“Two flatbreads might not be enough to eat.” The old woman clutched the flatbreads, tears welling in her eyes.
“My two sons, five grandsons, and two granddaughters haven’t eaten for two days. Have some pity on us and give us a bit more.”
Good heavens.
Two sons.
Five grandsons.
Two granddaughters.
It’s as if they have a imperial throne to inherit.
Gan Tian listened, dumbfounded.
“Elder, it’s not that we don’t want to give more, but as you can see, we have many people ourselves. That food is all we have to our name.”
Gan Fanren frowned with a troubled expression.
“If there’s no food, borrowing some silver would also work.” The old woman held out her hand. “We won’t look down on it.”
How novel.
Gan Tian had never heard of anyone looking down on money.
When Gan Fanren smiled gently, he looked like an elegant gentleman, but when his expression darkened, he took on a certain air of severity.
He looked at the old woman expressionlessly, his grim face like a dark cloud pressing down.
His solemn gaze swept across the old woman’s face.
The old woman’s heart fluttered with panic under that gaze. She couldn’t help but step back a few paces, barely steadying herself against the doorframe.
“I… I won’t borrow much, just two taels of silver will do.”
Hearing this, Li Zhi’s eyes widened.
How thick-skinned could this person be? To dare borrow money from a total stranger.
And to ask for two taels of silver right off the bat.
“I can lend you silver, but what can you offer in return?” Gan Fanren lowered his eyes and looked at the old woman.
“I don’t even know you. Why should I lend you silver?”
“If you take the silver and never return, wouldn’t I have lost two taels of silver for nothing?”
The old woman had followed the Gan Family for a while now.
She thought the Gan Family members were incredibly foolish. They had given those large meat buns to Li Zhi and his mother without asking for a single cent.
Just because Li Zhi had stood up for them once, they took in the pair and fed them meatloaf.
She thought that if Li Zhi could do it, so could she.
That was why she followed the Gan Family into the village and knocked on their door.
She thought that by shedding a few tears and saying a few pitiful words, she could get help from the Gan Family.
She hadn’t expected Gan Fanren to be not so foolish after all.
He looked gentle on the surface, but he was unexpectedly cold-hearted.
Even though she was crying like this, Gan Fanren only gave her two flatbreads, and borrowing money even required collateral.
Why could he help Li Zhi but not her? She looked at Gan Fanren with some resentment.
Her tone became sharp: “I don’t have anything. Our family has nothing of value.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she pointed at Li Zhi. “Master, did I offend you somehow? Why are you willing to help this Li Zhi but not me?”
Li Zhi’s body stiffened.
That was true!
The moment he met Big Brother, Big Brother gave him two big meat buns.
But when the old woman came to ask, she only got two flatbreads.
Why was that?
“I gave Li Zhi two buns because he helped me drive away thugs. I gave you two flatbreads, yet you are dissatisfied and even want money. On this point alone, you are far inferior to Li Zhi.”
“Li Zhi is filial. He would rather go hungry himself just so his elderly mother can eat buns. I admire his filial heart and I like his character.”
Hearing this, Li Zhi’s dark face turned a faint shade of red.
He hadn’t even realized he had so many virtues.
This was the first time he had ever heard someone appreciate him so much!
For the sake of this appreciation, he had to work hard and not betray the trust Big Brother had placed in him.
Li Zhi’s old mother also couldn’t stop smiling as she heard Gan Fanren praise her son.
This Master Gan was clearly someone destined for great things. She felt at ease with her son following him!
“You have a husband, two sons, and two daughters-in-law—five able-bodied workers. Your whole family has hands and feet; you could completely go to the mountains to pick wild vegetables or hunt to fill your bellies or trade for money. Even if you had said you wanted to help me work in exchange for some grain, I would have thought better of you and given you some silver. But instead, you only want to get something for nothing!”
“Such behavior is despicable!”
The old woman was left disgraced by Gan Fanren’s scolding and left sheepishly.
Gan Tian waved happily: 【Father is so mighty.】
As they say, don’t provoke an educated man.
An educated man can infuriate someone to death with just his mouth.
Only after the old woman was sent away did Hui Niang officially start cooking.
Li Zhi’s mother also came to help.
Don’t be fooled by the old lady’s age; she was very quick with her hands.
She turned the soaked rice into porridge. To save grain, she added a lot of water.
It was supposed to be porridge, but it was as thin as soup.
She took those coarse grain flatbreads that no one liked and stir-fried them with some green vegetables.
The coarse grain flatbreads, which were originally hard to swallow, actually became very fragrant after being stir-fried. They were quite pleasant to eat with the porridge.
The old lady was one to repay kindness.
Knowing her son ate a lot, she made the porridge thin and gave the thinnest part to her son.
In that bowl of porridge, there were almost no rice grains, just water.
Seeing this, Gan Fanren took the initiative to pick up the ladle and add rice to Li Zhi’s bowl.
“Auntie, there’s no need for this.”
“Li Zhi has been tired all day. He should eat more.”
The old lady held the bowl, saying fearfully, “It’s necessary, it’s necessary. We are already very grateful that you took us in. We don’t need to eat this well.”
Gan Fanren brooked no argument and placed a piece of meat into each of their bowls.
“Li Zhi is strong, works quickly, and takes initiative. These are what you deserve.”
Hearing Gan Fanren’s words, Li Zhi straightened his chest.
“Don’t worry, Big Brother. I won’t eat for free. I will definitely work hard.”
After Li Zhi finished eating, he started working in the yard by the moonlight, making clanging and banging noises.
He modified the handcart once again.
Using the idle bedding from the abandoned house, he made a roof for the handcart.
This way, even if it rained, there would be a place to shelter from the wind and rain. They wouldn’t get soaked, and there was no need to worry about the grain getting damp.
A simple handcart had been modified by him to look like a carriage.
Gan Tian was impressed.
【I didn’t expect a rough man like Li Zhi to be able to do such detailed work.】
【He’s practically a handicraft master.】
During the night, Gan Fanren lit a homemade oil lamp and studied the route ahead with his family.
“At our current speed, we will reach Tongmen Guan tomorrow. After passing Tongmen Guan, we’ll go through Jianan Guan, Xuyang Guan, and Jinyang Guan to reach Wangdu.”
“I heard that this flood hit Tongmen Guan and Jianan Guan very hard. I’m afraid they will collect quite a lot in taxes when we reach the gates tomorrow.”
A severe disaster meant a lack of money.
The disaster relief funds allocated by the imperial court were embezzled layer by layer, and by the time they reached the local level, there was nothing left.
If the government office wanted enough silver for disaster relief, they would certainly find ways to collect more taxes.
The commoners inside the pass had no money, so they would squeeze more from the people coming from outside the pass.
Gan Fanren suspected that tomorrow’s tax money would not be a small amount.
“If they only want silver, that’s fine. I’m afraid they might want people as well as silver.”
Post-disaster reconstruction required not just money, but also people—laborers who wouldn’t cost any silver.
If one were caught and forced into labor, they might never get out.