Chapter 234: Buying Grain

Chapter 234: Buying Grain

Zhang Baolin's situation gave Meng Wan a new angle. If a small-time thug like him could latch onto the Fengtong Stockade's thigh at a critical moment, wouldn't it be even easier for him to stir things up?

Huang Ye had made plenty of noodles, so Meng Wan had a bowl too. Xue Sheng went back to the room to catch up on sleep, while Meng Wan sat by A Yan's bed, lost in thought.

He wished he hadn't slacked off at home. It would have been so much fun to go to Deqing County with Song Tingzhou.

Then he smiled. "Never mind," he thought. If he hadn't come, once the situation turned serious, Song Tingzhou would have had an even harder time handling it. At least this way, he could help a bit.

"Papa~" A Yan on the bed whined and opened his eyes.

Meng Wan leaned down and kissed his milk-scented cheek. "Wake up, big baby. Need to go potty?"

A Yan was wearing a silk side-snap top tied with a sash, his little bottom bare, and his loose, medium-length hair. He sat up from the covers, looking dazed. "Brother… brother?"

Huang Ye, who had brought in a chamber pot and a basin of water, chuckled at the sight. "Little Master, get up. Your brother A Xun is waiting in the kitchen to eat with you."

Huang Ye helped A Yan change into clean new clothes, then took him to brush his teeth and wash up before heading to the kitchen. The relay station didn't have a proper kitchen—just a straw shed in the corner—so they cobbled together a simple meal.

But they had brought only one cloth sack of rice and one of flour, some had been eaten along the way. With more than twenty station workers still to feed, even if everyone ate sparingly, the supplies would last only three or four days at most.

"Huang Ye, cook two pots of thin porridge. Call everyone from the back to have a bowl. I'll go outside and think of something." Meng Wan set aside the rice for the workers and put the flour in their own room for emergencies. Never test human nature. If they got desperate enough from hunger, there would definitely be bloodshed in the station.

Once Huang Ye finished cooking the porridge, Meng Wan carried A Yan and walked with A Xun in front, Xue Sheng following closely behind. In times like these, he wouldn't entrust his son to anyone else—he kept him by his side wherever he went.

They pushed open the station's front door and stepped outside. In the early morning, the sky was misty. Standing there for a moment made their clothes feel damp, as if a light rain had fallen.

The street outside the station was eerily quiet. Occasionally, someone would crack open a door cautiously, then tiptoe southward.

"Let's go check it out," Meng Wan decided immediately.

When survival is tough, people can live even in rags; face is far less important than life itself. But the one thing they cannot do without is food and water. That gathering spot was probably a grain shop.

In small cities, shops like grain dealers and butchers usually clustered together, not for competition but for customer convenience. Back when Chang Jinhua took Meng Wan to the northern markets, it was the same.

They followed the few brave souls who dared to venture out and soon found two grain shops facing each other, already crowded with people. A few were truly out of food and forced to pluck up courage to leave home; most were stocking up ahead of time, fearing a prolonged siege.

It was still very early. Once more people realized the situation, the grain shops would be even busier.

"Xue Sheng, go buy six dou of rice. We'll leave right after." Meng Wan handed Xue Sheng a money pouch.

Xue Sheng took it; the pouch was heavy in his hand. He shot Meng Wan a surprised look but didn't ask questions, turning to squeeze into the shop.

A moment later, Xue Sheng emerged, still holding the money pouch, no grain in hand. He wore a rare expression of anger. "Master, the grain shopkeeper first said polished rice was twenty wen and coarse rice fourteen wen. Then, seeing so many buyers, he suddenly said we had to wait for the shop owner to wake up before negotiating, and stopped selling."

Normally, coarse rice cost only four wen per jin. At that moment, they were buying by the dou, and even at fourteen wen, buying two dou meant paying over a hundred wen more than usual.

Meng Wan had expected price gouging, so he'd given Xue Sheng extra money. He hadn't expected the owner to still be unhappy.

He sighed, not too surprised. "Let's go."

"Meng... Brother, should we check other grain shops?" A Xun asked curiously.

Meng Wan didn't look back. "No need. We'll find a restaurant to buy grain."

A Xun thought about it. "Oh, that's right. Restaurants must have extra grain too. But will they sell?"

Meng Wan scanned the street. "Restaurants are different from grain shops. They rely on repeat customers—it's all about relationships, not profits. If they dared to jack up prices like the grain shop, once Heiye County returns to peace, their restaurant would be finished."

As he spoke, a two-story restaurant appeared ahead. Meng Wan led Xue Sheng and the others forward.

