Chapter 80

Chapter 80

After finishing breakfast, the sun slowly rose from the east.

Zhao Xiaobao dumped the bowls, chopsticks, and washbasin into the wooden house's kitchen, then brought out the new bamboo mat her eldest brother had woven, along with a pillow, a thin quilt, and a hoe, dumping them all in a heap on the ground.

Old Man Zhao pulled over the bamboo mat and spread it out, sprinkling powder to repel snakes and insects around it.

The mountain air in the early morning still held a slight chill. Although his daughter was sturdy, Old Man Zhao worried she might catch cold. He tucked her little feet, which had been sticking out, under the quilt, patted her small body, and gently coaxed, "Sleep now. I'll wake you when I've dug up the wild pear tree."

"Mm." Zhao Xiaobao nodded obediently. Her eyes had just closed when soft snores began to escape her mouth.

Old Man Zhao couldn't help but stroke her chubby cheek. At her age, she naturally loved to sleep. After being on the move with him for two days, her little body couldn't possibly endure it. Last night, she had been dozing off the whole way, yet too afraid to sleep soundly. Only now did she finally have a chance to rest properly.

After carefully checking their surroundings and confirming everything was safe, he noted that the bamboo mat was spread right by the wild pear tree. He could see it at a glance and could rush over immediately if anything happened.

Feeling reassured, Old Man Zhao picked up the hoe beside him and began digging up the wild pear tree.

Red ground fruits and raspberries were considered small wild berries. You couldn't eat your fill of them comfortably. Even if you picked all the fruit from a full cluster of branches, it would only fill your mouth, and you could finish a summer's bounty in just two bites. Wild pears were different. Although the fruit from the wild pear tree in their village was small and tasted astringent, they had the divine land now. The divine land seemed to favor fruit trees especially. Whether it was the transplanted raspberries or the red ground fruit seeds casually buried in the soil, they all grew better than outside, and the fruit they bore was even more wonderful—big, sweet, and fragrant, just like the peach tree that constantly emitted a fruity aroma. He estimated that given a few more years and more blessings from the divine land, they might even turn into a whole new type of fruit.

Transplanting the wild pear tree inside, after a few years, the fruit it bore would surely be big, sweet, and juicy.

Just like how eating enough organ meats prevented night blindness, Old Man Zhao didn't understand why, but he firmly believed in his heart that eating more fruit was definitely good for the body. Whatever Xiaobao liked couldn't be bad.

By now, the sun had risen halfway up the sky, and it was getting a bit hot.

After digging for half an hour, the wild pear tree's roots were exposed. To transplant the fruit tree into the divine land, he had to dig it out completely. Cutting it down would also work. Xiaobao couldn't move the tree into the divine land through the soil, just as she couldn't retrieve things from inside the house through the walls. Even divine methods had their limits.

Tired from digging, Old Man Zhao paused to glance down the mountain. In the daylight, he could see clearly. Even through the dense forest, he could tell it was a walled compound. However, the layout behind the walls wasn't like the multi-courtyard residences of wealthy families in town. At first glance, there was a broad, flat open area, with corridors on both sides. These corridors weren't the decorative verandas of wealthy homes but rather rows of tightly closed rooms.

What was inside those rooms? Old Man Zhao didn't need to think to know—grain!

He was quite shocked. He had originally thought the granary Changping County had set up in Tongjiang Town was at most a grain cellar. He never expected it to be like this, covering an area nearly half the size of Sunset Glow Village. Last night, seeing the outline of the compound walls, he had already felt it was impressive and felt a sense of foreboding. Now, having climbed halfway up the mountain and standing at a higher vantage point to see the granary's vastness and grandeur, the awe in his heart was beyond words.

Was this really Changping County's granary? Was it truly just a temporary storage place for the grain taxes collected from the people?

Old Man Zhao couldn't help but doubt. In previous years when the county conscripted labor for corvée duties, they had never been sent here to build a granary. Such a massive project—could it be completed without three to five years of work? Was it possible no rumors had leaked?

Could the county afford the money and manpower to build such a granary?

This... this couldn't have been built by the prefectural city, could it?!

Startled by this sudden thought, he noticed the wild pear tree beginning to wobble precariously. Old Man Zhao quickly dropped the hoe, rushed over, and hugged the teetering tree. He hurriedly turned his head to call his daughter, "Xiaobao, Xiaobao, wake up! I've dug up the wild pear tree. Quickly put it into the divine land. We can't make too much noise..."

"Mmm." Zhao Xiaobao rolled over, got up from the mat, rubbed her eyes, shuffled over in her shoes, and moved the wild pear tree into the wooden house's courtyard. This startled the two hens and the eighteen chicks, which had already shed their downy fluff and were chirping all over the yard, causing them to flap their wings and scatter in all directions.

The wild pear tree vanished silently, leaving behind only a messy, dug-up hole where it had been.

The father and daughter, having changed their hiding spot, sat cross-legged on the mountain, their eyes fixed intently on the scene below.

After half a day of surveillance, it was clear there was little progress. The area below was as quiet as a dead mansion. If he hadn't personally seen the two gate-keeping soldiers close the main gate last night, he would have believed there was truly no one inside.

