Chapter 184

Chapter 184

Today was fortunate—they were among the last batch to be inspected for entry into the city.

Grain on the donkey cart was rummaged through by the soldiers carrying out inspections, who nitpicked openly and subtly, interrogating them multiple times. Even though they clearly knew the sacks contained grain, one still drew his blade to stab them. Sun Silang, seeing this, quickly produced a half-sack of dried goods prepared in advance and quietly shoved it into the "rejected" pile. The soldier in front, clutching the travel permit, finally nodded and waved his arm, letting them through.

It's harder to deal with petty demons than the King of Hell. For common folk with nothing, even if officials poked their bundles full of holes and found no coin, they had to let them go. No matter how furious, they had no choice but to let them go.

Ma Erniang and her group, with both a donkey cart and a handcart carrying grain, couldn't escape without being stripped of a layer of skin, or at least pay a steep price to be left alone.

No matter how furious they were inside, it was useless. There was nothing they could do; one word that their permit was fake would leave them with no way to survive.

Seeing how they'd prepared a single sack of dried goods in advance, it was clear they were used to such dealings.

Zhao Dashan watched from afar, feeling like he'd learned a lesson—but just that. His mood wasn't great. Even the imposing soldiers in armor, holding spears and shields, didn't seem as lofty as before.

They intimidated refugees but also oppressed the common people.

"Dashan, do you think Er Niang's plan will work?" Zhao Sanwang asked, worried. They were strangers in Fengchuan Prefecture, with no idea if people would trust them. Transporting grain—that was grain, after all. They weren't real escort guards, and they had no escort agency. This line of work depended entirely on reputation.

They didn't even have a pot right now. Could they really get their hands on this steady gig?

"Wait and see." Only after watching their family's figures disappear through the city gate did Zhao Dashan turn away and say to them, "Let's go. Find a quiet place to rest for the night."

"Mm." The Shi Brothers, knowing the drill, didn't wait for them and rushed to push the handcart.

...

Once inside the city, they walked for about half an hour before finally arriving home.

The Sun family's rented courtyard was on South City's Sanzhu Alley—a single-courtyard small yard, with a low gate that even a tall man standing outside could see inside.

The gate was bolted from within. Judging by the hour, Sun Xuyang, who studied at the academy, must have returned.

Sure enough, hearing noise outside, the reading inside paused. As the door opened, Sun Xuyang's still-juvenile voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Xu Geer, it's your First Uncle and Second Uncle!" The two brothers, Sun Dalang and Sun Erlang, answered before Ma Erniang and her husband could. Hearing their nephew's gentle, quiet voice, they missed him dearly. Sun Dalang couldn't hold back a smile and called out, "Xu Geer, your First Uncle brought you food! Open the door quick!"

"First Uncle! Second Uncle!" Sun Xuyang's face lit up with joy as he hurried to open the door. "Are my parents back too?"

"Yes, we're all back!" Sun Erlang responded cheerfully.

At that moment, Sun Xuyang also heard his parents' voices. Overjoyed, he saw them chatting with neighbors.

As the door opened, he spotted his two uncles at the entrance, and, forgetting his parents for a moment, went over to greet them.

He wore a square cap and a small blue long gown—a miniature version of a scholar. His face was fair, his posture refined, and he looked at them with familiar joy: "First Uncle, Second Uncle, Uncle Tian, Uncle Kan!"

"Ah!" Shi Datian and Shi Erkan responded with sheepish grins, rubbing their sweaty hands, a bit awkward but very happy. "Xu Geer, your uncle brought you eggs and cured meat. Studying uses up your brain—you need to eat well to nourish yourself."

Oh, what a clean, fair child! So different from the wild little monkeys in the village. Admiration shone in both their eyes.

