The children and grandchildren watched their mother (grandmother) go in and out of each room, then walk around the backyard and the front yard.
Then, looking dejected, he returned to his room.
"Second brother, do you think Grandma Wu hit Mother on the head on the mountain? Why is she behaving so strangely?"
The third brother, Han Mingxiang, said to the second brother, Han Mingjiang, who was repairing a cart.
"That's right, humph. When we catch up with the villagers tomorrow, I'm going to find Wu Laosan and fight him, and I'll also demand compensation from my mother!" Han Mingjiang said, waving his fist.
Han Mingxiang frowned, her eyes full of worry, and absentmindedly handed the wooden board to Han Mingjiang.
Li Lanzhen lay on her back on the bed, looking dejected.
This huge family has nothing left that even a system would consider.
"System, are you upset and deliberately making things difficult for me?!" Hearing Li Lanzhen's resentful question, the system chirped in response: "Host, our system also has rules and regulations. We can't just do whatever we want. If it doesn't exist, it doesn't exist. We can't fake it."
Li Lanzhen remained silent.
"Host, the system suggests you expand your search area. You might be pleasantly surprised."
Li Lanzhen sat up and thought it made sense. Tomorrow they would be fleeing the famine. Not only were there many children in the family, but the four grandsons were also a problem. The oldest was only four years old and the youngest was only one year old. Her eldest daughter-in-law was also pregnant. She didn't know how long or how far they would have to travel on the road to escape the famine. Her daughter-in-law's pregnancy was progressing and she was having difficulty walking.
We still need to go to the county town to see if we can buy any livestock to pull the cart. It would be best to buy a donkey or a mule to pull the cart, as they are fast and have good endurance when fleeing famine. I just don't know how much money it would cost.
The thought of money gave Li Lanzhen a headache again.
Seeing that it was still early, around 8 a.m., Li Lanzhen decided to go to the county town to try her luck.
Check the supplies in the space. Grain is the best circulating currency right now, so let's see if we can sell some grain and exchange it for silver to buy donkeys and mules to pull the cart.
By the way, glassware from this era should be able to be exchanged for silver. I should go to a jewelry store or a treasure shop in the county town first and see if I can get a good price for the glassware.
Thinking this, she took out some rye bran, cornmeal, and a little white flour from her spatial storage, mixed them together, and put them in a cloth bag, which weighed about ten pounds. She needed to make dry rations for her eldest daughter-in-law. She carried the cloth bag and went out of the house.
Seeing the people busy in the yard, he called to his eldest daughter-in-law, "Moon Lady, come here, make pancakes out of all this grain, we'll eat them on the road tomorrow. Boil all the water left in the water vat, let it cool, and put it in a jar tomorrow for us to drink on the road."
Upon hearing her words, the eyes of both the adults and children immediately fixed on the cloth bag in her hand, filled with excitement, joy, and confusion.
The eldest daughter-in-law took the cloth bag from her hand, her eyes smiling: "Mother, there's more than half a tank of water in the water vat. I'll go make some dry rations right away."
The little girl, Han Yuemei, smiled and said to her, "Mom, I'll go check the village well in a bit; it should have a lot of water stored up."
Li Lanzhen nodded, ignoring their doubts, and called to Han Mingxiang, "Mingxiang, you and your mother go to the county town together to see what we need to buy."
Buying things?!
Once again, everyone in the courtyard turned their attention to her.
Han Mingjiang immediately stood up and shouted in a loud voice, "Mom, I'll go with you. I'm strong, and the county town is probably in chaos right now. My third brother is weak and can't handle things."
Han Mingxiang, knowing her own limitations, nodded and said, "Mother, let my second brother go with you. He's clever and knows how to handle things."
Li Lanzhen thought to herself: I need to find an excuse to bring back the food from the space. It's because your second brother is too clever and hard to fool that I can't take him with me. I'll take you, the young scholar, with me. You're easier to fool. I'll fool one at a time.
Li Lanzhen knew that there was another student in the family, and she sincerely admired the original owner of this body and her husband for their foresight and resilience.
