Li Lanzhen paused for a moment, turned around and saw that there was no one at the top of the stairs. She silently thanked them in her heart, carried her basket on her back, and transferred the silver into her spatial storage as she went downstairs.
When they got downstairs, she took the new basket handed to her by the waiter, carried it in her hand, and the waiter, beaming with joy, saw her out of Jinfulai's gate.
"Auntie, take care. Take these crumbs home to sweeten your child's mouth. We at Jinfulai don't have any grain to exchange for them."
The waiter spoke loudly, and Li Lanzhen looked around at the crowd and immediately understood what he meant. He was implying that she was being used as a pretext to freeload off Jin Fu Lai, and he was saying this to anyone who was interested.
He shook his head and muttered in agreement, "I didn't beg for any food today. What will happen to my grandson?"
Standing outside the door, Han Mingxiang watched in bewilderment as her mother was mistaken for a beggar by Jin Fulai. Feeling extremely distressed, she quickly took a few steps, took the new basket from Li Lanzhen, and carried it on her back.
"Mother, let's go. Let's go home and look around in the mountains. Maybe we can dig up some grass roots or something."
Han Mingxiang's unconscious cooperation completely dispelled the stares of the people around her who had been staring at the new basket.
This also made Li Lanzhen realize that she needed to keep a low profile from now on. In famine years, people would do anything for a bite to eat.
As the mother and daughter walked down the street, Han Mingxiang noticed that there were fewer people on both sides of the street and no one was following them, so he said to Li Lanzhen, "Mother, let's go back."
"Xiang'er, take your mother to the cattle and horse market. We need to buy some water bags, oilcloth, and salt."
Han Mingxiang assumed that his mother wanted to go and take a look, so he agreed: "Okay, Mother, the cattle, horse and mule market is in the West Market. We'll walk there slowly. Mother, you have a sesame seed cake first."
As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his bosom and handed it to her. Li Lanzhen took it and touched it; it was still warm. This silly child, on such a hot day, she actually stuffed the pancakes into her bosom to keep them warm.
She tore open a piece of the pancake and stuffed half of it into Han Mingxiang's mouth: "Eat up, Mom had some snacks at Jinfulai and isn't hungry yet."
Half-believing, half-doubting, Han Mingxiang ate half a sesame seed cake. Just as they were about to reach the cattle and horse market, they saw several people surrounding an old man and arguing about something.
Li Lanzhen pulled Han Mingxiang along and ran a few steps faster. When they got closer, they realized that the old man was probably over 50 years old, with a weathered look on his face. He was tightly gripping a rope, the other end of which was a large blue mule.
Li Lanzhen took a liking to the mule at first sight. Although it looked thin and bony, the mule had a large and sturdy frame and was in good spirits.
"Please, kind folks, buy this mule from me! My grandson has had a fever for three days and I need money to see a doctor and get medicine. If we don't take him soon, my only grandson will... sob sob." The old man pleaded with passersby, tears streaming down his face.
But people just stood there watching; nobody wanted to buy.
Li Lanzhen squeezed to the front to take a look and asked, "Brother, how much is your mule? Do you have a matching cart?"
The old man looked at Li Lanzhen expectantly, as if grasping at a straw: "Girl, do you want to buy it?"
Li Lanzhen: This generational hierarchy is really messed up!
“It wasn’t me who wanted to buy it, it was the village chief. I came to the county town to see my daughter, and he asked me to check if he had any mules or donkeys. After I found out, he sent his four sons to buy it. He said he wanted to buy the car as well.”
Upon hearing this, the old man wiped away his tears and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, I have a mule cart. My home is in Xiaowangzhuang just ahead. Can you come with me to take a look?"
"Alright, let's go. There's nothing left to buy, everything is expensive. Grain is especially pricey."
"Who says otherwise? There's no way out."
Looking at the old man's hunched back, leading the big blue mule ahead, Li Lanzhen felt heartbroken. Born in the prosperous and powerful country of later generations, she couldn't bear to see people still suffering in a country where they had no place to live and no clothes to wear. Their miserable appearance was heartbreaking and saddening.
After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, we arrived at Xiaowangzhuang. It's much closer to the county town from here than from their village.
Upon entering the village, they saw dilapidated courtyards one after another. The old man led them into a courtyard near the roadside.
"Old woman, someone's here. Bring half a bowl of water for the guest to drink."
A short while later, an old woman in tattered clothes came out, carrying a bowl with a chip in it, and looked at Li Lanzhen and Han Mingxiang.
"Have some water, it's not much, just to moisten your throat."
The water wasn't very clear. Li Lanzhen took a sip and handed it to Han Mingxiang, saying to the old man, "Tell us the price. We need to buy it and then head home."
The old man was taken aback, then laughed: "I knew it. You said that on purpose. It's only right. For a bite to eat, even kind people turn bad. If you buy the cart as well, then give me 30 taels of silver."
Seeing that Li Lanzhen's face was expressionless, he hurriedly explained, "Girl, this is really not expensive. If it weren't for my grandson needing to see a doctor and buy herbs, I wouldn't be willing to sell my old friend."
Li Lanzhen thought that since there was no market for grain, she might as well do a good deed. "Look, how about I give you 20 taels of silver, 3 catties of cornmeal, and 3 catties of wheat bran?"
The old man was overjoyed, afraid that Li Lanzhen would change her mind, and grabbed Han Mingxiang: "Okay, okay! It's decided then. Young man, you and I will pull the cart."
They led the mule to the backyard to hitch up the cart, while Li Lanzhen went to the mall to see if there were any medicines available. She had been feeling dizzy all day.
And sure enough, there were some.
Anti-inflammatory powder, iodine solution, cough tablets, Banlangen granules, adhesive bandages, and antipyretic granules.
Not bad, what I wanted came to me. I needed to exchange for seeds, which stumped Li Lanzhen. She quickly browsed the various windows in the store and saw packets of seeds in an inconspicuous window, with a note next to them saying that 3 catties of soybeans were needed.
Without even checking what kind of seeds they were, I quickly exchanged them for soybeans from my spatial storage, and then exchanged them for medicine. I only took out the fever-reducing powder and put the rest into my spatial storage.
Seeing that he was the only one in the yard, he quickly unpacked the package, put the three packets of fever-reducing powder into a paper bag, and crumpled them up.
At this moment, the old man led Han Mingxiang and a mule cart to the front yard.
Li Lanzhen inspected the car, which was about 60% new, and was still satisfied.
"This is 20 taels of silver, and some grain. This paper bag contains fever-reducing powder I bought for my grandchildren. Give it to your grandson; it should be good."
The old man and woman were so grateful that tears streamed down their faces, and they kept saying that good people are rewarded.
The mother and daughter drove the mule cart out of Xiaowangzhuang and onto the main road amidst the two elderly people's profuse thanks.
Han Mingxiang had just learned some basic cart-driving skills from the old man. After letting Li Lanzhen get on the cart, he sat on the shaft, waved a tree branch, and urged the big blue mule to trot home.
After passing through the village, Han Mingxiang looked at Li Lanzhen with bright eyes and finally asked the question that had been on her mind all the way: "Mother, we have a mule cart now. Mother, how come we have so much money?"
Li Lanzhen laughed too: "Yes, this big blue mule and this cart belong to our family. Don't ask about anything else."
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