Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Grandpa Zhang's house is located on the east side of Shangwei Village. In his younger days, he kept several large black dogs that would bark at anyone they saw, so the children were afraid to go near them.

Lin Yuan didn't enter the village. Instead, he deliberately took a mountain path to avoid it, pretending to dig up some wild grass and stuff it into a bamboo basket before heading to the vicinity of the Zhang family's ancestral home.

This area was previously flooded up to the eaves, but now the floodwaters have receded, leaving only a thin layer of water. Underneath the water is softened mud, so there are few people around, except for the occasional passerby in the distance.

The main gate of the Zhang family ancestral home was locked, and most of the surrounding earthen walls had collapsed, revealing many gaps with numerous trampling marks.

It looks like someone stepped on it.

It is clear that the Zhang family fled famine and moved to a large house in town, abandoning their ancestral home, which attracted many interested people to visit.

"No one will get ahead of me, will they?"

Lin Yuan muttered to himself, but outsiders can only find some floating treasures at most. If you don't know about it, it's hard to find what's buried in the mud. The silver altar should still be there.

He stood on high ground and looked around for a while, then walked by and looked around again. The water level in front of and behind the mansion was less than a foot, below the calves.

Villagers occasionally passed by, but he didn't dare go into the water to investigate.

After observing Zhang's residence, he dug up some weeds while investigating the surrounding area. The nearest house was some distance away from Zhang's residence and had no dogs.

As evening approached, the sky was ablaze with the colors of sunset.

He noted down everything about the place, planning to come over in the dark tonight, provided it didn't rain.

……

Back at the Lin family home.

Sister-in-law Zhou Xier is collecting dried sweet potatoes in the yard.

"Sister." Lin Yuan entered the courtyard carrying a bamboo basket.

Five-year-old Gou Dan was squatting nearby, munching on dried sweet potato. When he looked up and saw Lin Yuan return, he immediately ran over: "Uncle..."

Dog Egg kept looking at his basket, searching for food.

Lin Yuan rubbed Gou Dan's head: "The basket is full of wild vegetables. Next time I'll bring you a sugar figurine..."

"Why did you buy those candy figurines? They'll give you a toothache if you eat too many." After scolding her son, the sister-in-law continued, "Erlu, when did you get back? Did you buy all the rice and meat on the table? You've just started learning martial arts, that's the time when you need to spend money, and you still bought rice... You're not even married yet! There are still several acres of dry sweet potatoes at home... You just got back, and instead of resting, you went to dig for wild vegetables..."

The eldest sister-in-law, always quick to chatter, took the bamboo basket, glanced at it, and burst out laughing: "This isn't wild vegetables, it's clearly weeds. I knew you'd never been good at digging for wild vegetables. Why didn't you stay home? What were you doing out there?"

"Then I'll pour it out." Lin Yuan chuckled.

"No need, I'll use it to feed the chickens later."

"Okay, then." Lin Yuan asked again, "Where is Father?"

"He's chopping firewood on the mountain, he'll be back later, you should rest."

"I'm not tired. I came back from martial arts practice at the Li residence today... I never expected that Old Master Zhang would pass away..."

My sister-in-law loves to chat with people. There's nothing she can't talk about, whether it's inside or outside the village, so she knows a lot of gossip in the village.

"Oh, really? Old Master Zhang is a good man. A few months ago, when the flood came, he didn't want to go to town. He told his family that he was too old to go. And look, it's come true..." The sister-in-law spoke eloquently.

Lin Yuan continued chatting with his sister-in-law about everyday matters, and also inquired about the Zhang family's ancestral home.

His sister-in-law started talking on her own, without him even having to ask: "When Old Master Zhang passed away, Zhang's second son even came back from the county and moved everything he could from the mansion. It seems he's not coming back to live here..."

"What about his eldest son?" Lin Yuan asked casually.

"The eldest son of the Zhang family hasn't returned; hasn't he been staying at the Marquis's residence all this time...?"

As Lin Yuan listened, he grew a little bored and couldn't help but yawn.

"Look how sleepy you are, go to sleep. I've been cleaning your room. Alright, I won't talk to you anymore, I need to cook dinner, Father should be back soon."

"Hmm." Lin Yuan didn't make a fuss. He returned to his old, dilapidated house. There were two gaps in the roof that let in light, and the house was drafty. The bamboo bed had gaps in the bamboo that were wider than a hand. It was just right for sleeping in the summer, saving on blankets, but barely enough for autumn.

The poor fear winter the most.

He lay in bed, pondering his plans for the night, and drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he dug up three jars.

Just as he was about to open the jar...

"Uncle, Grandpa, and Dad are all back. It's time to eat... Uncle, you're drooling. Let me wipe it for you..." Gou Dan kept repeating in his ear, much like his mother.

Lin Yuan woke up and slapped his nephew's hand away in annoyance: "Dog Egg, what time is it?"

Dog Egg scratched his head: "It's getting dark."

Lin Yuan then realized that there was no water clock in the village, so there was no specific time.

As we entered the courtyard, the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, and the earth grew dark.

