Li Wanting put the grain into the basket, though in reality she moved it into her space. After leaving the grain shop, the three of them went to the pharmacy to buy a large supply of common medicines—things she didn’t already have in her space—preparing for something important.
Li Wanting considered buying a horse-drawn cart. A horse cart would be fast and stable, but she worried it would attract too much attention. The Zhou family village had no one selling horse carts, and only a few households had ox carts—the rest were too poor to afford one. Well, a simple ox cart will do.
Since she already had the ox in her space, she only needed to buy a cart frame, essentially a flatbed cart. After asking around, she went to a cart shop and haggled with the owner. In the end, she paid two taels of silver for the frame.
Li Wanting placed the two children on the cart, then took it to a quiet spot. She summoned an ox from her space and yoked it to the cart.
Finally, she began driving the ox cart out. The sun blazed overhead—it must have been noon. Li Wanting let the children each have a bowl of noodles at a noodle stall, drank some water, rested briefly, and then resumed driving, checking for anything else they needed to buy.
They stopped at a pastry shop to weigh some treats, then at a general store to buy water skins and two rolls of oilcloth. Anything she already had in her space she didn’t buy; anything missing, she replaced.
After finishing the shopping trip, she went back to the fabric shop to load the goods. The shop owner thoughtfully gave her an old cloth to cover the items.
Li Wanting drove the ox cart to a secluded spot, organized the goods, and put as much as she could into her space. On the surface, she left the coarse rice and sorghum flour from the grain shop, three rolls of fabric, two quilts, a few jin of cotton, the water skins, and oilcloth, covering it all with the old cloth. Only then did she start toward the village entrance.
Wang Lanzhi was already waiting by Old Zhou Gen’s ox cart. Seeing Li Wanting arrive with her cart, she was shocked—the Mountain Lady even bought an ox cart?
Seeing it fully loaded and covered with the old cloth, she was even more stunned. The quilts and cotton alone took up a lot of space, and with the three of them sitting on the cart, it was completely packed.
Seeing Wang Lanzhi waiting, Li Wanting stopped the cart and said shyly, “Sister-in-law, have you been waiting long? There were so many things to settle at home, I might have bought a little too much.”
“Oh, no, not at all. I just arrived a short while ago,” Wang Lanzhi replied, coming back to her senses.
“Sister-in-law, come here, I need to tell you something,” Li Wanting said, holding the cart with one hand and gesturing for her to come closer.
“What is it, little sister?” Wang Lanzhi asked quietly.
Li Wanting covered half her mouth and whispered into Wang Lanzhi’s ear, “I heard the war from the north is coming this way. Just in case, you should hurry and buy more grain.”
Wang Lanzhi had already heard from her husband that many refugees had arrived in town and grain prices were rising. She had bought extra grain accordingly. Hearing Li Wanting’s warning, she was still startled. Whispering, she said, “My husband told me to buy more grain, and I did, all in my basket—but I didn’t know war was coming.”
“That’s fine, you know now. Want me to take you partway back?” Li Wanting offered, seeing Wang Lanzhi’s heavy baskets and guessing she had bought a lot.
“No need, your cart is already full. I’ll ride with Uncle Gen’s ox cart,” Wang Lanzhi declined politely.
Li Wanting saw that her cart really was packed and didn’t insist, just nodded.
“Little sister, stick close to Uncle Gen’s cart. It’s safer this way, with all the refugees and your goods, plus you have children,” Wang Lanzhi advised.
“I understand, sister-in-law,” Li Wanting nodded.
Wang Lanzhi climbed onto Old Gen’s ox cart, which was already nearly full. Old Zhou Gen drove ahead, saying to Li Wanting, “Mountain Lady, keep close behind.”
“All right, Uncle Gen,” Li Wanting replied, driving her cart behind his.
The two ox carts moved quickly toward the village. Some of the refugees saw them and wanted to attack, but the first cart had so many people that they restrained themselves, letting the carts pass without interference.
“Why are there so many refugees in town?”
“Who knows? These are hard times. This year the drought wiped out the crops.”
“Exactly. We still need to buy more grain. Tomorrow I’ll send my husband to get more from town.”
“Yes, yes, we must buy more,” they all agreed.
The villagers chatted all the way back, and finally, they returned to the village without incident. Everyone paid the cart drivers and hurried home.
Li Wanting, after saying goodbye, drove her ox cart home. Her house was at the village’s end, so she had to cross the entire village.
Children playing along the way chased the ox cart, greeting the siblings on it. Villagers also greeted Li Wanting.
Granny Tian, seeing her driving an ox cart, was astonished: “Mountain Lady, you bought an ox cart? That must have cost a lot of silver!”
“Yes, Granny. When you have time, could you make a few sets of clothes for the three of us?” Li Wanting asked casually, avoiding the topic of money.
“Of course, Mountain Lady. Just bring me the fabric,” Granny Tian said eagerly.
“All right, Granny, I’ll bring it over later.”
After speaking with Granny Tian, Li Wanting drove on. The villagers whispered among themselves:
“The Mountain Lady is lucky—she even caught a bear and a tiger. She must have sold a lot for silver.”
“Look, she even bought an ox cart!”
“The cart is packed full under that cloth. She must have bought tons of stuff.”
“Now Old Zhou Woman must regret everything.”
…
Li Wanting paid no mind to the gossip. Though she was low-key, she still bought what was necessary. She wouldn’t let her family go without.
Back home, she moved the items inside, leaving a small portion outside, and stored most in her space. She unharnessed the ox, tied it to a tree, gave it water from her space in a broken earthen jar, and some grass. Then she led her children to the village head’s house.
“Uncle, are you home?”
“Yes, Mountain Lady, come in,” Mrs. Zhou said, seeing the three of them, and led them inside.
Zhou Yunda was sitting on a chair smoking, his eldest daughter-in-law Liu Guihua was sewing, and the six-year-old granddaughter played nearby.
Seeing the Mountain Lady and her children enter, Zhou Yunda gestured to a chair. “Sit down and tell me, Mountain Lady.”
“Ah,” Li Wanting said, sitting with the children. She then recounted everything—the fabric shop owner’s warning and what she had seen—to Zhou Yunda.