Hardworking and frugal, they supported their third son to attend a private school. Han Mingxiang was intelligent and ambitious from a young age, and passed the preliminary examination at the age of 15. After Han Yanshan passed away this spring, he resolutely refused to study at the private school. Now he is going to flee famine again, and it is unknown whether he will have the opportunity to study again to take the imperial examination.
"Mother, I know a mountain road that's almost halfway to the county town," Han Mingxiang called out as Li Lanzhen headed towards the village entrance.
Li Lanzhen followed Han Mingxiang along the mountain path, and they arrived in the county town in less than half an hour.
Just as Han Mingjiang had described, there was indeed a long queue of people waiting to enter the city at the city gate, and some people were even sitting with their families against the walls on both sides of the gate.
Everyone looked drab and listless, their lips were dry and chapped, and the children were thin and dark.
Li Lanzhen carried a tattered basket on her back, and a tattered cloth was placed on her head to shield her from the sun and also to hide the shock she occasionally showed. They stood at the back of the crowd.
Her heart was heavy. This was the life of ordinary people in a turbulent and backward dynasty, when the people were suffering. Thinking about the road ahead to escape the famine, she felt completely uncertain. At this moment, she was panicked and helpless.
Turning to look at 16-year-old Han Mingxiang, and thinking of her grandchildren and her pregnant daughter-in-law, her resolve hardened.
They all trust her and follow her every word. What will they do if she doesn't stand up for herself? Thinking of her golden touch, Li Lanzhen straightened her back.
This should be the source of my current confidence.
What Li Lanzhen didn't know was that her confidence came from the resilience, courage, and fearlessness in the face of difficulties that she had honed through years of living alone in her later life. These qualities were ingrained in her very being, and even after time-traveling, they would not change.
Looking at the chaotic situation around her, she turned to Han Mingxiang and said, "Xiang'er, stay close to your mother and don't look around."
"I understand, Mother." Han Mingxiang quickly took a few more steps and stood next to her, no longer looking at the chaos with alarm.
The soldiers guarding the city gate weren't too strict; they just glanced at the household registration book and let them in. Once inside the city, Li Lanzhen immediately looked for the silver shop.
I saw two rather large jewelry stores across the street, facing each other, with rather funny names: the jewelry store on the east side was called "Jin Fu Lai" and the jewelry store on the west side was called "Yin Fu Lai".
Jin Fulai is a two-story silver shop with a luxurious interior, while Yin Fulai is a single-story building with a large floor area and simple and elegant decoration.
Li Lanzhen looked at the several food stalls across the street, felt the loose silver coins she had hidden in the rat hole at home in her sleeve, counted out ten copper coins and handed them to Han Mingxiang: "Xiang'er, go buy some sesame cakes. You sit over there and drink water and eat cakes while you wait for your mother. Don't go too far."
Han Mingxiang looked at the ten copper coins in her hand, and was surprised again. She looked incredulously at Li Lanzhen, who had already walked into the gate of Jinfulai.
He was flustered. Han Mingxiang felt that his mother was not the same mother he had lived with for the past sixteen years. He shook his head, turned around and walked into a pancake stall where he could see his mother just by looking up, and sat down.
He spent six copper coins to get a bowl of water and two sesame cakes. He ate the cakes slowly by himself, and wrapped one in a cloth and put it in his pocket to give to Li Lanzhen later.
I was still heartbroken that a bowl of water now cost a copper coin. Before, water was free, and a sesame seed cake only cost a copper coin.
Li Lanzhen walked into Jinfulai. The waiter standing in the lobby didn't look down on her because of her shabby clothes. He smiled and asked, "Auntie, what do you need? Come and take a look. These are all our old-fashioned jewelry pieces. They are simple in style, genuine, and reasonably priced."
"Auntie, that's true, aren't I an auntie myself?" Li Lanzhen thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile as she stepped inside.
When she stood at the entrance of Jinfulai, she was still uneasy. It has always been the case that one should respect clothes before people. However, seeing the waiter's attitude, she was still grateful.
Smiling and nodding, he looked at each item one by one as the waiter introduced them, first to find out the prices of the jewelry in the shop, and then to decide what to sell to Jin Fulai.
In the Year of the Dragon, we should send more baby dragons to our little ones!
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