The two of them continued chatting casually, and as the conversation drifted, Qian Chunhua subtly steered it back to her intended topic.

“Just now when I passed by the grain shop, there was a long line. Even buying grain has become such a hassle,” Qian Chunhua complained in a seemingly offhanded tone.

The shop assistant nodded in agreement. “It’s not just a hassle — you can’t even buy much at a time.”

“Why’s that?” Qian Chunhua feigned ignorance of the outside situation.

The assistant glanced around cautiously before lowering his voice. “I heard there’s famine in Ganzhou and Leizhou. Grain prices are going up, so our county magistrate is restricting how much each household can buy.”

After saying that, the assistant kindly added, “Auntie, your family should try to buy more grain too, just in case.”

“But our Nanzhou County seems fine. We’re not short on grain, are we?”

“Well, who can say what’ll happen in the future?” the assistant sighed.

In times like these, everyone was hoarding grain.

Even pastry shops were seeing fewer customers.

If things kept going like this, the assistant worried he might lose his job.

Thankfully, he had a good customer like this auntie today.

Deciding to be extra friendly to such a valued customer, the assistant leaned in and whispered more inside information to Qian Chunhua. “Auntie, Leizhou isn’t just facing famine — bandits are running wild over there. A huge number of refugees are fleeing the area.”

He paused to grab more oil paper from behind the counter and continued packing up her pastries.

Seeing Qian Chunhua’s curious expression, the assistant kept talking while wrapping. “Our boss said when he passed through Leizhou on his way from the capital, he ran into a swarm of refugees. He boiled a pot of meat porridge by the roadside, and it was snatched clean in moments.”

The assistant shook his head. Luckily their boss had guards with him.

Otherwise, not only would the porridge have been lost — he might have lost his life too.

Seeing that his customer was still listening intently, the assistant added, “After that, our boss didn’t dare cook food on the road again. He was afraid the smell would attract more refugees.”

Hearing this, Qian Chunhua nodded.

It seemed she needed to store more cooked food in her space as well.

Otherwise, if famine really did break out, even the smell of cooking could bring disaster.

The assistant continued sharing stories from the outside world. It turned out he was quite well-informed — he seemed to know a little bit about everything.

From his account, Qian Chunhua learned:

The bandits in Leizhou had taken over several major mountain ranges and were acting like local warlords.

Officials from various offices in Leizhou had abandoned their posts and fled for their lives.

The common folk, unable to survive, were leaving in droves and becoming refugees, all flooding toward the capital.

…

And it wasn’t just Leizhou — Ganzhou and Bingzhou were in similar situations.

Among them, Leizhou was the worst off.

“We’re lucky here in Yongning Prefecture,” the assistant said with a touch of pride. “At least things are still in order. No chaos.”

“Why?” Qian Chunhua asked curiously. In a time of nationwide turmoil, how could Yongning be the exception?

The assistant pointed toward the sky. “All thanks to Prince Yongning. He’s stationed in Yongning Prefecture — that’s why we have peace.”

“Prince Yongning? Who’s that?” Qian Chunhua felt a bit embarrassed not to know.

The assistant gave her a strange look. “You don’t even know that? But since you’re my best customer, I’ll explain. He’s the emperor’s fifth son. Yongning Prefecture is his fief.”

“Oh, I see.” Now Qian Chunhua understood.

Since the fifth prince ruled the area, he must have troops stationed here.

With a military presence, order could be maintained.

Compared to other places, Yongning really was relatively safe.

The assistant kindly warned, “Even with Prince Yongning here, he can’t control natural disasters. It hasn’t rained since summer. Next spring could bring drought, and food shortages are almost certain. So, Auntie, stock up on as much grain as you can.”

He didn’t say the rest out loud — look at you spending money on all these pastries, you’d be better off buying more grain.

“Alright, I will,” Qian Chunhua replied sincerely.

The assistant carefully packed the pastries into her basket.

Seeing it full to the brim, Qian Chunhua felt quite satisfied.

Even if famine did break out, at least her household would still have snacks.

Leading Qingfeng by the hand, Qian Chunhua headed to a teahouse.

When it came to gathering information, few places were better than teahouses or brothels.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t go to a brothel — so a teahouse it was, with Qingfeng in tow.

Unlike the quiet streets, the teahouse was bustling with noise.

The teahouse assistant was momentarily stunned to see a woman bringing a child.

It was his first time witnessing such a sight.

But after the initial surprise, his training kicked in.

He promptly led them to a seat in a corner of the tea hall.

Qian Chunhua spent twenty copper coins and ordered a pot of Biluochun green tea.

She then opened a packet of peach blossom pastries, intending to enjoy some tea and treats with Qingfeng.

But the moment the tea touched her lips, she nearly spat it out.

What was that taste?

It had a stale watery flavor, a burnt aftertaste, and a hint of mustiness — the tea was terrible. Qian Chunhua couldn’t bring herself to drink it.

She called over the assistant and asked him to take away the tea and just bring her a pot of plain hot water.

An empty pot would do.

Such a strange request caught the assistant off guard.

But since hot water was free, he obliged.

Qian Chunhua then took out a small pouch of Dongting Biluochun from her storage space — a stash she had prepared for herself during her stockpiling days.

Tea was her one true indulgence.

She hadn’t skimped on herself and had stored a variety of teas in her space.

Using the teahouse’s teapot, she brewed a pot of her premium Biluochun.

Due to the setting, she skipped the usual steps of rinsing the cup and washing the tea.

Lifting her cup, she took a long sip.

The familiar fragrance filled her senses — cool, sweet, and refreshing.

She poured Qingfeng a small cup of plain water.

Mother and son sat there, munching pastries and sipping their drinks — tea for her, water for him.

But Qian Chunhua hadn’t forgotten her true purpose here.

She perked up her ears and listened carefully to the various conversations in the teahouse.

Fifteen minutes later, she finally heard a topic that piqued her interest — coming from the table diagonally in front of her on the left.

Seated there were three young men who looked like scholars, all around twenty years old.

On their table were plates of sunflower seeds and peanuts, along with a pot of tea.

At first, the trio spoke in hushed tones, so Qian Chunhua couldn’t make out what they were saying.

But apparently, they soon disagreed on something and started arguing — their voices rising enough for her to finally catch wind of a conversation worth listening to.