Where Would I Have Seen Pockmarked Liu?

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said:

"The village chief and the others all know about this cellar. We need to dig one that only our own family knows about.

"We're going to town this afternoon to find a way to buy some more grain."

There were four grain shops in town. Zhou Wanwan planned to stock up at a different one. There were only a few days left, and she needed to stockpile not just grain, but more water as well.

That afternoon, Zhou Wanwan went straight to Lin Shouyi again. He smiled and said:

"I won't charge you for the ox cart this time. My father and I talked it over, and we're planning to buy more grain too.

"I also hinted at it to the villagers. Some are willing to buy, but others won't listen to a word.

"I have to go to town anyway. I know a grain shop where things will be a little cheaper, so let's go together!"

The group trundled into town, and Lin Shouyi led them down a deep alley. Inside was a courtyard, with the words "Grain Shop" written above its gate.

Lin Shouyi smiled and said:

"We all like buying grain here. His grain is a little cheaper than what you get elsewhere.

"Old Zheng, I'm here to buy some grain..."

Old Zheng came out, dragging a lame leg. "What would you like? I just got a fresh shipment of grain. It's pretty good. I'll show you."

Sure enough, all kinds of grain were stored inside. Old Zheng said, "A dou of rice costs eighty copper coins. That's already cheap for this area."

Zhou Wanwan thought it was indeed a fairly good deal. She sniffed the rice, and it was indeed fresh.

She nodded. "All right! I'll take two taels of silver's worth of fresh rice. Could you throw in some white flour too?"

Old Zheng's eyes lit up. Two taels of silver was a fairly large sale. He smiled and said, "Miss, if you really want two taels' worth of fresh rice, how about I give you five jin of white flour as well?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "All right."

Liu Su'e actually felt a little uncomfortable. She thought they shouldn't spend so much money entirely on fresh rice, but she couldn't make that decision!

In any case, Zhou Wanwan couldn't eat coarse rice. Money could be earned again, but they had to eat good rice. There would already be few vegetables or meat in a disaster year; eating coarse rice on top of that would be even less nutritious.

After buying the rice, Zhou Wanwan spotted salt, sugar, and soy sauce nearby. She spent all the remaining two hundred copper coins on those seasonings.

Lin Shouyi also bought two taels of silver's worth of rice and flour. He said:

"We can't tell the people in the village about any of this. We're keeping our own cellar a secret too.

"If there really is a drought, we'll have to thank you again! You'll have saved our whole family's lives again."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said:

"Uncle Shouyi, I think you should talk to the villagers some more. Save as many as you can.

"Besides, the more grain our village has, the better it'll be for us too."

Lin Shouyi nodded and said:

"I know. I'll talk to them again over the next few days.

"Besides, the grain in the fields will be ready to harvest soon. When the time comes, I won't let them sell it."

Zhou Wanwan looked at him. "What if there's a locust plague?"

Lin Shouyi frowned at her. "You mean..."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "There might be a locust plague, so you need to be fully prepared."

That was something Zhou Wanwan had deduced as well. Old Madam Zhou had lived through these things in her previous life, so she would make full preparations in this one.

She had heard that the people of Zhou Family Village had gone mad and were all selling their fields, and at throwaway prices too.

So Zhou Wanwan deduced that the land would be useless, which meant there would be a locust plague.

Lin Shouyi's breathing grew heavier.

"A lot of people from our village have gone next door to buy land, because the two villages are so close. I thought it was strange too.

"Some fields should clearly have cost five or six taels per mu, but they sold for two or three.

"No, I have to warn them when I get back today, before they fall into a trap."

Zhou Family Village planned to sell its fields at throwaway prices and use the money to stockpile more grain. When the disaster year really came, they could make a huge profit.

Lin Shouyi drove the ox cart straight back to the village. He helped the Zhou family put their grain in the cellar before driving home.

Zhou Wanwan held a family meeting. She said:

"Father, Mother, brothers, we need to draw lots of water tomorrow. There are two water jars at home, and we need to fill them to the brim, but that definitely won't be enough.

"We need to buy more wooden buckets, and tomorrow night we need to find a place in the mountains to dig a cellar."

Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng hurriedly nodded. Zhou Wanwan now had the final say over everything in the family.

Without Zhou Wanwan, they would have nothing.

Zhou Wanwan planted the goldthread in the ground. The plants chattered, "Actually, it's quite comfortable here, and she even waters us so we can drink!"

One goldthread plant couldn't help scoffing. "I like living in the mountains. It's no good here at all. I want to live in the mountains."

Zhou Wanwan stroked them, then turned to check on the little rabbits.

Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen adored the little rabbits and cut a great deal of grass for them that evening.

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said:

"I think we also need to scatter some fodder around the house.

"Brothers, we need to go into the mountains again tomorrow to earn money. I'm afraid this grain won't be enough."

Zhou Qingyan nodded. "All right, we'll go into the mountains again tomorrow."

It had been a tiring day. Zhou Wanwan looked at the moon in the sky and sighed. Sure enough, the moon in ancient times was much rounder than the one in modern times.

Early the next morning, Liu Su'e cooked a pot of congee and made a few flatbreads. She said:

"Your father and I will go up the mountain to dig the cellar in a little while. You children stay home and play. Don't go up the mountain, all right?

"There are so many wild beasts in the mountains. It won't be any fun if a snake bites you or a wild wolf sets its sights on you."

Zhou Wanwan grinned. "Hehe.

"Mother, you have to choose the right direction for a cellar. I know how, and I already looked around yesterday. There's a very suitable spot.

"I'll take you there, and you don't need to worry about us. We'll be fine."

Zhou Wanwan could use the plants to tell directions, and she could also learn from them where the dangers were in the mountains. Generally speaking, there wouldn't be any problems.

They had barely finished speaking when they heard a knock at the door. Zhou Fusheng opened it and saw that it was actually the chief of Zhou Family Village.

The chief looked at Zhou Fusheng and said, "Zhou Fusheng, you've only just been driven out of Zhou Family Village, and you've already found a place to live. It looks pretty nice here!"

Zhou Fusheng looked at him. "Why are you here?"

The chief of Zhou Family Village walked straight in with two other men. "Well now! This courtyard is actually pretty nice. I came to ask whether you've seen Pockmarked Liu."

Zhou Fusheng's heart jolted. "Where would I have seen Pockmarked Liu? Isn't he from Zhou Family Village? Why would he come to my house?"

Pockmarked Liu's father wailed loudly, "My son said he was coming to your house that night, and he never came back. Did you kill him?"