Chapter 147: Informing

Sangluo and the two kids had always used purchased grain. Especially since the first grain requisition, they bought a large quantity through Xu Zhanggui, all packaged in big grain sacks, so they had saved quite a few empty bags.

Grain sacks are valuable. In the Daqian Dynasty, where even cloth could be as precious as silver, having a grain sack meant you could modify it into a garment for warmth and modesty. Plus, Sangluo, who relied on the mountains and often ventured into them, needed various containers, so she treasured every empty grain sack and brought them all when fleeing to the mountains.

After realizing their grain might have been tampered with, other families mended their sacks, but Sangluo was more cautious, swapping the torn sacks for empty ones. She folded the torn sacks neatly, without repairing them.

Now, the torn sack was handed over to Chen Popo exactly as it was.

Rural families, from the beginning to the end of the year, are most vigilant about rats. They are all too familiar with the signs of rat bites, not even needing a reference to tell; a quick glance is enough to discern the truth.

This sight made Chen Popo both angry and amused.

"Despicable!"

Chen Lao Han, Chen You Tian, Qin Fang Niang, and Chen Da Shan had also followed Shen Lie inside. Hearing Chen Popo's remark, Chen Lao Han looked at the grain sack in his wife's hand.

At first puzzled, but as Chen Popo passed the sack for everyone to see, Chen Lao Han realized, "This sack wasn't bitten by rats?"

Chen Popo scoffed, "Some people don't want to be honest and upright, preferring to act like sneaky rats."

Qin Fang Niang, examining the torn sack passed to her, was incredulous, thinking - how foolish does one have to be to do such a thing?

In this valley, there are only a few families. Having fled here together, everyone knows each other well, don't they?

The Xu, Shen, and Zhou families are relatively less in need of grain.

Sangluo doesn't need to be mentioned; not only is she the victim of the lost grain, but her background and character also wouldn't allow such actions. The Xu family has the most grain in the valley, including fine grains and beans, to enrich their diet. The Zhou family, though not wealthy, is a well-educated and reputable family in Shili Village. Even the two daughters-in-law in their family come from decent backgrounds. They have more grain than most because of their extensive land and frequent purchases, so they don’t lack grain.

The Shi, Chen, and Lu families are similar in status. The Chen family, having been the first to do business with Sangluo and later supplying to Dongfulou, has slightly more savings.

As for the Shi and Lu families, the Shi family has fewer members, while the Lu family, particularly the senior branch, has more, but Lu Lao Han and Lu Popo considered this when dividing the family's grain, ensuring the senior branch wasn't too hard-pressed. The slight deficiency compared to other families in the valley is only relative, and with Lu Er’s hunting skills, the gap is narrowed.

But that's just a minor detail.

When Qin Fang Niang saw that sack, combined with her mother-in-law's recent remarks, the first person who came to mind was Wang Chunniang.

Why?

Is it because she’s the poorest?

Actually, no.

In terms of lacking grain, if we consider the long term, someone in the valley might be in need, but currently, who would be short of grain? They all stored grain early and even avoided the recent tax levy, which puts them in a much better situation than most people outside.

The first reaction to suspect Wang Chunniang is because of her character.

Family circumstances are just one aspect of the analysis. It's the character and mutual understanding between the families that led everyone to instinctively suspect Wang Chunniang first.

Yes, also thanks to her previously leaking information about each family’s grain storage to her maternal family.

Simply put, Wang Chunniang is the only one in this group who isn’t trusted, included reluctantly and with necessary precautions against her potential mischief.

Didn’t the Lu family, as a precaution, gag her and tie her up inside their house during the New Year’s period?

And who lost the grain? It was Sangluo. Anyone with a brain would know, among the six families in the valley, five owe Shen Lie and Sangluo favors, and would willingly give them grain. Who would tamper with Shen Lie and Sangluo’s grain?

Apart from Wang Chunniang, who has a prior record, who else could do such a thing?

Thus, with this incident of the lost grain, except for the Xu family who were less aware of previous events, any other family in the valley would first think of Wang Chunniang.

