Chapter 802 I'm in a hurry to send you money
The village chief built a small platform with blue bricks and prepared tables, chairs and benches, inviting Lin Yuesha to sit on the platform and continue telling her story.
Lin Yuesha glanced at the tea and the gavel on the table, her eyelids twitching a few times. They really thought she was a storyteller; they were quite well-equipped.
Well, when you ask someone for a favor, you always have to give something in return.
"Last time, we talked about a Flower Fruit Mountain in the Eastern Continent. On the mountaintop, a stone, nourished by the essence of the sun and moon, gave birth to a stone monkey. Later, because it successfully broke into the Water Curtain Cave, it was worshipped as the Handsome Monkey King by all the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain..."
Lin Yuesha focused intently on her storytelling, and more and more people came to listen. She continued telling stories for an hour until her voice became hoarse, at which point she stopped to rest.
"Madam General, I never imagined your story was so captivating!"
The village chief was so excited that his hands trembled. His village had been farming for generations, and during the off-season, they would go out to sell their goods. Several surrounding villages were also in the rice business. They couldn't offer any other gifts, but they had plenty of rice.
"We don't do business with the soldiers of the Great Qi, but you did contribute, so please accept this small token of our gratitude."
The village chief waved, and the man behind him stepped forward and put down a bag of rice.
With war breaking out everywhere, grain prices soared. Wucheng did not produce japonica rice, so the villagers had to buy it from surrounding cities, which was very rare.
Lin Yuesha estimated that this bag of rice weighed at least a hundred kilograms, enough to express the villagers' sincerity.
However, this quantity is far from sufficient for military supplies.
"I was thinking of bringing you some barley from our village, but since the young mistress is from the capital, I'm afraid she won't be used to it."
The village chief hoped that Lin Yuesha would continue telling the story to the villagers when she had time, and they would definitely offer a certain amount of rice as payment.
"Village chief, do you know why I came to the village?"
Lin Yuesha is willing to tell stories to the villagers free of charge, only asking that they purchase enough military supplies. As for the money, it will be based on market prices. Of course, if the village chief wants to repay the favor, it would be better to lower the price a bit.
"This... is not possible."
The village chief refused again, saying that doing business in Daqi was not something he could decide alone; with the surrounding villages working together, he couldn't make the decision.
Furthermore, the villagers harbored resentment towards the Qi army for causing chaos in Wucheng after their entry, making them unlikely to be willing to do this business.
"Fellow villagers, please listen to me."
Lin Yuesha didn't talk about Journey to the West, but instead talked about the current situation.
The foreign tribes invaded the Great Qi with great ambitions. The Great Qi could not even defend its border cities, so how could Wucheng, as a key location in the middle, possibly remain unscathed?
The balance was broken the moment the foreign tribes entered the border.
"Our city lord has taken a liking to Lord Xu as his son-in-law, which is why he opened the city gates and traded one person for one city. Are these all just rumors?"
They had a lot of complaints about the city lord. Even if Wucheng could not be saved in the end, it should not be done so hastily. At least give the people an explanation.
From an outsider's perspective, the villagers' words are not without merit; the city lord did not consider the people's thoughts after making the decision.
However, the incident happened suddenly and is understandable.
"It's not just a rumor; there's more to it than meets the eye."
Lin Yuesha recounted what she had seen and heard during the day, and it was clear that the soaring grain prices were the work of spies from other tribes.
"The city lord has some stored grain, but he refuses to give it up. He is thinking of the people of Wucheng. In case of a natural disaster next year, he is ready to open the granaries and distribute grain. He will not let the people go hungry."
It was precisely because Lin Yuesha understood the difficulties faced by the city lord of Wucheng that she did not ask for grain, but instead offered to pay for military supplies.
"Young Madam, I cannot make this decision alone. Please give me two days and wait for news."
After a moment's consideration, the village chief decided not to make a definitive statement. He felt that reasoning with the other villagers would be of little use and would not achieve any effect.
After a busy day, Lin Yuesha harvested a bag of rice. When she left the village, almost the entire village came to see her off, just to hear her tell more about the plot of Journey to the West.
"Miss, where did you hear such a wonderful story? It's so beautiful!"
On the way back, Bai Cha lit a small red clay stove and warmed a cup of barley wine that the villagers had given him.
She wanted to hear this story again and again; Bai Cha was hooked. However, feeling sorry for her mistress's voice, she refrained from asking further questions.
"Right?"
Lin Yuesha was starving and leaned wearily against the carriage wall. She thought to herself that the hope of buying grain in Wucheng was slim, and she would have to think about how to conserve food so that she could at least survive for twenty days.
Only now did Lin Yuesha realize the predicament of having money but not being able to spend it. Having no surplus food affected the morale of the army, and the soldiers who were risking their lives for the country not being able to get a full meal was the last thing she wanted to see.
Upon returning to our lodgings in Wucheng, we had just missed mealtime.
"Miss, what would you like to eat tonight?"
There were still some shops open nearby, so Bai Cha decided to go out and buy some.
"If you don't have an appetite, just boil the rest of the dumplings again."
Lin Yuesha took the white tea to the tea room and used the leftover dumplings to make sour soup dumplings. She added vinegar, sesame seeds and chili oil to the soup, and one sip was sour and appetizing.
Regarding military supplies, we cannot rely solely on Wucheng; we must send people to purchase grain and fodder from surrounding cities as soon as possible.
"Bai Cha, light a candle, I want to take another look at the ledger."
The original amount of silver in the accounts was more than enough to purchase military supplies, but Lin Yuesha overlooked the soaring prices brought about by the war. Now the budget is more than 100,000 taels of silver more than before, and this is only for the purchase of food and fodder.
In addition, increasing the purchase of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn will not only satisfy hunger but also provide the soldiers with nutrition and a change of pace.
"Young Madam, the Qiuyue Troupe has arrived in Wucheng."
A maidservant came to deliver a message: because the Qiuyue troupe was heading towards Lin Yuesha, Xiao Qiuyue was invited into the reception room of the city lord's mansion to wait.
"I'll be right there."
Lin Yuesha put down the account book and looked at the sky. Xiao Qiuyue hadn't been delayed or stopped on the way and had gone straight to Wucheng to find her.
Starting from Cangzhou, the journey was long, and the Qiuyue Troupe performed all the way to the Northwest, so they must have suffered a lot along the way.
Lin Yuesha rushed to the reception room, where Xiao Qiuyue was drinking tea, while the others were led to the guest courtyard to rest.
Xiao Qiuyue, dressed simply, was fiddling with her down jacket when she saw Lin Yuesha arrive. She quickly stood up with a smile.
"Why not rest for a night before entering Wucheng?"
Lin Yuesha asked Bai Cha to brew tea again. After not seeing each other for more than a month, she felt a sense of closeness to Xiao Qiuyue.
"I'm in a hurry to send you the money."
Xiao Qiuyue took out a jade pendant from her purse and pushed it in front of Lin Yuesha, saying, "A token from Wantong Money Shop."
The Qiuyue Troupe traveled from Cangzhou to this place performing operas. Apart from food, clothing, lodging and transportation, all the remaining reward money earned was saved by Xiao Qiuyue. In addition, jewelry and ornaments were too conspicuous and easily coveted by others. They were not as practical as gold and silver, so he found large pawnshops along the way to cash them all out.
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