Chapter 313 - 253, Siege Day One
The first day of the siege.
The crowing of roosters started as a long line had already formed outside the porridge stall on Qiu Ci Street.
In the line, singers and dancers wrapped themselves in thick camel hair blankets showing only their cheeks, servants, pimps, and guests stood in line, holding ceramic bowls, waiting for the line to slowly move forward.
The border army soldiers, not in armor, wrapped in grey headscarves, carried long iron ladles to serve the thin porridge to the queued-up citizens.
Qi Zhenzhuo carried his bowl back from the porridge stall early, lifted the cotton curtain, clattered up the wooden stairs to the second floor, and knocked on Li Xuan’s door.
Li Xuan, inside the room, put on his clothes and opened the door, puzzled, "What’s the hurry for?"
Qi Zhenzhuo handed the ceramic bowl to Li Xuan, angrily said, "Brother-in-law, look, the porridge the border army made is so thin, a full bowl has only about a dozen grains of corn, drinking this is no different than drinking water!"
Li Xuan looked down into the bowl, his heart sank at once, only to see the thin porridge was clear to the bottom, bland as pot washing water.
He held the bowl and hurried out the door without fully dressing.
Qi Zhenzhuo grabbed him, "Brother-in-law, where are you going?"
Li Xuan grabbed his collar, lowered his voice, and said, "Hurry and take people to buy grain later, spare no expense to get food back, even if it’s one tael of silver per catty!"