Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

Jing Zhichun waited until the sound of the group's horses' hooves could no longer be heard and the torchlight had completely disappeared into the snowy night before she breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got up from the slope.

However, the moment she stood up, she felt her head sway, and then a wave of dizziness and vertigo washed over her.

My ears started ringing, and the whole world in front of me began to shake.

"What the hell?"

Kyoto Haru tried her best to steady herself, but her legs just wouldn't obey her; they were limp and she couldn't lift them.

Immediately, he stumbled and fell uncontrollably onto the snow, then completely lost consciousness.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but in a daze, she vaguely heard someone speaking in her ear.

"Madam Shen? Madam Shen? Wake up!"

"Erniu, hurry! Carry Madam Shen on your back, let's get home quickly!"

"Alright, alright, sister-in-law, you hold the torch to light the way, I'll carry it!"

These are the voices of Yang Erniu and Gao Xiuqin.

Immediately afterwards, Kyoto Haru felt herself being carried on someone's back.

She struggled to lift her eyelids, and her vision gradually became clearer.

They also found themselves lying on Yang Erniu's back, with Gao Xiuqin standing beside them holding a torch.

"Sister-in-law Gao, what are you doing here? By the way, what happened to me?" Jing Zhichun was a little confused.

"Madam Shen! You're awake?" Gao Xiuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jing Zhichun wake up. "You scared us to death!"

We came here to deliver grain and silver to you. As we were walking, we saw a person lying there on the road, wearing strange white clothes. We thought... we thought it was a ghost, but Erniu recognized you!

We tried calling you, but we couldn't wake you up no matter what we did.

We were just about to carry you back to my house to warm up when you woke up.

Kyoto Haru then realized that she had probably fainted.

It's probably because I've been too tired lately.

I couldn't eat or sleep well, so I was severely exhausted, both physically and mentally, and then I developed hypoglycemia.

Thinking about this, Kyoto Haru felt a wave of fear.

If Gao Xiuqin and the others hadn't happened to pass by, and he had been unconscious in this freezing weather, he would have frozen to death in no time.

Once she gets back, she needs to rest well and eat properly.

Jing Zhichun thanked Gao Xiuqin, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Gao, and Brother Erniu."

"Oh, no need for formalities between us. Madam Shen, are you alright?"

"Hmm, it's nothing, I'm probably just too tired." Jing Zhichun said, then suddenly remembered that she was still on Yang Erniu's back. She quickly said to Yang Erniu, "Brother Erniu, put me down, I can walk by myself."

"Your voice still sounds weak," Gao Xiuqin said with some concern. "It's safer for Erniu to carry you on his back; the snow is slippery."

"Really, it's not necessary, Sister-in-law Gao. I'm fine now." Jing Zhichun patted Yang Erniu's shoulder. "Brother Erniu, put me down! I can really walk by myself."

Seeing that Jing Zhichun was so insistent, Yang Erniu put Jing Zhichun down.

Jing Zhichun thanked Yang Erniu again before asking Gao Xiuqin, "Sister-in-law Gao, did you come to deliver silver?"

"Oh, right, Madam Shen, how much silver should the grain and salt cost in total?" Gao Xiuqin asked Jing Zhichun somewhat nervously.

After she and Yang Erniu brought the grain home, they opened the container and inspected it.

Upon seeing this, the whole family's hearts were filled with anxiety.

The bag was filled with white flour and brown rice.

They usually wouldn't buy much white flour even during the Lunar New Year, at most buying a pound or half a pound, which would be a huge luxury to save for making dumplings.

Unexpectedly, Jingzhichun bought them 500 jin of flour in one go.

Also, the brown rice was different from the rice they used to buy at the grain stores in the city.

The brown rice sold in the shop was always mixed with stones and clods of dirt, and the whole family had to spend half a day picking it out with a winnowing basket after returning home. But the ones from Jingzhichun were not only plump, but also very clean, with no dirt in them.

