The market was full of people selling wild vegetables, and some were also selling small cabbages and greens from their own fields.
Gu Nianzhi thought that the vegetables in their garden weren’t ready to eat yet, so she bought a single radish.
She noticed an older woman selling some chives and grabbed a small bunch, paying two wen for all of it.
Since their home had no well and it was so hot, buying too much at once would risk spoilage. So she took Gu Nian’an to the meat stall again.
The stall owner recognized the little girl! Though her family seemed poor, she always bought generously, several pounds at a time, and he was happy to serve her.
“Uncle, five pounds of fatty pork, three pounds of belly pork, and three pounds of ribs,” she ordered.
“Alright!”
The mother and children had been mistreated by the old Gu family for years, and now that they had money, they needed to make up for it. If they got sick during the famine, even a small illness could be deadly.
The meat was quickly cut, and the owner tied it up with string for Gu Nianzhi to carry.
She still needed to buy other items, so carrying it by hand wouldn’t work.
She returned to the market and bought a carrying basket for twenty-five wen.
“Sister, where are we going next?”
Meat and vegetables were bought—shouldn’t they go home?
“Grain.”
Grain prices were low. Buying some to stockpile would put Mrs. Liu at ease. Seeing her work so hard collecting wild vegetables every day, Gu Nianzhi felt she couldn’t let her overwork herself.
Gu Nian’an’s eyes widened.
They hadn’t even finished the last grain purchase! How could his sister be buying more?
Wow! Their family was really getting rich!
They went into the same grain shop as before. Gu Nianzhi bought a hundred pounds of brown rice and fifty pounds of coarse flour—brown rice at five wen per pound, coarse flour at eight wen per pound—spending nearly one tael of silver in one go.
When they came out, Gu Nian’an’s little mouth nearly gaped like it could fit an entire egg.
“Sister! That’s so much grain! Back at the old house, that would last us a whole year!”
Gu Nianzhi pursed her lips.
Drinking wild vegetable porridge every day with just a little flour? Hardly enough to last a year!
“We need to eat full meals every day. This will last about two months,” she said.
And this stockpile was for when they fled during the famine—she had no intention of eating coarse rice and flour during this period.
Gu Nian’an panicked.
Could they really eat that much?
Thinking about the last few days of meals—dry rice every time—he could easily eat two large bowls in one sitting. Not counting breakfast, he could consume half a bowl’s worth of dry rice in a single meal!
He was really a glutton!
The little boy decided from today he would eat only half his fill to save grain.
With the large basket now full, just as Gu Nian’an thought they were finally going home, Gu Nianzhi led him into a clothing shop.
“Madam, how much is your cloth?”
Seeing her patched clothing, the shop owner guessed the family was poor and recommended linen.
“Miss, look at this linen. It’s durable and easy to wash. Only 150 wen per bolt, enough to make several children’s garments!”
She offered a brown linen, a bit coarse to the touch. Gu Nianzhi didn’t mind. With famine coming, and families barely eating, cotton garments would make them conspicuous—like fat sheep ready for slaughter.
“Alright, I’ll take two bolts.”
“Sure!”
The shop owner prepared to place the cloth in the basket.
“Wait a moment.”
“What’s wrong?”
Gu Nianzhi called out, making the shop owner nervous, thinking she might change her mind.
“How much for cotton cloth?”
The shop owner was surprised. She set aside the linen and brought Gu Nianzhi to the cotton section.
“Miss, this cotton cloth is 500 wen per bolt. For farmers, it’s not really worth buying. You’d be better off buying more linen for more garments.”
The shop owner was honest. Cotton was more profitable, but she couldn’t bear to profit off this poor family. She knew the children were barely eating; if their clothes weren’t in such bad condition, they wouldn’t even have come to buy cloth.
Gu Nianzhi had other plans.
She intended to have Mrs. Liu make two cotton garments per person to wear underneath, with linen outside. This way, it wouldn’t irritate the skin or draw unwanted attention.
“Then give me two bolts of cotton cloth as well.”
The shop owner hesitated. She wasn’t sure if she should sell it, wanting to teach the girl how to manage.
Seeing her delay, Gu Nianzhi assumed it was because the shop owner doubted she could pay. She produced two taels of silver.
“Please put it in the basket,” she said.
Her basket was large, the kind used for carrying leaves and grass up the mountain. By now, it was already half full of meat and grain. The shop owner placed the cotton cloth on top to avoid soiling it.
“Miss, that comes to 1 tael 600 wen. You’re honest, so I’ll throw in these scrap pieces of fabric for free.”
Gu Nianzhi thanked her.
“Thank you, Madam! I wish you prosperous business!”
“You’re welcome! Come again soon!”
The shop owner happily sent the siblings off, then hid the silver in her counter, planning to buy more grain tomorrow.
At the town entrance, Gu Nianzhi saw an old man with several puppies and remembered she wanted to buy one. She approached.
“Sir, how much for a puppy?”
“Five wen.”
Seeing she intended to buy, Gu Nian’an grabbed her arm desperately.
“Sister, let’s go home! Don’t buy it!”
These days, even people couldn’t eat enough—how could they spare food for a puppy?
Though he liked dogs, he couldn’t bear to share his rations. After finally having enough to eat for a few days, he refused to starve himself for a puppy.
“We live at the foot of the mountain. A puppy will guard the house. If someone from the old home comes to steal or wolves come down, it’s good to have one.”
Hearing this, Gu Nian’an suddenly understood.
Indeed! Their house was near the mountain. If wolves came at night and devoured them silently, that would be terrible!
And the old home was nearly out of grain. What if someone came to steal it while they weren’t there?
Thinking this, he realized having a puppy wasn’t a bad idea.
Even if it couldn’t do much, at least it could make noise when intruders came.
The old man reached behind and brought out a chubby puppy.
“This is from our big wolfdog. Only this one survived. If you want it, eleven wen.”
“Eleven wen?”
Gu Nian’an’s eyes widened.
In the village, puppies usually cost nothing, or three to five wen. Eleven wen was expensive!
“Don’t underestimate it! In two to three months, it’ll be strong and brave. No ordinary dog can compare. It grows big and fierce!”
Gu Nianzhi had seen wolfdogs before. Large and brave, they were intimidating as guard dogs.
She immediately bought the puppy for eleven wen.
“Miss, do you want chicks too?”
A nearby woman tried to sell her chicks.
“No.”
Winter was coming. Next year, during the famine, when would she ever eat them?
“But you can buy the hens.”
Gu Nianzhi pointed to two hens beside the woman.
The woman was overjoyed. Originally sixty wen per hen, Gu Nianzhi bought both for a total of one hundred wen.