"Dad, the official's granary is so big, bigger than our home," Zhao Xiaobao said, cupping her face in her hands, her little feet swinging back and forth. The granary's main gate was as tall, thick, and sturdy as the city gate of the prefectural city, requiring a mighty push to open. "Dad, the official's threshing ground is even bigger than our village's. Do they have a lot of fields? Do they also have to cut rice and sun grain like us?"

Old Man Zhao jolted at her words, turning to look at his chubby daughter. "Threshing ground? That's a threshing ground?"

"Did Xiaobao say it wrong?" Seeing her father staring at her, Zhao Xiaobao shrank her neck in fear, pointing at the broad, flat area. "Xiaobao thought that was a threshing ground."

"Yes, that is a threshing ground. How come I didn't think of it..." Old Man Zhao suddenly understood. He had thought it was a courtyard, wondering why other people's courtyards were square while this one was long and narrow. Right, yes! That flat, spacious, stone-paved area had to be a threshing ground, a place used for sunning grain on ordinary days!

But did ordinary granaries have threshing grounds? It was for temporary grain storage before being transported away. What use was a threshing ground here?

Moreover, there were no farmland or official fields around. What was the use of a threshing ground? If not for sunning new grain, then what was being sunned... old stored grain?

Old Man Zhao couldn't help but clutch his chest, his heart pounding wildly. Just how much grain was stored inside that they needed to take it out to sun?!

He was now beginning to suspect whether those officials transporting grain here were merely storing it temporarily or if it had already reached its destination. Were they going to submit account books to the county later, or were they going to transport the actual grain?

No wonder the people from Shilin Town had all been assigned to Tongjiang Town. Although he didn't know where the 'other side' the officials mentioned was, it was clear that collecting grain taxes in Tongjiang Town was most convenient. The only ones toiling were the common people who had to carry grain from afar. The officials didn't even need donkeys; simple hand-pushed carts were enough to complete their tasks.

It was too close, really too close, requiring hardly any effort.

No wonder every year during grain tax collection, it felt like there were an unusually large number of officials in town, layered inside and out, each imposing and formidable. He had thought it was the same everywhere. Only now did he belatedly realize—this was probably special treatment for their Tongjiang Town, wasn't it??

Every year when the county conscripted labor for corvée duties, any good projects were prioritized for Tongjiang Town—road repairs, river dredging... Now it seemed it wasn't just because of the Yu family's influence; perhaps this was also a reason?

Only with roads repaired would it be convenient to transport grain.

The same went for the waterways. Every year after the autumn harvest, men from the countryside would go to the town's docks looking for work, and they almost never came back empty-handed. Thinking about it now, perhaps the large sacks they carried back then contained grain transported from various places, arriving not by land but by water.

It was shipped to Tongjiang Town, and then, like last night's grain transport team, secretly moved here in the dead of night.

There was a curfew at night. Apart from government officials, no one dared to wander about. So, conducting business at night was most convenient. This was also why even the people of Tongjiang Town didn't know there was a large granary next to them. If those above intended to keep it secret, how would those below know?

Old Man Zhao's mind was a tangled mess. After all, he was just a simple village elder with little experience. He couldn't think of anything more profound. He only thought: if the large granary down the mountain was really built by the prefectural city, then didn't that mean most of Qingzhou Prefecture's grain reserves were here?

What was a granary for? Wasn't it for disaster relief in famine years and for paying officials' salaries in peaceful times?

The earthquake at the beginning of the year had devastated Xinping's three counties, leaving less than one-tenth of the population. Several surrounding counties had also suffered varying degrees of impact. Tongjiang Town and Qinghe Town, being close, were hit hard. Not to mention distant places, just take their Sunset Glow Village—remote enough, right? Yet if not for Xiaobao's warning, his family might not have escaped either. Natural disasters struck in an instant. No matter how capable a person was, before Heaven, they were like a flea. If Heaven wanted you dead, you simply couldn't avoid it.

Such a severe disaster, with countless casualties, many villages even lost the grain seeds saved for the next spring's sowing. Yet, they never heard the county mention opening the granaries for relief.

Don't think they didn't starve because they were lucky. It was because Sunset Glow Village reacted promptly, digging out both people and belongings at the first moment. Other villages weren't as fortunate. With loved ones lost and grain destroyed, they certainly endured many days of irregular meals, sometimes hungry, sometimes barely full.

Yet even so, the county, even the prefectural city, never mentioned relief.

A large granary was right at their doorstep, yet they could watch their own people go hungry without anyone speaking up, setting up a shed, or offering a few bowls of hot porridge.

Old Man Zhao felt no joy at discovering a big secret. His heart only felt a sense of the absurd, mixed with pity. Indeed, common people's lives were worthless, utterly worthless!

They weren't even worthy of having the officials open half a granary door.

The granary down the mountain hadn't been affected by the earthquake. Its walls were incredibly sturdy. Under the sun's rays, the threshing ground Xiaobao mentioned even gleamed, indicating the use of high-quality building materials. He couldn't help but think of the carts the officials used, and his heart grew even more desolate. Really... they wouldn't even inform the common people about having such useful carts, even though they were the ones who relied on brute strength to make a living.

