On Lin Luoluo’s side, she instructed Lin Liu to hire as many horse-drawn carts and ox carts as possible. Meanwhile, she took the other four men and left the city first.
They arrived at a secluded place they had passed earlier. After carefully checking the surroundings and confirming that no one was nearby, Lin Luoluo took out half of the grain that had accumulated in the Space during this period. In truth, she had wanted to take out all of it, but she was afraid it would attract too much attention. After finishing everything, she simply waited for Lin Liu to bring people to transport the grain.
When Lin Liu arrived with the carts, the drivers and the laborers he had hired to move the grain were all stunned speechless at the mountain-like pile before them. Moments later, every one of them broke into joyful smiles.
“Master.”
Lin Liu stepped forward and bowed.
Lin Luoluo nodded to him before saying to everyone,
“Start loading.”
A burly man dressed in coarse cloth gathered his courage and stepped forward to ask,
“Um… um… Boss, hello. My name is Chen Daniu. I’d like to ask… can you sell some of this grain to us?”
After bowing to Lin Luoluo, the man nervously twisted the corners of his clothes with both hands as he stammered out the question he had been wanting to ask.
Seeing his nervousness, Lin Luoluo smiled gently.
“Of course.”
She then looked at everyone and raised her voice.
“Once all this grain has been transported into the city, anyone who needs to buy grain can go to Lin Liu for a token. You’ll receive priority when purchasing grain.”
“Thank you, Boss!”
Everyone became excited after hearing her words, and they worked even harder.
More than ten horse carts and ox carts transported the mountain of grain, and it wasn’t until nightfall that everything had finally been moved.
After the grain had been transported, the workers all obtained tokens from Lin Liu before returning home to discuss buying grain with their families and relatives.
When Lin Luoluo returned to the inn, the Prefect had already been waiting for quite some time. After receiving reports from his subordinates that Lin Luoluo’s group had brought a massive amount of grain into the city, he could no longer sit still and had personally come to the inn.
Upon seeing Lin Luoluo, the Prefect showed a hint of surprise. Although she was dressed in men’s clothing, he immediately recognized that she was a young woman. He had never expected such a young girl to possess so much grain.
“So, little girl, you’re their master?”
Lin Luoluo raised an eyebrow.
It seems my disguise as a man wasn’t very successful. He saw through it at a glance.
The Prefect was dressed in official robes. Lin Luoluo stepped forward and bowed.
“Yes, Your Excellency. That is correct.”
“At what price are you selling this grain?”
“Your Excellency, I’ve loved jade artifacts since I was young. You may exchange jade artifacts or jade stones based on their value, or you may purchase the grain with silver. Fine rice costs four copper coins per jin, and coarse grain costs three copper coins per jin. May I ask how much Your Excellency wishes to buy?”
The Prefect thought for a moment before replying,
“I imagine you’ve been busy all afternoon and must be tired. Why don’t you rest for a while? I’ll return first to discuss the matter, then decide how much grain we’ll purchase. Farewell.”
“Please, Your Excellency.”
Lin Luoluo nodded and gestured politely, escorting the Prefect out of the inn.
After seeing him off, Lin Luoluo rubbed her growling stomach and asked,
“Uncle Zhong, is there anything to eat?”
Although she had eaten a little on the carriage, she was still starving.
“Yes, yes! I was worried Master would return hungry, so I already had the inn’s kitchen prepare everything.”
As he spoke, Lin Zhong hurriedly instructed the inn servant to bring the dishes.
As soon as the Prefect returned to the government office, he ordered the accountant to calculate how much silver was available. He himself went to his private treasury in the rear courtyard and gathered numerous jade ornaments, jade jewelry, and silver notes, placing them into boxes before carrying them to the front hall.
After meeting up with the accountant, he led his men to the inn.
Lin Luoluo and the others had just finished dinner when the Prefect arrived.
“Your Excellency, this way please.”
Lin Luoluo led him to an empty table and invited him to sit down before asking the waiter to serve tea.
Only then did she ask,
“Has Your Excellency decided how much grain you require?”
“I need two hundred thousand jin of fine rice, fifty thousand jin of wheat, and another fifty thousand jin of various coarse grains. Does Miss have that much available?”
Lin Luoluo frowned slightly.
She had originally intended to sell some grain to the city’s shops and common people the next day. But the Prefect alone wanted three hundred thousand jin, which would leave very little of what they had transported into the city today.
After thinking for a while, she agreed.
“That’s acceptable. Did Your Excellency bring enough men? Shall we transport the grain now?”
“We’ll move it tonight. Please have a look and see whether these jade artifacts and silver are sufficient.”
Lin Luoluo had Lin Zhong invite an expert to appraise the jade. After calculating the value of three hundred thousand jin of grain, she asked the Prefect to take back the excess silver.
She then instructed people to carry the payment into her room before storing everything inside the Space.
Afterward, she went downstairs and led the Prefect and his men to collect the grain.
It was deep into the night before all three hundred thousand jin had finally been transported to the government office.
After everyone had left, Lin Luoluo yawned. She then took another batch of grain from the Space—enough to sell the following day—and placed it in the warehouse. After instructing Lin Liu and the others to guard the grain carefully, she returned to rest.
The next morning, Lin Luoluo entrusted the grain sales to Lin Zhong while she took Lin Da to the City God Temple to meet the children.
Along the way, she purchased several hundred steamed buns and had them delivered to the temple.
By the time they arrived, most of the people had already gone out. Only some elderly people and children remained, along with the children who had registered the previous day. They had stayed behind in the temple, waiting for Lin Da.
When they saw Lin Da enter with a handsome young man, the bold little girl from the previous day immediately ran over.
“Big Brother, you’re here.”
She looked up at Lin Da with a bright smile.
Her smile was pure and innocent. Without thinking, Lin Da rubbed her head and smiled.
“Yes. I brought our master to meet all of you.”
Only then did the girl turn to look at Lin Luoluo.
At a single glance, she recognized that Lin Luoluo was a woman. Tilting her head, she thought for a long time, unable to decide whether she should call her older brother or older sister.
“Hello, Big Sister Brother!”
What kind of title is that? Both sister and brother at the same time.
Lin Luoluo twitched the corner of her mouth.
“Call me Big Brother.”
She crouched down and looked at the little girl in front of her.
“But you’re obviously a big sister.”
Hearing that, Lin Luoluo looked herself up and down.
Being seen through by the Prefect was one thing, but now even such a little girl could tell. She felt rather discouraged.
“How could you tell?”
“There was an older sister in our village before. She often dressed as a man and went out to play, so I could tell at a glance.”
“Alright then. Go gather everyone who registered yesterday.”
As soon as Lin Luoluo finished speaking, the little girl ran off to call everyone over.
Looking at them, Lin Luoluo said,
“Yesterday, Lin Da already explained everything that needed to be explained. You still have a chance to change your minds. Starting now, those who are willing should stand on the left. Those who are unwilling should stand on the right.”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone chose to stand on the left.
“Very good. You no longer have the opportunity to regret your decision.”
Just as she finished speaking, the steamed buns arrived.
She had them eat first while also distributing many of the buns to the elderly and the other children.
“Once you’ve eaten your fill, pack your things and come with me.”
She looked at the forty or fifty children and gave the instruction.
After they finished packing, Lin Luoluo took them to buy several sets of clothes, shoes, and quilts.
When they returned to the inn, she rented two large shared rooms—one for the boys and one for the girls—and then had Lin Da and Chun Tao take them to wash up.