"Thank you, thank you!" The child was incredulous at receiving a pancake from Ye Liang. He stuffed it into his pocket, ran to his grandfather, broke it in half, and gave it to him.
Grandpa said, "Grandpa won't eat, the child will."
The child shook his head, insisted on giving half to his grandfather, then hid the other half of the pancake in his clothes before running off to call Ye Liang for help.
"This pancake is useless to me. I might as well die sooner and give them a chance to live." The old man received the half pancake, but even though he was so hungry that he had no strength left, he still had no intention of eating it.
Hearing this, Ye Liang said to the old man with great heartache, "Grandpa, don't worry about eating your pancakes. Now that I'm here, everyone in the village will have a way to survive. Look, Grandpa, I'm a great cultivator. I've come to eliminate the Crab King and cross this lake. I'll definitely get rid of the scourge blocking my way, so what are you worried about? Just eat your pancakes. From now on, the villagers' lives will be better again."
"Really?" The old man seemed somewhat incredulous, yet tears were already streaming down his face.
"How did you get here? Wasn't the area outside the village already surrounded by crabs? People inside couldn't get out, and people outside couldn't get in."
Upon hearing this, Ye Liang looked at the old man with concern and said, "Is that why there are no guards at the village gate? Grandpa, don't worry, we can kill the crabs that came in, and we can kill them that went out too. I brought a caravan with me this time. From now on, the people here won't have to worry about food anymore. We have enough!"
"There's grain! There's grain!" The old man didn't care much about other things, but he heard the words "there's grain" very clearly.
He stood up weakly but excitedly. His head was spinning, and for the first time he could see clearly the long caravan of merchants following behind Ye Liang.
Then, she fainted from excitement.
"Grandpa, grandpa! Quick, bring me some water!" Li Da, a bearded merchant standing next to Ye Liang, quickly helped the old man up and called his fellow merchants to bring him water. He also pinched the old man's philtrum to revive him.
The old man slowly woke up, and the bearded merchant smiled happily: "Grandpa, do you still recognize me? I used to come here to cross the river often. I haven't been here for more than half a year, I don't know if you still recognize me."
"It's Big Beard! Big Beard, you've come!" The old man looked for a long time before recognizing Big Beard.
Having been recognized, the bearded Li Da laughed and said, "Grandpa, you finally recognized me! Grandpa, don't worry, it's all good now, we're all here. We brought you rice and grain, how about I give you a bushel on credit!"
"Alright, alright! Give me a peck on credit! Give me a peck on credit! I'll definitely pay you back in the future. This old man of mine, unless my whole family dies, I won't go back on my word!" The old man said weakly, but his words were firm.
"Eat some bread and drink some water first. Once you've eaten and have some strength, we can talk properly." The bearded merchant instructed the old man to eat bread and drink water, then handed him over to his companions before getting up to wait for Ye Liang to respond.
"Brother Li, you're willing to give rice on credit to these people. You're truly kind-hearted and admirable." Ye Liang cupped his hands in respect for Li Da's willingness to give rice on credit.
These words made the bearded merchant wave his hand and laugh: "You may not know this, but we merchants have always been willing to extend credit to local residents. We're not afraid of defaulting on debts to locals. We do this often, and in the end, only a very small number of people choose to default. The vast majority of us get our money back. So, you don't need to think there's anything wrong with this. This is the norm for us in business."
"So that's how it is." Ye Liang suddenly realized that he still lacked experience in the martial world and knew little about itinerant merchants who traveled from village to village.
I didn't know they had a rule about allowing customers to buy on credit.
However, having this rule would be even better.
Even if the villagers can't afford to buy food right now, they won't starve. They can buy food on credit and get through this difficult time.
"The village chief is here." The child named Ya'er called over a middle-aged woman who was grieving.
Seeing that the woman also looked exhausted, Ye Liang couldn't help but ask her with concern, "Auntie, please take care of yourself."
"Thank you for your concern, young master." Ye Liang's words warmed her heart, making the woman more spirited as she spoke to him.
She said, "Young master, you've come here to cross the lake, haven't you? Haven't you heard that we can't get through from here?"
Ye Liang immediately replied solemnly, "I have already heard about it. But please rest assured, madam, we are great cultivators, and we have come here specifically to eliminate the crab pest."
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