The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

By the way, there are people coming and going in the Mercy Church, and many people are also locked up in the Ministry of Justice's prison.

Every cell in the prison for untouchables was filled with people. At a glance, none of them had a single piece of good flesh on their bodies.

"Bah! I despise these kidnappers the most in my life. It's their bad luck to fall into my hands!"

A skinny jailer drank some wine and snorted with disdain at the people lying on the ground pretending to be dead.

Hearing this sound, the person who was lying on the ground without any reaction couldn't help but tremble.

"These kidnappers are truly despicable. I heard that even the young princess of Beiyang Prefecture was kidnapped here."

"Where did you hear that? I don't know about this."

"Hey, isn't that my seventh aunt's eldest brother's sister-in-law's father-in-law's eldest cousin..."

"Stop, stop, stop, get to the point!"

A jailer kicked the man who had just spoken with a sneer.

"Didn't we snatch those children from the kidnappers back then? The relief hall couldn't hold them all, so the higher-ups sent people to send them to the Charity Hall. When we sent them there, Lady Duan was there too. A little girl rushed forward, holding a token and talking about the Beiyang Prefecture. When Lady Duan saw the token, her expression changed, and she took the little girl back to the Duan Prefecture."

"Oh, I went to guard the traffickers' den in Huaimin Lane that day. What a pity, I didn't see them."

Another person laughed and cheered

"What's there to see? You're still breathing through your two nostrils."

"But you see, this Salesian Church is truly amazing. They've told us to cooperate with them, and we have to send the rescued children over there."

"That's right. I heard that it was all instructed by the higher-ups. The Duanbo Mansion is truly remarkable. That Lord Duan is also in the Ministry of Justice. I even saw him yesterday."

Now the others became curious and started asking more questions.

"How is it? How is it? I haven't seen what Mr. Duan looks like. When I was in the prison, I heard that Brother Zhang was quite impressed by him."

"I can't really put it into words. Anyway, he was very polite and didn't look down on anyone. He even bought meals for the brothers yesterday. They were all top-notch meat. We ate so much that our mouths were drooling."

The jailer swallowed his saliva as he spoke. It had been a long time since he had eaten such a juicy meal.

"How come you guys are all so lucky? I run outside every day, not only am I exhausted, but I can't even afford a bite of meat."

Patting the brother who was complaining, one of them sighed.

"We're all doing well. Haven't you seen the Mercy Church? It's packed with people. Many villagers around the capital brought their children and daughters here to exchange for food. Some were so ruthless that they sold their entire families there."

"Oh my god, when I went to the village to arrest people before, they were so hungry that they lay in their beds and couldn't move. Some villages didn't even have a single person left. It was terrifying to see."

When talking about this, everyone felt a little depressed. They were just small jailers who could barely make ends meet. They also had wives, children and elderly relatives at home, and everyone had only half-full stomachs.

"Tell me, is the Duan Bo Mansion really that desperate to spend so much money and food for nothing?"

"Yes, the grain is not bad. Although it looks old, it doesn't have any stones mixed in. Maybe he has gone crazy with so much grain in his hands."

The two of them sang in unison, and if someone didn't like what they heard, they would retort.

"You know nothing. They are doing good things. The old lady in Duan Bo's mansion is kind-hearted. You would think she is a fool."

The two people who had just spoken felt a little embarrassed, but didn't say anything else. However, they were thinking in their hearts that it was unclear how long the Salesian Hall could last like this.

In Duan Bo's mansion, Lu was also discussing this issue with Song Shengfu.

"Mother, now everyone who comes to the Salesian Hall chooses to exchange for food, which is a relief for your daughter-in-law. Thankfully, you told me to save all of last year's produce. Both large and small, plus the grain left over from Dongyang, are all stored on the farm. I was just wondering what to do with the old grain from the past few years, and now it's in great use."

What Lu hadn't mentioned was that selling grain was actually the most profitable this year, and their old grain wouldn't be a problem to sell. However, their family didn't need this little money, and making money from the refugees was a grave sin, not a good thing.

"Is there enough food? I think this is just the beginning, and there will be many more people coming later."

"Of course it's not enough. Now, the hall has almost 72 people, including adults and children, but there are only more than 30 stone of grain. Even a small warehouse in the village has only moved a little."

Lu didn't take it to heart. She knew there was definitely enough food. Their house cleared out old grain every two years, and last year was the second year.

Because Song Shengfu asked him to, he stayed.

"That's good, but as we have more children, we'll need more food. Divide the food from the mansion and this year's needs so that we don't run out of food when the time comes."

"My daughter-in-law knows that the situation on the farm is not good this year. There is no rain and many crops have died of drought."

"There's been very little rain this year, so we need to be frugal in everything. We shouldn't be extravagant in our mansion, and we need to keep our servants in check. But we still need to have what we need, especially for the children. We can't go without."

Lu smiled and agreed. Her mother had said long ago that the people in the mansion should be more frugal in food, clothing and other expenses.

"By the way, these children have been sent to various farms in batches. The clothes made according to the drawings you gave me earlier saved a lot of fabric. They are perfect for wearing in such a hot day."

"Oh? Really? I'm afraid it won't look good. Do you have any ready-made clothes to show me?"

Song Shengfu modified the modern Hanfu style from her previous life. It was hot and didn't require too much material.

There are not just a few people now, there may be hundreds or even thousands of people behind them, so save when you should and spend when you should.

"Please wait. I think the style is quite new, so I made a few for the children at home. I estimate it will be ready soon. I will let Kang Ge'er and the others wear them for you to see."

"That's daring."

Song Shengfu was fanning herself, also wearing only a sleeveless long skirt. Lu Shi was similarly dressed, wearing a sleeveless skirt with a cold moon yarn shawl.

Song Shengfu sighed again, fortunately this place was not as overly conservative as a certain dynasty she knew.

But it still felt a bit uncomfortable. Song Shengfu looked at the tightly wrapped shoes and socks on Lu's feet.

She also understood why the ancients could not show their feet to others casually, as feet were the most private part of their body.

So even if it is very hot, you should wrap your feet tightly.

When Mrs. Lu saw her mother-in-law looking at her feet, she thought she had not dressed properly. She was so scared that she quickly took a look and only breathed a sigh of relief when she found that there was nothing wrong.

If this were to be exposed, even if the mother-in-law was very tolerant, she would probably still be scolded.

She heard the other day that a new bride was almost divorced and sent home because she accidentally exposed her ankles.

Seeing that Lu was a little nervous, Song Shengfu realized that it was not good to stare at other people's feet.