Chapter 66: Returning to the Village

The assistant who went to the grain shop didn’t return quickly. Sang Luo waited anxiously in the Dongdu Resturant for nearly an hour, fearing that something might happen and she wouldn’t be able to buy the grains.

Shopkeeper Xu, seeing the time passing, was afraid that Sang Luo might be anxious, so he came over specifically to check on her.

It was only at this moment that the assistant returned. He told Shopkeeper Xu, “The nine kilograms of grains have been delivered to the back door of our restaurant.”

Shopkeeper Xu hurriedly invited Sang Luo to go with him.

On the way, the assistant explained, “The grain shop now has a limit on the amount of grains one can buy. If it weren’t for us, Shopkeeper Tong wouldn’t have allowed the sale of nine kilograms. If an individual goes to buy, they can only purchase up to five kilograms. More than that, they won’t sell. There’s also a daily limit on the grains sold. Once they’re sold out, they close the shop. When I went there, Shopkeeper Tong issued a slip of paper directly to us, and we picked up the grains from the warehouse behind. There were many people there, and some eateries in the county heard the news and went to buy grains today, so that’s why there’s a long line now.”

Only now did Sang Luo realize how lucky she was today. She exclaimed, “I really owe Shopkeeper Xu a lot of gratitude today. Otherwise, if I had to gather nine kilograms of grains on my own, it would have been quite a hassle, and it’s uncertain if I could buy them at this price in the future.”

She estimated that she would have to ask Qin Fangniang and others to help her queue up, but that would have delayed everyone’s livelihoods.

Shopkeeper Xu waved his hand. “It’s just a small favor.”

However, he sighed, “I wonder how much the grain prices will rise. This year’s harvest season, most people are having a hard time.”

Although the impact on the restaurant should not be significant, for most people, life would be difficult until the grains for next autumn’s harvest came down.

“Indeed,” Sang Luo agreed.

As they spoke, they arrived at the back door of the restaurant. The assistant from the grain shop was unloading the cart. Seeing the main person coming, he greeted Shopkeeper Xu and engaged in a friendly conversation. Shopkeeper Xu casually inquired about the situation.

As Shopkeeper Xu was exceptionally polite, the assistant from the grain shop didn’t hide anything from him. He whispered, “There is indeed grain that our shop has collected from various states long ago, but it’s uncertain how much will be put up for sale.”

They would wait for the right price.

Grain merchants were always like this, and Shopkeeper Xu couldn’t say much. He simply thanked the assistant. After the goods were all unloaded, Sang Luo inspected them and paid. Shopkeeper Xu quietly gave each of the delivery men a few extra coins as a token of appreciation before politely seeing them off.

Although the gesture was subtle, Sang Luo noticed it all, but she didn’t say anything.

Shopkeeper Xu was the kind of person who had his own way of dealing with social etiquette. If she insisted on going up and paying herself, it would seem awkward. Accepting this gesture was just fine.

With the grains purchased, Shopkeeper Xu checked the time and was about to invite Sang Luo to have a meal at the restaurant and then have his assistants help her transport the grains back home.

However, Sang Luo declined, saying, “Shopkeeper Xu’s kindness is not something I should refuse. But I have already made plans to meet with a few other women from the village who are selling their goods at various places in the county. We agreed to meet at the East Market gate, so I must go and inform them. I won’t be having lunch here. It will be quite a task for the assistants from your shop to accompany me today.”

“Fair enough,” Shopkeeper Xu accepted her refusal and said, “Then I’ll have my assistants load the grains onto the cart first. When you arrive, they can accompany you and deliver the grains. If you’re going to the East Market, please also inform the woman from our village. Tell her to deliver thirty pieces of tofu and twenty pieces of fairy tofu tomorrow, at market price. Deliver them to the kitchen early in the morning, and settle the payment with the accounting department. I’ll discuss further orders with her tomorrow. I won’t make another trip to the East Market today.”

Sang Luo smiled and accepted. Before leaving, she handed Shopkeeper Xu a signed promissory note and said, “I owe Shopkeeper Xu today’s favor. I won’t repeat my thanks. This is a promissory note for borrowing six taels of silver from Dongfu Restaurant. Please ask the accounting department to record it. Once I repay the money, return the promissory note to me.”

Shopkeeper Xu was momentarily stunned, then remembered the ink and paper still left in the private room where they had drafted the contract. He nodded with a smile, accepted the promissory note, and watched Sang Luo leave.

Back in the restaurant, he handed the promissory note to the accounting department, saying, “Prepare the accounts. Once this money is repaid, return the promissory note to Sang Luo.”

The accountant sighed and tapped his forehead, “I was too suspicious.”

