Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Lu Yuan started selling a new food item, which cost five wen apiece, more expensive than youtiao, so there were few buyers.

Most of the customers were repeat customers who had tried it a couple of days earlier.

For those who spent four wen at the stall, Lu Yuan would still throw in a small serving of spicy tofu skin as a complimentary treat.

Some who had sampled it, after learning it could keep for two days, still ended up buying a portion.

In one evening, she sold only about twenty portions.

After closing the stall at night, Lu Yuan paid Hu Qiniang her day's wages.

By the time everything was hauled back, it was already late at night, so she obviously wasn’t going home. Moreover, the granny knew what her grandson was up to. After the last bout of illness, Lu Yuan didn’t dare let her stay home alone worrying.

When she came to the night market at noon, she had brought an extra blanket, so they made it work for sleeping.

However, the bed here was only this big, so they had to sleep crosswise. They placed a few stools by the bed for the adults to put their feet on.

The noise from moving things back after closing the stall inevitably woke the people inside, so the old lady soothed the two children by patting them.

A while later, after a quick cleanup, Lu Yuan entered the room with a lantern.

The old lady glanced up at her.

Lu Yuan said, “Don’t mind me, Granny, go back to sleep.”

The old lady nodded and said, “You should get some rest early too.”

From the sound of her voice, it seemed the old lady hadn’t slept much in the first half of the night.

Lu Yuan replied, “Granny, don’t worry so much. You should get some sleep early too.”

After drinking some water, Lu Yuan got into bed and shared a blanket with Chun Hua.

Sleeping squeezed together wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was quite warm.

She slept through the night without any dreams. In the morning, not feeling up to making breakfast, Lu Yuan simply slung a basket on her back and took the old lady and the two children to the east market to have lamb offal soup with noodles, also taking the chance to buy some groceries.

While having breakfast, the old lady said, “I’m thinking that when spring comes, we could plant some vegetables in that small patch of empty land in the yard. Also, Sheng Geer brought the rooster and chickens yesterday. After spring comes, we can hatch some chicks and raise them for eggs, so we won’t have to buy vegetables every day.”

Lu Yuan said, “The weather has been good lately. Let’s buy about ten pounds of meat later to make sausage.”

The old lady nodded, “That’ll work too.”

Keeping busy is good—it keeps your mind from worrying.

After breakfast, they bought groceries and returned home.

Back at home, the two of them started chopping and mixing the meat, and washing the casings, keeping themselves occupied.

Qi Cheng, along with the Deputy Magistrate, led fifty men. To avoid raising alarm, they split into several small teams and left the city, heading toward Anping Town.

They all waited for news about three miles outside Anping Town, while Qi Cheng and a few others went on ahead to scout.

Qi Cheng walked around the hills near Anping Town and noticed that the wild grass showed trample marks to varying degrees.

He crouched down to carefully examine the crushed grass in the vicinity.

The mountain forests were usually rarely traveled, so if there were numerous signs of trampling, it indicated that people had been moving through the area regularly.

The trampling here wasn’t caused by just one or two people; it looked more like the traces left by seven or eight individuals.

Seeing this, Qi Cheng’s expression turned serious.

The possibility of bandits planning to massacre the town, which had previously been estimated at 50-60%, now seemed seventy percent likely.

Qi Cheng stood up and said to the others, “Search the area for more trampled grass. Based on the extent and pattern of the damage, try to determine the number of people who passed through. Regroup here in two ke.”

Without another word, the men split up to search.

Qi Cheng also went to check other areas.

Two ke later, everyone regrouped. Qi Cheng sent two men in plain clothes into Anping Town to keep watch, while he hurried back to report the details.

Qi Cheng found Deputy Magistrate Yang and explained what he had observed.

Qi Cheng said, “From what I know, Anping Town is under the control of the Qingtou Stronghold. Other strongholds aren’t allowed to cross into their territory. The Qingtou Stronghold only has about two to three hundred men, so it’s unlikely they could massacre the town on their own. Even though Anping Town is small, it has around a thousand residents, and the town patrol alone numbers about a hundred. Trying to wipe out the entire town would only result in heavy losses on both sides.”

He added, “I suspect that several strongholds may have joined forces to oppose the Public Office.”

Deputy Magistrate Yang wasn’t shocked. “I anticipated this. When these scoundrels are cornered, they’ll band together for self-preservation.”

Having a military background, Deputy Magistrate Yang didn’t need to consult others to make a judgment.

He immediately wrote a letter and summoned a trusted subordinate.

Handing the letter over, he instructed, “Take this message to Tutoupo as fast as possible and deliver it personally to General Yang.”

The subordinate took the letter, gave a quick salute, and hurried off to find a fast horse before riding off quickly.

Deputy Magistrate Yang then dispatched someone with orders to Anping Town, instructing them to discreetly beef up their defenses.

After arranging these matters, he turned to Qi Cheng. “You know the surrounding hills best. Start building a sand table now. If anything seems off, point it out. Also, mark the areas that are easy to hide in or set up ambushes.”

Qi Cheng nodded and began working on the sand table alongside him.

Surprise attacks usually happened at night, so they had to prepare for the worst—that Anping Town could be attacked at any moment.

With three days left until the New Year, there was still no word from Qi Cheng, but life had to go on.

Although the old lady sighed daily and visibly grew more haggard, fortunately, after her previous serious illness, her health had improved significantly, and she showed no signs of weakness.

Lu Yuan spent her free time these days peeling sugarcane and boiling it down into sugar.

Qi Cheng had brought back nearly two hundred jin of sugarcane. With him away, the work fell entirely on her, exhausting her.

Every day was spent either peeling sugarcane or extracting its juice. She was too tired to turn the millstone anymore, so she had Hu Qiniang come at noon to help with the grinding, paying her twenty-five wen each time.

