally she dotted many small points on each layer: "Now we can farm, right!"

She tossed the twig, pointing at the drawing on the ground: "Look! That's it!"

Li Jing examined the crude sketch, his whole body jolted; his eyes widened, and his breathing grew rapid!

"Stacked upward! This, this…" He jerked his head up, his gaze at Tuan Tuan filled with incredulous exhilaration, "Brilliant! Brilliant! This method… this method might truly work!"

"If it can succeed, that would be a feat for the ages! I will draft a memorial at once, report to the Imperial Court, and request the Ministry of Works to send officials to survey and implement!"

"If this method can be implemented, all the nation's mountains could become fertile fields; before long, granaries will be full, and we will no longer fear famine!"

The surrounding refugees didn't grasp everything, but seeing the high official so excited and hearing that granaries would be full and famine no longer feared, hope ignited in their eyes.

They knelt and kowtowed one after another: "Thank you, Great Lord of the Blue Sky! Thank you, Little Fairy!"

Li Jing, excited, mounted his horse and left: "Third Young Master, Little Princess, I take my leave!"

Xiao Ningxun looked at Tuan Tuan, scooped her up: "Tuan Tuan, how did you come up with this method? It's wonderful! It can save countless starving commoners!"

Tuan Tuan laughed happily.

But a lament came from beside them: "But even if we clear the land now, it will take several months before harvest; how will we survive in the meantime?"

"Yes! My child hasn't eaten anything all day!"

"My family too!"

Indeed, hope is hope, but the harsh reality of hunger still looms.

Tuan Tuan looked at the hungry faces, her eyes flashing; she raised a hand and pointed: "Third Brother! Go over there!"

Xiao Ningxun followed her gaze; a few steps ahead stood several robust men, continuously assisting others, helping the elderly and children.

He, not understanding why, walked over while holding his sister.

Tuan Tuan looked at those men: "Are you the leaders of these people?"

One man clasped his fist and said: "We all came from the same village; a severe drought killed all our crops. We had no choice, so we traveled together here."

Tuan Tuan looked at him, lowered her voice, with a mysterious expression: "You're a good person! Even with an empty stomach, you help others!"

"I'll tell you a place where there's plenty of food!"

The man was startled by the words, and Xiao Ningxun was also stunned.

"It's the very bad guy who just whipped you, he hid it in his house!"

"It's just outside the western city, in the mountain crevice with red stones on top! Go get it quickly! Once you have it, you won't starve!"

Xiao Ningxun was completely stunned—how could the little sister know where the Wei family's granary is?

The man, hearing that, had his pupils contract; shock and fear flashed across his face, then were swiftly replaced by fierce survival instinct and resentment.

He glanced at the delicate, clear‑eyed doll before him, then at the group of emaciated villagers behind him staring hungrily, and clenched his fist tightly.

After speaking, Tuan Tuan felt she had done a great deed, clapped her little hands, and, satisfied, hugged Xiao Ningxun's neck: "Third Brother, let's go home."

"Hmm." Xiao Ningxun, already accustomed to her sister's incredible antics, asked nothing more, turned, embraced her, and walked toward their own carriage.

She also thought her sister's actions were justified—letting that nasty kid Wei Bing'an bully people! He got what he deserved!

Just two steps out, a voice came from behind, weak yet surprised, even a bit off‑key:

"Third Brother? Tuan Tuan? Is that you?"

Xiao Ningxun and Tuan Tuan turned simultaneously; at the rear of the refugee line, a young man, filthy, hair disheveled, his original features and clothing barely discernible, stared at them with wide eyes.

Though his appearance had changed drastically, the familiar outline and voice…

"Big… Big Brother?!" Xiao Ningxun blurted.