His sister-in-law brought him a large bowl of sweet potato porridge, topped with stir-fried wild shepherd's purse, dried salted fish, and a few pieces of braised pork.

Old Man Lin came out of the kitchen carrying a rough porcelain bowl, glanced at him, and nodded wearily: "Eat."

Lin Yuan followed his father to the courtyard gate, where they squatted down to eat together, sitting side by side.

The eldest brother also came over with a bowl, making a third row.

Dog Egg joined in the fun, running over with a bowl, instantly turning the room into four rows.

The eldest sister-in-law didn't come over; she stood at the kitchen doorway, watching the four of them—grandfather, grandson, and granddaughter—and chuckled.

The four of them remained silent, with only the sound of slurping echoing among them.

Lin Yuan ate his porridge, glancing at the sky from time to time. It seemed that it wouldn't rain.

"Erlu, it's not that I'm kicking you out, but you should go back to school tomorrow morning. They don't charge for meals there." After finishing his porridge, the old man advised Lin Yuan to go back and mooch off the Xu family's meals.

"Okay." Lin Yuan nodded. If it succeeds tonight, he will leave tomorrow morning.

If that doesn't work, it means the situation at Zhang's house is complicated and can't be handled by one person. He'll have to call on his jungler dad and top laner for help.

The eldest brother licked the bottom of his bowl and said, "Dad, let Erlu stay a couple more days. We won't be short of food. I'll be carrying firewood to town the day after tomorrow, and Erlu can help me out."

To save on ferry fares, the eldest brother never took a boat to sell firewood; he always walked more than ten miles to the town.

"He can't carry anything on his shoulders or lift anything with his hands, how can we help him?" The father knew what kind of people his two sons were, one honest and the other cunning.

Lin Yuan gave an awkward smile and changed the subject, asking, "Brother, how much is the autumn tax again this year?"

The eldest brother sighed: "The poll tax is fixed. It's 360 coins for the three adults in our family, and 50 coins for you and Gou Dan who are under sixteen. The grain tax is for rice. Last year it was 1.37 shi. This year is a year of famine, and the village head said the grain tax will be halved. There are also levies and corvée labor..."

The grain tax in Daliang was one-thirtieth, which didn't seem like much, but the main expenses were the poll tax, levies, and corvée labor.

In years of famine, although the grain tax is halved, the actual grain must still be delivered, which means buying grain in cash. Given the current upward trend in grain prices, they are likely to skyrocket by autumn.

Lin Yuan estimated that this year's autumn tax would be about one or two taels of silver: "Today, the price of rice has risen to more than sixty wen per dou. Rice prices will definitely follow suit. You should buy some early to prepare, otherwise you might not be able to afford it after the autumn harvest."

Having experienced much, the old man understood this principle and nodded in deep agreement: "Erlu is right. Let's buy the autumn grain and store it in the next few days."

"Dad, Erlv, isn't it strange? All month long, the docks have been bringing in rice. We've carried countless bags of rice to every rice shop! I haven't seen many people buying rice, so why is the price of rice going up every day?" The eldest brother asked, puzzled.

Lin Yuan explained to his elder brother, "It's early autumn now, and everyone still has some dry food. If all else fails, they can go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables and mushrooms. Once autumn is over and the weather gets cold, there won't be any food left. Do you think they'll buy the grain then? They're just raising prices in advance and hoarding it for profit!"

The pressure to survive is immense, and even the honest eldest brother has become somewhat irritated, his voice rising considerably: "In the past, during bumper years, we sold our grain to the rice shops at the fair price! Now that they have so much grain, why can't they sell it to us at the normal price?"

Seeing that his elder brother was in high spirits, Lin Yuan felt that if he could further incite him, there might be hope for them to rise up in rebellion...

"Alright!" the father stopped his eldest son. "You have a family to support, so don't get involved in this. Just focus on your work at the docks."

The eldest brother sighed and remained silent.

"Buying and selling is their own business! We're just ordinary folks, what right do we have to interfere?" the old man added.

"Yes, freedom!" Lin Yuan chuckled.

The old man stared at Lin Yuan with unfriendly eyes. He always felt that his youngest son was a troublemaker and just wanted him to leave quickly to cause trouble for others: "You'd better leave early tomorrow!"

Lin Yuan immediately chuckled and tried to excuse himself: "Father is right, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Brother, don't cause trouble."

"I'm not stupid!" the older brother retorted.

Lin Yuan spoke again: "Father, I'll go to the river tonight and catch a few fish. I'll take them to town to sell tomorrow."

"Touch your mother's head!" the old man roared, seizing the opportunity to slap him on the shoulder. "With water this big, if you fall into the ditch, you won't be able to climb out."

"Erlv, don't go. I'll carry more bags, and that'll be enough for the autumn tax," the eldest brother advised.

The father's nickname was Stubborn Donkey, and now that he's old, he's called Old Stubborn Donkey. The eldest brother's nickname is Big Donkey, and Lin Yuan is called Second Donkey. All three of them are known for their stubbornness.

Fortunately, his grandson Gou Dan became a member of the "dog" generation.

"Mhm." Lin Yuan nodded vigorously, not wanting to argue with the stubborn old man, but he was definitely going out that night.