The door was half-open, and they pushed it fully. Inside, the long benches were still upside down on the tables. Two waiters and a cook had each grabbed a kitchen knife and were nervously facing the door.

Meng Wan smiled gently. "Waiter, we'll order."

Seeing that they weren't Yao people and had children with them, the waiters' tense nerves relaxed a bit. "Guys, the town's in chaos, and you still want to eat out?"

Xue Sheng fetched a bench for Meng Wan without being asked. Meng Wan sat down and said nonchalantly, "Food is the first necessity of the people. If those Yao people are going to run wild killing in the city, at least I'd rather die with a full stomach, right?"

"This…" The waiter looked at the cook. "Brother Liu, what do you say? Should we cook a meal?"

The cook was a man of character. "Do it. The young master has a point. Can't leave the city, can't go home—might as well die full. We haven't eaten either. We three'll eat and drink too. Order whatever you want!"

"I want eight-treasure stuffed goose!"

"Brother Liu, I want steamed pork!"

They didn't see meat often, so of course they craved it.

Meng Wan ordered those two dishes plus two meat pies. One waiter went to the kitchen to help Brother Liu. The remaining one, true to his service spirit, brewed two pots of tea for them.

"Brother, do you know exactly when the Yao people broke into the city?" Meng Wan pressed a handful of copper coins into the waiter's hand and invited him to sit and chat. Money greased the wheels any time.

The waiter hesitated for a moment, then sat down apologetically. "You've come to the right person, young master. The Yao clansmen broke in two days ago. That day, our restaurant was packed. Suddenly those mountain folk charged in with spears, and the guests fled in panic."

"Two days ago," Meng Wan repeated, tapping the table.

Manager Huang at the relay station had told him they only learned about the trouble yesterday, as they had been busy training workers and hadn't noticed anything unusual. That meant the Yao people, though ferocious, hadn't caused much harm to the townspeople—fortunate, at least.

The waiter's next words confirmed this. "When they burst in, they didn't attack. They just chased out the guests and had a huge meal. Not just us—every restaurant, stall, even breakfast shops. They wiped their mouths and left."

Losing some food pained the owner, but losing his life was worse. After the Yao left, the owner fled. The head waiter and several cooks had homes in the city. Even the waiters had relatives to stay with. Only the three of them, whose homes were in nearby villages they couldn't return to, were stuck guarding the shop, trembling with fear.

Having heard enough, Meng Wan asked, "What's the deal with Zhang Baolin?"

The waiter brought out a plate of boiled peanuts. He tried to give some to A Yan, but Xue Sheng quietly moved the boy aside.

"You know Zhang Baolin? He's the biggest thug in Heiye County!"

The waiter said indignantly, "He'd tease cats and dogs in town, bully even old folks and kids. When he ate at our place, eight out of ten times he'd stiff us on the bill!"

A faint flicker of surprise crossed Meng Wan's eyes. "Oh? So twice out of ten he actually paid?"

The waiter spat two peanut shells. "Our owner isn't easily messed with. He's the county magistrate's brother-in-law, same as Zhang Baolin. Our owner has connections too. If Zhang Baolin tried to freeload every time, our owner would go to the magistrate's house to collect."

At this, Meng Wan's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. So Zhang Baolin was clever enough to know how far he could push and whom he could bully. No wonder he managed to attach himself to the Fengtong Stockade's headman.

He asked a few more questions, and soon dishes began arriving. The two waiters and the cook sat at a table with three or four meat dishes and a big pot of polished rice—not feeling greasy so early in the morning, they ate heartily.

Meng Wan and his group had already breakfasted and weren't very hungry. Only A Yan, who hadn't had much appetite when he first woke, was nibbling on a meat pie with Xue Sheng.

Having served them early, the staff finally got to eat. Meng Wan didn't want to disturb them; he'd wait until they were nearly done to bring up buying grains.

"Waiter! Are all of you dead? Why's the door shut in broad daylight?" A brash voice came from outside.

Anyone shouting in the street at this hour had to be either a Yao clansman or a Fengtong Stockade henchman.

Meng Wan and the others quickly ducked into the kitchen, not forgetting to take A Yan and Xue Sheng's bowls and chopsticks, and clearing most of the dishes.

The shop assistant thought they were afraid of the Yao people breaking in, but then he thought about who was coming and decided they weren't much better than the Yao. He cooperatively brought the remaining two dishes to their own table.

With a "creak," the restaurant's main door was opened from the inside by the shop assistant, and let in a man dressed in an indigo blue Yao-style button-down shirt and trousers.

