Chapter 99: Request

After a refreshing bath, Shen Lie dried his hair in the kitchen. By now, the sky had darkened, and the white snow on the ground made it seem less gloomy.

Due to the cold weather, Shen An and Shen Ning stayed at home to continue helping their sister-in-law twist the hemp ropes they needed. So, only Sang Luo and Shen Lie went out.

At this moment, Sang Luo and Shen Lie weren’t much closer than strangers. The only improvement was that Shen Lie seemed to have returned to normal, and his ears were no longer smoking.

Shen Lie remained silent, and Sang Luo had nothing to say either. They walked quietly from the hospital gate, crossing a mountain without saying a word. Finally, Shen Lie broke the silence with his first question… asking Sang Luo’s name.

He felt a bit foolish today. Perhaps he felt too embarrassed at home, and despite knowing that asking for her name was extremely inconvenient, he didn’t think to ask Shen An and Shen Ning earlier.

Sang Luo smiled, “My surname is Sang, and my given name is Luo.”

“Sang as in mulberry tree, and Luo as in female friend.”

Sang Luo.

Shen Lie silently repeated these two words in his mind, nodded, and when he spoke to Sang Luo again, he addressed her as “Mrs. Sang.”

Sang Luo looked at him strangely. “You can call me Sang Luo or just Luo.”

If Shen Lie were to call her “Mrs. Sang” when they returned to the foot of the mountain, Sang Luo could already imagine the surprise on the faces of Mr. Chen, Mr. Shi, and Mrs. Lu.

They were nominally husband and wife.

Shen Lie’s lips seemed to twitch slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

Changing the subject, Sang Luo asked, “Today, by inviting Zhou Cunzheng, did you want him to inform the villagers about the situation in the north and prepare them?”

“Well, more preparation always gives more hope.”

Sang Luo nodded. She had done something similar before, but when Zhou Cunzheng went around the village last time, the results were meager. The villagers in Shili Village didn’t seem very united, and some even harbored a bit of resentment or envy toward those who had stockpiled grain.

However, it was still necessary to remind them to be cautious. During the next grain purchase, she would advise a few families to be more discreet and avoid attracting attention. Doing good deeds might eventually lead to trouble.

She expressed her past experience and considerations tactfully. Shen Lie nodded, “I understand. Let Uncle Zhou handle this matter. We’ll fulfill our moral duty, and as for the future…”

He said, “Don’t worry, Dashan and I will find another place to hide the grain.”

They had come all the way from the north and had witnessed the most desperate situations, even resorting to cannibalism. None of them dared to think too highly of human nature.

If things really went awry in the future, the only people they could fully trust and rely on were each other. They had served together in the military and had survived together, returning alive as a group of four. Behind each of them were their families. Other than that, Shen Lie didn’t dare to take any more risks.

He wasn’t a hero and couldn’t save many people. He could only do his best to protect his most important people.

Hearing this, Sang Luo felt much more relieved. She even felt a moment of gratitude for her previous choice. Having one more person carrying the burden made a big difference. Someone thought of more and farther than she did. Sang Luo suddenly felt much lighter on her shoulders, and the sense of anxiety about rising and falling diminished significantly.

She smiled, “Okay.”

…

When they arrived at Chen’s house, all the key figures from several families were present.

The so-called key figures were the ones who managed household affairs, such as Old Chen and Mrs. Chen, as well as their two sons. Also present was Mrs. Shi.

Zhou Cunzheng came alone.

At this moment, the people from the Chen, Shi, and Lu families all had swollen, teary eyes. They had been crying non-stop, and although they tried to suppress it, their joy couldn’t be concealed.

Sang Luo took one look and realized that her eyes weren’t even slightly swollen. Instead, they were bright and lively, making her feel a bit out of place.

Although she couldn’t avoid standing out, she was now the darling of several families. As soon as she entered Chen’s house, she was surrounded by people pulling chairs for her and holding her hand to talk. In just a short while, she was surrounded by Mrs. Chen and the others.

Seeing this scene, Shen Lie’s face showed a hint of surprise. He knew that the relationships between the Chen, Shi, and Lu families were good, but could Sang Luo, an outsider, have integrated so well with the villagers in just half a year?

Mrs. Chen noticed Shen Lie’s expression and chuckled, “Ah Lie, do you still not know? Our livelihoods now all depend on your wife. This winter, the three families will be able to eat and dress warmly all thanks to your wife.”

Shen Lie glanced at Sang Luo, realizing he really didn’t know.

Mrs. Lu chuckled, “You, what great luck you have! Even from afar, the heavens have sent you such a wife.”