"Thank you, Uncle Tian and Uncle Kan. Studying isn't hard for me; it's you who work hard tending the fields. This heat makes you sweat buckets every day. You should be nourishing yourselves!" Sun Xuyang tried to act like a little adult for a moment, but being young, he grinned, unable to hold back his joy at seeing long-unseen relatives. He leaned in, poked the sack with his finger, and said excitedly, "Are these this year's new grain from home?"

"Yes, this year's new grain. Your parents brought it along on this trip." Sun Dalang felt a bit uncomfortable under the stares around him. He was sensitive to prying eyes, and it seemed the neighbors' gazes were glued to the handcart. "Xu Geer, step aside. Let your First Uncle lead the donkey into the yard—it's been a long day, let it rest too."

"Alright." Sun Xuyang quickly moved two steps aside.

Seeing his mother surrounded by a crowd, he wanted to go over, but noticed his father, back to the people, giving him a meaningful glance. His steps faltered.

He blinked. Sun Silang blinked back. Father and son had a silent exchange.

Sun Xuyang then turned to help his First Uncle remove the threshold step, looking as nimble as someone used to chores at home.

South City was densely packed with houses. A single alley might hold over a dozen families. To make more money, some landlords would pack two or three families into one courtyard—you could step on someone's foot just turning around. Living space was extremely limited, nothing like the spacious countryside.

The residents of Sanzhu Alley included families like the Suns with children studying in the prefectural city, craftsmen who could make a living in the city, and those who had lived there for generations—a small yard passed from father to son, son to grandson, and so on.

It was dinnertime. The early eaters had finished and were strolling in the yard to digest.

There were also those who didn't sit at the table, squatting on the doorstep with bowls in hand. When Ma Erniang's donkey cart appeared at the mouth of the alley, countless eyes turned their way.

They were all old neighbors. Everyone knew that Ma Erniang's maternal family had suffered calamity—she'd been going to the refugee camp outside the city every day looking for them. Earlier she'd said she found them and had gone to the ward chief to get a permit to leave the city, saying she was taking her sister's family to the village to settle down.

Lately, they often gossiped among themselves, saying Ma Erniang was too bold—whether going out to the refugee camp to search or traveling with her family to the village, she risked meeting refugees who might steal the cart or even kill her.

To risk her own life for her sister's family—was it sisterly love or just foolishness?

But now, she had returned. Not only was she safe, but she'd brought back a lot of grain this time. Look at those sacks—how many pounds of rice and flour were inside?

Word spread through the alley. People stopped eating, bowls in hand, and shouted out: "Erniang, you're back! Oh, we've been so worried about you all this time! How much grain did you bring back from the countryside? Look at that handcart piled high—and the cart must be full too, right?"

That shout was loud enough to make sure everyone heard.

Ma Erniang had expected this. Surrounded by the crowd, she didn't panic. She listened as they complained that grain prices had gone up another copper and that they'd queued all morning without buying any. They asked about the situation outside the city, whether the countryside was safe, and how chaotic it was... Then their questions turned to how much grain she'd brought, if there were any extras, and whether she could sell them a few dou or so to get by.

After the neighbors had all spoken, and seeing they were about to follow her into the yard, Ma Erniang's smile dimmed a little. In a calm, unhurried tone, she said, "How could it not be chaotic? The city's packed with refugees, their eyes hungry as they watch anyone entering. If not for the soldiers, I wouldn't have dared go out even if you gave me eight lives."

"Whether the countryside is in chaos, I can't say for sure. I didn't go to other villages—I stayed put at home and dared not wander, not even to the market. We encountered many refugees on the road, all fleeing toward the prefectural city. They say there are porridge stalls outside—probably everyone heard the news and came for that."

"Then how dare you transport so much grain back? Weren't you afraid of being robbed on the road?" The old woman who had first shouted, holding a bowl scraped cleaner than her face, looked at Ma Erniang as if she were a fool.

Had Ma Erniang been fooling them all this time with her clever front? Was she actually an idiot?

