Chapter 153: Might As Well Give It to You for Free?
Seeing everyone struggling through hardship, Ye Jiamei, who had never lifted a finger in her past life, felt a little guilty.
“Mother, this is fair trade. Don’t feel burdened. We have no obligation to take care of them,” Yu Luo reassured her.
Yu Haojie nodded in agreement. “Our daughter is right. Right now is the perfect time for land cultivation. I see that the hills are full of yellow soil, which can probably grow crops, but I’ve heard that summers here are extremely hot. We’ve been here for a while, but we haven’t seen a single river. If we plow the land and plant seeds, will the crops just dry up? This is ancient times—we really have to rely on the heavens for rain.”
Thankfully, they had used yellow clay to make some earthenware jars to store melted snow. But their biggest problem wasn’t just food—it was finding a stable water source.
“Do those people in the stone houses survive purely on melted snow from winter? I don’t believe it. If they can grow crops, so can we.”
Yu Luo’s expression turned serious. Everyone had been eagerly waiting for the snow to melt, thinking it would bring warmth, but no one had considered that without snow, they wouldn’t have a water source at all.
“Hey, hey, hey! We were talking about whether or not to open the general store, and now you two are getting sidetracked about water! The snow has melted, which means the water has seeped underground. With Xiaoyi here, we can just have it dig a well, and then we’ll have water. If you two keep delaying, Yu Zhengqing and the others will leave for Fengcheng!”
“You’re right, Mother. Even if the underground water evaporates in summer, Xiaoyi can keep digging. If we really need to, we’ll find a river and have Xiaoyi dig a channel for irrigation. As for the general store, I think we should open it and also announce that we’ll be hiring workers.”
The family quickly reached an agreement. They weren’t doing this to make money off their neighbors; they wanted to encourage everyone to work hard and survive in this wilderness with their own hands.
The three of them walked to the gathering spot outside the caves. Yu Haojie stepped forward and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, listen up! I have something important to announce!”
Yu Zhengqing was still collecting silver from various families, having already gathered a decent amount. Hearing Yu Haojie’s voice, he looked up in surprise. He assumed Yu Haojie was coming to ask him to buy supplies. If Yu Haojie hadn’t approached him first, he had planned to ask. After all, they were brothers—he wouldn’t leave his own brother out while helping everyone else.
“Haojie, what’s the matter? Do you need me to bring back some food for you too?”
“No, actually, instead of everyone going all the way to Fengcheng to buy food, I’ve decided to sell some from my own stock to everyone.”
“What?!”
Yu Haojie spoke calmly, raising his voice just enough to make sure everyone heard him. But as soon as he finished speaking, the crowd collectively widened their eyes in shock. Even Yu Zhengqing, after a moment of disbelief, couldn’t help but blurt out, “What did you just say?” as if he had misheard.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Yu Luo wasn’t surprised at all. She knew they would be stunned.
“Yu Second Master, you must be joking. When we first got here, we all received the same amount of grain. How could your family have more than us? And it’s been over a month—surely, your stock must be running low too?”
“Our supply is more than enough to last all of us for a year because my wife’s family has secretly sent over the first batch of supplies. Besides food, we also have various other daily necessities to meet everyone’s needs here.”
“When did this happen? Are you serious?!”
Even Bai You, usually a composed scholar, was so excited that he squeezed his way to the front of the crowd, his eyes shining with joy.
“Right, right! We’re not exactly far from each other. If Lady Ye’s family really sent things over, why haven’t we seen anything?” Liu Lan questioned, half-excited, half-doubtful, her eyes locked onto Ye Jiamei’s face, waiting for confirmation.
“It’s true. Since we are exiles, my family couldn’t openly send supplies. The shipment they sent was enough to sustain our family for two or three years, but I told my brother that we’re all in this together. So he arranged for more supplies to be sent in the future. He also suggested that I open a general store—so from now on, whatever you need, I can sell it to you.”
When Ye Jiamei personally confirmed it, the crowd erupted in excitement.
Zhang Fen, from the Yu family’s second branch, immediately grabbed Ye Jiamei’s arm and leaned in to whisper shyly.
“You have… do you have fabric and cotton?”
“Yes, we have both. You can buy some and sew clothes yourself later.”
Zhang Fen nodded happily. Then Bai You spoke up, “Do you have brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones?”
Ye Jiamei sighed internally. As expected of a scholar—just as everyone was worrying about basic survival, he was already thinking about writing supplies.
“We do, but not much. Those things are expensive, Bai brother. I think it’d be better if you focused on securing food for your family first.”
“How expensive can it be? Lady Ye, we’re all one big family. Just charge us a token amount. We don’t need writing supplies; we just need food!”
Ye Jiamei had been trying to give Bai You a helpful reminder, but Liu Lan, completely oblivious, interrupted. Not only did she interrupt, but she even suggested that Ye Jiamei should “charge a token amount”—basically asking for charity.
Even if Ye Jiamei had the patience of a saint, she couldn’t help but scoff. She had long noticed that Liu Lan was shameless, but she hadn’t expected her to be this bold.
“Aunt Liu, at this point, why don’t we just give everything to you for free?”
Yu Luo wasn’t as patient as her mother and directly snapped at Liu Lan.
But to everyone’s shock, Liu Lan shamelessly nodded with a bright smile. “That would be wonderful! Your family is so kind. Thank you in advance!”
Yu Luo: …
She was utterly speechless.