Qin Fangniang and Mrs. Gan, the aunts of the family, couldn’t resist teasing either. Chen Dashan nudged Shen Lie with his elbow and winked at him.

Zhou Cunzheng and the others laughed along, lightening the atmosphere considerably.

After this brief warmth, everyone took their seats, and Zhou Cunzheng brought up the main topic.

Over the past two years, Shen Lie and his companions had already shared their experiences with Chen Dashan before Zhou Cunzheng arrived. Now, Sang Luo also mentioned the names of Old Lu and Old Shi. Naturally, she also noticed Old Shi’s empty sleeve.

However, Mrs. Gan felt grateful and content. Losing an arm was nothing compared to the blessing of being able to come back alive. Being alive was better than anything else.

When the men began discussing matters, they naturally talked about the rampant banditry and the rise of rebel forces in the north. Shen Lie still held the same opinion: he feared that peace in the south wouldn’t last long either. He asked Zhou Cunzheng to inform everyone and advised them to stockpile as much grain and salt as possible. What use would money be if chaos broke out?

Zhou Cunzheng recalled how he had informed everyone to stockpile grain when the price was over eighty cents. He sighed lightly when he remembered the villagers’ reactions at that time.

He looked at Sang Luo and asked, “Mrs. Shen, do you know the current grain price in the county?”

Although Mrs. Qin Fangniang and the others often went to the county, when it came to caring about grain prices, perhaps it was Mrs. Sang who was the most knowledgeable.

Although Zhou Cunzheng wasn’t sure whether Sang Luo had stockpiled grain, in terms of sensitivity to current events and foresight, most of the villagers couldn’t compare to her.

Sure enough, Sang Luo gave an exact figure, “I went to the county a few days ago and checked. It’s three hundred and fifty cents per dou.”

Three hundred and fifty cents. Even Zhou Cunzheng’s hands trembled a bit. Back when the price was over a hundred and fifty cents, no one in the village wanted to buy grain anymore. He had quietly sent his son to buy some when it rose to over two hundred cents. At three hundred and fifty cents…

Shen Lie mentioned the grain prices he had encountered when passing through Qizhou, and the room fell silent for a moment.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Cunzheng, Old Chen, and Old Lu all looked at Sang Luo. Zhou Cunzheng said, “Mrs. Shen, what do you think about the current grain price? Would you still buy?”

In fact, even if they wanted to buy, they couldn’t afford much. Even with some savings, when thrown into the county, they were just poor peasants. Buying grain again would mean using up all their emergency money.

The reaction of Zhou Cunzheng and the others, subconsciously seeking Sang Luo’s opinion, didn’t seem strange to Mrs. Chen and the others. After all, Sang Luo had previously given advice on buying grain. But for Shi Lao, Old Lu, Chen Dashan, and Shen Lie, who had just returned, it was a bit bewildering.

They looked at each other. After all, she was only about sixteen years old, right?

Sang Luo was also a bit puzzled. She had come today prepared to listen, not to take the lead, even on the matter of stockpiling grain. She preferred to stay low-key and act as an invisible person.

But she didn’t expect Zhou Cunzheng to ask her about stockpiling grain first, and all the elders were looking at her.

Sang Luo pondered for a moment, quickly weighing her options.

The people in this room were all trustworthy, except for Zhou Cunzheng, who seemed decent enough. Shen Lie had already said he would find another place to hide the grain, so if things got really bad, people would naturally have another place to go. Therefore, she didn’t need to worry too much.

With this in mind, Sang Luo didn’t conceal her thoughts and said, “If you’re asking for my opinion, if you can afford it, I think you should still buy. Grain, salt, and it’s best to have the doctor prescribe some common medicines and keep a few doses at home.”

The need to stock up on medicine also indicated that this preparation wasn’t just for staying at home, because if they could stay safely at home, they would still be able to see the doctor.

Was this preparation for when they couldn’t stay at home?

Zhou Cunzheng stood up and paced around the room, stopping near the door and looking out at the night sky.

In the direction of the mountains, it was unknown how deep the mountain ranges were. He had never heard of anyone reaching the bottom, let alone dared to go deep inside.

However, before the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty, the world was in turmoil. At that time, he was still very young, and he remembered hiding in the mountains with his parents and uncles for a long time.

The mountains were truly terrifying, with poisonous snakes and fierce beasts. One of his cousins died in the jaws of a fierce beast. At that time, he and the other children in the clan were so scared that they cried and clamored to leave the forest. But what his mother said while wiping away his tears, Zhou Cunzheng still remembered to this day.

