When Father Jiang and Jiang Wenwan came out of the village chief’s house, their expressions were somewhat solemn.
Father Jiang had spoken earnestly until his throat was dry, trying to persuade him, and Jiang Wenwan had also listed several major events that would soon occur. The village chief’s expression had gradually shifted from initial disbelief and absurdity to deep contemplation.
Village Chief Jiang Yougen did not immediately believe them. He only told them to go back first while he thought things over.
Jiang Wenwan felt uneasy. After leaving the village chief’s house, she found an excuse and rushed to Huawanyi’s home.
“Second Aunt, what should we do? The village chief doesn’t seem to believe us.”
She was very anxious. If the village chief didn’t believe them, the villagers would end up like in her previous life—starving to death on the road. Thinking of those emaciated bodies lying by the roadside, tears welled up in her eyes again.
Huawanyi took her hand and patted it gently.
“Don’t worry. Think about it—when you first told your family, didn’t they also not believe you right away? The village chief just needs time to accept it.”
Jiang Wenwan’s expression eased slightly. In her panic, she had forgotten this, only thinking about getting everyone to prepare quickly.
Huawanyi knew well that in the original story, the village chief only began to believe after the New Year, when the weather started to feel abnormal. As the events Jiang Wenwan predicted began to come true one by one, he had no choice but to believe and mobilize the villagers.
And now, there were still about twenty days before the New Year.
“So what should I do now?” Jiang Wenwan didn’t want to wait idly for the village chief to come around. She needed to prepare something for the coming year.
“You can start storing more fodder,” Huawanyi suggested.
“Fodder?” Jiang Wenwan asked. “What for?”
Huawanyi chuckled softly.
“Think about it—we’re going to flee famine. We can’t rely only on walking. Your grandfather and father will definitely buy an ox cart. By next year, when everything is dry and brittle, there won’t be much grass left. So shouldn’t we start preparing now?”
“Oh right!” Jiang Wenwan’s eyes lit up.
Yesterday she had been envious when she saw her second aunt’s ox cart, but she had never thought her own family could also afford one. Now that they had money, they would definitely buy one!
“Alright! Second Aunt, I’ll go gather lots of fodder and dry it properly! I’ll also take care of all the fodder for your ox!” she said happily before running off.
Huawanyi reached out her hand to stop her, but it was already too late. The child’s energetic personality was just like Madam Wang’s. In truth, she didn’t even need her to prepare fodder anymore…
The next day, Father Jiang went out again with Jiang He to do business. He knew the village chief still needed time to believe them, so he had to seize the opportunity to earn more silver and stock up on food.
On the third day, they bought an ox cart.
The village exploded with discussion.
When Huawanyi had bought an ox cart before, villagers had already been gossiping behind her back, saying she didn’t know how to manage money and would eventually suffer for wasting her late husband’s inheritance.
But now Jiang Father’s family bought another one—and that meant something different entirely. It meant they had become wealthy.
Many villagers came, directly or indirectly, to ask the Jiang family how they had made their fortune and whether they could be brought along. After all, they were all from the same village and clan; generations back, they were practically family.
They were all politely turned away by Madam Wang and Madam Jiang.
Only the village chief seemed to vaguely realize what they might be planning. Could it be that what they said was actually true?
Recently, whenever he had free time, the village chief would wander through the fields, inspecting every household’s land. He noticed that conditions were indeed worsening.
It hadn’t rained for a long time. In past years, there would have at least been some snowfall by now to moisten the soil, but now the ground was dry and cracking.
Although there was a river nearby and water was not yet a problem, prolonged drought meant they were simply consuming reserves without replenishment.
The village chief began to feel anxious, but he still did not want to believe it. The predictions were too absurd—if he told the villagers, they would surely call him senile.
“Let’s observe a bit longer,” he muttered, tapping his now-extinguished pipe, his face full of worry.
Huawanyi, on the other hand, was not concerned about this. The New Year was approaching, and she wanted to make another trip to town.
Recently Jiang Wenwan had been busy gathering fodder and hadn’t come for two days. Madam Wang was also busy storing grain at home, so she wouldn’t come over either. This time, she planned to take both children with her.
She had already tested it—without her presence, the two children could stay in the bathroom space without time limits.
That made things easier. She wouldn’t suffer from engorgement, and the children wouldn’t go hungry.
The only drawback was that the babies would have to lie in the bathtub.
She cleaned the tub carefully and lined it with blankets to make it soft. She wrapped the children snugly so they wouldn’t kick off the covers.
The bathroom itself was warmer than outside, so they wouldn’t catch a cold even with less clothing.
Early in the morning, she set off. Going earlier meant more usable time.
The children had already been well fed, so she wasn’t worried. She closed the door, drove the ox cart, and headed toward town.
At this time, Father Jiang and the others had not even set out yet. Huawanyi deliberately avoided them, since she was already disguised—wearing another set of fine cotton clothes she had bought last time, with gold hairpins and gold bracelets. Unless someone knew her well, she would be unrecognizable.
Her first stop was the furniture shop. She wanted to buy two small beds with railings for the children, as they were growing and she worried they might fall off the bed someday.
She had already memorized the shops from her previous visit, so she went straight there. The furniture store had just opened and there were no customers yet.
The shopkeeper greeted her warmly.
“Madam, what would you like to buy?”
“I want two children’s beds with railings. Do you have them here?” Huawanyi asked calmly.
“Yes, yes! Please follow me!”
The shopkeeper led her over.
“Madam, please look! This bed was made by a carpenter with 20 years of experience. The edges are polished smooth with no splinters at all—perfect for children!”
Huawanyi examined it. It looked like a typical crib she had seen in dramas. Fine for home use, but too tall to place inside a carriage for travel.
“Do you have something that can be disassembled and placed directly on the ground?”
The shopkeeper looked confused. “Madam, what kind of bed is that?”
Huawanyi realized her explanation was unclear.
“I mean a bed suitable for placing inside a carriage, because I will be traveling soon.”
“Oh, yes! Please look at this one.”
He led her a few steps further and pointed it out.
The bed was low and narrower than the previous one. The platform was only about five centimeters off the ground, and the frame was firmly fixed—very stable.
She touched it. Smooth, no splinters. Satisfied.
“I’ll take this one. Two of them.”
“Of course, madam!”
It was the shopkeeper’s first time seeing a customer decide without even asking the price—and it was also his first sale of the day. He was delighted.
“Madam, both beds cost one tael of silver in total. I’ll have them carried to your cart right away!”
Huawanyi pointed casually at some small stools near the entrance.
“Add two stools as a gift.”