บท 8: Chapter 8 Grain Prices_1
"Manager, are grain prices really this high now?"
A woman asked.
The manager glanced at the sky outside and spoke with a hint of helplessness, "Who can say they're not? It's been more than half a year without rain now, with no new grain coming in, so naturally, the prices are rising."
Don't look at the Zhou family's Grain Shop down the street being cheaper than ours, but they mix mud and stones into their grains.
Several women showed troubled expressions; they had originally planned to buy more grain, but the prices were too high now.
Maybe if they waited a bit longer, the prices would go down.
After hesitating for a while, the group of women still decided to leave.
The manager let out a sigh.
In these times, I'm afraid the grain prices will only surge further. Where would they go down?
Just as he was about to turn around and go back into the shop, he saw the mother and son in the corner.
The manager asked, "Madam, would you like to buy some grain?"
Nanzhi nodded; she had asked Manager Wang, and this was the most economical grain shop in town.
After looking for a long while, Nanzhi finally bought forty pounds of black flour, half a pound of salt, one pound of oil, ten pounds of old rice, and four pounds of white flour.
In the end, she and her son were left with only one hundred and fifty-seven wen coins.
Seeing Nanzhi and her son's clothing, the manager could tell their family circumstances must not be very good, so he quietly looked around before whispering.
"Madam, if I may be so forward, it's best to stock up on as much grain as you can. The prices are set to rise even more, and this is just the beginning."
Upon hearing the manager's words, Nanzhi was taken aback. Was this really just the beginning?
After purchasing ten pounds each of sweet potatoes and potatoes, Nanzhi thanked him and rushed off with the donkey cart.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to hide the purchased grains in her basket, covering the top layer with grandma's ding and sweet potatoes, and finally draping a torn cloth over them.
Anyone looking would think Nanzhi and her son, Gougou, had bought a basket full of sweet potatoes.
Before leaving town, Nanzhi stopped by the Butcher Shop.
Nowadays, dusk was already casting a bluish tint, and the Butcher Shop's goods had all been sold, leaving only a few cleanly scraped bones on the side.
Seeing the marrow bones, Nanzhi's eyes lit up, and she bought those bones for five wen coins in the end.
After buying the goods, Nanzhi hurriedly drove the donkey cart out of town.
She needed to get back to Lihua Village before nightfall.
The Grain Shop manager had told her that there had been several incidents of grain robbery and assault in recent days, cautioning her to be careful with Gougou.
As a result, Nanzhi was anxious the entire way home, fearing they might be robbed.
By the time they finally arrived back at the village, it had already grown dark, and they had hardly encountered anyone along the way.
After storing the goods at home, Nanzhi went to Liu Da Niang's house to return the donkey cart.
The two agreed to meet early the next morning before Nanzhi took Gougou and left Liu Da Niang's courtyard.
"Mom, are we going home now?"
Gougou rubbed his eyes and asked sleepily.
"We are going to Grandpa Li Zheng's house," Nanzhi stroked Gougou's little head and spoke softly.
Gougou had been running around with her all afternoon and hadn't eaten anything yet. She felt so sorry for him that she wanted to carry him, but her shoulders ached where the fabric rubbed against her wounds as she walked.
"Gougou, can you wait at home for Mom? I'll be back in a little while."
Gougou shook his head, "No, I want to stay with Mom."
They walked faster, the distance to Li Zheng's house wasn't far, but due to the dark, they moved slower than they would have during daylight.
There was still a faint light in the courtyard of Li Zheng's house. Nanzhi knocked on the courtyard gate and stood aside with Gougou.
"Who is it?"
The door was opened by Li Zheng's eldest daughter-in-law, Ms. Zhou.
Seeing the person standing outside, she was somewhat surprised for a moment and couldn't figure out what business Nanzhi and Gougou had coming to her home.
Ms. Zhou was a few years older than Nanzhi. Nanzhi smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, I have something to discuss with Auntie Qin."