"I wouldn't dare, but others do." Ma Erniang smiled, as if offhandedly. "There are plenty of clever people out there. With grain shops in the city raising prices daily, a new business has popped up outside—serving people like us who can't leave the city."

"What business?"

"What business could we have others do for us? Hah, don't tell me someone's selling grain outside the city gate? Aren't they afraid of offending the big grain merchants in the city?"

"Yeah, is anyone really that bold?"

Large and small businesses in the city—whether raising or lowering prices—always send word to each other privately. "You raise, I'll keep steady to attract customers"—that would never happen. Anyone who dared would have their shop closed within two days.

Everyone making a living in the prefectural city was sharp and shrewd. Even the old woman with her bowl and missing teeth chuckled, thinking Ma Erniang was making excuses—just trying to avoid them coveting her grain.

Seeing their reaction, Ma Erniang shook her head, said nothing more, and stepped into the yard.

"Hey, why are you leaving? You haven't told us what this business is!"

"Is it really that chaotic outside the city?"

"Go see for yourself if you don't believe me."

"Oh, listen to you—if I dared go out, would I be fighting for rice at the grain shop? I have five or six mu of land in the countryside..."

Sun Dalang had just unloaded the handcart and was moving the sacks when several women followed Erniang into the yard. His face tightened.

City folks were even less refined than villagers! They entered someone's home without even being invited!

Several women pretended not to see the disdain in Sun Dalang's eyes, directly circling the cart for a look. They were truly envious—these sacks of grain were bulging, at least a few hundred jin (about 330 lbs). Thinking of the current grain prices in the city, even knowing they might be unwelcome, one of them couldn't help but speak: "Er Niang, we've been neighbors for years, so I won't beat around the bush. I see you've brought back a lot of grain this trip. If you have any extra, could you sell me some?"

The woman speaking had a round face, a silver hairpin in her hair, and hands that were neither delicate nor rough, showing she usually lived quite comfortably.

Her husband was a skilled carpenter, carving birds and snakes that looked alive. He ran a shop in the southern part of the city, selling wardrobes and wooden chests, and business was usually decent.

Ma Erniang paused at this. She knew a bit about that woman's situation: the husband earned well, but they had many children and high daily expenses. The couple owned land in the countryside, and after moving to the city, they had given the fields to relatives in their hometown to farm, expecting a share of the harvest each year.

Now, their situation was similar: the folks back home dared not go out, and they in the city dared not return. So even though they had grain back home, they couldn't reach it, and had to buy expensive grain from the shops.

And even buying was a problem—if you could even get any. Worst of all, you might have money but still find nothing.

Ma Erniang knew it was a good business because she understood that many in the city didn't show it, but they were secretly panicking.

If this problem wasn't solved, over time, things would only get worse. Then there would be only two options: buy grain at sky-high prices, or risk leaving the city.

Seeing her silent, the woman grew anxious: "Er Niang, I won't take advantage of you. I'll pay whatever the grain shop charges, even two wen (about 2 coppers) more if needed. I'm truly at my wit's end. I've run to several shops these past two days. You don't know this since you were in the village, but now there are more people buying grain than refugees outside the city. If you don't line up before dawn, you can't get in. When it's finally my turn, the clerk just puts up a sign and says they're sold out. It's infuriating!"

"Yes, Er Niang, we won't cheat you. Whatever the shop price, we'll pay it. Please, auntie begs you, sell me a few dou. The children are crying from hunger all day. We adults can bear it, but my little girl is only a year and a half. Her mother weaned her early, and now she has no rice porridge to eat."

"Er Niang..."

They all spoke at once, each with their own troubles.

But who doesn't have difficulties? In this world, everyone swallows bitterness.

Seeing her husband carrying a bucket out of the yard, and her son helping the uncles, Ma Erniang decided to take them to the main room. She pulled out chairs and invited them to sit, then sat down herself to take a moment before saying: "Aunt Su, Aunt Ye, Rongxuan's mother... this puts me in a tough spot."