His mother said: Don’t cry. We can’t leave this forest. The outside world is much scarier than the beasts in this forest.

Zhou Cunzheng lowered his eyes. He thought, how many peaceful years had they enjoyed since then? At the beginning of the Great Qin Dynasty, the reputation was very good, and everyone praised it. What they could hear were all about the wise, diligent, and caring emperor… They thought they would have good days ahead, but in reality, the good days didn’t last long.

How wise the emperor was, how diligent he was, how caring he was, Zhou Cunzheng didn’t know. The ordinary people like him didn’t dare to say. As long as there was peace, what else could they ask for?

But now even this peace might be lost.

Thinking that his old wife and children would have to walk the same path as he and his clan brothers did when they were young, Zhou Cunzheng felt only heaviness in his heart.

He turned back, and his shoulders seemed to slump slightly.

“Mrs. Shen is right. Buy it. Bring out all the silver you have and buy it. What use is that little bit of money if the world really falls into chaos?”

It couldn’t be used for food or drink.

Old Chen and the others nodded. They were all older and had experienced the hardships of war.

“But how much grain can the grain shops in the county sell each day?”

The question came from Old Chen.

Sang Luo said, “They only allow each person to buy two liters at a time.”

Two liters wouldn’t be enough for a family with many members to eat in a day. If there was no surplus grain, they would have to send several family members to queue up to buy grain.

Everyone started to worry. They could send several people to queue up, but that would require multiple passes, and the daily fee for a group of people to enter the city wasn’t insignificant.

Seeing the expressions of everyone, Sang Luo said, “In a few days, I’ll go to the county and inquire about whether there’s a way to buy more. It might have been possible when the grain price hadn’t risen so sharply, but now it might not be possible. The grain merchants might not even want to sell the grain.”

Although Mrs. Qin Fangniang and the others also delivered tofu to Dongfu Building, they only interacted with the kitchen staff and the accountant when collecting money. Sang Luo, on the other hand, had a good relationship with Shopkeeper Xu.

When Sang Luo mentioned that she would help inquire, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Zhou Cunzheng didn’t know what was going on, but he knew that Sang Luo had dealings with Dongfu Building. Hearing what Sang Luo said, Zhou Cunzheng also felt excited.

At this moment, Sang Luo looked at him and said, “Uncle Zhou, I may not be able to handle this matter, and I only dared to speak up because I don’t consider you an outsider. I need to ask about it first to see if it’s feasible. However, there’s something I need to make clear first.”

Zhou Cunzheng vaguely knew what Sang Luo was going to say, so he nodded and said, “Go ahead.”

Sang Luo continued, “If it can be done, I can help your family buy, but it’s limited to your family. I can’t help other families in the village or other people in your clan. Also, I hope you won’t leak this information outside. I don’t want to risk causing trouble for myself because of this.”

The Zhou family was truly indigenous to this area, unlike the Chen and Shen families who had fled here. The Zhou family had firmly established themselves in this area during the previous dynasty, and they had many clan members. When the land was divided during the founding of the current dynasty, they were scattered to neighboring villages.

Although the Shi and Lu families were also locals, they couldn’t compare to the Zhou family.

Sang Luo had heard from the two younger ones that Shen Lie had learned arithmetic and other things from Zhou Cunzheng and his son. She had a good impression of the Zhou family after interacting with them. She hadn’t avoided Zhou Cunzheng when discussing buying grain together today.

But while she was willing to help Zhou Cunzheng, it didn’t mean she was willing to involve herself in unknown risks, such as the Zhou family.

Last time when buying grain, Zhou Cunzheng’s two sons had gone to the county with Zhou Cunzheng and his son. Although Sang Luo had few dealings with Zhou Cunzheng, she had dealt with him twice and paid taxes and levies twice. She didn’t have any good feelings towards Zhou Cunzheng.

Zhou Cunzheng believed Sang Luo’s words. The Zhou family members were indeed very tight-lipped. Despite her selling tofu for several months, their family hadn’t leaked a word. Their ability to keep a secret was closely related to their relationship with Zhou Cunzheng, the head of the family.

He nodded and smiled, “Thank you, Uncle Zhou. Whether this matter succeeds or not is uncertain, but your character is indeed excellent. I’m just saying this, in case the world ahead isn’t peaceful.”

Zhou Cunzheng nodded repeatedly, “Of course, of course. I’m very grateful that you’re willing to take care of my family.”

He wouldn’t fail to appreciate a favor.

With the matter settled, on such a cold winter night, Sang Luo still had to prepare vegetarian tripe and dried tofu at home, so she bid farewell after a few words.

