Chapter 240

The journey to deliver potatoes to Baijiazhuang in Nanning Prefecture ended earlier than expected.

“Brother Bai had already considered the impact of floods and reduced the original itinerary by half. How did it get reduced further?” Shuiqing looked at Fan Jin, her expression puzzled.

Knowing that making an extra trip would mean planting dozens more acres of potatoes, cutting the original journey in half had already strained Bai Manshan’s generosity. Now, to reduce it further was even more of a sacrifice.

Most importantly, Bai Manshan hadn’t returned directly!

Fan Jin gently squeezed Shuiqing’s hand to comfort her, then turned to Hu Wenhua and others who had returned and asked, “Did something happen to you all?”

Bai Ziqian immediately grew tense.

He wasn’t worried that Uncle Wenhua and the others had abandoned his father; rather, he feared his father might have been injured.

If they were worried and he needed time to recuperate, that would prevent him from returning!

He only looked at Hu Wenhua and stared at him, asking anxiously, “Uncle Wenhua, tell me, did my father get hurt?”

Dad said that when you want to know something important, you shouldn’t ask a lot of people vaguely. You should specify one person to ask.

Asking a lot of people, everyone hesitates and evades responsibility, and the person who is asked to respond must answer in the presence of others who know the situation, and the possibility of lying and deceiving is much smaller.

Hu Wenhua was asked by Bai Ziqian and shook his head vigorously, “No, no! We didn’t encounter any attacks, everyone is fine.”

Bai Ziqian’s heart sank halfway, then asked again, “Okay, then tell me, what happened? Why did my dad say he’d come back but didn’t?”

Dad said he’d come back after looking at you first before going back to the southern capital.

Moreover, Dad settles the money for these trips only after coming back. If he doesn’t come back with them, how can he pay?

Hu Wenhua’s rugged face showed discomfort, opening and closing his mouth several times but unable to say anything.

Behind him, the men from Shanshui Village had various expressions on their faces, sometimes turning pale, each of them wanting to say something but swallowing it back.

They were scared to recall what they had seen on the road, with chills running down their spines and cold sweat breaking out on their backs. How could they let these children know?

They could only bury what they had seen deep in their hearts and not tell anyone.

Li Wu muttered, “Brother Bai said the situation outside was worse than he thought. He didn’t feel at ease with your mother in the southern capital, so it’s closer to go directly back from Nanning Prefecture than from here, as we have to pass through Nanning Prefecture.”

Bai Ziqian knew the route. The southern capital was south of Guangning Prefecture, and to go to the southern capital, they had to pass through Nanning Prefecture.

His father had always known that things were unsettled outside. His father hurried the delivery of potatoes to come back earlier. Something must have happened on the way, or they must have seen something, or else his father wouldn’t suddenly change his plans and route!

Bai Ziqian looked at the seventy or eighty men in front of him, each of them shrugging their shoulders, their expressions previously filled with worry and anxiety, completely devoid of the vigor they had after returning from the previous four trips, and even less joyful after earning money a few times.

It was as if they had agreed not to speak.

“Oh, Brother Bai wrote you a letter!” Hu Wenhua rummaged through the oilcloth in the cart, pulling out two pieces of paper and handing them all to his brother-in-law. “I don’t know which one is which. Brother-in-law, take a look.”

The letters were written in Baijiazhuang and naturally didn’t have envelopes.

However, among these men, except for a few who could recognize common characters, the rest couldn’t read at all, so there was no need to guard against them.

Fan Jin took them and opened the paper with slender fingers. After just looking at the heading of the letter, he refolded it and handed it back to Bai Ziqian beside him, saying gently, “This one is for you.”

Bai Ziqian quickly took it and read it.

It was written by his father.

Inside were the secret words he and his father had agreed upon, confirming that nothing serious had happened, just some unfortunate things seen on the road. His father wanted to return to the southern capital first to ensure his safety at Aunt Shuiqing’s place.

There was no need to worry too much about Mom and Dad.

Fan Jin then opened the second piece of paper, quickly skimmed through it, picked out the key points, and said to Shuiqing beside him, “Brother Bai asks us to advance the money for this trip and he’ll pay us back when he returns.”

Shuiqing immediately understood, “Alright, luckily we have some silver saved from selling medicinal materials. It will help Brother Bai in advance.”

Bai Manshan kept his savings here. Only she and Fan Jin knew. Bai Manshan and Li Huyu and Bai Ziqian knew. The rest didn’t know.

Now the courtyard was crowded with people and had to play a full set, not revealing any clues.

Bai Ziqian quickly thanked the two of them, “Thank you, Uncle Jin and Auntie!”

Li Wu quickly waved his hand, “Actually, there’s no rush. It’s just that the money for this trip hasn’t been paid yet. We can wait until Master Bai returns. We trust Master Bai.”

In the previous trips, they had returned by noon on the last day. Technically, they could only count half a day’s wage of fifty wen, but Master Bai generously counted it as a full day. Each household had already earned over three taels of silver. It was fine to delay this time; their families weren’t in a state where they were desperate for food.

Other men chimed in, “It’s alright, a delay is just a delay. We have food and drink at home, and we’re not short of money for now.”

“Your family also needs to keep some silver for emergencies. You can’t use it all up. What if something urgent comes up and you need money?”

“Yeah, we should keep some money at home for sure!”

Shuiqing had already turned to go inside the main house to get the silver. When she came out, she smiled and said, “Since Master Bai trusts us to advance the payment, we can’t betray that trust! Although there won’t be much silver left at home after paying, we’ll have enough. Everyone can rest assured.”

This statement also indicated that all their savings were here. After paying, there wouldn’t be much left, which was a precaution against being targeted by others.

The men in the village couldn’t help but admire how capable Shuiqing was in handling things.

No wonder someone as wealthy as Master Bai was willing to be friends with the Fan family. It was reassuring to be around such people.

Shuiqing distributed the broken silver and copper coins according to the number of people present, making sure not a single person was missed.

The men who received the money all thanked Bai Ziqian in unison.

Fan Jin looked at Shuiqing and added, “Master Bai also said he’s leaving thirty big knives behind, and the rest are all for us.”

Shuiqing looked very pleased.

This meant that these big knives were now officially theirs.

Baijiazhuang indeed needed big knives. Initially, they had asked Bai Manshan to leave fifty knives, but Bai Manshan only left thirty.

The men in the courtyard, upon hearing that Bai Manshan had given all these big knives to the Fan family, gleamed with excitement!

No one in the village understood better than them the deterrent power and importance of these big knives!