The women's faces changed slightly, expressions souring.

Ma Erniang pretended not to notice and continued: "Don't get angry now. My words might be harsh, but please hear me out. Aunt Su, your family has over a dozen mouths. How many meals will three dou of grain last? If I sell to you today, and you come back tomorrow when it's gone, then what? Even if I had a thousand jin of grain, it wouldn't be enough to sell."

"Besides, if I sell to you, and others hear and come knocking, what do I do?"

Aunt Su went stiff: "We won't tell anyone."

Ma Erniang smiled but said nothing.

The round-faced woman, Aunt Ye, spoke up with some embarrassment: "Er Niang, I'm sorry. This is really hard for you. I understand your worries, but seeing our rice jar empty day by day, and failing to buy grain, I'm just so desperate that I came to bother you."

"Aunt Ye, so we need a solution. Whether buying from shops or other routes, it's not a long-term solution." The "other routes" naturally referred to her own plan.

Ma Erniang knew that refusing so bluntly would make them unhappy. But she had to be direct; some people never take hints. If you're polite and vague, they'll laugh it off and keep bothering you.

She didn't want to be harassed later. She did embroidery at home and couldn't handle noise or distractions.

"What way?" Aunt Ye tilted her head toward the grain in the yard, eyes wide: "So you weren't joking earlier? That kind of business really exists?"

"This isn't new." Ma Erniang laughed. "The armed escort services in the city. As long as you pay, they'll deliver goods and people anywhere."

"What? Armed escort services? Not grain merchants?" the women exclaimed.

"How could any grain merchant dare sell grain outside the city? Do you think the refugees are just for show?"

"Do you really think I have nerves of steel, to haul so much grain back to the city without backup?" Ma Erniang nodded toward Sun Dalang and the others busy working. "With refugees everywhere this season, we wouldn't dare go alone, let alone with so much grain. My son Xu Geer studies in the city; we can't take him back to the countryside and ruin his future. But living in the city means eating. Since we managed to return to the village, we had to bring back supplies. My family was worried, so they hired some escorts to protect us on the way back."

"The city escort services are too expensive, and they wouldn't take this job anyway—not worth it." Seeing her husband carry a bucket to the kitchen, she smiled: "The escorts we hired actually have some connection to my brother-in-law's side. They're refugees too, but a capable bunch—strong, could knock three men off their feet with one swing. They just want to eat. They don't take money, only grain as payment. They accept old grain or coarse grain; if the grain is better, they take less; if it's worse, they take more. They even accept foraged goods. If you give them two sacks of chestnuts, they'll haul a load of grain for you."

She stood up to take the teapot her son brought and poured each of them a cup of coarse tea: "Ladies, forgive me for being cautious. Selling grain just isn't possible. I hope you understand."

"But if you want someone to transport grain from your hometown to the city, I can help set it up." She raised her cup and smiled at them.

Aunt Ye and the others exchanged glances, finally understanding that this had been her plan all along.

No wonder she chatted so long outside. If it were them, they would have waited until dark to come home, avoiding it if they could.

But what she said made sense. Uncomfortable as they felt, none were fools. Putting themselves in her shoes, they wouldn't want to sell grain either. Once you start, you can't stop.

If you sell today, you might earn gratitude.

But if you stop later, they'll curse you.

Even they couldn't be sure they wouldn't resent her.

This couple—one an embroiderer, one a middleman—had a son who was scholarly. Indeed, no one who settles in the city is empty-headed.

"Er Niang, can we trust them?" Aunt Ye asked first. Her rice jar will be empty in two days; if not, the whole family will starve. "They're refugees. What if they grab our grain and run? Who do we turn to?"

"Yes, if they run, we'd have nowhere to go!" Rongxuan's mother added.

Aunt Su frowned in thought, silent.

They all understood Ma Erniang was drumming up business for that group. On second thought, it was tempting—if it worked, it would solve their urgent need and save them from paying high prices.