At the current prices in the city's grain shops, wheat flour costs 25 wen per jin, and unpolished rice costs 9 wen. A thousand jin would cost 17 taels of silver. Add to that two jin of coarse salt, which would cost 16 wen per jin...

Actually, the better the product, the more uncertain they felt, and they didn't know how much silver to give to Jingzhichun.

They brought a full twenty taels of silver with them before they arrived.

This was not just money for food, but also a heartfelt gift from the whole family to express their gratitude to Jing Zhichun.

After all, without Jing Zhichun's efforts, where would the Yang family have gotten so much grain?

Today they also heard their neighbors shouting anxiously in their yard, saying that the city gates were completely closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave. They said that countless families outside had run out of food and couldn't buy anything even with money.

They were able to obtain such excellent food at this juncture entirely thanks to Kyoto no Chun.

They felt they had to repay this kindness properly, no matter what, and they couldn't let the other person work for nothing or suffer a loss.

However, she was worried that Kyoto Haru might think they were giving her too little, so she was quite anxious at the moment.

Gao Xiuqin thought she should first ask Jing Zhichun how much he wanted, and if that wasn't enough, she would go home and get more money.

Before, Kyoto Haru had only intended to collect a symbolic amount of money.

So, after thinking for a moment, she began to make up a story, "Sister-in-law Gao, actually, some of the grain I gave you was bought by someone I asked, and the rest was from the high quality of the Cistanche deserticola you dug up. The esteemed person who received the goods was very satisfied with the powder, so he was so happy that he gave you some extra grain."

I forgot to give you this grain before, so I'm sending it to you all at once this time.

The portion of grain I had someone buy to send to you only cost seven taels of silver. How about this, you just give me six taels and six mace of silver; I'll keep it for good luck.

"What?! Grain sent by a noble person?!"

Gao Xiuqin and Yang Erniu stared wide-eyed, hardly believing their ears.

They had only twenty taels of silver with them, and they thought it might not be enough. They were even prepared to take more silver, but unexpectedly, a benefactor gave them half of their grain...

Gao Xiuqin asked incredulously, "Madam Shen, is what you're saying true? That noble person really... really sent us so much grain?"

Kyoto Haru nodded: "I have no reason to lie to you."

Upon receiving this confirmation, Gao Xiuqin and Yang Erniu exchanged a glance, too excited to know what to say.

I never expected that their family would have such a good thing happen to them.

However, they had encountered such good fortune before.

Previously, they worked for wealthy families in the city, and when their employers were in a good mood, they would give them extra money and gifts.

On one occasion, Gao Xiuqin was even rewarded with a gold bean worth one tael by a young lady from a wealthy family.

Therefore, they did not doubt what Kyoto Haru said.

However, after the initial excitement, Gao Xiuqin and Yang Erniu both knew in their hearts that while the gift from the benefactor was indeed precious, it was also inseparable from Jingzhichun's matchmaking efforts.

Thinking of this, Gao Xiuqin thanked Jing Zhichun again, saying, "Madam Shen, without you, we would never have had such a good thing."

"So, I'll take the liberty of making a decision for my mother-in-law today. We'll give you the amount you calculated for the grain, plus some extra as a token of our goodwill, totaling eight taels and eight mace of silver. Is that alright?"

Jing Zhichun hadn't expected Gao Xiuqin to be so eloquent, so since she was being offered the gift, she decided to accept it.

If the Yang family ever needs anything in the future, she will do her best to help.

"Alright, since Sister-in-law Gao has put it that way, I won't refuse."

Gao Xiuqin quickly took out the silver and copper coins from her bosom, counted out eight taels and eight qian, and gave them to Jing Zhichun.

At this moment, Yang Erniu said with some annoyance, "Oh dear! If I had known that the benefactor would be so generous, I should have dug up all the remaining Cistanche deserticola from that patch on the sandy slope some time ago! At that time, I was so preoccupied with my father's illness that I completely forgot about it..."