In the following days, Shen Wenhe and Bai Nianqing were like busy bees, constantly bringing supplies home.
They had stocked up on plenty of grain, oil, vegetables, cotton, cloth, chicken, duck, fish, meat, chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs. Enough to last their family for five years without any problem.
Water was even more crucial. Although Bai Nianqing had already stored a considerable amount in modern times, fearing it might not be enough, she had Shen Wenhe prepare fifty large wooden barrels, fill them with water, and store them in the Dimension.
“Honey, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. The crops in the fields have all withered, and today I only managed to draw two buckets of water from the well. I’ll go to the city today to check the situation,” Shen Wenhe said anxiously upon returning from outside.
“Yeah, this weather is really abnormal. It’s already past the Start of Autumn, and by all accounts, we should be wearing long sleeves in the morning and evening. But now, it’s so hot that people feel like stripping naked,” Bai Nianqing remarked, fanning herself incessantly with a large palm-leaf fan.
“I’ve heard it’s even worse south of here. Refugees from the lower counties have already started arriving. I’ll go to the city again today to check. From now on, unless absolutely necessary, I won’t go out anymore,” Shen Wenhe said, grabbing the fan and fanning himself a few times.
“Go and find out how many refugees are coming from the south. Also, what’s the situation up north? And since we’ve decided to head into the mountains during the famine, shouldn’t we go into the mountains beforehand to find a suitable place to live and take shelter?” Bai Nianqing suggested.
“You’re right. I overlooked that. We really should go check it out early to avoid being caught off guard later,” Shen Wenhe realized after Bai Nianqing’s reminder.
“On your way back, buy more Oilcloth. After a severe drought, there’s bound to be heavy flooding. I’m afraid we might need it then,” Bai Nianqing added.
“Understood. If that’s the case, I’ll buy two more Iron stoves and some charcoal as well. It’s always better to be prepared,” Shen Wenhe said, thinking that if a flood occurred, it might be impossible to light a fire outdoors during rainy days, and having stoves would be much more convenient.
“Right, right. How could I have forgotten that? We should definitely buy two. If you can find charcoal, buy as much as possible. Not just charcoal, we also need to stock up on firewood. If a flood happens, not having dry firewood would be a big problem,” Bai Nianqing realized that despite thinking they were fully prepared, there were still things they had overlooked.
“Firewood is easy to handle. I’ll have Chang’an spread the word in the village—there are plenty of people willing to chop and deliver firewood. With this year’s drought, there may not be much else in the mountains, but dry firewood is abundant,” Shen Wenhe assured her.
“That’s good. Make sure to get hard firewood, not twigs or branches. Also, let’s stock up on mushrooms and wood ear fungi. They’re nutritious and delicious to eat,” Bai Nianqing suggested.
“Alright, I’ll have Chang’an take care of it and then head to the city. I expect someone will deliver firewood to the house soon. Give the money to Chang’an and let him handle the transactions with the villagers,” Shen Wenhe reminded her before leaving, still a bit uneasy.
“I know what to do. You should go now,” Bai Nianqing assured him.
Although Shen Wenhe wasn’t entirely at ease, he had no choice but to go, as he needed to buy the stoves and charcoal.
After Shen Wenhe left, Chang’an went to the village to arrange for the purchase of firewood.
She had her own tasks to attend to. Since refugees had already started arriving, it meant the drought had become severe.
Preparations needed to be made accordingly.
For basic necessities—clothing, food, shelter, and transportation—clothing was already prepared. Shelter and transportation would be checked in the mountains tomorrow.
As for food, that also needed to be prepared.
Although her Dimension contained plenty of grain and she had prepared some buns and steamed buns, it still wasn’t enough.
While there was still time, she planned to take Xiaochun and make more rice and steamed buns.
There was also the braised meat. Shen Wenhe had bought nearly two hundred pigs in total, all slaughtered by the butcher and delivered.
Two hundred pigs meant over two hundred sets of pig offal.
She intended to braise a large batch and store it in her Dimension, so she could eat it whenever she wanted.
No sooner thought than done—she immediately called Xiaochun over.
“Xiaochun, Xiaochun.”
“Yes, Miss, you called me?” Xiaochun came over, leading Nianchen by the hand.
“Nianchen, go play by yourself for now. Xiaochun and I need to steam buns and make dumplings. We’ll play with you after we’re done,” Bai Nianqing said to Nianchen.
“Okay, Sister,” Nianchen replied obediently.
“Xiaochun, go knead the dough. Remember to make a lot—we need to prepare more dry rations. The drought outside is already very severe. I’ve heard it’s even worse up north, and refugees have started arriving. I think we should be prepared too. If refugees come, the four of us alone won’t be able to hold them off. And with the drought this bad, we might have to flee as well. So we need to make extra dry rations ahead of time, just in case,” Bai Nianqing explained to Xiaochun.
“Refugees are already here? What should we do?” Xiaochun asked fearfully.
“We need to get ready now, so if things turn bad, we can leave at any time,” Bai Nianqing reassured her.
“Alright, I’ll go right away.” Xiaochun agreed and went to knead the dough.
“Oh, and knead some cornmeal too—we’ll steam some cornbread,” Bai Nianqing added, struck by a sudden thought.
If they had to flee, everyone would be short on food and clothing. Eating fine wheat steamed buns every day would attract too much attention.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to keep a low profile.
For the rest of the day, Bai Nianqing and Xiaochun busied themselves steaming buns, twisted rolls, cornbread, and multigrain pancakes.
By the time Shen Wenhe returned from the city, the two were still at it.
“Whoa, what’s all this? Why so many steamed buns and twisted rolls?” Shen Wenhe got down from the carriage and was startled by the baskets of steamed buns and twisted rolls filling the courtyard.
“Well, since refugees are already arriving, I figured it’s not safe here anymore. We might have to join them in a few days, so I made some buns and steamed buns for the road,” Bai Nianqing explained.
“Why so much cornbread? Running low on wheat flour?” Shen Wenhe took a few steps inside and spotted two baskets of cornbread.
“I was thinking, if we have to flee, we shouldn’t eat much better than everyone else. While others are starving, us eating fine wheat steamed buns would stand out too much. So I made some cornbread to eat when others are around,” Bai Nianqing clarified.
Shen Wenhe had only asked casually. He didn’t understand these matters well, so he left it all to Bai Nianqing.
“My lady is very thoughtful. My lady, I bought two iron stoves and ordered one thousand catties of charcoal. They will deliver them this afternoon. How much firewood did Chang’an buy?” Shen Wenhe said.
“Have you found out about the disaster victims?” Bai Nianqing was still concerned about the disaster victims.