However, they had only walked a short distance when Zhou Cunzheng caught up with them and stopped them.

Shen Lie turned around, “Uncle Zhou? Do you have something else?”

Zhou Cunzheng caught his breath and looked around. The snowy night was deserted, with no one around, and the nearest house was quite far away. He lowered his voice, “After buying the grain, you’ll probably find a place to hide the grain and plan for the future, right?”

Shen Lie furrowed his brows. Zhou Cunzheng continued, “I don’t mean anything else. In fact, everyone should do this, find a way out for themselves. What I mean is, could you also include my family in your plans?”

Shen Lie looked at Zhou Cunzheng and didn’t speak for a while. After a few breaths, he said, “Uncle Zhou, you have many relatives here. Won’t you stick with them?”

Zhou Cunzheng had expected this response. He nodded and said, “We do have many relatives, but not many from our generation are close. Our branch of the family is now just my family. So, compared to our relatives, I actually trust you more. I won’t hide it from you. I also have my selfish reasons. Since you were able to come back safely from such a distant place, I feel it would be safer to follow you.”

Shen Lie hesitated. This wasn’t just his family’s business. If something went wrong, all four families would be in trouble.

Zhou Cunzheng naturally understood Shen Lie’s concerns. The reason he came to discuss with Shen Lie first was because he had learned from Old Shi and the others that although Shen Lie was the youngest, he was the corporal because of his good skills and quick thinking. He was actually the leader of their group of four.

It was Shen Lie’s quick thinking on the battlefield that allowed him, Chen Dashan, and another person in their group to escape with their lives, without giving up on the seriously injured Old Shi and Old Lu. That was why the people in their group were able to survive.

Therefore, Zhou Cunzheng came to discuss with Shen Lie first after he had made up his mind.

He said, “I know what you’re worried about. Since this is a place to hide grain and avoid disaster, I naturally won’t let more people know about it. So, my family doesn’t need to know where your backup plan is. Just entrust half of the grain to you, and if something happens in the future, you can take my family with you. My eldest son, second son, and third son are all young and strong, and their characters are also acceptable. Having one more person means having more strength. What do you think?”

Not needing to tell them the specific location directly avoids the risk. Having one more strong and young person when fleeing is indeed an extra layer of safety. The Zhou family is quite well-off, so they shouldn’t have a shortage of stored grain. At least it won’t be a burden to them.

Shen Lie’s concerns had already been alleviated by about seventy to eighty percent. He glanced at Sang Luo, who thought for a moment and also nodded lightly.

Seeing that she had no objections, Shen Lie then looked at Zhou Cunzheng and said, “Alright, I’ll discuss with Dashan and the others tomorrow. Everyone knows Uncle Zhou’s character, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cunzheng visibly relaxed. He didn’t care about the seniority; Shen Lie was the junior. He respectfully bowed to Shen Lie and said, “Thank you then.”

The fate of the entire family was entrusted to Shen Lie and the others.

Shen Lie returned the gesture and said, “Uncle Zhou, don’t mention it. It’s cold. You should go back early.”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled and was about to leave when he remembered that Shen Lie used to hunt and sell game in the county. He asked, “Are you going hunting on your way back? I mean, do you need to handle the paperwork?”

That’s indeed necessary.

Shen Lie replied, “I’m planning to visit the Zheng family tomorrow morning.”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled, “Let me handle this trip. It’ll be faster and save you trouble. I’ll go back later and ask Dashan and the others if they’re going to handle it. If they are, I’ll handle it all at once. If your wife can’t buy enough grain, it’ll be better for everyone to handle the paperwork early so more people can enter the county.”

Zhou Cunzheng was used to being meticulous in handling things, especially in this weather. He was afraid that if things got delayed, they would have to make another trip later.

If Shen Lie went by himself, he wouldn’t be able to leave until tomorrow. If he got delayed by paperwork tonight, it would be better for Zhou Cunzheng to help him with this trip.

Shen Lie smiled, “Thank you, Uncle Zhou. I appreciate your help with this trip. I’ll bring the household register and money over tomorrow.”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled, “It’s nothing. I was planning to inform the clan of the news you brought back. I was going to make this trip anyway. This way, I can also owe my older brother a favor. With him handling it, things should be faster. But rest assured, I won’t say anything I shouldn’t.”

Shen Lie was naturally reassured by this. Zhou Cunzheng also planned to go to the Chen family and ask about the paperwork for the others. Each family in the village also needed to make a round. They agreed that Shen Lie would directly deliver the household register to the Chen family later, and then the two bid farewell.