Chapter 11: Not to Be Hoarded Alone

After noticing it, Zhou Yu merely smiled and let it go.

There were twelve of them in total. Conveniently, both neighboring houses next to Uncle Chen Jiu’s were vacant, so everyone was settled in there. Only Zhou Yu and his personal guard, Xu Xia, stayed in the Chen household.

They brought their own dry rations, while the water was arranged by Uncle Chen Jiu, who had people fetch it for them. The location of the well was kept strictly secret.

But Zhou Yu and his group didn’t spend two days in Tongshu Hamlet without gaining something.

“I heard Brother Guo joined the army before he even had the chance to go through the wedding ceremony?” Zhang Jinzhi asked Uncle Chen Jiu with curiosity about Qin Ying. “Then what about the child in her family…”

Uncle Chen Jiu’s face turned stern as he fixed him with a serious look. “What do you mean by that? You saying our Yingzi is improper? Bah! Rotten-hearted nonsense!”

Zhang Jinzhi suffered a blunt rebuke, quietly wiping away the spit Uncle Chen had sprayed on his face.

Zhou Yu quickly interjected, “Sir, please don’t be upset. That’s not what he meant. He was simply expressing admiration—facing such a disaster and still choosing to take in a child to raise, that sister-in-law’s actions are truly admirable.”

“Yes, yes, exactly,” Zhang Jinzhi hurriedly followed up, trying to patch things over. “Your temper is too quick, sir. I just meant that there isn’t even a man in their household to support them, so life must be incredibly tough.

“And even so, they managed to raise a baby so well. Truly admirable and respectable!”

Uncle Chen Jiu still hadn’t fully calmed down and gave a snort, looking at him disdainfully through his nose.

Zhang Jinzhi rushed to heap on praise without cost, commending both Qin Ying and Zhao Hu: “I heard that the village has water to drink all thanks to them. So clever and capable!”

Only then did Uncle Chen say mildly, “Only those with kindness receive blessings. Heaven sees all.”

When they were alone, Zhang Jinzhi apologized to Zhou Yu. “Young Master, this was entirely my fault. I tried to be clever and ended up making things worse.”

“No harm done,” Zhou Yu gently shook his head. “People in the countryside perhaps value reputation even more than those from noble families. We should be more cautious in speech and conduct going forward.”

Zhang Jinzhi felt even more ashamed. “That old man Chen was already somewhat wary of us. I’m just worried…”

“No need to worry too much,” Zhou Yu gave a faint smile to reassure him. “The villagers who went to the county office should return by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

“Our identity will be verified soon enough. Once that’s done, everything else will follow.”

Zhang Jinzhi quickly lowered his head to accept the lesson. In the past, he always prided himself on being a smooth talker. It was precisely because of his diplomatic skills that he was assigned to assist the young master. Who would’ve thought that instead of being helpful, he had only caused trouble.

On the contrary, this Young Master—who once didn’t lift a finger even in springtime chores—now spoke expertly on farming matters and handled everything with calm and maturity.

As for the Zhao family, they took advantage of the night to go into the mountains. They first harvested the corn, then the next day used a sickle to cut the grain heads, followed by pulling up soybean vines and digging up potatoes…

Everything was bagged and stored in the cellar. They also gathered wild vegetables from the fields, some brought home fresh, others left to dry.

Finally, they chopped down the corn stalks and millet stems and leveled the land. It took three days of hard work.

Fortunately, the harvest was gratifying. Looking at the almost full cellar, the three of them beamed with joy. The golden grain heads were nearly three times the size of regular ones, each kernel full and plump.

After laughing, they decided to treat themselves—grinding some millet into porridge for An’an, while the adults roasted potatoes. While tending the fire, they chewed on sweet, green corn stalks, the sweetness reaching deep into their hearts.

Even the potato skins were too precious to throw away. Zhao Hu had a ring of black around his mouth from eating and grinned. “Finally feels like I’ve had a real meal!”

Eating boiled vegetables every day not only turned their faces green but barely filled them. They were hungry again in no time.

Aunt Zhao was also all smiles as she peeled a few ears of corn and started shelling the kernels. “We’ve got a small stone mill at home. Let’s grind some flour and make veggie cakes!”

Qin Ying picked out the plumpest grain heads and packed a small bag—they would be milled into exclusive food for An’an.

After eating and drinking, they covered the cellar, camouflaged it, extinguished the fire, buried the ashes, and returned home under the cover of darkness.

They didn’t have patrol duty these days, so they always went up the mountain at night and returned at dusk. If anyone in the village asked, they simply said they had gone to the mountains and came back empty-handed.

Then they’d sleep and head out again before dawn.

This time, what they brought back would last them for quite a while, so they wouldn’t need to work so hard anymore.

As for the corn stalks and soybean vines, they had already hidden them separately and would burn them gradually in the mountains. After burying the ashes, no trace would be left behind.

They couldn’t burn it all at once—it would create too much smoke and draw attention.

An’an was secretly amused. She had long prepared for this. No matter how much noise they made, she could guarantee that no one would notice!

But it was a good thing they were cautious themselves.

The three gathered at home behind closed doors to discuss.

Qin Ying was the first to speak: “Mother, Huzi, before we thought the yield from just two acres of land would be limited. But now it seems like the harvest is better than what ten acres used to yield.

“If we keep all of it, it’s not impossible—but we’d have to sneak around to eat it.

“But how can the smell of cooking be contained? I’m afraid we won’t be able to stay in the village if we do that.”

Aunt Zhao nodded thoughtfully. “This is a blessing from Heaven. We really shouldn’t hoard it all for ourselves. That fertile plot of land also can’t be left idle—we must plant more grain on it later.”

“But we were the ones who found it and worked so hard to harvest it,” Zhao Hu said unwillingly. “Why should others who didn’t lift a finger get the benefit?”

Aunt Zhao smacked him lightly on the head, spat lightly, and scolded, “You little rascal!”

Zhao Hu rubbed his thick head and pouted high.

“Huzi,” Qin Ying gently explained, “if the harvest wasn’t much, then we could’ve kept it for ourselves. After all, even if the adults don’t eat well, An’an still needs good food.

“But this is different now. We’ve got so much grain. Never mind that hauling it home might get us caught, but when we eat it—

“Grain smells completely different from boiled vegetables or fruit paste.

“There’s only the three and a half of us in this house, but there are dozens more in the village. If they come to take it, can we protect it?

“And that’s just our own village—they wouldn’t go too far. But what if people from other villages come?”

The consequences were indeed more than they could handle, and Zhao Hu drooped his head in defeat.

Qin Ying sighed and continued, “But if we take the initiative to share, it’s different. Things aren’t like before—missing one meal won’t mean starving to death—but you know, just eating boiled vegetables with a bit of fruit paste doesn’t really satisfy hunger.

“Not even talking about grain—just adding some potatoes to each meal makes a world of difference!

“Don’t you think the villagers would be grateful? It’ll make our lives easier going forward too.”

“Your sister’s right!” Aunt Zhao clapped her hands. “That’s settled then! We’ll keep enough for the four of us, and hand the rest over!”

Zhao Hu grumbled a muffled reply.

Qin Ying added, “Mom, the grain shouldn’t come directly from our home either. I think we should secretly bring a bit back and hide it in the cellar, and then find a way to let Uncle Chen Jiu discover the rest.”