It turned out that when Shopkeeper Xu asked him to lend money to Sang Luo, the accountant had hesitated a bit. After all, it was six taels of silver. He had even asked if they were sure they would get the money back. At the time, Shopkeeper Xu had just laughed and reassured him, saying that if they didn’t get it back, he would personally take the loss.

Now that Sang Luo had left, Shopkeeper Xu said, “Sang Luo is quite particular. Even without the involvement of our shop’s dishes like suomao du (vegetarian tripe) and tofu, just the recipes she taught us today compensate for the money she owes. “

The accountant, who had returned to the front hall after drafting the contract, only now realized there was another matter concerning recipes. 

—

As for Sang Luo’s visit to the East Market, she easily found Qin Fangniang’s tofu stall. Seeing that there were only eleven or twelve pieces of tofu left, Sang Luo asked, “How’s business today?”

Qin Fangniang shook her head, “It’s worse than yesterday. By this time yesterday, we had almost sold out. It seems the county has also been affected.”

How could there be no impact? Three or four thousand cents might not break their bones, but it was enough to make people feel distressed. Spending so much money here would naturally lead to tightening their belts in terms of clothing and food.

Sang Luo said, “The grain prices have risen again. Yesterday afternoon, the grain price in the county had already risen to eighty-two cents per kilogram and was sold in limited quantities. Each person could only buy up to five kilograms. The grain shop closed once its daily quota was sold out. So, eighty-two cents is just the beginning. The news about the limited sales should spread in the county today or tomorrow, and the grain prices are likely to rise further.”

She urged, “Auntie, why don’t you go back and ask Grandpa and Grandma what they think? If you manage to earn some silver, it might be wise to save some for emergencies. While the grain price hasn’t risen too high yet, consider stocking up a bit?”

Qin Fangniang was puzzled, “Do we need to stock up on grain? We can still eat until next autumn by tightening our belts a bit.”

Sang Luo shook her head, “I don’t know. I just feel more at ease when I have grain in hand.”

Both fell silent, and the entire East Market seemed unusually quiet today.

In this area, mostly rural people came to sell their goods, making the atmosphere much more solemn than the main street of the county town.

Sang Luo asked Qin Fangniang to continue her work, while she wandered around the East Market. During her stroll, she noticed that those who used to sell grain in the East Market were nowhere to be found.

Indeed, at this time of year, apart from grain merchants, who else would have grain to sell?

At noon, Qin Fangniang still had a few pieces of fairy tofu left unsold. Sang Luo decided to buy two steamed buns for them to share for lunch.

While eating, Sang Luo told Qin Fangniang about borrowing money from Shopkeeper Xu at Dongfu Restaurant to buy grain and the tofu order placed by Shopkeeper Xu.

This good news undoubtedly acted as a morale booster for Qin Fangniang, who had experienced a noticeable decline in business that morning.

However, she quickly realized, “Since it’s your business deal, why did they place the order with me? It feels like I’m taking advantage of you for nothing.”

It was worth several dozen cents a day.

Even if the sales of the fairy tofu didn’t go well until September, earning thirty pieces of tofu a day would still make her a few cents richer.

Sang Luo smiled, “It’s not like you’re taking advantage for nothing. In the future, I’ll be sending fairy tofu to Dongfu Restaurant regularly, and you can help me bring them over. Also, you can bring back the daily orders placed by Dongfu Restaurant.”

Qin Fangniang replied, “It’s not a big deal. There’s no need to specifically cater to that business for me.”

Sang Luo said, “It’s not just for a day or two. Maybe in the future, we’ll collaborate with other businesses. With so much food to prepare every day, I won’t have time to run back and forth. So, I’ll rely on you, Auntie, to handle it. Just focus on handling Shopkeeper Xu’s tofu orders.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fangniang nodded and said, “Alright, in the future, whenever you need to bring something to the county, just tell me. If you don’t bring your own, I’ll make sure to bring yours along.”

Sang Luo chuckled at her words.

As noon approached, both Feng Liuniang and Gan arrived at the East Market, and the four of them met.

Sang Luo informed them about the rising grain prices, her borrowing money from Dongfu Restaurant to buy grain, and, of course, the advice she gave Qin Fangniang about stocking up on grain while the prices were not too high.

Gan said, “When I was selling goods with a shoulder pole this morning, I saw several grain shops in the county suddenly forming long queues. I went to ask and found out that the price of grain had risen.”

Whether to buy grain or not, Gan would also need to discuss it with her family.

Living frugally as they did in the first half of the year, they could hold out until autumn. However, spending a high price to buy grain and storing it until next autumn was a decision even Gan, who usually makes decisive decisions, couldn’t make.

What if the price of grain had dropped by then? That would be a waste of money.

