Chapter 85: Take a Look

Without land or resources, what could Sang Luo possibly sell in the county?

The Li family didn’t believe in mountain wild vegetables, and city folks weren’t fools either; wild vegetables didn’t fetch much money.

So, what else could there be in the mountains?

But they frequented the mountains, so what could they possibly obtain? Could the Sang family be skilled hunters like Shen Lie? It didn’t make sense for them to have been starving and drinking vegetable soup before.

Li couldn’t figure it out, no matter how much she pondered.

Shen San remained silent, even in the darkness, with his eyes closed, pondering the matter.

The couple didn’t sleep well that night. Before the rooster crowed, Li woke up, preoccupied with thoughts, and didn’t go back to sleep. She listened intently to the sounds from the Chen family’s courtyard next door.

After waiting for what seemed like a quarter of an hour or maybe longer, there was indeed movement next door: the sound of unlocking the courtyard gate, the noise of pulling out a cart, and loading it outside.

Li quickly got up, dressed quietly, and went into the courtyard, opening the door latch gently and peering outside through a narrow crack.

It was late September, not like August; it was noticeably darker at this hour, and she couldn’t see the road clearly.

To catch the early market in the county, they couldn’t leave late. So, Qin Fangniang and the others would carry a torch. Since Qin Fangniang pulled the cart, the torch was usually prepared by Feng Liuniang or the Gan family.

As Li peeked through the crack, Feng Liuniang and the Gan family had already arrived at the gate of the Chen family’s courtyard, each carrying a bamboo basket. She didn’t know what was inside, but it shouldn’t be much because the baskets weren’t full.

As soon as the Chen family’s cart was pulled out, the baskets were placed on the Chen family’s cart. Then Li watched as Chen Youtian, accompanied by three women, pulled a cart with nothing but three baskets towards the mountains.

In the direction of the main peak of the Changfang Mountains.

The cart was left by the mountain path, and several people went up the mountain. Li quickly stepped out of the courtyard, quietly closed the door behind her, and ran towards the cart.

Approaching, she saw that the baskets indeed contained some wild vegetables and a few crops from the fields. One basket even had a small basket with a dozen eggs.

So, the main things being sold were probably obtained from Sang Luo.

She thought this way, unable to find a hiding place nearby, so she hurriedly ran back like a thief.

As soon as she returned to the courtyard and hid, there was a flicker of firelight on the mountain path. Chen Youtian and the others came down with torches, each carrying a burden on their shoulders. From afar, it wasn’t clear what exactly they were carrying, but they were all unloaded onto the cart.

Li kept staring as the group silently pulled the cart out of the village.

Back in the house, Shen San was surprisingly awake too. He asked, “What did you see?”

Li whispered to her husband about what she had just seen, saying, “They’re indeed taking things from the Sang family to sell in the county.”

Shen San remained silent for a while.

Li took off her outer clothes, crawled back into bed, but didn’t lie down, just sat there and said, “Didn’t some families in the village want to go to the county to buy grain before?”

Shen San turned his head to look at his wife and asked, “Are you suggesting someone goes to the market to check?”

Li nodded, “Yes, I can’t believe other families in the village aren’t curious.”

Originally, they all suffered the same, all scratched a living from the land, so why were the Chen family and a few others different now?

Shen San shook his head, “The grain price has risen to one hundred and fifty cents per bucket. Who can afford to buy it? No one is going.”

Li choked, more disbelieving than anything, “Risen to one hundred and fifty cents per bucket? Who said so? Was it the news brought back by Qin Fangniang and the others?”

She clearly didn’t believe it, “Could it be that they’re deliberately exaggerating the price to prevent us from going to the county?”

One hundred and fifty cents was almost enough to buy three buckets of grain last year.

Shen San said, “It’s unlikely to be false. Not only did Qin Fangniang and the others bring back the news, but people from nearby villages have also gone to the county. At this price, no one can afford it anymore. Haven’t you seen that the Zhou family hasn’t gone to buy anymore? Everyone is tightening their belts. As long as the heavens don’t make things difficult, apart from families like Zhou, who are like us, a bit stretched, we’ll still have enough grain to last until autumn.”

Li’s attention, focused on what Sang Luo was up to, was finally diverted. She couldn’t believe that the grain price could rise to such an extent. How many people outside must be suffering from disasters for the grain price to rise like this?

She murmured, “When we fled famine that year and arrived here, the grain price here wasn’t so high, was it?”

Shen San nodded, “At that time, it was ninety-eight cents per bucket.”

Li’s lips trembled, “And now it’s…”

Shen San pulled the blanket over and lay down, “Who knows? Let’s sleep.”

Li couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning until dawn.

In the morning, while preparing breakfast, she subconsciously put less rice than usual into the pot, scooping out a bit more after each measurement.

The memories of those famine days, almost forgotten during these years of good times, became vivid again.

Feeling uneasy while washing rice in the kitchen, Li saw Shen Jin rushing back into the courtyard with Shen Yin and Shen Tie. She glanced at them, then instinctively looked at Shen Jin’s hands.

They weren’t carrying farming tools.

Realizing something, Li suddenly brightened up. While the younger ones were still slurping their porridge, she casually chatted with them. Suddenly changing the subject, she asked, “Have you three brothers been to see Shen An and Shen Ning recently?”

Shen Jin, in the middle of slurping, froze. His bowl almost fell, and he looked at his father and then at his mother, seeing his father’s pause and his mother’s strange expression.

