The pension plan of the ancient cannon fodder woman

Chapter 114 Be a middleman

Five hours later, Chen Shi came on time to collect the grain.

"My Lord, the sweet potatoes are ready."

Su He, along with three village chiefs and villagers from the three villages, waited quietly at the entrance of the village.

Everyone saw Chen Shi's team coming and immediately made way for the middle position.

Behind them was a mountain of sweet potatoes that stretched as far as the eye could see. Su He did not pack them into bags, one reason being that he did not have that many sacks, and another reason being that he was afraid that if he packed the food, Chen Shi would suspect that there was something wrong with the grain. Now that they were exposed to everyone's view, everyone could see with the naked eye that every sweet potato was fine.

Chen Shi nodded and pointed forward with his right hand casually, "Put it in a bag."

"Yes!"

The people behind came forward one by one with sacks to load sweet potatoes. Su He looked at these people. They seemed messy but were actually well-trained. They kept their heads down and worked without talking at all.

An hour later, the vehicles that Chen Shi brought were all full, and there were still a lot of sweet potatoes on the ground. Chen Shi found something wrong.

"Su Hehua, what does this mean?"

"Sir, I want to give you the extra 20,000 kilograms. The people from the three villages have discussed it. After selling the sweet potatoes, there won't be much food left, and the water won't last long. We want to hurry to Lingshui Wharf as soon as possible. I wonder if you can help me?"

Chen Shi was really curious, "As a woman, why are you taking the lead? Can you manage so many people?"

Su He pursed her lips. "He Hua was taught by the old lady in the Zhao family that when she has the energy, she should help the people around her. Unfortunately, He Hua's ability is limited, and she can only help the three villages she is familiar with. The adults are more capable than us. We peasants rely on the adults to survive. As long as we can live, who would want to die?"

Chen: No, I didn’t. Don’t be fooled by her.

Chen Shi smiled, "It's almost snowing, don't you want to spend the last New Year at home?"

"You are joking, sir. If we have a choice, who would want to leave their hometown and seek survival in another place? We can only spend this New Year in Lingshui."

Chen Shi looked at the villagers beside him who were covered in mud and whose faces could not be seen clearly. There was anxiety and reluctance in their eyes. Occasionally, when they stole a glance at Chen Shi, there was fear but also a hint of expectation in their eyes.

"Since all the sweet potatoes have been handed over, there is no problem with the sweet potatoes. You can leave if you want."

As soon as these words were spoken, the tense atmosphere around them dissipated a lot. Chen Shi looked at these peasants and they were laughing with their teeth showing. Two of them were so happy that they choked on the spot.

"Send someone to guard the rest. I'll get someone to transport them away."

"Yes."

After Chen Shi finished speaking, he rode away on his horse. He had to think about where to use the extra 20,000 kilograms.

When Wang Zhun and his companions saw Chen Shi running away, they wiped the sweat from their foreheads and asked He Hua.

"Lotus, will the master give us a name card?"

"We will give it to you, don't worry, village chief. The extra sweet potatoes given by Dahe Village this time are 80 jin, which is 100 liang, and Sanshi Village is 10 liang. Both village chiefs should keep them. As for the remaining sweet potatoes, each of our three villages will send people to guard them, and the rest of you should hurry back to pack your luggage. We will set off tomorrow morning."

"Hey."

The chiefs of the two villages took the silver and trotted back with the remaining villagers pushing the carts.

Su He watched the people walk away, took out some silver and handed it to Wang Zhun, "Our village is not giving it away for free. We sold 200 catties, so this is taels. Village chief, you can use it. When we get to Jinyang City, we can buy some medicine for the cold. Some families who don't have carts can go there to buy it."

Wang Zhun nodded while holding the silver. "Okay, I'll divide the silver and let them go shopping on their own."

Wang Zhun didn't want to keep so much silver. Everyone was trying to escape and they might get separated at any time. He had to keep his own silver.

"Okay, please tell everyone. If anyone in the village still wants to sell sweet potatoes, they can come to my house. I will pay them in cash and give them to you along with the sweet potatoes."

"Okay, Lotus, I will definitely pass it on."

Wang Zhun started running from house to house with the silver in his arms. Su He also returned home. Her family had already made preparations. All the packages, big and small, were placed on the kang in the backyard.

"Miss, the carriages have been lent to the villagers to go to the county, and the water tanks at home are full. We have 30 water bags here, all filled with boiled water. The dried meat and sweet potato are also put into the prepared cloth bags. One bag can hold two kilograms."

Su He nodded. Since the decision to move, the family has been busy. Liu Niang has not slept for a minute. After finishing her own house, she went to help next door. Now her eyes are full of bloodshot.

"Since our family is ready, you and Liu Bai can go to sleep for a while. Add more firewood to the kang and have a warm sleep. I will call you when we set off. The rest of the journey depends on you."

Liu Niang's eyes were full of anxiety. She didn't dare to sleep. Both she and Liu Bai had signed an indenture contract to sell themselves. Their masters were all fleeing from the famine. How could they survive?

"Tell Tiantian and Miaomiao to take some sleep, and you stay by their side. If they don't sleep now, they won't have a good night's sleep for the next month."

Su He called all the idiots into the house to sleep.

The door of the house was left open, because people from the three villages would come here to fetch water, so Su He watched from the kitchen. All the sweet potatoes that were exchanged for dried sweet potatoes were collected into the space by Su He when he had the chance.

By now everyone had almost figured it out. Every household in the village would keep enough food for two months at the least, and those who had enough food on a cart would keep enough for three or four months. The rest would all be given to Su He.

Willow Village was bustling again all night. These days were even busier than the autumn harvest.

After the last batch of grain was taken away, Chen Shi gave Su He two letters. "The thin one is going to Yunhe. When you meet a checkpoint on the road, show the seal on it and say it was given by the embroidered official Chen Shi. Lingshui Wharf belongs to Su'an County. I have sent someone to inform the county magistrate. When you go there, give the letter to the county magistrate and someone will arrange it. Hurry as soon as possible. There will be a lot of people on the road in a few days."

Su He took it with both hands and thanked him solemnly, "Thank you, sir. We will set off soon. I wish you all the best."

Chen Shi nodded casually and was about to mount his horse and leave. "Sir, my well is the only one with water nearby. If you need it, you are welcome to use it. Here is the key to my backyard. I give it to you."

Chen Shi glanced at the serious Su He, took the key and put it in his clothes, then turned around and rode away.