6 – Four Carloads of Grain
Sure enough, Bai Renyi’s tobacco pipe flew straight at Bai Laosan with a whoosh!
Bai Laoda and Bai Laoer simultaneously cast sympathetic glances. When their father made a move, they knew exactly how ruthless it could be!
Fortunately, Laosan reacted quickly, leaping aside with a swift jump. Not only did he dodge the deadly tobacco pipe, but he also picked it up and respectfully handed it back to his father.
Everyone assumed Laosan had failed in his attempt to persuade their father to quit smoking.
Yet, the next morning, when Bai Renyi sat on the front steps assigning tasks to his three sons, he wasn’t holding his tobacco pipe. His hands fidgeted unnaturally, rubbing back and forth.
The three brothers stood with their hands at their sides, exchanging glances, barely suppressing their laughter.
Well, Little Tiger Girl certainly had influence! Their father, who had smoked for decades, had actually quit just like that!
Bai Renyi assigned tasks as follows: Bai Laoda and Bai Laoer were to go to the city to sell the lingzhi mushroom, Bai Laosan would continue digging for medicinal herbs in the mountains, and the five grandsons were to herd the sheep—the sheep being his little daughter’s source of nourishment. Nothing could be allowed to compromise his little girl’s belly.
Bai Laoda and Bai Laoer, after receiving their assignments, set off with some dry rations and the precious lingzhi mushroom.
Being young and swift, they left in the morning and reached the city before noon. However, the closer they got to the city, the more refugees in tattered clothes they encountered on the road. Many shops were closed in broad daylight. The brothers found it strange but dared not ask questions, focused solely on selling the lingzhi quickly for silver.
They went directly to the pharmacy where they often sold herbs. The shop owner recognized them and greeted them warmly, “Oh, it’s the Bai brothers! What treasures have you brought today?”
Bai Laoda glanced around and said in a low voice, “Shopkeeper, I’ve brought something big today. Let’s talk in private.”
Seeing Bai Laoda’s serious expression, the owner quickly ushered the two brothers into the back room.
Bai Laoda set down the back basket, lifted the covering cloth, and pointed at the lingzhi inside. “Shopkeeper, how much do you think this lingzhi is worth?”
The moment the owner saw the lingzhi, he gasped in astonishment. The mushroom was dark purple and glossy, about the size of a child’s head. In decades of running his pharmacy, he had never seen a lingzhi of such exceptional quality!
He carefully took it out, sniffed it, and examined it closely, exclaiming, “A fine piece, truly a fine piece!”
“Name your price!”
After some deliberation, the owner said, “Ten taels of silver. What do you think?”
Bai Laoda didn’t agree, coldly placing the lingzhi back into the back basket.
Bai Laoer sneered sarcastically, “Shopkeeper, are you trying to fool us because we don’t know the market? We thought you were an honest man, but offering only ten taels for such a large lingzhi—who are you kidding? We’re not selling it! We’ll chop it up and make dumplings instead!”
“Wait! Please don’t!” The owner hurriedly stopped them as they turned to leave, his face sour. “It’s not that I’m lowballing you, but business is really tough right now! You must have seen the refugees on your way here, right? They’re all fleeing from the south, where there’s a severe drought. Many have starved to death, forcing them to flee with their families. I’ve heard the drought is spreading our way too—that’s why many shops in the city have closed!”
Only then did the brothers realize the city was indeed less bustling than before. Many shops were shut, and the streets were filled with ragged refugees.Realizing the shopkeeper wasn’t lying, the Bai brothers stopped in their tracks.
Seeing there was room for negotiation, the shopkeeper quickly added, “To be honest, I don’t know how much longer this pharmacy can last. This is a fine lingzhi mushroom—in good years, it could easily sell for fifty taels. But these days…”
After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, “Since you’re regular customers, I can offer fifteen taels at most. If that still doesn’t suit you, you’ll have to try elsewhere.”
Fifteen taels was truly a low price for such a fine lingzhi, but the brothers had seen the current situation for themselves. Even if they took it elsewhere, they might not get a better offer.
The brothers exchanged a glance. Bai Laoda set down his back basket again. “Fine, fifteen taels it is!”
The shopkeeper, being straightforward himself, carefully stored the lingzhi like a treasure and led them to the accounts office to collect fifteen taels of silver.
While handing over the money, the shopkeeper kindly advised, “With disasters looming, I suggest you stock up on grain before prices rise. Once the drought hits, who knows how long it will last?”
Before they left home, Bai Renyi had already instructed them to use the money from selling the lingzhi to buy grain. Hearing the shopkeeper’s warning, they decided to buy even more.
After leaving the pharmacy, they headed to the grain store.
Grain prices had risen slightly compared to before, but it was still acceptable.
With fifteen taels from the lingzhi sale, the brothers planned to spend fourteen taels on grain and use the remaining tael to buy something nice for Little Tiger Girl.
Bai Renyi and Cui Shi ran their household with flexibility, allowing their sons to make urgent decisions without prior consultation. The two brothers used all fourteen taels to buy rice and flour, hiring four oxcarts to transport everything home.
For dinner, Cui Shi steamed cornbread and sweet potatoes, and prepared a pot of rice porridge.
The little dumpling wouldn’t let anyone hold her, preferring to nuzzle under the goat’s belly to nurse. Today, her five pit-nephews had been herding the goats all day, so the goats were well-fed and had plenty of milk. She couldn’t swallow fast enough, and milk dribbled from the corners of her mouth.
After filling up on goat’s milk, the little dumpling played bubble-blowing games with Bai Wukeng under the goat’s belly.
Bai Wukeng chanted, “Little Piggy, blow bubbles…”
The little dumpling mimicked her fifth nephew, blowing bubbles—gurgle, gurgle—one string after another. She used her chubby white hands to pop the bubbles near his mouth, never missing. Each pop made her giggle with her toothless grin.
Cui Shi smiled and fed the soft, sweet potato to the little dumpling. The little dumpling frowned slightly, as if asking, “Mom, what is this?”
She smacked her lips twice before tasting the delicious flavor of the sweet potato. After one bite, she eagerly reached for the bowl in Cui Shi’s hands with both tiny hands. Her adorable, greedy expression was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
During the meal, the two brothers returned.
Bai Renyi and his wife were surprised to see their sons bringing back so much rice and flour.
Bai Laoda explained what they had seen in the city that day. After hearing this, Bai Renyi sighed, “It hasn’t rained a drop in three months. It seems the drought is unavoidable!”
Fortunately, the Bai family was large and united. Even if natural disasters struck, as long as they worked together, they could endure.
The two brothers hadn’t seen Little Tiger Girl all day and missed her terribly. Spotting the little dumpling under the goat’s belly, they rushed over and smacked kisses on her cheeks—one from each of her silly brothers.The little dumpling was happily eating sweet potato when suddenly interrupted, immediately becoming displeased. The tiny hands wiped twice on the face with distaste, and the little mouth opened wide as if about to cry.
“Don’t cry, Little Tigress! Look what big brother bought for you?” Bai Laoda hurriedly took out the pellet drum from his embrace and shook it with a rattling sound!