Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Stunned

Yongping Village has over thirty households, with a population of just over two hundred.

Although it’s a village with mixed surnames, everyone gets along fairly well, especially when it comes to listening to the village chief.

When the village chief gave the word to head back, the group didn’t feel anything amiss and truly turned around immediately.

However, there were some women who followed along wanting to buy more things in town, but after hearing the price Qi Ercai mentioned, each of them shrank their necks back.

Oh my, salt at one silver per pound, oil paper at twenty coins per foot, and red sugar at eighty coins per pound, none of these are affordable for them!

The group heading back consisted of a hundred and eighty people, mostly men, making it a spectacular sight.

Even though they had ox carts and handcarts, with grain sacks on the carts, travelers on the road made way without hesitation.

The tax grain was saved, but on the way back, the joy from saving that tax grain didn’t last long.

Especially after the village chief saw Yin Cheng sitting on the Qi Family’s wooden cart, he quickly invited him onto the ox cart and asked carefully about the matters in town.

Yin Cheng had been running a pharmacy in town for many years, and even if he’s not much involved, he knows more about the town than these mud-legged folks.

The more the village chief listened to Yin Cheng, the heavier his heart sank, and eventually, he couldn’t stop his entire body from shivering.

Clearly, it’s the autumn tiger season, but he felt colder than being in the snow during the coldest months of winter.

Those who heard Yin Cheng’s words all turned pale.

Chaos, chaos, how are we common folks supposed to live through this?

Regardless of what everyone was thinking, the group finally returned to the village before the sun completely set.

Every household was originally waiting joyfully for those who went to sell grain to come back, but instead, they saw faces full of paleness and spiritless demeanors.

The Qi Family did not know how the villagers reacted.

After separating from the village chief at the village entrance, Yin Cheng followed the Qi Family’s wooden cart to the Qi Family.

“Grandma is back!”

Qi Manman was squatting in the corner watching ants with Qi Shilang, and upon hearing the voice at the door, he quickly got up and toddled his little short legs toward the door to meet them.

All the way fearing and restless, even losing two of her three wits, Mrs. Qi felt like she came back to life at the sight of her beloved granddaughter.

She hurriedly hugged the soft and fragrant granddaughter into her arms and couldn’t stop kissing her.

“Grandma, Manbao missed you so much!”

Qi Manman hugged Mrs. Qi’s neck, unabashedly slobbering all over her face.

“Good girl, grandma’s good girl! Seeing you, grandma isn’t afraid of anything anymore.”

All the way here, Mrs. Qi had been thinking they might have to leave this place.

Leaving home is hard, especially for an old lady like her. At this age, she feels terrible having to leave home and flee from famine.

But now, with her sweet, soft granddaughter in her arms, Mrs. Qi seemed less scared.

What is fleeing from famine? As long as her Manbao can grow up well and not be tormented by those bad people, not to mention fleeing to find a safe place, she would even be willing to use the rest of her lifespan to flee.

“Mom, you’re back.”

The first to come out to greet was Yi Meng.

She was already in the yard doing needlework, mainly to watch the two little kids, so she was the first to follow.

“Yes, we’re back. Call Dalang and the others out to help move things!”

Mrs. Qi sighed and asked, “Is your dad home?”

“He is, he’s in the house weaving baskets.”

Yi Meng stepped forward to take Qi Manman.

The old lady must be tired after being out all day, and holding a child now would tire the adult, not to mention risking dropping the child.

On any other day, Mrs. Qi wouldn’t willingly hand over her granddaughter, but now she wanted to quickly discuss important matters with the old man, so she didn’t mind the fourth daughter-in-law’s actions.

Qi Zheng came out upon hearing the noise, and his first sight was the goods on the wooden cart and the baskets the sons were taking off it.

His heart skipped a beat, immediately knowing something was wrong.

“Old man, there’s been trouble in town.”

Mrs. Qi didn’t beat around the bush: “The county magistrate has run away, and the rebels from the south are about to attack.”

At these words, everyone who was helping in the yard stopped what they were doing and looked at their mother in unison.

Although he already knew something might have happened, Qi Zheng still felt a bit faint upon hearing this news.

“Dad, Mom, let’s go inside and talk.”

It was Qi Ercai who reacted quickly and hurriedly woke up his father.

Mrs. Qi also quickly beckoned them to go inside to talk.

This whole day, they had been worrying and being scared. Previously they didn’t feel much, but now they suddenly felt both hungry and thirsty.

Soon, the Qi Family was all gathered inside.

Qi Ercai repeated the news he had gathered, and everyone’s faces turned even more grave.

It really was what that girl Manbao said, in such a situation, the grain truly couldn’t be sold.

“Dad, the village chief knows about this too. Do you think we should go to his place and ask how we should proceed?”

Qi Ercai, although quick-witted, also faced such a situation for the first time. Being calm and rational enough to buy things and lead people back already reached his limit of composure.

He was also clueless about what to do next.

Qi Zheng, pressing his pipe, paused his actions slightly after hearing this, then continued to puff on it a couple more times.

Mrs. Qi, having drunk water already, got angry upon seeing the old man’s behavior: “Old man, stop puffing on that smoke, hurry up and think about what to do!”

“Sigh…”

Qi Zheng put down his pipe, just about to speak when a voice called from the yard: “Uncle Qi, are you in?”

“It seems like it’s the village chief’s eldest son.”

Qi Quanjin recognized the voice and offered this explanation.

The village chief sending someone over at this time surely meant there was something.

Qi Zheng tapped out his pipe: “Invite him in!”

The village chief’s youngest son was just in his teens this year, quick on his feet. When someone from the Qi Family went out to greet him, he had already run up to the door of the house.

Upon entering, before anyone else could speak, he said: “Uncle Qi, my dad asked me to invite you over, saying there’s something urgent to discuss.”

Qi Zheng was among the elders in Yongping Village, so whenever something major happened, the village chief would call the village’s old folks together.

“Alright.”

Qi Zheng didn’t dawdle, got off the kang, and headed toward the door.

But just as he was lifting his leg to step over the threshold, Qi Manman’s childish voice came: “Grandpa, Manbao wants to go too!”

“You child, your grandpa has important matters to discuss. What are you going to do by following?”

Yi Meng gently teased.

Seeing his granddaughter’s eager little eyes, Qi Zheng suddenly thought of the little one’s previous actions, and not knowing why, he impulsively said, “Fourth son, take Manbao with us, we’ll go over together.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep