The mother and daughter only rode the bus for five stops before getting off. They had just reached the outskirts of Pingcheng.
Pingcheng had four city gates, and not far from each gate were carriage stations, set up to make it easier to transport goods into and out of the city.
Of course, they had no intention of walking on foot until nightfall. The two of them had just discussed their plan: about twenty li south of Pingcheng’s southern gate, there was a large village. In that village, there were ox carts, horse carriages, and mule carts available—so long as you could pay, you could hire transport for either goods or people.
Their first destination was that village. According to their plan, they would buy a mule cart, travel a certain distance during the day, then return to the space to rest, and at night take out a vehicle to continue driving.
As long as they didn’t stray from the general direction, they would eventually reach their destination. At this point, both mother and daughter had adopted a rather laid-back attitude.
Not far from where they got off the bus was the village entrance. At the entrance stood a large stone marker engraved with the words “Lin Family Village.” This was the largest village nearby, with over four hundred households, most of whom made a living in the carriage trade.
He Yuping and her daughter knocked on the door of the first house at the village entrance. At a glance, it was clear this was a well-off family—six newly built tiled-roof houses stood inside, surrounded by high courtyard walls. He Yuping stepped forward and knocked.
“Is anyone home?”
“Coming! Who are you looking for?”
After she knocked, hurried footsteps sounded from inside—several people seemed to be approaching, though only a middle-aged woman spoke.
“Hello, I was referred here by Aunt Lin to hire a cart. May I ask if your carts take passengers?” He Yuping explained her purpose. Aunt Lin had indeed mentioned this place before.
The first household by the village sign had been in the carting business for three generations—from grandfather to grandson—and had the best reputation.
“Yes, yes, we do! Please wait a moment.”
The door quickly opened, and the woman’s voice carried a note of pleasant surprise.
“Please, come in and sit. Where are you headed, how many people? Do you want a donkey cart, horse carriage, or mule cart? If it’s just one or two people, a mule cart is the most economical—mules are gentle, walk steadily, and are strong. They’re perfect for pulling carts.”
Hearing there was business, the woman became noticeably more enthusiastic.
“Big sister, we want to go to Yuncheng, over four hundred kilometers away. Do you make that trip? And what’s the price?” He Yuping wanted to see if there was a cart that could take them directly to Yuncheng. The road from Pingcheng to Yuncheng was the most chaotic stretch.
Once past that section, things should be much more stable, and they could continue on their own.
“Well… that’s quite far…”
The woman hesitated.
“Paper currency isn’t worth much anymore. Yesterday it could still buy a pounds of eggs—today it can only buy two or three. If you have grain, though, I can give you a cheaper price.”
Hearing the distance of over four hundred kilometers, she found it daunting. A round trip would take at least ten days.
In the past two years, there had been constant warfare outside. Crops had basically failed completely. Not long ago, when those scoundrels retreated, they even looted the surrounding villages. If not for the unity of their village—having received the news early and moved all valuable livestock and poultry into the mountains—they wouldn’t even have carts left to carry goods or passengers now.
Grain, however, couldn’t be moved, so everything had been stripped clean.
Going into the city now to buy grain was unbearable—the prices were outrageously high. She had gone twice but simply couldn’t bring herself to buy such expensive food.
Now, when people came to hire transport, she usually asked for either silver dollars or grain. The destination this woman wanted was far, and she didn’t know how to set a price—too high, and they might not afford it; too low, and it wouldn’t be worth it.
“Grain? But didn’t the autumn harvest just finish not long ago? How could there be a shortage?” He Yuping asked, puzzled.
“Oh, I can tell you’re not from around here. Didn’t those scoundrels just lose a battle and retreat recently? Before leaving, they looted all the nearby villages. People could run and hide, but the grain couldn’t—it was all taken straight from the fields. These days, grain in the city is getting more and more expensive. Money that used to buy several pound now can’t even buy one. And the Qu family—the biggest grain suppliers in the city—had everything burned down overnight. No one knows where they went. Without them, the city is basically out of grain. Our family alone has dozens of mouths to feed—our daily consumption is huge. I’m so worried…”
Once she started talking about it, the middle-aged woman poured out all her concerns like a flood breaking through a dam.
It wasn’t just her family—most households in the area were short on grain.
“Is grain really that scarce? Would you be willing to buy some? There’s unhulled rice and wheat…” He Yuping wasn’t trying to make money. She just felt that if these people couldn’t buy food in the city, they would be forced to tighten their belts—or even eat tree bark and grass roots. She pitied them and wanted to help.
“Buy? Of course we’d buy! Do you know where to get it? No matter how high the price, we’ll buy! Could you ask your friend to spare more? All the rice in our village fields has been stripped clean—not a single stalk left. Right now, we truly don’t have even a bit of grain.”
Hearing there was grain available, the woman grew so excited that she grabbed He Yuping’s hand, her eyes full of hope.
“I’ll go ask. About how much do you need? It’d be best if you can prepare your own sacks—if not, they’ll charge extra.”
He Yuping thought of asking her daughter to take out some grain. These people were truly pitiful. Before leaving, she wanted to help as many as she could.
She didn’t know exactly how much grain her daughter had in that space, but from what they’d seen in the warehouse yesterday, even if they never bought food again, they wouldn’t finish it in a lifetime. Rather than letting it sit there, it was better to use some to help others.
“We have sacks, we’ll prepare them ourselves! Just wait here—please, you must wait! Oh, right, my surname is Weng. Everyone in the village calls me Sister-in-law Weng—you can call me that too.”
At this point, Sister-in-law Weng had no mind for anything else. She hurriedly called out her children and told them to fetch the village chief and inform him, so they could see how many people wanted to buy grain.
Then she rushed to the kitchen to bring out two bowls of sugar water. Feeling embarrassed about her earlier outburst, she spoke apologetically:
“Miss, little one, have some sugar water. I’m really sorry—I must have frightened the child earlier. By the way, where are you headed with such a young child? The road to Yuncheng isn’t safe. Those scoundrels have only just retreated, and many people who lost everything are wandering around trying to survive. The streets are full of refugees—you must be careful when traveling.”
She set the smaller bowl of sugar water in front of He Caiwei and gestured for her to drink.