Chapter 25 Selling Grain

"To be honest, Sister-in-law Weng, I really couldn't stay in Pingcheng any longer, so I thought of going to Yuncheng to see my father. I'm unemployed and have to take care of my daughter, so life is really tough. My father is all alone at home now, and I wanted to stay by his side to fulfill my filial duty. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dragged my daughter so far away in these times."

He Yuping didn't mean to lie, but it was best if everyone knew his current identity. That way, if Butler Hu found his way here, even though he had changed his voice and appearance, he was still afraid that Butler Hu would find him.

"Oh dear, what a mess this is! This world is unbearable. Young man, you're right to think that way. Your father is getting old, and he doesn't have many years left to be filial. You can't just leave him all alone."

"It's alright. Whenever you're leaving, I'll talk to my husband and have him and my father-in-law give you a ride. Young man, you can pay with silver dollars or grain. This trip will cost forty silver dollars. If you're paying with grain, you can pay with a thousand catties. It doesn't have to be rice or wheat; corn, sorghum, or any coarse grains will do." As she spoke, Sister-in-law Weng felt embarrassed. In those days, forty silver dollars could buy a small house, but the journey was too long and fraught with danger. She had no choice but to ask for this price.

“Okay, if you want grain, I’ll pay you half of it here first. After the uncle takes us to our destination, I’ll have him bring the rest back. How does that sound?” He Yuping wasn’t very good at bargaining, but considering the long distance and the dangers along the way, the price wasn’t too high.

"It's possible, but it's a bit dangerous to only transport grain along the way. How about this: we'll give you 500 catties of grain here, and if you can, give us 20 silver dollars when you get there. That way, their journey back will be safer." Sister-in-law Weng was afraid that the grain would be robbed on the way, but it was impossible for her to ask for all the grain directly. She didn't have the nerve to ask.

"Alright, let's settle on that then. I'll leave as soon as I've finished getting the food for you these next few days. You can also tell Uncle and the others to get ready." He Yuping was thinking of solving their food problem as quickly as possible. But she hadn't realized that solving the food problem wouldn't be something that could be done immediately.

Where would the mother and daughter stay during this time? Going back to the city was no longer an option, as the house had already been sold. Staying at Uncle Lin's house would be too much of a disturbance to the elderly couple, and besides, she really couldn't be bothered to explain the large amount of food involved.

He Caiwei thought it made sense; did her mother really act without considering the consequences? Who could possibly produce so much grain all at once?

"Sister-in-law, do you have a large, spacious yard? My daughter and I might be staying here for a couple of days. I'll contact someone later, and you can prepare a larger yard so we can put all the grain sacks there. I'll have someone use those sacks to store them. It's not safe to leave them in the open, is it?" He Yuping had certainly thought about this, but he hadn't thought of it in time with his conversation.

"Yes, yes, I'll talk to the village chief in a bit..." Before Sister-in-law Weng could finish speaking, a group of people who hurriedly entered the room interrupted her.

"What do you want to talk to the old man about? Lin Dajia, your son told me that someone wants to sell grain. Where is it?" The old village chief, leaning on his bamboo cane, ran in from outside with great speed. He looked like he didn't need the cane at all, which amused He Caiwei.

"Uncle Village Chief is here. This young man has managed to contact someone who sells grain. Uncle Village Chief, should we hold a meeting and ask the other villagers if they want to buy any?" Sister-in-law Weng didn't know if other families had any grain stored up, so she didn't know if other families needed to buy any grain. She could only ask the old man first.

"Yes, how could I refuse? So many people came to borrow grain today, but with my old bones, where would I get so much grain to lend them? Besides, where else in the village can I borrow grain besides those few bags of seeds?" The old man had been so anxious and stressed these past few days that he had developed several blisters on his lips.

"Young man, can you tell this old man how much grain you have to sell? This old man will go and raise the money to find bags. How much do you have?" The old man looked at He Yuping sitting in the chair with hopeful eyes.

"How much can you buy?" He Yuping hadn't calculated it and didn't know how much grain this village with so many people needed.

"Two tons? No, no, no, four tons, daughter, can you get four tons? More would be even better, but we won't force you if you can't. Give us as much as you can." The old man hesitated. There was really very little grain on the market now. Those bastards had looted everything edible and usable when they retreated.

“It should be possible. You should find a large yard first, preferably by the roadside, so it will be convenient to load and unload the grain. I don’t know how much I can get for you right now, but give me the bags first, and I’ll give you whatever I have. The price of rice and wheat is quite high outside right now. One silver dollar can only buy sixty or seventy catties of grain. Ours is all unhulled, so I’ll give it to you at the price of one silver dollar for one hundred catties. Do you think that’s acceptable?” He Yuping calculated the price in her mind based on the calculation she had used when buying white rice before, and then gave this price.

"Great, that's perfect! Thank you so much, young man!" The old man's eyes lit up when he heard that one silver dollar could buy a hundred catties of rice.

Although they could buy 60 or 70 catties of rice with one silver dollar at the market before, the price had gone up every two days when they went back. Now they didn't know if they could buy 50 catties. This young man is a kind-hearted person.

For the sake of the villagers, the old man took advantage of the young man this time.

As soon as the old man finished speaking, he ran off at incredible speed; his cane seemed to leave afterimages in his hand.

Soon, they cleared out a large courtyard near the main road behind Dalin Village, and every household in the village brought out the largest number of sacks they could and put them in that courtyard.

After the village chief had arranged these things, he sent a teenager from the village to Sister-in-law Weng's house to inform the two of them.

He Yuping and her daughter were truly astonished by the old man's speed in getting things done. He had only been gone for half an hour, how could he have gotten things done so quickly?

“Alright, Sister-in-law Weng, we’ll head out now and be back around tomorrow night. You don’t need to wait for us. I’ll knock on your door when the grain arrives. Sister-in-law, here are five silver dollars for your travel expenses. Please keep them.” After putting down the money, He Yuping left with the girl.

Before Sister-in-law Weng could return the money to her, she could no longer see the two of them. When she turned back, she was still muttering to herself, "Those two walk so fast."