On the way to Dongfu Restaurant, they passed by a grain shop. Although it was just before noon and other shops were still open, the grain shop had already put up its shutters and closed for business.

At the back door of Dongfu Restaurant, the young boy Sang Luo met in the morning was still washing dishes. His eyes brightened when he saw Sang Luo approaching, and he called out, “Mrs. Sang, you’re here! Our boss instructed us to bring the grain back to you later. My brother and I will escort the cart.”

Sang Luo replied, “That’s great! Have you both had lunch?”

The boy nodded, “Yes, we have.”

Sang Luo smiled and said, “Alright, please go call your older brother. I’ll go and greet Shopkeeper Xu, and then we’ll leave.”

The boy went inside to call his brother, while Qin Fangniang stopped Sang Luo, saying, “Sister Alie, my cart can handle a higher pile of grain, so we don’t need to trouble others, right?”

Each of them could carry their own load, and with one more person pushing at the back of the cart, it would be manageable.

Sang Luo patted Qin Fangniang’s hand and said, “Auntie, our cart is too small, and there’s a lot of stuff. It would be too strenuous to pull it all the way back. Let’s just have the shopkeeper’s men help out. Since we have business dealings, it’s good to establish a relationship. It’ll be easier to find someone if we need anything in the future.”

Qin Fangniang was a bit surprised at first, but then she realized that since Sang Luo borrowed a significant amount of money from Dongfu Restaurant, it was appropriate to have them assist with the delivery. It was necessary to give them some peace of mind.

Qin Fangniang nodded and said, “That’s true. My cart is indeed too small. If we load nine kilograms of grain, it would be too difficult for us to carry it all the way back. But I’ll help carry a few bags. Otherwise, the young men from Dongfu Restaurant who are helping us with the delivery will be exhausted.”

Sang Luo agreed, “Okay, I’ll push the cart back when we return. When the two young men come out later, Auntie, you can also talk to them.”

After they made their agreement, Sang Luo went into the kitchen and thanked Shopkeeper Xu. She also bumped into Chef Yu, who greeted her warmly.

At dusk, two carts were parked at the side of the mountain road outside Shili Village. Feng Liuniang stayed behind to watch the carts, while Gan went into the village to call her husband and the Lu brothers to help. Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang worked together to carry a sack of grain, with the Lu brothers leading the way and carrying the grain bags on their backs. They walked along the mountain path and transported the grain to Sang Luo’s house.

The young boy carrying the grain bags found it a bit difficult on the mountain path and curiously asked Sang Luo, “Mrs. Sang, doesn’t your village have a road that carts can use?”

He received a warning glare from his brother.

Sang Luo smiled and replied, “Yes, there is a road, but my house is located on the mountain, so we still have to walk a distance. Most importantly, we want to keep a low profile when bringing things over here for convenience.”

Seeing the curious and cautious look from the young boy, the Lu brothers didn’t say anything more.

After navigating through several mountains, they finally saw a newly built courtyard halfway up the mountain. Two children were waiting outside the courtyard, and when they spotted Sang Luo, they ran over joyfully. Then, they called out for their elder sister-in-law.

Elder sister-in-law?

The Lu brothers exchanged glances. Sang Luo hadn’t tied up her hair, so was she already married?

Seeing the curious yet cautious looks from the two children, the Lu brothers didn’t say anything. They just asked Sang Luo where to put the grain and carried it into the courtyard according to her instructions. Then, they went back to carry the second batch.

On the way back, they encountered two men and a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, each carrying a sack of grain on their shoulders. The Lu brothers saw Sang Luo’s attitude and realized they were acquainted with her.

With their help, they quickly finished transporting the grain. Afterward, Shi Erlang and the Lu brothers left, and the two young men from the restaurant drank the water offered by Shen An and Shen Ning to moisten their throats before bidding farewell to Sang Luo.

“The day is getting late, and the journey back is long, so I won’t keep you any longer. You’ve both worked hard today.” Sang Luo escorted the two brothers out of the courtyard, took out sixteen cents that she had prepared earlier, and gave eight to each of them. “Consider it a token of my appreciation. Please convey my thanks to Shopkeeper Xu when you return.”

Despite the brothers’ attempts to refuse, the older brother eventually accepted the money on their behalf. After asking Sang Luo not to see them off any further, they bid farewell and left.

Upon returning and settling accounts with Shopkeeper Xu, they naturally showed him the reward money as well. Shopkeeper Xu nodded, “You’ve worked hard on this trip, so you can keep the money.”

However, he couldn’t help but think that this young lady, who seemed to come from a prominent family in the north, was quite extraordinary. A peasant family couldn’t come up with so many recipes for food, nor could they afford to reward their helpers in such circumstances.

He couldn’t help but hold Sang Luo in higher regard.