Chapter 209: Following in broad daylight, could it be that someone really wants to rob...
The people who were originally crowded together dispersed because of the sudden price increase. Only a few servants from wealthy families remained in the shops, hesitating.
Lin Shu didn't waste any time. She walked over and said to the shopkeeper behind the counter, "Shopkeeper, I want three stone of brown rice, one lime of flour, and the rest of the grains."
Gray flour is easily affected by moisture, so buy less. Rice and grains can be stored easily, so buy more.
The grain shop owner, who was keeping accounts, glanced up at her. Seeing a beautiful young woman, he couldn't help but look at her twice more. However, his words didn't show any favoritism towards her. "The boss said that each family can only buy a maximum of one stone of grain a day. This rule applies to everyone who comes. The other grain shops also listen to our boss."
Lin Shu paused slightly. It sounded like the owner of this grain shop had some bottom line and was not the kind of profiteer who was blinded by money.
"Shopkeeper, the grains I bought are not only for my own consumption, but also for the villagers. The old man next to me also bought them for the villagers. Our village is called Tianshui Village, which is sixteen miles away from the town. Today, the two of us drove the only ox cart in the village. There are hundreds of people in the village, and all the paddy fields have been flooded this time. I'm afraid there will be no harvest this year. Without grain, we can't live..." As he spoke, his eyes were red and tears welled up.
The shopkeeper looked a little surprised. The young lady was so fair and tender, and didn't look like a village woman at all. He thought she was a maid and a groom from a wealthy family who came to buy grain for the master.
"Today the price of rice and flour has risen to 140 coins per dou. One dan costs one guan plus 400 coins. Do you really want to buy?" asked the shopkeeper.
"Buy! If we don't buy, we won't have anything to eat. Please hurry up, boss. We have to send the food back as soon as we buy it. The villagers are waiting. Many of them haven't eaten for days."
The shopkeeper nodded after hearing this, and without further delay, he took the money and asked the shop assistants to move the grain.
The sack of rice and flour in the shop held exactly one dan (100 dan) of rice and flour. Seven strings of cash could buy four dan (100 dan) of rice and flour, plus a dozen dou (100 dou) of grains. Old Man Liao's money could buy three dan (100 dan) of rice and flour, plus several dou (100 dou) of grains. It was much less than Lin Shu had expected, but she was still relieved.
"Shopkeeper, from what you said, your boss doesn't intend to make a fortune from this grain?" Lin Shu asked.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper raised his chin slightly and said, "My boss's surname is Qian. Our family's livelihood is all in Taiping County. However, because our ancestral home and clan lands are in Jingxi Town, we have opened many shops here. I am a conscientious boss and I don't rely on this to make money. The increase in grain prices today is also a last resort. I'm sure the young lady has seen it outside. If the price is not raised, the people will just rush to grab the goods, and the scene will be really chaotic."
Lin Shu was surprised.
"Qian?" This meant she and Aunt Lin were going to ask the local wealthy family for the ice cream recipe.
Thinking that the Qian family was indeed a kind family, Lin Shu said to the shopkeeper, "You, the boss, may have a conscience, but it's not a good thing to keep raising the price. If you do that, you'll anger the people who can't afford to eat. Be careful that some aggressive people who want food at all costs will smash your grain store and steal the food."
The shopkeeper was just saying it casually, but he didn't expect that the young lady in front of him was quite insightful and actually pointed out exactly what the boss was worried about.
The floodwaters had just receded, making the roads difficult to navigate. Their Jingxi Town was one of the most remote towns, so even if food was delivered from above, it would take several days. During this time, there was no guarantee that the starving people would not resort to arson.
The shopkeeper was about to say that the boss had a plan when the young woman added, "Since your boss knows how to limit the amount of grain each household can buy, why not make it more detailed? For example, you could require each household to report their household registration when buying grain. Each household can only buy one dou. If they exceed one dou, they can only buy again tomorrow. If they really want to buy more, you can stipulate that for each additional dou, they will have to pay an additional ten coins. And so on, the more grain they buy, the more they have to pay. If they don't want to be taken advantage of, they can just buy again another day. This will reduce the possibility of people looting, and the wealthy families in town who want to stockpile grain will have to spend more money and will reduce the amount accordingly."
