The village chief gathered everyone to discuss the option of voluntarily entering the city.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingwan suggested selling the wolf pelts in town and using the silver stored with the village chief to buy more grain.

This way, even if there was no government relief food, they would still have enough to last for a while.

The village chief took her advice and sent Lu Dahe and Lu Dajiang with Shen Qingwan to buy grain, bringing the wolf pelts and silver along.

Everyone had been rationing their food carefully along the journey, so there was still some left—enough to last them another ten days or so.

Only a few people joined Shen Qingwan on the trip into the city since most of the villagers no longer had any extra money.

The only households with some savings were Aunt Zhang’s family, the village chief, and Hunter Zhang’s family.

Even if others wanted to go, they simply couldn’t afford to buy anything.

Zhang Qiao’er, however, pestered her parents until they finally agreed to let her go.

Once they arrived in the city, she said she had something to buy and would meet them at the city gate afterward.

Shen Qingwan couldn’t be bothered with her and didn’t care what she was up to.

Lu Dajiang, on the other hand, reminded her to stay safe.

Fortunately, the city’s security was still decent. Compared to the desolate situation outside the walls, the inside remained bustling with activity.

Vendors shouted to attract customers, and tea houses and restaurants were lively as ever, as if the famine and disasters only existed for the poor.

Even the beggars in the city looked healthier than the refugees outside.

Though their clothes were tattered, they still appeared sturdier than the starving masses.

The scent of food filled the air, making them twitch their noses hungrily.

Seeing their pitiful expressions, Shen Qingwan knew exactly what they were thinking.

This was the stark contrast between the rich and the poor.

For common folk, a famine was an insurmountable hardship, while for the wealthy, it was merely an inconvenience.

They would never lack food or water.

Shen Qingwan led the group to a fur shop first, selling the wolf pelts.

The shopkeeper claimed that due to the poor harvest, the market for furs was weak, offering only 1,200 wen per pelt.

They had seventeen pelts in total, which came to 20 taels and 400 wen.

After a brief discussion, they decided to accept the price and sell the pelts.

With the silver in hand, Shen Qingwan took them straight to the Bai family’s grain shop.

Grain prices had skyrocketed lately—they had watched it rise from just over ten wen per jin to thirty or forty wen, and now it had surged to a staggering fifty wen per jin, with purchases even being rationed.

Looking at the posted grain prices at the shop entrance, Shen Qingwan was shocked.

The large grain merchants were deliberately hoarding supplies, while speculators further drove up prices.

The common people had no choice but to stare at the exorbitant prices, unable to afford even the bare necessities.

It seemed that when the opportunity arose, she should release some of her own stored grain to help reduce starvation among the refugees.

Shen Qingwan used Bai Er Ye’s connections to negotiate with the shopkeeper, who offered them a discounted price of thirty wen per jin.

Then, as if suddenly recalling something, the shopkeeper mentioned, “Oh, we have a batch of aged rice that was improperly stored and has a bit of a musty smell. However, the odor isn’t too strong, and after washing it several times, it should still be edible. We’re selling it at just ten wen per jin. Would you be interested?”

Before Shen Qingwan could respond, Li Chuang immediately said, “We’ll take it! As long as it’s edible.”

His family was too poor, and he had three sons to feed.

To them, rice at ten wen per jin was an incredible bargain.

Since someone was interested, Shen Qingwan turned to the shopkeeper and asked, “Manager Liu, could we take a look at it first?”

“Of course, please wait a moment,” the shopkeeper replied, instructing an assistant to fetch some.

Soon, the assistant returned with a small sack of the aged rice.

When the bag was opened, a faint musty smell wafted out.

Shen Qingwan frowned slightly and grabbed a handful to inspect it.

There were no visible signs of mold, just a slight odor.

If washed thoroughly, it should still be safe to eat.

“Manager Liu, how much of this aged rice do you have left?” she asked.

“We’ve already sold some off. Right now, we have thirty shi (approx. 1,800 kg) left in storage. If you’re willing to take it all, I’ll give you an even better deal—1,000 wen per shi instead of 1,200. What do you think?”

Technically, since Shen Qingwan had Second Master Bai’s token, she could demand whatever she wanted without paying a single wen.

But she wasn’t the type to take advantage, which the shopkeeper noted with respect.

Although he didn’t know her exact relationship with Second Master Bai, anyone carrying that token had to be treated with the utmost respect.

Hearing they could get an even lower price, everyone was thrilled.

Shen Qingwan immediately decided, “In that case, we’ll take all of it. However, we might not be able to transport it today. Would it be possible to pick it up in a couple of days?”

“Of course! You may retrieve it at any time,” the shopkeeper replied cheerfully.

After finalizing the deal, Shen Qingwan paid in advance, trusting the shopkeeper’s integrity.

In addition to the thirty shi of aged rice, she also bought another thirty shi of coarse rice, planning to collect it once the village was more settled.

After leaving the grain shop, everyone went to buy their own necessities before heading back out of the city.

Since Suzhou was relatively safe, Shen Qingwan no longer stayed in the city overnight.

She was also concerned about leaving the villagers alone outside, so she chose to remain with them.

Since entering Suzhou’s territory, they had not encountered any more bandit attacks.

Even the corpses along the roads were now being cleaned up by government workers, and thanks to swift containment measures, there had been no outbreaks of disease.

Although the Suzhou government did not distribute relief food or set up soup kitchens, local wealthy families frequently organized charity events.

When they first arrived outside the city, they heard that Master Jin had already been distributing porridge for seven or eight days, bringing several carts of food each day to aid the refugees.

The Zhou family, a major grain merchant, had also provided relief for five days.

Even the magistrate’s wife had personally organized soup kitchens for several days.

Perhaps because these prominent figures took the lead, other respectable families in the city also began offering aid to build their reputations.

The Bai family, though immensely wealthy, rarely participated in such activities since they were not local merchants. Their main base was in the capital, and each town only housed a few of their businesses—unlike the native wealthy families, whose influence was deeply rooted in Suzhou.

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Miss Jin is distributing porridge again! Hurry, let’s get in line!”

At that moment, Shen Qingwan saw the resting refugees suddenly rush toward the porridge stall, eager to receive food.