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Shen Yu’an looked around and noticed that only a few families were left in the area.
These people if were added up was just less than forty, and they all appeared to be in a pitiful state.
Like the man who had just spoken, they all looked at her with pleading eyes.
It seemed as though Shen Yu’an’s next answer was crucial.
In fact, it was. Not only were the passersby waiting for her response, even the villagers of Shen Village, who had intentionally kept their distance, were now gathering around to listen.
They were all hoping that the Shen family could provide them with some grain.
“If that girl really agrees to sell the grain to those refugees, what will we do?”
Shen Yu’an hesitated for a moment before reluctantly saying, “Although we have a lot of grain, we also have a lot of family members to feed.”
Upon hearing this, those hopeful gazes thought that there was no hope left, and their eyes dimmed.
But a sudden turn of events happened so quickly.
Shen Yu’an continued, “Therefore, we can only sell you a portion of the grain.”
The unexpected surprise stunned those people. They couldn’t believe that Shen Yuan had actually agreed to their request.
Although they knew their request was somewhat unreasonable, they had no other choice. Without grain, they wouldn’t even be able to survive for two days.
“We understand, we understand. Thank you so much, miss…wahhh…” Someone was so overjoyed that they knelt down on the ground and started crying.
The other people from Shen and Zhang families didn’t object either, as they believed that Shen Yu’an could do no wrong.
However, there were people who didn’t agree.
When the people of Shen village heard that Shen Yuan had agreed to sell the grain, they couldn’t sit still anymore.
If they sold the grain to others, what would they do?
Shen Xingwang’s second daughter-in-law ran out from behind and exclaimed, “No way, how can you just give the grains to them for free!”
“If you’re going to give it, you should only give it to us. What’s the point of giving it to outsiders?” replied someone from the Shen village.
Aunt Wu also spoke up and said, “Exactly. If your family thinks there’s too much grain, we’re all from the same village and know each other well. This grain should be given to us!”
Shen Yu’an sneered and asked, “When did I say that I was giving it away for free? They pay for it and I provide the grain. If you want to buy it, you can too.”
She then turned her gaze to Aunt Wu and mocked her, “Oh, now you suddenly remember that we’re from the same village? I wonder where you were hiding earlier.”
“Why should I give my grain to you? You have some nerve!” she added.
Aunt Wu was initially taken aback by the mockery but quickly regained her composure. If she cared about her pride, then she wouldn’t be the feared Wu’s wife that everyone in the village knew.
She confidently retorted, “Those people had knives in their hands earlier. Why should we go out there? Besides, don’t you all have knives too?”
“From the way you acted earlier, it seems like those two carts of grain were stolen from someone else, so you should definitely give it to us,” she added.
“We’re helping you here. Your family did something wrong, and we’re solving the problem by taking care of the stolen goods. You should be thanking us!” Aunt Wu argued.
Shen’s family and the people gathered around them, who were hoping to buy some grain from them, were shocked by Wu’s shameless words.
Meanwhile, the refugees who were waiting for Shen’s family to provide them with life-saving grain were also extremely anxious.
They were afraid that this young girl would be persuaded by the old woman and refuse to sell them the grain.
Before Shen Yu’an could say anything, grandma Shen, who was infuriated by Wu’s words, caught her and gave her a beating.
“How dare you have the audacity to say something like that when our family was already kicked out?! Why are you shamelessly asking for our grain? I’ll beat you to death, you shameless old woman!” she yelled.
Smack Smack!
Wu was slapped twice and pushed to the ground. She tried to fight back, but after days of fleeing and not having enough food to eat, she was no match for Grandma Shen.
Before long, she was pinned down and screaming as she was beaten.
Song Shi and Zhao Shi, Shen’s other daughters-in-law, had also grown tired of the behavior of the wives of their cousins. They saw an opportunity to take out their frustration and joined in on the beating of the second daughter-in-law of Shen Xingwang.
Shen Yu’an breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her family had not fallen behind, and continued to speak about the matter at hand.
Soon, the crowd formed a line, eagerly waiting for what was to come next.
Like when they sold grain in the Shen family village, they limited the amount of grain each person could buy. However, even if they didn’t limit it, these people wouldn’t have been able to come up with so much money anyway.
Shen Yu’an watched as they carefully took out bits and pieces of copper coins from their pockets and bags, and her eyes suddenly felt a little hot.
No matter when, it is always the poorest people who suffer the most during disasters.
However, she couldn’t reveal herself, so she could only sell the grain to them in this way.
She also didn’t bring a scale when she went out, so all the grain she sold was weighed by estimating it.
She weighed the grain in her hand and handed it over.
She would always estimate and put in some extra grain for them.
Those people also weighed the obviously extra weight and looked at the Shen family with gratitude in their eyes.
Although Shen Yu’an intentionally put in a lot of extra grain when packaging, there weren’t many people buying grain, and they didn’t even sell all the grain on one cart.
It seems like they will have to push a couple more carts, which will really delay their journey.
Zhang’s uncle and grandfather were also with them, and she couldn’t just perform a disappearing “magic trick” in front of them.
However, Shen Yu’an quickly realized that her concerns were unnecessary.
After Aunt Wu and the second daughter-in-law of grandpa Xingwang were scolded for causing trouble earlier,
Although no one dared to mess with the Shen family anymore, they were still able to buy grain like those people.
Soon, several people from the Shen village came and asked if they could buy grain.
The Shen family naturally wouldn’t refuse and sold the remaining grain at the same price they had just sold to the refugees.
When they saw that the price of grain this time was only the regular market price, many people in Shen’s village were surprised and couldn’t sit still.
Their family didn’t harvest much grain, and they were relying on the little they had bought from the Shen family.
But to get to Mizhou City, they still needed to travel for another half month, and the grain they had bought earlier would not be enough.
So they all went to buy grain from the Shen family.
Surprisingly, Wu and her group, who had previously demanded that the Shen family share their grain, did not make any moves.
They had already obtained some grain themselves, so they were able to save a bit on the road and were not lacking in food. However, they were envious of the Shen family’s abundance and had incited those who did not have enough grain to attack the Shen family together with them.
After the crowd dispersed, Song Shi looked at the two empty carts and walked over to Wu Cuihua, saying, “Cuihua, do you need these carts? If you do, take them.”
Wu Cuihua was surprised and asked, “You don’t need them anymore?”
She couldn’t believe they would just abandon such large items like that.
“We don’t have enough things to fill them, and it’s a hassle to drag them around. If you need them, just take them,” Song Shi replied.
She had already asked Grandma Shen and knew that they didn’t need the carts anymore.
Rather than letting someone else take them, it was better to give them to Wu Cuihua, which was why she asked.