Although she did not agree to Wei Chengzong's request to find a water source, Jiang Qinyu still kept the matter in mind.
That evening, as the temperature dropped slightly, Village Chief Li convened a meeting with the people of Dingshui Village under the big locust tree at the village entrance.
"Village chief, what's wrong? It's so hot today, I really don't want to leave the house!"
Many people are complaining about the hot weather, and the longer they stay outside, the more irritable they become.
Seeing this, Village Chief Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and said irritably, "You think you're the only ones who feel hot? You think I don't feel hot?"
The weather was really hot, so Village Chief Li didn't say anything more and quickly got to the point, "I called you here because I received a message from the county magistrate. He said that a batch of grain will be transported to our county town tomorrow, and he told us to go to town to buy some if we need it."
This was inside information, and even Lord Wei wouldn't tell everyone he met. Therefore, even though their village wasn't short of food, he felt he still had to tell the villagers.
"Our village doesn't need to buy grain, right?" Liu Yazi asked quickly.
After all, their village not only had a bumper harvest of grain, but also had a great catch when they went hunting in the mountains a few days ago. They had no shortage of coarse grains, fine grains, or meat, so why bother spending money to buy grain?
"What do you know, you little brat?" Madam Ma suddenly stood up, glaring at Liu Yazi angrily, "Just because your family doesn't lack food doesn't mean other families don't."
Her family didn't harvest anything this year. The meager yield from the land wasn't even enough to feed her alone. With Lu Yancai and Lu Tianbao in the family, how could they survive without buying food?
Liu Yazi was indignant at being called a "little brat," so he immediately rolled up his sleeves and shouted, "Who are you calling a little brat? If I'm a little brat, then what are you? A fat pig?"
Although he wasn't as clever as Chen Shao, he wasn't someone to be trifled with either. It would be strange if he could tolerate Madam Ma looking down on him like that!
"You dare to insult me?" Ma stared at him in disbelief. "I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Whose mouth are you going to tear open? I'd like to see who dares to touch my Liu Yazi!" Liu Yazi's mother was displeased and immediately stood up, hands on her hips, to confront Ma Shi.
Seeing them like this gave Village Chief Li a headache, and he shouted sternly, "Enough! Go argue somewhere else, we're talking about serious business!"
His prestige in the village was growing, and Ma had been punished by him before, so he behaved himself after being yelled at like that.
Liu Yazi's mother spat at Madam Ma and stopped pressing her for an answer.
Ma was furious, but considering the status of Liu Yazi's family in the village, she could only endure it. Apart from glaring fiercely at Liu Yazi and his mother, she dared not do anything else.
Village Chief Li continued to bring up the matter of buying grain, and this time Grandpa Jiang stepped forward and said, "Although we have some grain on hand now, we don't know how long the disaster will last, so it would be better to go and buy some more grain."
After witnessing the farce, Jiang Qinyu also spoke up after hearing what Grandpa Jiang said: "I also suggest that we buy more grain. No matter what the disaster or other situation, we can feel at ease if we have grain in our hands."
The villagers of Dingshui Village do have some grain reserves now, but before the work-point system was implemented, many families owed the village grain. After paying back their debts after the harvest, they only had enough left to eat until the autumn harvest.
Moreover, there are families like Wang Pozi and Lu Yancai, who don't grow high-yield crops at all, and the grain they have might not even last until the autumn harvest, enough to eat porridge.
That's fine, but life is unpredictable. If there are any other unexpected changes, then it's uncertain whether there will be a food shortage.
In any case, Jiang Qinyu would not miss the opportunity to buy grain.
“I agree with what Grandpa Jiang and my niece said,” Village Chief Li nodded in agreement. “I was so afraid of hunger before that even though I still have some grain stored at home, I want to store more, the more the better!”
After three years of drought, their family's food supplies were almost completely depleted. They have managed to replenish their food supplies, but it is still far from enough to give them peace of mind.
Especially in this sweltering weather, Village Chief Li is really afraid that one day he will wake up to find that the water in the well and the underground river is gone. Only if they have food in hand can they calm down and make a long-term plan to find a new water source.
Several influential people in the village agreed to buy the grain, and the rest of the villagers naturally followed suit. But then a new problem arose.
“Uncle Village Chief, buying grain is no problem, but do we have enough money? Should the village buy it together, or should each family buy it on their own?” Chen Shao asked thoughtfully.
They are still using a work point system, and in March they distributed a batch of supplies and a small amount of money to everyone.
Village Chief Li gave him an approving look before turning to the others. "I called everyone here to get your opinions, like Ah Shao said, how should we buy the grain?"
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately began to discuss it.
"If you ask me, shouldn't each family decide for themselves whether to buy or how much to buy?"
"But my family only has a few taels of silver. If we use it all to buy grain, what if we need it urgently later?"
"I won't say anything else, but the magistrate only said that there will be grain for sale in the county town tomorrow. Did he mention the price? If the price is too high, should we still buy it?"
"Oh dear, now that you've mentioned it, I'm starting to think about whether I should buy it or not..."
Jiang Qinyu was unaware of the matter concerning grain prices, so when she heard someone mention it, she looked at Village Chief Li.
After everyone had finished discussing, Village Chief Li, who was sitting on the straw platform, said, "Don't worry about the price of grain. The county magistrate said that it's only 10% more expensive than before the drought, which is already a rare low price."
Before the drought, wheat cost between 80 and 100 wen per shi (a unit of dry measure), which is equivalent to only 8 to 10 wen per jin (a unit of weight). If the price were only 10% higher, it would indeed be quite cheap.
“Uncle Village Chief,” Jiang Qinyu said thoughtfully, “Did the County Magistrate say whether there are any restrictions on the purchase of grain?”
Village Chief Li thought for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "He didn't say."
“Then I suggest that the village keep one hundred taels of silver for emergencies, and use the rest to buy grain. Each family can decide how to buy according to their own circumstances,” Jiang Qinyu said earnestly.
The silver from the public coffers of Dingshui Village was used to buy grain. Even if someone's family ran out of food later, they could exchange their work points for grain in the village, so they wouldn't starve to death.
After everyone had been discussing this for so long, Jiang Qinyu finally understood that many families were still unwilling to spend money to buy grain.
After all, they used to earn very little money throughout the year, and now that they finally have some savings and their families have enough to eat, there's no need for them to spend their cash.
"Ah Zheng's method is good," Aunt Qin clapped her hands and laughed, "It not only ensures that our village will not lack food, but also allows each family to have some pocket money."
“I disagree!” Mrs. Ma shouted.
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