Shen Jin’s first reaction was, did his mother find out about him helping with clearing the land?

Was he going to get scolded? Or sent to plow the fields?

Shen Yin hadn’t been beaten much for this, but seeing his brother get beaten and punished with farm work, he was just as vigilant as Shen Jin. But being younger, he didn’t know how to handle the situation. He instinctively looked at Shen Jin.

Shen Jin lowered his bowl and looked at his parents, tentatively asking, “Why does Mom ask this? Didn’t you and Dad forbid us from going?”

Li choked back a laugh and said, “Didn’t you go because we didn’t allow it?”

The two brothers shook their heads in unison, “We didn’t go!”

Their voices were remarkably synchronized.

Shen Tie glanced at his eldest brother and then at his second brother, obediently burying his head in his bowl, determined not to look at his parents, and perked up his ears.

Li pursed her lips, whether she believed them or not didn’t matter for now, she needed to coax them first. So she smiled and said, “Your dad and I just didn’t want you to go and work for others, but we didn’t say you couldn’t go play. You’re still so young, we haven’t even let you do heavy work at home, why would we let you work hard for others?”

Shen Jin thought to himself, if it weren’t for helping with the land at first, Shen An wouldn’t have listened to me.

But he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he followed his mother’s lead and asked, “So, can I go play over there?”

Li smiled, “Yes, why not? What do I care about what you do?”

Seeing her two sons laughing happily, Li casually continued, “Shen An and Shen Ning don’t come to our house much now, what are they doing at home? Is Sang Luo taking good care of them? Are they well-fed?”

Shen Jin, caught off guard by his mother’s questioning, said with a smile, “Yes, Sister-in-law takes good care of Shen Jin and Shen Ning.”

Li and Shen San exchanged a glance without saying a word, then asked, “That’s good. It means they don’t have to work hard every day. You guys are comfortable with a few of you at home, aren’t you?”

Hey, Shen Jin felt that this comment hit home. He said, “It’s not tiring at all. Shen Ning feeds the chickens and ducks and works in the vegetable garden behind the house. Shen An follows Sister-in-law into the mountains sometimes, but she buys delicious food for them. Pastries, snacks, candies. It even makes me want to work.”

If it weren’t for fear of his father’s disapproval, Shen Jin would almost have said he’d love to go too.

He still had some crisis awareness, not being too careless, lest he get beaten unjustly.

Going into the mountains…

Li’s eyes drooped, as if disdainful, “What’s in the mountains? Just some wild vegetables. It’s nothing special to pick mushrooms on rainy days.”

Shen Jin wasn’t interested in this topic, so he didn’t respond, just went back to enjoying his porridge.

Li gritted her teeth, unable to ask too blatantly, so she changed the subject and led the conversation in a different direction, “Now that we’ve divided our families, Shen An and Shen Ning aren’t very interested in dealing with you guys, are they? But they seem to get along better with Ershan, Xiaoya, and Huzi.”

Shen Jin pursed his lips, and the porridge in his bowl didn’t taste as good anymore.

Li looked at his reaction and smiled, “You don’t know the reason, do you? It’s because Xiaoya, Huzi, and their families are doing business together with your sister-in-law. Naturally, they have a good relationship. Have you ever seen what your sister-in-law usually makes and sends to Xiaoya and Huzi’s families to sell in the county?”

Shen Jin: ???

Li looked at him, “Have you seen it?”

Shen Jin shook his head hurriedly, “No, we were just playing outside.”

Li then looked at Shen Yin, who also shook his head, “We were all playing outside the courtyard.”

Turning to Shen Tie, he put down his bowl and followed the example of his two brothers.

Being the youngest, his eyes still looked particularly sincere.

But indeed, he was sincere, speaking nothing but the truth.

Li and Shen San finally believed them.

Li gritted her teeth and turned to coax the children, “Then why don’t you guys go in and take a look one day, see what your sister-in-law is busy with.”

Seeing Shen Yin and Shen Tie looking puzzled, and Shen Jin looking as if he didn’t understand why they should go, Li lowered her voice with a smile and said, “Your sister-in-law makes things to sell and earns money. That’s how she can afford to buy pastries, snacks, and candies for Shen An and Shen Ning. If you want to have pastries, snacks, and candies like them, then go see what your sister-in-law is making. Come back and tell me secretly.”

“If you tell me, and if I can make them too, then you can have pastries and snacks from the county too.”

The three brothers exchanged glances.

Li smiled warmly and said, “If you’re afraid of upsetting Shen An and Shen Ning, you can go sneak a peek. Just go when they’re not paying attention. It won’t affect you playing together.”

Shen Tie: Can’t understand.

Shen Yin: Seems to understand, but also seems not to understand, looking at his elder brother.

Shen Jin: …

Shen Jin was a little confused.

He didn’t even remember drinking the porridge in his bowl.

Seeing the three brothers like this, Li knew it was hard to expect much from the younger two who didn’t know much, so she asked Shen Jin, “Did you understand, Xiaojin?”

Shen Jin hesitated and made an affirmative sound, nodding.

Li was satisfied, patting Shen Jin’s head, “That’s good, just remember it. After you finish eating, take your brother out to play.”

Shen Jin’s head was pushed down by the pat, nodding slightly. He picked up his bowl and slowly finished the remaining half of the porridge.