Ms. Zhou was taken aback but still stepped aside to let them enter the courtyard.
She couldn't say she particularly liked Nanzhi, as Nanzhi was too timid, just like dough that could be easily molded.
Ms. Zhou had a child of her own, so she couldn't stand to see children suffer.
Yet Nanzhi always refused the villagers' assistance, nursing Gougou so lean for the sake of pride.
"Lin girl, what brings you here so late?" Auntie Qin asked as she looked at the two entering the room.
"Auntie, I need to talk to you about something."
Nanzhi smiled shyly, making one suspect she was there to borrow something.
Ms. Zhou said nothing more and returned to the kitchen to continue washing dishes.
Auntie Qin, seeing Nanzhi's demeanor, took her by the hand into the living room, also motioning her eldest grandson to take Gougou aside to play.
"Lin girl, just speak your mind. Your Uncle Li Zheng has gone for a walk in the fields," Auntie Qin said, patting Nanzhi's hand, assuming she couldn't make ends meet at home and had come to borrow grain.
"Auntie, I went to the town today. The grain prices have doubled, and the Grain Shop manager said that if possible, we should stock up on grain now, as prices are likely to rise even further."
Auntie Qin's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.
Her own household didn't have much grain in reserve. Her husband had said they'd manage until the autumn harvest, so the family hadn't touched their savings yet, thinking that grain prices would drop after harvest, when they would buy more grain.
"But isn't the autumn harvest almost upon us?" Auntie Qin said.
Nanzhi, seeing Auntie Qin's hesitation, gently shook her head and continued, "Auntie, you and Uncle Li Zheng have certainly planted more crops than I have. It hasn't rained for over half a year now, so how much grain do you really expect to harvest in a month's time?"
Auntie Qin was at a loss. Though she controlled the family's savings, buying up grain would be a significant expense for her large family.
Nanzhi continued, "Auntie, I'm not saying that the grain prices will definitely increase, but I just wanted to share what I learned today, so perhaps you and Uncle Li Zheng could discuss buying some to keep at home, just in case."
"Alright, I'll talk it over with your Uncle Li Zheng when he gets back."
"Auntie, there's another matter I need to talk to you about."
Auntie Qin nodded, "What else is there? Tell me."
"Today, I found a vast chestnut forest on East Mountain," Nanzhi paused before continuing, "And the soil there seems a lot wetter, there might be an underground water source."
After all, it was just a guess; she couldn't guarantee that East Mountain actually had water, and Nanzhi felt unsure about it herself.
Auntie Qin couldn't sit still after hearing this. The villagers drew water for drinking and cooking from two wells at the village entrance and end, and today her own husband worried that the wells were yielding less and less water.
"Is there really water?"
"There should be, but I couldn't find it," Nanzhi scratched her head.
"Good child, good child, you might save the whole village," Auntie Qin said, nearly moved to tears, which panicked Nanzhi. This... wasn't her taking advantage of an elderly person, was it?
"Auntie, I would still like to wait a couple of days before telling the villagers about this. Given my family's current situation..."
Seeing Nanzhi's troubled expression, Auntie Qin assured her, thumping her chest, that she wouldn't reveal the news prematurely and would wait until her family had secured some grain first.
After taking care of her business, Nanzhi, in high spirits, took Gougou home, leaving Auntie Qin alone to process the three pieces of major news.
When Shen Dashan returned, his wife dragged him inside the house.
"Woman, how improper in front of the children," he said.
Seeing Shen Dashan's flushed face, Auntie Qin rolled her eyes. Despite his age, he was still shamelessly flirtatious.
"Lin girl came to our house today."
Knowing he had misunderstood, a somewhat embarrassed Shen Dashan cleared his throat, "Did Lin girl come to borrow grain? Life is hard for them, a widow and her orphan. Let's lend them some."
"What are you talking about? Lin girl went to town today. She said that the Grain Shop manager mentioned the grain prices might rise even higher. Do you think we should also stock up on grain?"
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