Chapter 27
"how?"
Shu Yanrong quickly countered with a question.
His tone was normal, even with a hint of laughter.
When he turned around, you could see that he did indeed have two smiles on his face.
He carefully concealed the wariness in his eyes and heart, and calmly stared into Xun Yi's eyes.
"Don't misunderstand." Xun Yi lowered his hand from the bamboo basket. "I just heard some news about refugees in the county town."
"Oh?" Shu Yanrong feigned curiosity and said politely, "Young man, if you're not in a hurry, you can tell me more."
"When I went through the county government office, I heard from the yamen runners that: heavy snow had already fallen on the winter solstice this year, and the snow was likely to be even deeper in the twelfth month. The county magistrate sent a letter to the prefectural government this morning to ask for instructions, and relief grain for three months will be distributed from the day after tomorrow."
No refugee could remain unmoved upon hearing this news.
Shu Yanrong's expression changed slightly, and Shu Chenglin was even more direct, stepping forward and urgently asking, "What did the officials above say? Did they agree or not?"
Xun Yi didn't keep anyone in suspense and truthfully answered what he had heard.
"They said they agreed."
Shu Yanrong kept his eyes fixed on Xun Yi's eyes until the very end, and he did not see a trace of guilt or evasion in Xun Yi's eyes.
Having deduced that Xun Yi's words were highly likely to be true, Shu Yanrong bowed and said, "Young brother, thank you very much."
Xun Yi held his hand, shook his head, and said nothing more. He bent down, picked up a bamboo basket, and began to climb the slope.
Since even his own father thanked the person, Shu Chenglin could no longer doubt the truth of what Xun Yi had said.
“This slope is too steep, let me help you!” Shu Chenglin glanced at the other bamboo basket on his cart and volunteered.
"It's very heavy."
"fine!"
After a brief exchange, Shu Yanrong watched as his simple-minded son bent over, grabbed the edges of the bamboo basket with both hands, and lifted it up.
Okay, it didn't work.
Then he took a deep breath and used about 60-70% of his strength to lift it upwards.
Okay, still no progress.
Finally, he bent over with his buttocks sticking out, held his breath, and used all his strength to lift himself up.
Very good, it's been lifted.
But it looks like it won't go very far.
Not wanting his son to make a fool of himself in front of outsiders, Shu Yanrong silently grabbed half of the bamboo basket and took on most of the weight.
They escorted Xun Yi up the long slope and then left, without exchanging names with each other.
After Xun Yi's figure disappeared completely, Shu Chenglin rubbed his shoulders and said, "How could there be such a heavy object? He probably carried two baskets of stones back with him."
Shu Yanrong scolded him, "They can transport whatever they want, don't make wild guesses."
"knew."
Shu Chenglin responded in a muffled voice, finally straightening his expression.
"Father, should we go back and tell Wanxiu the news? And discuss the itinerary again?"
Shu Yanrong had already considered this.
"inappropriate."
"Telling her too early will only make her worry for nothing."
Shu Chenglin said no more and silently followed behind Shu Yanrong.
The two braved the wind and snow to return home. After confirming that no one was home, Shu Yanrong closed the door and began to explain to his family what he had planned on the way.
"Tomorrow morning, the second brother will come with me to the county town to inquire whether this news is true."
"Wife, go and borrow two grain sacks from someone."
Xu Zhen said, "It wouldn't be too late to borrow the grain bags after you've found out the information, would it? If you borrow them too early, you won't be able to use them even if you get them back." You'll end up owing someone a favor for nothing.
Shu Yanrong waved his hand, "The grain bags must be borrowed."
"Whether the news we heard on the way today is true or false, what that man said is a wake-up call for us. We don't have much food left at home. What if we only receive a month's worth of rations this time, and then the heavy snow blocks the roads?"
"Take the grain bag with you. If we don't receive three months' worth of grain tomorrow, we'll go to the grain store and buy some to store at home."
They were all terrified of hunger, and not a single member of the family, young or old, voiced any opposition to the plan to hoard grain; in fact, they all hoped to hoard as much grain as possible.
...
As evening fell, a slanting wind, carrying snow, howled down. In the Shu family's wooden shed, Shu Wanxiu got up again to fetch a pile of firewood from under the eaves.
"Go to sleep after you finish burning this firewood, don't delay any longer."
Shu Shouyi cupped his cheeks and drawled out his reply.
A person who has sat by a fire all day in cold weather simply cannot bear the icy cold when they crawl into bed.
The little devil used every means to stall, which amused Shu Wanxiu, who could only give him as much leeway as possible within the limits of what was permissible.
Looking at the glowing red embers in the hearth, she suddenly had an idea, "Auntie, how about I roast a tangerine for you?"
Shu Shouyi's eyes widened suddenly.
"Really?"
"Of course."
He pushed himself up and dashed out, his voice carrying a step back as he called out, "Auntie! I'm going to get it!"
They probably already knew which one to eat first, which is why they were so eager to run around.
Shu Wanxiu laughed so hard she bent over.
A short while later, the child who had gone to the main room to get the tangerines returned like the wind.
Shu Wanxiu used a stick to dig a hole in the red coals, buried the bright yellow tangerine in the child's palm, and then covered it with red coals.
As the tangerine peel is roasted over charcoal, a unique citrus aroma slowly emanates from the charcoal pile.
Just as the two were drooling from the aroma, they suddenly heard a deep male voice from outside.
Is anyone home?
A note from the author:
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