Such an obvious thing, how could anyone still dare to do it? Qin Fangniang was dumbstruck.

Chen Dashan clenched his teeth, realizing why Shen Lian came up with this plan this morning. They’ve been risking their lives since November, mostly in the deep forests, managing everyone’s provisions.

And now, they come back to find out that their stored grains were stolen using the excuse of rats.

Hmph.

It’s not like they are your parents or ancestors, and yet you still have to worry about feeding them.

Old Chen asked Sang Luo, “Were only these two bags tampered with by humans?”

Sang Luo nodded, “Only these two in my house, and three in the Xu family. But the old lady Xu is not familiar with the signs of rat gnawing. It was too troubling to discuss without catching the thief red-handed, so I waited for Shen Lian to return.”

Chen’s wife remembered something, “When you first brought our grain home, you came to my place. Were you checking our grain bags? Did you check the other families too?”

Sang Luo smiled, “I can’t hide anything from you. Only our family and the Xu family had bags deliberately torn.”

Qin Fangniang looked puzzled, muttering, “Why would anyone choose to steal from your two families?”

Chen’s wife’s lips drooped, “Envy and gluttony. Aluo’s and Xu's households have the most refined grains. That doesn't mean she didn't steal from others. It’s just that the others mostly lost beans, and she probably craved refined grains more.”

“Thinking back, the grains we thought we lost to mountain rats might have been stolen by her too.”

Old Chen looked at Sang Luo and Shen Lian, “Have you thought about how to handle this?”

Shen Lian glanced at Sang Luo before saying, “When we initially involved several families in storing grains, and the news leaked to the Wang family, we were concerned about Lu Erlang's wife being a troublemaker. We couldn't predict her actions, but considering the other Lu family members and their involvement, we couldn’t just exclude her. We decided, after moving the grains, to keep all medicines with us. Without saying more, we cannot let her leave the valley easily.”

Old Chen nodded, “Indeed, some people are unpredictable, like this grain theft. Who in their right mind does such a thing?”

We can't kill her, so the best way to handle this is to restrict her movements and prevent her from causing trouble for everyone.

Shen Lie continued, “That was the original plan. But now, I don't want to take anyone from the elder branch of the Lu family out of Yun Valley anymore.”

He looked at Old Chen and said, “I suspect Mrs. Lu from the elder branch is responsible for this, although Hu Zi and the others are good-natured. Uncle Lu and Shuan Zhu, like us, were busy outside and only returned last night, probably unaware of what happened. But I can't be at peace if she doesn't learn her lesson harshly. Since she stole food, let her watch others eat.”

Old Chen agreed, noting that Mrs. Lu, despite being punished before, hadn’t learned her lesson. At least they won’t starve, being able to farm.

He asked Shen Lie, “What about the Lu family? Shouldn't they know about this? It's easier if they keep an eye on her while living in the valley.”

Pointing to the two bags in his children’s hands, he added, “Since we didn’t catch her in the act and you two are younger, you don’t need to confront her. Just give us the bags, and I'll ask my granddaughter to call over Old Mr. and Mrs. Lu. They should understand without us having to spell it out.”

Shen Lie and Sangluo exchanged a glance, with Sangluo nodding in agreement.

Shen Lie said, “Alright, we'll leave it to you, Grandfather and Grandmother.”

Old Chen chuckled, not lingering, and left the cave with his family to handle the matter.

Shen An and Shen Ning, along with Chen Ershan and Chen Xiaoya, were outside the Chen family’s cave. Old Mrs. Chen called out, “Xiaoya, come here.”

Chen Xiaoya ran over, “Yes, Grandma, what’s up?”

“Hmm,” Old Mrs. Chen responded, “Could you go to Mrs. Lu and ask her to help me make some soybean paste? Tell Old Mr. Lu to come too; I need to discuss something about the fields with him.”

Without a second thought, Chen Xiaoya cheerfully agreed and ran off to deliver the message.

Shen An watched the adults closely, his eyes reflecting deep contemplation.

……

The Lu family hadn’t gone far yet and were just turning the corner inside the valley.