Grinding was strenuous work, different from assisting with other tasks, so it warranted higher pay.

Hu Qiniang, who only cooked one meal for others at noon and had free time in the afternoons, gladly took on the job.

With Qi Cheng away for several days, Lu Yuan stopped taking the old lady to the night market.

As the New Year approached, the weather turned warmer, and the night market became twice as crowded as before, bustling with nonstop activity.

Lu Yuan was constantly frying youtiao and tofu, while Hu Qiniang helped with packing, serving food, clearing tables, and washing dishes.

The two tables were always full.

"Proprietor, come over here for a moment," a customer suddenly called out.

Hu Qiniang hurried over and asked, "What can I get for you?"

The man replied, "Could you package this spicy tofu skin as gifts? Make the packaging attractive. I’d like six orders and will pick them up on the evening of Lunar New Year’s Day."

During the period from the first to the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, as well as the Lantern Festival, they could set up night markets regardless of whether it was an even or odd day.

Hu Qiniang said, "Just a moment, I’ll go ask the boss."

Hu Qiniang approached Lu Yuan and told her the customer’s request.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan said, "That’s fine, but we need half payment upfront."

Hu Qiniang turned back and informed the customer. The deposit for six orders came to twenty wen.

As the customer was a regular, he paid it right away.

After receiving the deposit, Lu Yuan got an idea.

Perhaps they really could turn this into a gift item.

The thought crossed her mind, and she quickly went back to work.

With the busy day, they had prepared more food than usual and didn’t close the stall until midnight.

When Hu Qiniang’s husband got off work, he came to help clean up. Lu Yuan watched the stall while the couple used a small cart to transport the tables and chairs back home, followed by the assorted kitchenware.

After everything was moved back, she paid Hu Qiniang. Once the couple had left, she immediately locked up.

As a woman alone at home, with few neighbors around, she was nervous.

The courtyard was quiet, and although faint sounds from the night market could still be heard, Lu Yuan found the silence unusually eerie.

She liked hustle and bustle and disliked the current atmosphere—so quiet it felt as if she were the only person left, making her feel lonely.

This was the first time since her crossing over months ago that she had spent the night alone, and she really missed Qi Cheng.

She wondered how he was doing now.

She had intended to go to Fatuo Temple to pray for a safety charm but hadn’t gone yet.

No, she decided, tomorrow she must go to Fatuo Temple with the old lady to pray for safety.

Since she had crossed over, she had to believe that ghosts, monsters, gods and Buddhas existed.

By the time Lu Yuan finished washing up and lay down in bed, it was already a quarter past midnight.

Although she had earned more money that night than usual, she didn’t feel like counting it.

Massaging her sore arms, she fell asleep quickly.

On the 28th day of the lunar month, Lu Yuan and the old lady took the two children to Fatuo Temple, where they donated one hundred wen as incense offering.

Wanting more blessings, Lu Yuan requested five safety charms and an extra one for wealth.

Finally, as she bowed before the large Buddha statue, Lu Yuan quietly prayed for the safety of her family in another world.

She also hoped that the real Su Liniang hadn’t died but had instead become her and continued living in her world.

After all, she hadn’t been in a major accident and was likely still alive.

After praying for safety, as they left the temple, the old lady said to her granddaughter-in-law, "It’s been several days with no news from Sheng Geer. Should we stop by the Public Office on our way back and ask?"

Lu Yuan replied, "My husband is traveling discreetly with the Deputy Magistrate. It’s best not to ask too many questions to avoid drawing attention."

"Besides, no news is good news."

The old lady thought it over and felt her granddaughter-in-law was right, so she dropped the idea of inquiring at the Public Office.

Moreover, her granddaughter-in-law was right.

The fact that there was no news around town meant everything was still peaceful and nothing had happened yet.

After leaving Fatuo Temple, they returned home on the ox-cart they had come in.

When they arrived home, their neighbor Aunt Lu had just delivered the fish.

Aunt Lu’s two sons helped carry the fish into the courtyard. After weighing them one by one, the total came to seventy-six wen at five wen per pound.

Seven fish took two wooden basins to hold.

The old lady paid Aunt Lu.

Aunt Lu said, "The Chen family will butcher a sheep tomorrow morning. Make sure to go early—you can get some sheep’s blood and offal."

The old lady replied, "When you go tomorrow, bring me with you."

Aunt Lu agreed, carefully counted the money, and said, "That’s correct."

Then, curious, she asked, "Where’s your grandson? I haven’t seen him around lately."

The old lady and Lu Yuan had already prepared an explanation. The old lady replied, "There’s some business in the countryside. He went to help and probably won’t be back until after the New Year."

Aunt Lu exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, so he won’t make it back for the New Year’s Eve dinner?"

Lu Yuan, who was watching the children look at the fish in the basin, overheard Aunt Lu’s words.

If he couldn’t make it back for the New Year’s Eve dinner, it was likely the bandits would strike when the firecrackers went off on New Year’s Eve.

The sound of firecrackers would drown out all cries of fear and calls for help. By the time anyone realized what was happening, it would be too late.

If that were the case, Qi Cheng really wouldn’t return until after the New Year.

The old lady smiled and said, "We can have the meal anytime. What’s happening back home is more important."

Aunt Lu said, "It sounds like quite a serious matter. Well, I won’t pry. If your family needs any help, just come to us."

The old lady smiled and said, "Our water vat is almost empty."

Aunt Lu laughed, "Alright, alright, I’ll have it filled for you."

She then called out over the wall to her own courtyard, "Da Lu, Xiao Lu, come here and fill Grandma He’s water vat in the courtyard."

Lu Yuan silently admired the old lady for her boldness in directly asking for help.