But they still worried. What escort service did refugees have? They were just refugees. Unlike the big city services with fixed locations, if an escort stole the goods, you could go make a scene. These people were different—if they ran, you'd never catch them, and you'd have to swallow the loss.

"They could run, but I can't," Ma Erniang said, smiling as she poured tea. Since they clearly understood each other, she held nothing back. "I'll vouch for it. Lose a sack of grain, I'll replace it. Lose a jin of goods, I'll pay you the original price."

"If you don't trust the refugees, can you trust me? My home is right here. If anything happens, come to me."

Hearing this, the women's minds began working.

Right. Ma Erniang wouldn't run. She couldn't. They knew where her son went to school. Unless she lost her mind, she wouldn't harm her own child for strangers. This was promising!

Aunt Ye spoke first: "What's the price?"

"Depends on distance and weight of goods. Also, your hometown can't be too remote; no remote hollows where a donkey cart can't reach. That would waste time."

"Can only the escorts transport it? Can my brother back home come with them to the city?"

"Sure, but they only handle goods. Escorting people costs extra. Also, your brother would have to return on his own. Delivering him home is also extra."

"Can they deliver the grain to my doorstep?"

"No, only outside the city. You have to go out and receive it. Please understand; it's not that we're being difficult. It's just that the refugees don't have travel permits and can't enter the city."

"Fine!" Aunt Ye gritted her teeth and made a snap decision: "Er Niang, I'll trust you this once. Contact them for me. We can discuss payment. Let them deliver for us first."

The others panicked, now behind.

"I want some too! Er Niang, help me contact them. Payment is flexible. My hometown has a good road, easy to travel!"

"Me first..."

...

Bang— The door slammed shut.

With a deafening crash, as if the sky were falling and the earth caving in, exploded like a thunderclap in their ears.

Zhao Xiaobao opened her sleepy eyes, staring blankly into the night sky, not yet fully awake.

Wang, sound asleep, felt a tiny hand shake her. She instinctively reached out to pull her daughter into her arms, murmuring without opening her eyes, "There, there, don't be afraid. Mama's here. Go back to sleep."

"Mom, wake up. Xiaobao had a dream again."

Wang’s eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright.

Every time her daughter dreamed, it meant something big was about to happen. The last time, she dreamed of a great drought, and now they were a thousand li away in Fengchuan.

They had only just settled in a few days ago—was something else about to go wrong?

At that thought, her lips quivered as she yanked her snoring husband hard, struggling to keep her voice low: "Xiaobao, what did you dream about?"

Old Man Zhao rubbed his face, waking up groggy. Just as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he heard his daughter say, "Xiaobao doesn't know. It was pitch black all around, I couldn't see anything. I just heard a loud rumble, and it scared me awake."

Zhao Xiaobao nervously twisted her fingers, her voice trailing off, and she lowered her head.

Her parents had repeatedly told her: if she dreamt, she must remember everything she saw and heard and tell them everything, step by step.

But before she could see anything, she was already scared awake.

Tears instantly filled her big eyes. She rubbed her chest with her little hand—that loud noise still made her heart pound.

"Dad, Mom, Xiaobao is so scared. Was that thunder? Thunder in the sky?"

The old couple exchanged a look, quickly putting aside their thoughts and pulling her into their arms to soothe her.

"Xiaobao, describe the sound you heard more carefully. Let me think about what it could be," Old Man Zhao said, gently stroking her back. Feeling her trembling, his heart ached, and he almost wanted to tell her to forget it.

"Boom," Zhao Xiaobao sobbed as she described it, pouting. "Boom, boom—like the sound of eating too much and passing gas."

"Boom? Just one sound?" Old Man Zhao was startled.

"Rumble..."

"?"

Xiaobao said, "Boom."

She added, "Rumble..."

Zhao Xiaobao saw her father’s bewildered expression, buried her face in her mother’s arms, and burst into loud sobs.