The elder branch of the Lu family came out today, consisting of Lu Dalang, Wang Chunniang, Shuanzhu, and Huzi.

The family of four seemed somewhat downcast. Wang Chunniang wanted to say something along the way, but Lu Dalang glared at her several times. Remembering her mother-in-law's previous threat of divorce, she reluctantly kept quiet.

Shuanzhu, however, tried to negotiate with Old Mr. and Mrs. Lu, “Grandpa, Grandma, I don’t need to switch with Uncle San. I can go out on my own. I think I can handle it if I practice archery more. I've faced wolves before and even managed to injure them.”

Although, most of the time, it was his Uncle Er and Shen Lie who provided the main support, there were a few times when he did manage to wound wolves.

The family couldn’t just sit back and not search for food. What if the chaos lasted a long time?

Shuanzhu believed that with practice, he would become proficient and his family would have someone capable of venturing outside. So, he tried to argue his case.

Wang Chunniang listened intently.

She was still worried about her son getting hurt. She had encountered wolves several times since entering the mountains early and had seen Chen Youtian and others get injured. Now, she felt that without Shen Lie’s poisoned arrows, wolves would be much harder to kill and more terrifying.

But she also wanted to hear her mother-in-law's opinion to see if there was any room for negotiation. She thought if Shuanzhu went out with them, surely Uncle Er, Uncle San, Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, and Shi Dalang wouldn’t neglect a young boy like her son in danger.

If Shuanzhu was the only teenager in the group, everyone might take extra care of him. Like the women and children before, they could climb trees in dangerous situations, waiting for the men to handle the threat before coming down. If that were the case, it seemed much less dangerous.

In just a short time, Wang Chunniang's mind had already been buzzing with calculations.

While she was deep in thought, Old Man Lu furrowed his brows, interrupting her train of thought.

"Wait until you've properly honed your skills before you even think of going out. If you face danger, will others save you or will you just be a burden?"

If it were his eldest son going out, he would have no objections, but for his not-yet-grown grandson, it was clear advantage-seeking. Saying this, he glanced at Lu Dazhang.

Shuanzhu was momentarily stunned, slowly realizing the implication of his grandfather's unfinished sentence, his face flushing with embarrassment: "Grandpa, I didn't mean to take advantage."

He quickly corrected himself: "I'll practice first, and once I’m good enough, I'll join the others outside."

Lu Dazhang, completely oblivious to the glance from his father, advised his son: “Actually, farming is also a good option. Taking care of the crops well, living peacefully in the valley is quite nice. We could plant more vegetables on those frames, eat modestly, and whether or not we go out isn’t a big deal.”

Forgoing meat in favor of safety seemed a more important choice to Lu Dazhang.

Shuanzhu glanced at his father, remembering his uncle's retort to his father earlier, and recalling the commotion caused by his mother the previous year, which ultimately led his uncle to enlist. Feeling somewhat uneasy, he said: "I’ll start practicing."

Hu Zi chimed in from the side: "Brother, I’ll practice with you too."

Old Lady Lu watched Wang Chunniang with a cold gaze, about to speak, when suddenly a young girl called out to her from behind.

The family stopped in their tracks, turning to wait for Chen Xiaoyi.

As Chen Xiaoyi approached, she said with a smile, "Old Mrs. Lu, my grandmother mentioned she wanted to make soybean paste and requested your help to check on it."

Hearing about making soybean paste, Old Mrs. Lu chuckled, proud of her expertise in the task. Smiling, she agreed, "Sure, I'll come and help."

She then turned to Old Man Lu and mentioned, "I'll be heading over there."

But Chen Xiaoyi wasn't finished and added with a grin, "Oh, Old Mrs. Lu, there's more. My grandfather also wants to discuss some farming matters with Old Man Lu."

Puzzled, Old Mrs. Lu asked, "Why didn’t he mention it just now?"

Chen Xiaoyi shrugged, scratching her head in confusion, "Maybe he just thought of it?"

“Alright, let's go together,” Old Mrs. Lu decided.

The elderly couple didn’t bother returning to their home but told Lu Er and others to continue with their tasks. They then turned to follow Chen Xiaoyi back.