Chapter 173: Getting close to the boy

After the people were determined, Yang Dashan began to count what each household wanted to buy.

Doctor Li and Wan Sanye took charge of the registration.

Su Yin asked Nan Jingzhi for pen and paper, as their group did not have any on hand.

“Mrs. Xu, what do you need to buy?” Su Yin asked.

“We don’t have much food at home. It doesn’t need to be too expensive, just pick up the cheaper options,” Madam Xu replied, calculating her belongings and planning the amount of food to buy.

“Just buy five buckets of coarse grains and one bucket of white flour. If the price of grain is very expensive, buy one less bucket.”

This time, they only brought one carriage to transport the grains, and with fifteen families to accommodate, they naturally couldn’t buy too much, or they wouldn’t be able to bring it back.

“If the prices are excessively high, how many buckets do you want to buy?” Wan Sanye asked.

There needed to be a minimum conservative number to ensure they could make some purchases.

“Three buckets,” Madam Xu thought for a moment. “No matter what, I need at least two buckets.”

When they arrived at Linzhou Mansion, they were headed south, where it was said the price of food would be cheaper.

With two or three buckets of rice, if they lived frugally, they could still get by.

“I also need some salt and vinegar,” she added.

Doctor Li wrote down the items one by one.

After Madam Xu finished reporting her purchase list, Butcher Yang began to share his.

One by one, they went around the group.

By the time they finished, it was halfway through Shen Shi (16:00), and the city gate was about to close at You Shi (17:00).

Su Yin said, “It’s getting late today. It’s too late to go to the city to buy things.”

“Let’s rest early today and go to the city first thing tomorrow morning.”

Everyone was mindful of their money, so naturally, they would not waste it.

After Su Yin received the list, she discussed with Mr. Wan Sanye to tally the total amount for the food purchases and groceries.

When the time came to enter the city, they could divide the work to make the buying process more efficient.

The sooner they could buy, the sooner they could hit the road.

The team on Nan Jingzhi’s side was large, and by the time they finished tallying the statistics, everyone on Su Yin’s side had already eaten dinner.

Many refugees who were blocked at the city gate saw no hope of entering Linzhi County, and many could only decide to move on.

As it was getting late, some people, like Su Yin and her group, found an open space to camp at the city gate.

Not far from Xinghua Village, a mother and son pulling a cart found their spot.

The faces of the mother and son were sallow, and everything on their cart was in tatters.

The clothes they wore were full of patches, and the straw sandals under their feet were so worn that they looked like they could fall apart at any moment.

The young man glanced in the direction of Xinghua Village and saw that those who had made it could still bring out food. His eyes were filled with envy.

“Son, let’s eat wild vegetable porridge.”

The wild vegetables had been gathered by them along the way, and the water was also collected by the young man from a mountain stream.

The boy watched his mother take out rice from their bag for a long time, only to grab a handful, putting more than half of it back.

Only a very small amount was thrown into the pot.

He hadn’t had a full meal in a long time; in fact, he hadn’t even eaten enough to feel satisfied.

The young man sat by the pot and asked softly, “Mom, how much money do we have?”

The woman raised her head and glanced at him, “Do you want to go to the city?”

The woman shook her head, dismissing the boy’s suggestion. “No, one tael of silver can buy at least four or five bushels of rice.”

“Mom, the price of food has gone up. How can you buy four or five bushels like before? Even with the higher prices, one tael can still buy two or three buckets.

Anyway, it’s not worth going to the city with just one tael. We can wait until we reach Linzhi County and get in,” the woman argued, hoping her son would abandon his idea.

The young man shook his head. “Mom, I didn’t want to go to the city. I just wanted to…” He glanced at Xinghua Village.

“What do you want to do?” The woman was confused.

“I want someone to bring us some food.”

“Huh?” The woman was shocked.

“I just heard them counting the things they’ll buy in the city tomorrow. I thought, if we can ask them to help carry them, we can save a lot of money on going to the city.” The young man’s eyes lit up as he spoke.

“No,” the woman objected, shaking her head. “What if they took our money and ran off with it?”

The young man considered this problem, but looking at the carriages in Xinghua Village and the people, especially those who looked at them, particularly Su Yin, he felt an inexplicable sense of trust, believing she wouldn’t do that.

“No, they’re rich and won’t be greedy. We don’t need to give them much, just one tael of silver, as much as we can buy.”

The woman frowned and looked towards the people of Xinghua Village. She turned back to her son, her face pale, and her heart softened. “Okay. But will they agree?”

“I’ll try.”

The woman took out her purse from her caring arms and handed her son a few small pieces of silver.

“Go.”

The young man took the silver and walked towards the people of Xinghua Village. His eyes scanned the group, and finally, he walked towards Su Yin.

As the young man approached, Su Yin looked at him with vigilance.

He didn’t approach, but stood three meters away, looking at Su Yin shyly. “I, I want to ask you for a favor.”

As soon as the boy finished speaking, he realized he was a little abrupt and quickly added, “I’m sorry, I, I really have no choice, so I’m asking you.”

Su Yin didn’t respond.

The young man continued, “I just heard that you’re going to the city to buy things tomorrow.

I would like to ask you to help bring some food, just a little bit, not too much.”

“We don’t have much money, we can’t afford to go into the city. So, so…”

As he spoke, the young man bowed towards Su Yin, his straight back bending at a ninety-degree angle in request.

Su Yin really didn’t expect that someone would come to ask for help carrying things.

“Aren’t you afraid that I will steal your money?” Su Yin looked at the young man in front of him. He was very thin, but he was about 1.78 meters tall.

His facial features were straight and clear-cut. Even though he was thin and had a dirty look on his face, it was not difficult to see that this young man had good skin.

The young man shook his head, “You can’t.”

“Why are you so sure?” Su Yin became interested.

“Intuition.” The young man scratched his head shyly, as if he was afraid that she wouldn’t believe it, and nodded emphatically, “Really.

I don’t know why, but I feel very, very close to you as soon as I see you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man realized his words were abrupt and he explained hurriedly, “I, I don’t mean anything else, I…”

Su Yin smiled and waved her hand to him, “It’s okay, I understand.”

“Then, you can help me with it. Do you want some food?” The young man looked at her anxiously, “Not much, just bring a tael of rice or a bucket of coarse grains.”

Su Yin looked at the young man in front of him. Not only did she not feel disgusted with him, but she also felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.

This feeling was very strange.

“Okay.”

After receiving her affirmative reply, the young man thanked her repeatedly and handed her one tael of silver.

“No, it’s not too late to give it to me when I buy it tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

The young man left happily.

Su Baozhu kept staring at the young man’s leaving figure.

Su Yin patted her shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

Su Baozhu frowned, “I don’t know why, but I always feel that this person looks a bit familiar, as if I’ve seen him somewhere.”