Although it is possible to falsify information when reporting household registration and there are loopholes to exploit, it is still much better than the current situation.
When the shopkeeper heard this, his eyes lit up immediately. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll tell the boss about what you suggested and see what he thinks. By the way, you bought a lot of grain today. I'll ask the shop assistants to help you move it."
The shopkeeper's attitude warmed up a bit. Not only that, he also quietly reminded Lin Shu, "Tomorrow our boss will set up a tent outside the gate to distribute porridge. If there are people in your village who can't afford to eat, tell them to come outside the gate early and queue up."
After thanking the shopkeeper, Lin Shu hurried to move the grain.
Some of the people who had just left to buy grain have returned. They have to move the grain away quickly, otherwise it will attract attention.
A sack of grain weighed 120 kilograms. Two young and strong shop assistants were lifting one corner of the sack each and working together to load the grain onto the ox cart. But when they looked up, they were shocked to see that the beautiful young lady had easily picked up a whole sack and put it onto the ox cart!
The two guys stared so hard that their eyes almost popped out.
Old man Liao was also surprised.
He knew Ah Ye was very strong, but how come Ah Shu had become so much stronger after not seeing her for a few days?!
Or was it that Ah Shu had always been this strong, but he just didn't know it before?
Lin Shu noticed that the grain shop clerk was staring at her, nodded to them, and then continued to move the grain onto the ox cart. In a blink of an eye, she brought over another large sack of grain, which she then easily piled onto the ox cart.
The two guys were in a daze for a moment and swallowed their saliva.
When they went to move the grain for the second time, Lin Shu had already moved the other sacks of grain onto the ox cart.
After all the food was ready, Lin Shu covered the ox cart with an old sheet that she had prepared in advance. As long as you didn't lift the sheet to look, you wouldn't know what was on the ox cart.
She held onto the ox cart and gently jumped up, sitting in a corner of the cart. She turned her head and said to the two guys who helped her, "Thank you very much, young men."
Two shop assistants: "No, you're welcome."
"Dad Liao, there's no time to lose, let's go!"
Old man Liao suddenly came back to his senses and said, "Okay, okay."
After Lin Shu's reminder, he didn't dare to stay or look any longer, and immediately drove the ox cart out of the gate.
Old man Liao was concentrating on driving the ox cart, and Lin Shu was not idle either, keeping her eyes and ears open.
As soon as she walked out of the town gate, her brows darkened.
She moved fast enough, but unexpectedly, a few little tails followed her.
It seems that this is not the first time these people have done such a thing. It is very likely that they have been waiting outside the grain store, specifically targeting people like her who have bought grain and live in a remote place.
In the eyes of these people, she and Old Man Liao were probably fat sheep. After all, they lived in a more remote village outside the town than the remote people in the town. Although there were two people, one was old and the other was weak. Old Man Liao was skinny, and she, as a woman, was even more weak and could be bullied.
"Old Man Liao, someone is following us, please make the ox cart go faster." Lin Shu whispered in a steady voice without any panic.
However, when Old Man Liao heard this, he shuddered. "What? Someone's following the ox cart?!"
His heart was pounding wildly and his hands were shaking as he gripped the whip.
In broad daylight, is it possible that someone really wants to steal food?
Old man Liao was so scared that he waved the whip in his hand repeatedly, but no matter how fast the ox cart was, it was not as fast as the donkey cart and the horse cart, not to mention that the ox cart was full of grain.
At this moment, Old Man Liao suddenly felt a little regretful. He should have asked Ah Ye to come along. Ah Ye was worth three people. With Ah Ye, they would definitely be able to protect this cart of grain. Even if they had to buy less grain, they should have asked Ah Ye to come along.