All the good things ended up in the hands of the officials.

Suppressing his agitated heart, Old Man Zhao led his daughter to change hiding spots again. If this place truly was the large granary built by the prefectural city, the guards would certainly be strict. Slipping inside would be nearly impossible. It might not even be safe on the mountain; there were surely patrols.

But having come all this way, returning empty-handed made Old Man Zhao somewhat unwilling, especially knowing this place might hold most of Qingzhou Prefecture's grain. His heart itched with curiosity. It was like having a mountain of gold before him. Although it didn't belong to him, surely he could look, right? There was no harm in broadening his horizons, was there?

Fortunately, perhaps because they were busy or had already patrolled the mountain yesterday, Old Man Zhao, who changed hiding spots several times during the day, spent the day safely with his daughter without incident.

The day yielded little harvest and didn't reveal the granary's guard situation. There were no patrols, no cooking smoke rose during meal times. The area below remained as quiet as a dead mansion, the high-walled compound seeming utterly empty.

But to truly believe no one was there would be like an old man hanging himself—tired of living.

Before the sun set, the father and daughter enjoyed a sumptuous evening meal: rice with minced meat sauce, a plate of cold dressed shepherd's purse, and bone broth with radish soup. The minced meat sauce and bone broth with radish were prepared by Wang-shi for her daughter. Old Man Zhao was just tagging along for a taste. He scooped a spoonful of meat sauce to mix with his rice. When it got too rich, he took a bite of the refreshing cold wild vegetables. After eating, he drank half a bowl of warm radish soup. He wouldn't trade this for an immortal's life.

After they ate, the sky had completely darkened.

As expected, there was another grain convoy that night. Torches resembled a glowing, winding dragon, snaking up the same trail from the day before.

Standing halfway up the mountain, Old Man Zhao could see everything clearly. Inside the courtyard walls, which had been quiet all day, torches suddenly lit up. Two ant-like figures appeared inside the gate, and the heavy doors slowly swung open.

Hidden behind the hillside the night before, he hadn’t been able to see clearly, but tonight he got a good look. The yamen runners were only responsible for carrying the grain inside and dumping it just inside the gate. Once they finished, they left without doing anything else. As soon as they were gone, the granary guards closed the gates. Looking down from above, Zhao could clearly see two people counting the grain, one opening a room under the corridor, and the other three hauling the sacks.

There were six granary guards in total.

If Old Man Zhao hadn’t fully grasped the scale of the grain storage facility before, he understood it now. In the latter half of the night, a second grain convoy arrived. Each cart carried several hundred catties, amounting to tens of thousands of catties of grain in a single night.

The grain from the second trip was also moved into the same room.

During the day, Old Man Zhao had seen clearly that there were two full rows of such rooms. He didn’t know the exact number, but there were at least several dozen. Even common folk knew to dig storage cellars. If this was indeed a major grain storage facility, these rooms were no ordinary structures—they likely had grain cellars dug beneath them.

If all dozens of rooms were filled with grain, it would be terrifying.

The sheer volume of grain was a number so vast he couldn’t even count it on all his family’s fingers and toes combined! The thought nagged at him: why had the refugees specifically targeted their Qingzhou Prefecture?

Was it really because Jinyu’s father had offended someone and this was the payback?

Old Man Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Thinking of the refugees still roaming around Qingzhou Prefecture, he didn’t dare think about it anymore. He lowered his head and asked his daughter, “Xiaobao, what should we do? The courtyard walls are so high—there’s no way I can climb over them.”

It was tax season, when the officials were busiest, so the granary guard was at its weakest. If they wanted to sneak in, this was the best opportunity. Soon, groups disguised as merchants would arrive from all directions. Tongjiang Town, which had flourished under the Yu family’s patronage, became the perfect cover for trade—openly conducting business while secretly transporting grain.

And the officials might even cart back sand and gravel to the county town.

Grain was transported to Tongjiang Town, while sand and gravel were moved to the county town. To any ordinary person watching, it would just look like officials escorting grain back to the county after completing their duties. If they were exposed midway, they could use the excuse, “We were already guarding against robbery and deliberately put on a show for petty thieves.”

“…” Old Man Zhao couldn’t help but scratch his head. *Well, I’ve eaten too many good things from this blessed place—I feel like I’m getting smarter in my old age.*

*How did I get so clever?*

So what should they do? He gave his daughter a little shake, hoping she would come up with an idea. “Xiaobao, what do we do? I really can’t climb over!”

In the dead of night, with the grain storage facility so vast and only six guards, he wasn’t planning to confront them—couldn’t he manage to sneak around?

But the problem was how to get in! Damn it, the courtyard walls were even higher than the city gates—he’d need to risk his life to climb over!

“Dad, Xiaobao will take you through a dog hole,” Zhao Xiaobao clenched her little fists and pointed toward the foot of the mountain. “If there’s no dog hole, Dad can dig one, and Xiaobao will crawl through!”

Once Xiaobao got in, Dad would naturally follow.