This Official Grain Is Much Better Than the Grain Outside

Lin Shouyi then took Zhou Wanwan to the granary and showed his waist token.

He said softly:

"You can buy as much as you want. I'm planning to buy ten taels of silver's worth of grain today.

If there's really no other way, I'll have a carriage from the county yamen make a trip. We'll just have to pay 200 wen for it."

Zhou Wanwan asked softly, "Is it safe for us to buy so much grain?"

Lin Shouyi snorted with laughter. "Don't worry! I know everyone here, and a few of them are even childhood friends of mine. There shouldn't be any major problems, or I wouldn't dare do this."

Zhou Wanwan promptly took out the silver hairpin, the silver bracelet, and all the money she had on her. "This is all the money I have. I'll spend it all on grain."

The silver hairpin and bracelet had been battered out of shape. Zhou Wanwan had been afraid they might be traced back to her, so she had smashed them to pieces with a hammer.

The bookkeeper clicked the beads of his abacus, then looked up at Zhou Wanwan.

"Six taels of silver, plus the silver scraps and copper coins you brought, comes to eight taels and five hundred wen in all.

What are you planning to buy?"

Zhou Wanwan answered crisply, "Exchange it all for fine grain. Rice or white flour is fine, the more the better."

Hearing this, the bookkeeper called toward the storeroom, "Bring her fine grain for that amount!"

In less than half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, more than a dozen sacks of grain were piled before them.

The quality of this official grain surpassed even the best goods at the grain shops outside.

The rice was genuine indica rice, its grains round, plump, and full, without a speck of sand or broken debris. Up close, it had a fresh, delicate fragrance.

The white flour came from the first fine milling. It was a pure, milky white, sifted to an even consistency, and looked clean.

This official grain was much better than the grain outside.

Lin Shouyi also bought ten taels of silver's worth of grain and had the people from the county yamen deliver it straight to their homes.

Zhou Wanwan had only 500 wen left. Lin Shouyi looked at her and said, "I don't know whether the step we've taken is right or not."

Zhou Wanwan looked up. "Uncle Lin, I was also planning to buy some silver frost charcoal. I wonder if it's expensive?"

Lin Shouyi looked at her in surprise. "You girl, you even know about silver frost charcoal? Do you think it's ordinary charcoal?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head blankly, her eyes full of curiosity.

Lin Shouyi smacked his lips and lowered his voice.

"Silver frost charcoal is precious stuff! It has to be made from hardwood deep in the old-growth forests, dried in the shade for three winters and three summers.

Then it's fired using a special method. It comes out glossy black and rings crisply when struck. When it burns, there isn't a trace of smoke or smell, and it can warm half a room through.

Ordinary charcoal costs only twenty or thirty wen a jin, but one tael of silver will buy you only one jin of silver frost charcoal!

In the depths of winter, the princes and nobles in the capital scramble for it. Ordinary families can't even afford a whiff!"

Little Ginseng chuckled. "Silver frost charcoal isn't hard to make, so why buy it? Wouldn't it be better to make it yourself?"

Zhou Wanwan looked down at him but didn't dare speak.

Lin Shouyi looked at her. "How about going to the cloth shop? Buying more padded clothes and quilts is what matters."

Zhou Wanwan bought two more sets of clothes for each member of the family, along with five cotton quilts.

Looking at the two wen she had left, Zhou Wanwan sighed. She was out of money again. Lately, money had been flowing away like water.

But this way, their family would be better provided for. For now, they had to do everything they could to stay alive.

Actually, Zhou Wanwan didn't know how long this drought would last either, but judging from how Old Madam Zhou had spoken of it, it was bound to last a long time.

As soon as she got home, she saw that the grain delivered by the authorities had already arrived.

Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng carried the grain into the house. "Wanwan, why did you buy so much grain again? We already have plenty at home. If we get any more, I'm afraid it'll spoil."

Zhou Wanwan looked at her and said:

"Mother, dig another cellar tonight. I'll tell you where to put it when the time comes. This grain won't spoil if it's kept in a cellar.

If the drought lasts a year or two, we'll be in serious trouble."

Liu Su'e laughed.

"What are you thinking, child? How could a drought last a year or two?

But I've been wanting to go back to my parents' home lately. I've barely been back since I married into the Zhou family."

Zhou Wanwan frowned as Liu Su'e's family home came to mind. One word summed it up: poor. Poverty was one thing, but her mother had also been remarkably good at having children, giving birth to six daughters and six sons in succession.

Liu Su'e was the eldest child in the family. Zhou Wanwan said helplessly, "Mother, do you think the Liu family has money to buy grain?"

Liu Su'e had not been married to Zhou Fusheng until she was twenty-one. The Zhou family had taken her as a bride for a sack of grain.

But the Zhou family was truly too poor. Liu Su'e looked pitifully at Zhou Wanwan. "They're all my brothers and sisters! They... they've always treated me quite well. It's just that the family is too poor."

Zhou Wanwan sighed. "All right, then how are you planning to help them?"

Liu Su'e looked at the grain in their house, and Zhou Wanwan was so angry she laughed. "Do you think we have so much grain that it doesn't matter if we give them a sack or two?"

Seeing that Zhou Wanwan was about to get angry, Liu Su'e quickly shook her head. "No... I just feel miserable."

Zhou Wanwan looked at her family and said sternly:

"Do you know why I had you dig so many cellars?

In a disaster year, people who don't have enough to eat can be frightening. No one is allowed to tell anyone that our family has grain."

Zhou Wanwan didn't know what the Liu family was like either. She couldn't risk her whole family's lives.

Liu Su'e's eyes reddened.

"I know, I know. But I raised those younger brothers and sisters of mine. I just think that if they really died, I'd feel terrible.

Besides, my parents have treated me quite well too."

Zhou Wanwan sighed helplessly. "All right, I understand. Don't cry. We'll go to your parents' home tonight and see how things are before deciding what to do."

Liu Su'e quickly nodded. "Really, either way is fine with me. I just want to save them. After all, they're your uncles and aunts too."

Zhou Wanwan had had many relatives in her previous life too, but she hadn't been close to them. At every banquet, those relatives would raise their wineglasses and chat and laugh, and she had found it all very dull.

Every one of them had been so fake. But Liu Su'e was her family, and she had to consider her feelings too.

Zhou Wanwan took a nap, and when she woke, she saw Liu Su'e sitting by the bed watching her. She jolted in fright. "Mother, what are you doing sitting beside me? You scared me to death."

Liu Su'e looked at her. "Wanwan, when are we going to your grandmother's house? I haven't seen her in such a long time."

Zhou Wanwan said helplessly, "Let's go up the mountain and dig the cellar now, and put today's grain in it first. I'll catch a couple of wild animals on the mountain, and we'll take some grain with us too."

They were going to someone's home as guests, after all, and going empty-handed wasn't her style.

As soon as Liu Su'e heard that, she pulled Zhou Fusheng up the mountain. Zhou Wanwan looked around for quite a while before finally finding a sunny spot. "This place is pretty good. Dig here! I'll go into the mountains and see what game I can find."