But it was no use regretting. He had to protect this cart of grain today no matter what. All his family savings had been used to buy grain. For Ah Shu to be able to buy so much, she must have emptied the family savings, and the money given by other villagers to buy grain was all everyone's hard-earned money.
If the money is spent and the food is gone, how can he explain to the villagers when he returns?
Old man Liao's mind was full of random thoughts, but he kept swinging the whip in his hands.
Normally, the gate would be filled with civilians coming in and out, and the grain thieves would never dare to act so recklessly. However, the floods had just receded, making the roads difficult to navigate. The number of villagers entering the town was far lower than usual. Not long after Old Man Liao's oxcart left, three idlers following far behind quickened their pace. As they walked, they suddenly pulled out sticks hidden in their waistbands, and one of them even pulled out an axe. All three rushed towards the oxcart.
Old man Liao broke out in a cold sweat when he heard the noise, but Lin Shu said calmly, "Old man Liao, drive the car well and don't let it overturn. I'll take care of these people."
Lin Shu pulled out a thicker stick from the ox cart, and then stood up from a half-squat.
This stick was a piece of firewood she took from the firewood pile at home before she left. It was long and thick, and would definitely be effective for hitting people.
Before the three men could get close to the ox cart, Lin Shu gripped one end of the stick tightly and swung it towards the closest strong man, hitting the man's outstretched arm hard with the stick.
"Ah!!" The strong man screamed, covering his arm and jumping on the spot.
Before the other two could reach the ox cart, Lin Shu hit them hard with two sticks.
With his arm broken, it was useless to just run fast. Screams rang out one after another, followed by unbearable curses, but soon, the curses became quieter and quieter.
Lin Shu struck them with a few blows, showing no mercy. Even if their arms weren't broken, they were so badly injured that they couldn't use any strength for two or three months, let alone steal food. The machete-wielding man was especially affected. Lin Shu knocked the machete to the ground, hitting the man's foot. The foot bled immediately, as if the machete had sliced off half of it. The man's screams were the most horrific.
At this critical moment, if someone robs food, what they are stealing is no longer food but the lives of the people. Even if they are beaten to death, it does not deserve to be a pity.
Old man Liao had no time to distract himself, so he naturally didn't know what happened afterwards, but when he heard the screams, he guessed that it was Lin Shu who beat the men back. He was surprised and happy, but when he thought of Lin Shu's relaxed look in moving the food, he suddenly felt it was natural.
"Dad Liao, the tail has been shaken off, we can walk slower." Lin Shu's voice was steady, without a trace of breathing.
After hearing what Lin Shu said, Old Man Liao grinned and said, "Okay, let's make the old ox walk slower so as not to tire me out."
When the storm subsided, he realized that he had been frightened into a cold sweat, with his chest and back soaked.
Fortunately, fortunately the food was saved.
Not long after they started walking, Old Man Liao looked ahead and suddenly called out, "Ah Shu, look ahead! Is that Ah Ye?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Shu immediately poked her head out from the pile of food and stretched her neck to look forward.
On the muddy path, you can see a small dot at the end of the road. Even this small dot is particularly outstanding because it is taller and stronger than ordinary dots.
As Xiaodian got closer, Lin Shu could see more and more clearly that the person coming was none other than Zhou Ye.
Lin Shu felt angry and amused at the same time. She knew that Ah Ye was worried about her, so he followed her after all.
How could she not guess that someone might steal food on the road? They were just a few small fry. She was well prepared and could handle it easily.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on. After this trip, Zhou Ye's curled up calves were covered with a thick layer of mud, and his feet in straw sandals looked like they were made of mud. Because he walked big and fast, hot sweat kept dripping down his forehead. His whole body was sweaty, and under the sun, his neck to chest seemed to be covered with a layer of beeswax.
When Lin Shu saw his miserable appearance, she suddenly stopped being angry and her heart became soft and sweet.
"Aye!" She suddenly waved at the newcomer, squinting her eyes and yelling at him, "Look at all the food I bought! It's a whole truckload!"
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