“Sister-in-law Weng, to be honest, I really can’t stay in Ping City any longer. That’s why I’m planning to go to Yuncheng to rely on my father. My husband passed away a few months ago. I don’t have a job, and I still have to take care of my daughter—life has been really hard. There’s only my father left in my family, and I want to spend some time by his side and fulfill my filial duty. Otherwise, I wouldn’t drag my daughter so far in times like these.”
He Yuping wasn’t trying to deceive anyone on purpose. It was just that with her current identity, the more people who knew, the better. That way, if Steward Hu tracked them down here, he wouldn’t suspect she was the woman from the Qu residence.
“Sigh, what kind of times are these? It’s getting impossible to live. You really do need a man at home to support the family. Your thinking is right. Your father is getting old—you only have so many years left to be filial. You can’t just leave him alone.
Whenever you decide to leave, I’ll talk to my husband and have my father-in-law and husband escort you. You can pay in silver dollars or grain. The trip costs forty silver dollars. If you pay in grain, then it’s one thousand pound. It doesn’t have to be rice or wheat—corn, sorghum, or other coarse grains are fine.”
As Sister-in-law Weng spoke, she began to feel a little embarrassed. Forty silver dollars could buy a small house these days, but the journey was long and dangerous—she had no choice but to ask for this price.
“That works. If you prefer grain, I’ll pay half here first. Once Uncle delivers us safely, I’ll have him bring back the rest. What do you think?” He Yuping wasn’t good at bargaining, but considering the distance and dangers, the price wasn’t unreasonable.
“That could work, but transporting only grain on the road is risky. How about this—give 500 jin of grain here, and when you arrive, if possible, pay the remaining twenty silver dollars instead. That way, their return trip will be safer.”
Sister-in-law Weng was worried the grain might get robbed on the way, but she also felt too embarrassed to ask for everything upfront.
“Alright, let’s do that. I’ll help you get the grain ready in the next few days, then we’ll leave. You can also have Uncle and the others prepare.”
He Yuping wanted to resolve the grain issue as quickly as possible, but she hadn’t considered that gathering so much grain wouldn’t be easy.
During this time, where would the mother and daughter stay? Going back to the city was no longer an option—the house had already been sold. Staying at Uncle Lin’s place might disturb the elderly couple, and explaining the large amount of grain would be troublesome.
He Caiwei couldn’t help but think—was her mother really acting without considering the consequences? Who could produce so much grain all at once?
“Sister-in-law, is there a larger, more open courtyard around here? My daughter and I might need to trouble you for a couple of days. I’ll contact someone shortly. Please prepare a spacious courtyard and place all the grain sacks there. When the time comes, I’ll have people fill them. It’s not safe to leave everything out in the open, right?”
Of course, He Yuping had thought about this—she just hadn’t gotten to it earlier in the conversation.
“Yes, yes, there is. I’ll go speak to the village chief…”
Before Sister-in-law Weng could finish, a group of people hurried in and interrupted her.
“What do you need the old man for? Lin family’s daughter-in-law, where’s the person selling grain? My son said someone here has grain to sell?”
The old village chief rushed in with a bamboo cane, moving so briskly that it looked like he didn’t need it at all. His lively appearance made He Caiwei laugh.
“Village Chief, over here. This young lady can contact someone selling grain. Should we call a meeting and ask if other villagers want to buy as well?” Sister-in-law Weng wasn’t sure who else needed grain, so she left it to the old man.
“Of course! How could we not? So many people came to borrow grain today, but how could I possibly have enough to lend? Aside from a few bags of seed grain, there’s nothing left in the village.”
The old man had been so worried these past few days that he even had fever blisters at the corners of his mouth.
“Miss, can you tell this old man how much grain you can sell? I’ll go gather money and sacks. How much do you have?”
“How much can you buy?” He Yuping hadn’t calculated it and didn’t know how much the village needed.
“Two tons? No, no—four tons! Miss, can you get four tons? More would be even better. If not, we won’t force it—just give us whatever you can.”
The old man hesitated. Grain was extremely scarce on the market—when those people retreated, they took everything edible and usable with them.
“I should be able to. First, find a large courtyard, preferably near the road for easy loading and unloading. I don’t know exactly how much I can get yet, but prepare the sacks. Whatever I can bring, I’ll bring.
Right now, rice and wheat are very expensive outside—one silver dollar only buys sixty to seventy jin. Mine are unhusked, so I’ll sell them at one silver dollar per hundred jin. Does that work?”
He Yuping calculated the price based on her previous purchases before naming it.
“Yes! That’s more than acceptable! Thank you, miss, thank you!”
The old man’s eyes lit up at the price. Even though rice had previously sold for sixty to seventy jin per silver dollar, prices were rising rapidly—now it might not even buy fifty jin. This young woman was truly kind-hearted.
For the sake of the villagers, the old man decided to accept this favor.
After speaking, he hurried off at incredible speed, his cane almost blurring in motion.
Soon, a large courtyard near the main road at the back of Dalin Village was cleared out. Every household contributed as many grain sacks as they could and placed them there.
After arranging everything, the village chief sent a teenage boy to Sister-in-law Weng’s house to notify the mother and daughter.
He Yuping and her daughter were astonished by the old man’s efficiency. It had only been half an hour—how had everything been arranged so quickly?
“Alright then, Sister-in-law Weng, we’ll head out now. We should be back tonight. No need to wait for us—once the grain arrives, I’ll come knock on your door. I’ll leave five silver dollars here as part of the travel fee—please keep it.”
After placing the money down, He Yuping took her daughter and left.
Before Sister-in-law Weng could return the money, the two were already gone. Turning back, she muttered to herself about how fast the mother and daughter walked.