Second Master Bai was so shocked that he rushed out to check, and he was equally amazed by the repeating crossbow.

Even someone like him, who knew nothing about weapons, couldn’t put it down after seeing such an ingenious design—let alone the Second Prince.

A single repeating crossbow might not be enough for the Second Prince to protect the Bai family, but a blueprint for one certainly would be.

Compared to grain and silver, weapons were undoubtedly more valuable.

“Incredible! This is far better than that needle box you gave me, though not as convenient to carry,” Second Master Bai still couldn’t stop praising Shen Qingwan’s concealed weapon, showing just how much he liked it.

“This crossbow can fire up to six consecutive shots. The one in my hand is a scaled-down version—the standard one would be twice this size. Give this to the Second Prince. If he agrees to protect the Bai family, then hand over the blueprint. With this weapon, the Second Prince will surely look after your family, and he won’t demand grain or money from you anymore.”

Shen Qingwan spoke casually, but Master Bai was so excited that he clutched the blueprint tightly, unsure how to express his gratitude. “Such an impressive weapon! If you handed this over to the court, you’d probably receive a great reward. Are you really just giving it to me?”

“Take it. If you feel guilty about it, just send me more grain. I’m in dire need of food supplies right now.”

Shen Qingwan seemed indifferent to the value of the crossbow, but Master Bai understood just how much it could mean for the Bai family.

His heart was filled with gratitude, so when he heard she needed grain, he immediately responded:

“Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared the food for you. Originally, I planned to keep half of it as an offering when pledging loyalty to the Second Prince. But now that I have this treasure, you can take all of it—one million stone of grain. Can you handle that much?”

Hearing that there was a million stone of grain, Shen Qingwan’s face lit up with joy.

At this moment, only food could give her a sense of security. With food in hand, she had nothing to fear.

A million stone of grain would be enough to help the refugees survive the hardships ahead.

“Of course, I can handle it. Even if you had another million stone, I’d take it all.”

Her tone was noticeably lighter.

Second Master Bai, however, was curious. “Girl, what do you need so much grain for? Are you really just a simple farmer? It feels like you’re up to something big.”

He looked at her cautiously, as if she were involved in something dangerous.

“My identity is real, but my need for this much grain is also real. I’ve opened a grain shop in Suzhou City to help the refugees, so I sell rice at a very low price—just eight wen per jin. On top of that, I also run a porridge charity, which uses up a lot of grain.”

Shen Qingwan was telling the truth, so she wasn’t afraid to say it.

Master Bai gave her a thumbs-up—a gesture he had learned from her. “Impressive! You’re doing a great deed. But at eight wen per jin, you’re losing money, aren’t you?”

Currently, the purchase price of grain had risen to two taels of silver per dan, and that didn’t even include labor and transportation costs. Selling at eight wen per jin was practically giving it away for free.

Shen Qingwan didn’t explain further.

After all, she couldn’t exactly say she was robbing the rich to feed the poor.

“Master Bai, just get me the grain. Don’t worry, I won’t short you on silver,” she joked.

Master Bai shot her a glare. “Do you look down on me? Talking about money at a time like this is tacky. Just take the grain. Whether you give it to the people for free or sell it for money, consider it from me—our Bai family’s contribution to the refugees. Besides, your blueprint is worth far more than money. If you don’t mind taking this grain, I’ll be satisfied.”

For the Bai family, a million stone of grain, though worth two million taels of silver, was a loss they could afford.

Shen Qingwan wasn’t lacking money, so she didn’t want to take the grain for free. “Master Bai, your grain isn’t free. How could I just take it?”

A million stone of grain was worth two million taels of silver—such an enormous sum. She wouldn’t feel right taking it for nothing.

“If you keep refusing, I’ll be upset. This grain was stockpiled from various granaries before the great famine. Back then, it was bought at just three to four hundred wen per stone, so in total, it only cost around three to four hundred thousand taels of silver. That’s an amount I can easily afford.”

“Besides, let’s not even talk about what you just did for me. That plague remedy you provided before was a huge help to the Bai family. It not only saved countless lives but also greatly boosted our reputation. The people are grateful to us.

And without this repeating crossbow, pledging loyalty to the Second Prince would have cost us tens of thousands of stone in grain, not to mention a large portion of our wealth. You’ve done me a huge favor. So this grain is rightfully yours.”

Shen Qingwan chuckled helplessly. “Since you insist, I’ll shamelessly accept it.”

She felt a sense of frustration—almost like having too much wealth and not being able to spend it.

Her storage space was large enough, and with the Northern Frontier Army wanting to buy grain from her, she asked Second Master Bai to continue gathering food for her.

Second Master Bai readily agreed, but Shen Qingwan jokingly warned him, “Next time, I’ll have to pay you in silver, or I won’t take any more grain from you.”

Master Bai burst into laughter, clearly enjoying their conversation.

This deal strengthened their relationship, making them even closer. If outsiders saw them, they might mistake them for father and daughter.

Master Bai’s expression was warm and fond whenever he looked at Shen Qingwan—just like a father looking at his beloved daughter.

After discussing business, Master Bai invited Shen Qingwan to stay for a meal. During the meal, she suddenly brought up the Xu family.

Although Second Master Bai traveled frequently, he was very familiar with the Xu family of Yongzhou City. The mere mention of them made him frown.

“The Xu family is practically the overlord of Yongzhou City. Our Bai family used to coexist peacefully with them, but recently, they’ve set their sights on my grain shipment.

Maybe they were jealous of the large quantity of food I brought in this time.

They teamed up with the prefectural magistrate, hoping to seize my shipment.

Fortunately, I was prepared. As soon as the ships docked, I had the grain secretly transported to an estate outside the city overnight.

By the time the magistrate’s men arrived, there was nothing left to take. Otherwise, I’d have lost everything.

However, my merchant ships are still being held by the authorities, and I can’t get them released yet. This issue will likely drag on for a few more days.

Once you’ve transported the grain, they won’t be able to find it and will have to give up. But Suzhou is quite far from here, and moving so much grain won’t be easy.

You’ll need to be wary of bandits, corrupt officials, and even desperate refugees.”