Chapter 157 The Grain Prices Rise Again

Chapter 157 The Grain Prices Rise Again

After drinking two large cups of tea, Qin Xiaoyao finally felt more comfortable.

Song Que was amused and chuckled softly.

Seeing Qin Xiaoyao look over, he suppressed his smile.

"How is the situation at your father-in-law's place?" he asked.

In his previous life, he had little interaction with the Qin family and thus knew nothing about the Zhang family or their circumstances.

But he did know that the Zhangs had gamblers and were not good people.

So, after Qin Xiaoyao left, he had been somewhat worried.

As a result, he couldn't sleep even when lying in bed earlier.

Later, he got up and practiced calligraphy.

He had waited for a long time, and thankfully, this woman had returned.

"Everything went smoothly!" Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

Then, he recounted what happened at the Qin family and the subsequent arrangements to Song Que.

"It's good that my sister-in-law is willing to raise that child; it also resolves a matter close to her heart and my brother's," Song Que commented after listening.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

"You wouldn't believe how happy my sister-in-law was. She even held my hand and thanked me later!" he said with some excitement.

Song Que smiled along.

"It seems like this trip back to your family brought you quite a bit of gain."

"Of course!"

"Now, neither my sister-in-law nor my second sister-in-law resent me anymore. My brother, my second brother, and Father all trust me very much!"

Song Que smiled again, finding himself enjoying Qin Xiaoyao's self-satisfied demeanor.

"That's good."

Qin Xiaoyao turned around with a smile, "By the way, I have something to tell you that you might not believe."

"What is it?" A glint of interest flashed in Song Que's eyes.

"Our father originally planned to stockpile grain too." Qin Xiaoyao looked at Song Que.

Song Que was taken aback, genuinely surprised.

Then, Qin Xiaoyao explained what happened with his father.

"All of Father's money was squandered by the Zhangs. In the end, my brother and second brother pooled their money to stockpile grain. Four hundred jin each, totaling eight hundred jin."

After finishing, Qin Xiaoyao looked at Song Que again.

"I estimate that if they don't have enough, we can help them out later."

"Oh, by the way, according to your prediction, how long will the famine last in Lingquan Town? Should we stockpile more grain?"

Song Que fell silent for a moment.

"The disaster is severe, probably no lighter than the drought your father experienced twenty-five years ago."

"Since it took Lingquan Town nearly three years to recover back then, this time should be similar."

In his previous life, he left with the Emperor shortly after winter began and didn't pay much attention to Lingquan Town's situation afterward, so he didn't know the details clearly.

However, the entire Hua'an Prefecture and its surrounding areas suffered from drought.

The imperial court indeed spent a lot of time providing relief and resettling refugees.

It seemed that even the following year, the court continued to allocate funds for disaster relief.

Seeing Qin Xiaoyao frown, Song Que added, "You don't need to worry too much. Lingquan Town is the largest town in Zhao County and sits on a key traffic route in Hua'an Prefecture, with many merchants passing through."

"Even if Hua'an Prefecture faces a famine and the towns temporarily lack grain, once the merchants arrive, the grain will quickly become available."

"Living in the city provides better security. Once winter passes and the snow melts, the grain shops within the city will reopen, and people shouldn't starve. However, the grain prices may remain high for a while."

At that point, it would be a test of each family's resources.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

"Three years... That's too long..."

"I'll go through our finances again and see if we can stockpile more grain. After all, once the grain prices rise, we can make a profit by reselling," Qin Xiaoyao said.

Having a prophet at home is truly beneficial. She doesn't fear such investments.

"Sure." Song Que did not object.

Stockpiling more grain is a good thing.

They chatted for a while longer before Qin Xiaoyao went to fetch the three money boxes from the house.

The result of the tally was only fifteen taels of silver.

There were quite a few copper coins left, enough to fill two large boxes.

Looking at the scattered copper coins, Qin Xiaoyao glanced at Song Que and directly assigned him the task of counting them.

"I need to prepare the preserved eggs. Please count these copper coins for me. String them in groups of one hundred. Later, I'll take some to the grain store to buy food." That way, there's no need to go to the money changer to exchange them for silver.

Song Que looked up at Qin Xiaoyao.

"Alright." He agreed.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

"Good luck, dear!" she encouraged him before leaving.

Even after the woman had been gone for a while, the sound of her cheerful laughter lingered in Song Que's mind.

He couldn't help but shake his head, dispelling his emotions, and then began to count and sort the copper coins.

After leaving the room, Qin Xiaoyao went to prepare the preserved eggs.

Before she could even get the mud ready, Lady Liu arrived in the alley.

At this time, Song Yun, Wang Xiaomei, and even the little child Song Ye were there.

"Girl, how is the matter with the Qin family? Is there anything we can help with?" Lady Liu asked with concern.

Their in-laws had helped their family a lot in the past, and now that it was their turn to face trouble, they would certainly offer assistance if they could.

"It's fine; everything has been handled," Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile.

She then explained the situation to her mother-in-law.

When she heard that Lady Zhang had been divorced and the child would be brought back to the Qin family's main house, Lady Liu sighed in relief.

"That's good. With one less troublemaker, the family will be more harmonious." She then added, "Also, try to comfort your father. Tell him to look on the bright side."

Thinking of something, Lady Liu continued, "Remind him to stay positive."

Qin Xiaoyao chuckled.

"Got it, Mother."

Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao could still laugh, Lady Liu finally felt relieved.

She comforted Qin Xiaoyao a bit more before returning to her embroidery work.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled and continued preparing the preserved eggs.

Once the preserved eggs were done, Qin Xiaoyao rested for a short while before returning to the room.

She and Song Que chatted, and laughter occasionally echoed from inside.

About half an hour later, Qin Xiaoyao came out carrying a money box.

She then went to the storage room to push a cart.

Seeing this, Song Yun asked where her sister-in-law was going.

Qin Xiaoyao simply said she was going shopping and left.

Exiting the courtyard, Qin Xiaoyao headed straight to the grain store where she had previously bought grain.

At this time, there were no other customers in the store. The clerk, seeing his "big customer" arrive, greeted her with a big smile.

"Madam Qin!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled back.

"I'm here again. This time, besides coarse rice and flour, I want to buy some soybeans."

"What are the prices like now?"

As she spoke, she moved closer and whispered, "Same as always, give me the honest price."

The clerk smiled.

"We always give Madam Qin the honest price."

"But recently, the grain prices have risen, and the owner said not to lower the prices."

Qin Xiaoyao frowned slightly.

"But Madam Qin has always supported our business. How can we treat you like others?" The clerk smiled charmingly and lowered his voice.