The three aunts and cousins went out to do their work, leaving only the uncle and nephew in the main room.
"Tell me, what's the matter?" said my uncle.
"Did your mother get bullied by that family?" asked the uncle anxiously.
Su Yin spoke quickly to prevent her uncles from thinking too much, "No. Big uncle, second uncle, little uncle, I went to the county town the day before yesterday and met a businessman from Yuzhou. He said that the area of Yunzhou has been in chaos, and many refugees have come to our Meizhou. These refugees rob and kill anyone they see. Those people are starving and crazy. I heard that several villages have been massacred."
"From what the merchant said, I'm afraid they will soon come to Dongtu County. We have to make plans early."
"What did your grandparents say?" asked my uncle Yang Dashan.
Su Yin lowered her head in disappointment, "Grandpa and grandma don't believe me. They never believe what I say."
When the three uncles thought about the moral character of the Su family, they had no doubts at all.
"Mother was afraid that the uncles didn't know, so she asked me to inform you so that you can make plans early."
The incident happened so suddenly that the three uncles were a little overwhelmed.
Su Yin continued, "This matter is too serious, and I can't guarantee that what the merchant said is true. Uncle, if you have time, you can go to the town and ask those walking vendors, maybe you can find out more clearly."
"This happened too suddenly, and we didn't hear any news about it." Second uncle looked solemn.
"Yeah, it was so sudden."
The eldest uncle spoke up, "What did your mother say?"
"It depends on what the uncles think." Su Yin added, "The refugees haven't come yet, so we still have time. After seven days, no matter what the uncles decide, they must send someone to let us know."
The purpose of coming here today is to let my uncle's family digest the news first and accept it slowly.
When Li Rui's family comes back and has his evidence, I believe my uncle's family will make a decision.
"Um."
Third aunt wanted Su Yin to stay for dinner at her house, but Su Yin refused, so she had to hurry back.
As soon as she left, the three uncles found their aunt and mentioned what she had said before.
The three aunts' faces changed drastically.
"It's not that serious! Maybe Xiaoyin heard it wrong."
If it was true as the niece said, they had to leave.
In this era, no one wants to leave their hometown unless they have to.
"Yes! If the refugees were really making such a fuss, how come there was no news from outside?"
No one in the room wants to believe that your news is true.
The second aunt said, "Even if the refugees come, can't we unite as a village and keep them out? I don't think they dare to force their way in."
My uncle disagreed. He had heard that some extremely hungry people could be very cruel and would do anything.
On the way back from my uncle's house, I went to the town while it was still early and went straight to the pork stall.
I couldn’t afford meat back then, but now I have money to buy it.
Su Yin felt very happy.
The stall owner that day did not recognize Su Yin, and asked as usual, "Miss, would you like some meat? Our pork meat is the most reasonable in town."
Su Yin looked at the meat on the chopping board. Most of them were lean, with little fat. In this era, fat was the most popular, and not many people liked lean meat.
"Uncle, how much is it?"
"Thirty-five cents per catty." [Note 1]
"Would you like some?"
"I want all of these. Can you make them cheaper?"
The stall owner was surprised, "You said you want all of these?"
"right."
"If you want all of them, I'll give you two cents off per pound."
“Both.”
The stall owner happily weighed it, "Fifty-six catties, a total of one ounce, eight cents and forty-eight coins."
Su Yin paid quickly and put the things on the cart.
"Uncle, I still need two front legs and thirty kilograms of fat."
"I'll keep it for you. You can come and get it tomorrow. But I'll keep the meat for you, and you have to pay a deposit first. It's not much, just two or three cents." The stall owner seemed afraid that she would mind, so he spoke carefully.
"No problem." Su Yin gave a deposit of two cents and took the pork back.
The next morning, Su Yin carried a basket on her back, carrying the shredded silver, and headed for the town early.
When the stall owner saw her coming, he greeted her with a smile.
"I've saved some meat for you. Two front legs, and some good fat."
The stall owner took the meat out of the basket behind the stall and put it neatly into her backpack.
Su Yin paid the money and just turned around, she saw her uncle Su Xiaoyong and her aunt Lu standing across the street.
She quickly hid behind the camphor tree behind the stall owner to avoid the two men.
Su Xiaoyong noticed his wife's gaze and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Mrs. Lu walked into the alley across the street and said, "Why did I seem to see that girl Su Yin just now?"
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoyong looked in the direction she was looking, but didn't see anything.
"You must have seen it wrong. That girl is still recuperating at her uncle's house, how could she appear in the market? Stop wasting time and buy things quickly. Whether you can pass the exam and become a scholar depends on this time."
As soon as the top priority was mentioned, Lu forgot about the person who was suspected to be Su Yin.
After his uncle and aunt left, Su Yin came out from behind the tree and hurried away from the market. It would be bad if he met the Su family again.
After returning to the mountain, the first thing Su Yin did was to refine the oil. He cut 30 kilograms of fat into even pieces and started to boil the oil.
In a short while, the forest was filled with the aroma of lard.
After cooking all the fat, she divided it into two clay pots and sprinkled a little salt in them so that the lard would not spoil easily.
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