Chapter 147 The Passerby Who Died Before the Famine Even Began (Part 3)
After Bai Ze left, Jiang Yue deactivated the soundproofing array, took out a health-strengthening pill and swallowed it. The child's health wasn't very good, and since they were going to flee the famine, she should take care of his health first. She would give one to each family member after they woke up tomorrow. The two naughty children were easy to fool; she could just tell them it was candy. Her mother, Chen, and her father were also easy to fool; they both loved the children. She could just put the pill in a piece of candy and give each of them a piece of candy.
Jiang Yue thought about what to do next and then went to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, her father had already left. She saw two little kids looking at her from the doorway. Jiang Yue beckoned them over and they ran over. The older sister, Lili, looked up at Jiang Yue and asked, "Sister, are you feeling better? Can you play with us today?"
Jiang Yue rubbed the two children's heads and couldn't help but kiss each of them a few times. After the three of them played around for a while, Chen came in. She watched the three children playing for a while and said, "Alright, Yue'er, you've just recovered from your illness, so get up and eat first."
After her mother spoke, Jiang Yue put the two children down and gave each of them a piece of candy containing the pills. Lili and Xuanxuan found the extra candy delicious and their eyes sparkled. Just as they were about to speak, Jiang Yue covered their mouths. Jiang Yue pointed at Chen Shi, and the two children understood what she meant. They nodded, covered their mouths, and ran out to play.
After the two left, Chen, the mother, smiled irritably. She thought Jiang Yue had managed to hide such a small trick from her. After changing her clothes and getting out of bed, Jiang Yue gave Chen a piece of candy with something added to it. Chen initially didn't want to eat it, but eventually ate it after Jiang Yue's coaxing. After finishing, she hummed in agreement and said, "When did you buy this candy? It tastes pretty good. When your father comes back, ask him to buy some more. Eating a piece of candy on the way home will cheer you up."
“I don’t know when I bought it. There are five left, one for each of my family members. When my dad comes back, you can ask him where he bought it. I only found it yesterday.”
Chen took the candy and looked at it, but couldn't remember where she bought it. She then told Jiang Yue to put it away and stopped thinking about it. She told Jiang Yue to go eat, while she arranged to make the bed. Jiang Yue wanted to help but was chased away. After leaving the house, she took one child in each hand and went to eat. Her mother and father had already eaten, and the two of them were waiting for Jiang Yue to eat together.
Breakfast was simple: porridge, pancakes, and pickled vegetables. Jiang Yue gave each of the twins half a bowl of porridge and a quarter of a pancake. The pancakes were quite large, and a quarter was enough for them. After breakfast, Jiang Yue tidied up the table. She originally wanted to play with her younger siblings, but Chen refused, saying that they were still sick and shouldn't move around too much.
So the three of them helped Chen make pancakes. Pancakes weren't the only kind of dry food. Afterwards, Chen also made some salty sauce and packed up dried bean shreds and dried eggplant. These things were easy to store and lightweight. At noon, Jiang's father returned, with Doctor Li's apprentice on the oxcart.
Mother Chen quickly welcomed the person in. After taking Jiang Yue's pulse, Doctor Li's apprentice asked her some questions. Jiang Yue answered truthfully. Doctor Li's apprentice was a little unsure of himself. He had prescribed medicine as a last resort, so how could it be so effective? Jiang Yue could see his doubt. This person did have some skill. Jiang Yue thought the prescription he had given her was quite good, but she didn't know her own symptoms at the time, so she didn't know if it was the right treatment.
After confirming that everything was alright, Jiang's father gave the person a red envelope. Chen was extremely grateful and took out a piece of the cured meat she had prepared, insisting that the person take it back. Doctor Li's apprentice didn't want it at first, but couldn't resist Chen's enthusiasm, so he had no choice but to accept it. After confirming that Jiang Yue was alright, Jiang's father sent the person back home.
After everyone left, Mother Chen thanked God for a long time, and her heart finally calmed down. After resting for a while, she started preparing dry food. This time, the dry food she prepared didn't taste good, but it would last much longer. When Father Jiang returned in the evening, one car had become two. After going inside and resting for a while, Jiang Yue fed Father Jiang some sugar with added ingredients. Mother Chen even asked Father Jiang where he bought it and if he remembered it.
Father Jiang pondered for a moment and shook his head. He didn't delve into it further. After checking the prepared rations, he went to the village chief's house. After he left, the two children were exhausted from playing all day. Jiang Yue and Chen Shi each coaxed one of them to sleep, and they fell asleep in no time. After they fell asleep, Chen Shi said to Jiang Yue, "Tomorrow morning, tidy up your room. Pack up anything useful. Remember to bring the important things, but don't bring anything else."
Jiang Yue nodded to indicate that she understood. The two chatted for a while until late at night when Jiang's father returned. After he came in, Chen closed the door and poured him a cup of tea. Jiang's father waved his hand and said, "No need, I drank a lot over there."
"So, what did the village chief say? Are you planning to come together?"
Father Jiang shook his head, his face looking a little grim. Then he looked at Jiang Yue and Chen Shi and said, "They're not planning to leave. They even said we're worrying unnecessarily. I tried to persuade the village chief for a long time, but he remained unmoved. However, the village is interested in buying our land, and they're offering a low price. What do you think about selling it to them?"
After a moment of silence, Chen asked Jiang's father, "We have over a hundred mu of land in total. How much is the village planning to offer to buy it?"
"200 taels of silver."
"What!" Madam Chen was incredulous. 200 taels of silver to buy more than 100 mu of land, less than 2 taels of silver per mu, this was clearly taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
"Impossible! We've spent more than four hundred taels of silver on and off, and his price is less than half of that. Besides, when we bought it, less than half of it was fertile land, but now it's mostly fertile land. If we were to sell it, the price would have more than doubled. I'd rather this land be left to lie fallow for 200 taels!"
Mr. Jiang thought the same way. It was unrealistic to think about making money at this time, but he had to get his initial investment back. After scolding for a while, Mrs. Chen calmed down and said to Mr. Jiang, "Talk to them again tomorrow. The situation is different now. Chaos is coming soon. It is uncertain who will get this land in the end if war breaks out. Just tell them that if they don't accept it, we will sell it to Old Ghost Zhang."
Old Zhang was a notoriously stingy landlord in the county town, known for his ruthlessness and miserliness. Chen was certain that the village would agree to it; they couldn't let the land fall into Old Zhang's hands. After discussing the land, they started talking about what to take with them and what to give up. Jiang Yue listened until she fell asleep, and when she woke up the next day, she was already in her bed.
After waking up and spacing out for a while, I got up, made the bed, and went outside. I saw the twins playing in the carriage. The carriage was equipped with a cargo bed, so there was no need to worry about them falling off. Chen was carrying things onto the carriage one trip after another. When Jiang Yue saw this, she quickly went over to help. The carriage was basically full. It mainly contained clothes, food, and water. Other things, such as furniture and kitchenware, could not be taken away.
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