Yao clothing was originally simple and vibrant, but on this man it looked incongruous and vulgar.

After entering, he swept his gaze across the restaurant hall, his mouth pursed not naturally relaxed but deliberately pinched into a line, as if he was calculating something.

"Oh ho ho, has your master been gone just a few days that you guys have turned into thieves?"

The shop assistant hurriedly explained, "Master Zhang, we, we were just..." He didn't know how to lie; ordering dishes with such swagger earlier was one thing, but being caught red-handed and reported to the master was another.

Zhang Baolin ignored him, pinched a piece of goose meat from the plate, and even though it was early morning and he couldn't eat, he still threw it disdainfully to the ground, ignoring the regretful looks from the other three. "Tonight, Headman Na Tuo is coming to dine at your place. Have all the best food and drink ready."

He paused mid-sentence, his tone suddenly sharp, "But if you try any tricks, I know exactly which village you live in. Don't push your luck then!"

"Yes, yes, Master Zhang, rest assured, we'll treat him well."

The cook in the restaurant was fine, but the two shop assistants had often been bullied by Zhang Baolin. However, he was formerly the county magistrate's brother-in-law and now a favorite of the Yao Headman; they had no choice but to smile and bear it.

Zhang Baolin thoroughly enjoyed others fawning over him, giving a contemptuous snicker. He came in arrogantly and left slowly, sauntering away.

Only after he left did Meng Wan and the others emerge from the kitchen.

The shop assistant said sheepishly, "Young master, we're really sorry. It's dawn now, and Yao people might show up at any time. We can't keep you here any longer."

Meng Wan's original purpose wasn't just to eat. He pointed toward the kitchen. "Brothers, I noticed there seems to be extra rice and flour in the kitchen. Could you spare us some?"

The shop assistant was stunned, clearly not expecting him to suddenly ask to buy grain. Shouldn't one buy grain from a grain store?

The cook spoke up, "Young master, if it were any other time, you could buy it. But as you just heard, the Yao people are coming for dinner tonight. The supplies in the kitchen might not even be enough. We'll have to go to the grain store to buy more ourselves soon. Besides, in a little while, our manager and master might be back, and then our word won't count."

Meng Wan's mind worked quickly. He paid double for the dishes and placed the money on the counter. "Brother, I understand. I don't mean to cause you trouble. But when you go to the grain store, could you take me along? Just say we're together."

The three exchanged glances. "That shouldn't be a problem..."

"Then let's not waste time. Let's go now!" Meng Wan urged.

Bewildered, they went to the grain store with Meng Wan, only to find it already crowded. Most people were wandering outside with anxious faces, unable to buy grain. Even the few who gritted their teeth and bought half a sack of coarse rice came out with grim faces.

"Why are there so many people? Can we even get any grain?" The waiter hesitated.

Meng Wan left Xue Sheng and the others to look after A Yan while he walked in front of the shop assistant and raised his voice. "Make way! We from Cuicui Tower are here to buy fine rice!"

The grain store owner's eyes lit up when he heard that. All his customers had been buying coarse rice; fine rice was a first for him! He was about to make a killing!

"Come this way, sir. Our fine rice is shipped all the way from Lin'an Prefecture. Taste it—take a whiff!"

Meng Wan pretended to grab a handful of rice, picking one grain and putting it in his mouth. "Hmm, not bad. How much is it?"

The grain store owner squinted his eyes into narrow slits, rubbed his fingers together, and raised them in the shape of an eight.

Meng Wan tilted his head, feigning ignorance. "Eight coppers per catty? That's reasonable."

The owner's smile faded slightly. "You saw wrong, young master. It's not eight coppers, but eight hundred coppers."

"What? So expensive? Why don't you just take the money straight from my pocket!" Meng Wan said angrily.

The owner's smile completely vanished. "You can see the situation in town, young master. Eight hundred coppers is the price for now. Who knows if it'll go up tomorrow? If you don't buy, someone else will."

Seeing the owner stop pretending, Meng Wan gave a cold laugh. "Heh, I suppose you don't know why Cuicui Tower is here to buy grain so early this morning, do you?"

The owner turned his back. "Everyone's here early. I don't care why you're here."

Meng Wan said casually, "Tonight, the headman of Fengtong Village is bringing his men to our restaurant for dinner. That's why we're buying grain so early. If you won't sell, it's no big deal—we can go to the grain store across the street. But when Headman Na Tuo comes to our place for dinner, I can't promise I won't say anything."

With that, he spun on his heel and took one step, only to hear the grain store owner calling after him with an ingratiating smile, "Young master, hey, wait! Don't go! Let's talk it over!"