Chapter 152: Might As Well Open the General Store!
Yu Haojie muttered to himself, but Ye Jiamei rolled her eyes.
“You’re the one dreaming here. Do you think we can find coal but not saltpeter?”
“Actually,” Ye Jiamei continued, “judging by the terrain here, it’s highly likely that we’ll find some. But with all this snow, we’ll have to wait for it to melt before we can search properly.”
Her doubtful tone didn’t dissuade Yu Luo—instead, she was excited. If they really found saltpeter, they wouldn’t just scare off Jianghu warriors—they could take over the entire region!
“At least my daughter understands me.” Yu Haojie beamed at Ye Jiamei. “Stop being so pessimistic. The weather is warming up. At most, in twenty days, the snow will be gone—and then we can really start making moves!”
By mid-March, the snow had begun melting, revealing the true landscape of the wilderness. However, the fear of Wanli Gang’s return still lingered in people’s minds. Most remained hidden in their caves, afraid to venture too far.
With everyone stuck indoors, Xiaoyi often dug tunnels out of boredom. Over the course of a month, it had carved out an entire extra room for Yu Luo’s family, much to their delight.
Meanwhile, food supplies were running dangerously low. Even though everyone rationed carefully, their initial stockpiles wouldn’t last forever. The stone-house dwellers finally emerged, carrying makeshift hoes made from sharpened stones. They began plowing nearby land—but only men appeared, with no women in sight. It was now clear why they had never been targeted—they were too poor to have anything worth stealing.
“Second Uncle, Third Uncle, I’m heading to Fengcheng. Do you need me to buy anything for your families?”
The weather was now warm enough for people to wear lighter clothing during the day. Only in the mornings and evenings did they need an extra layer.
Although Fengcheng was over 200 kilometers away, it was a necessary trip—they needed supplies. Yu Zhengqing decided to take Zhang Yuan with him.
Hearing this, Yu Qiang was tempted. “Wait a moment. I’ll ask my wife what we need.”
He rushed home and checked their silver. But after emptying every pouch, their family had only fifty taels.
In the countryside, fifty taels could last ten years. But here, with no jobs and everything needing to be purchased, it was far from enough.
“We should spend thirty taels on coarse grains. A few more taels on seeds—we need to grow our own food. We don’t know how long we’ll last if we keep relying on money.”
Shu Suhua, the family matriarch, was used to managing finances and quickly divided the money.
“Mother’s right. Now that the snow is gone, Father and I should go hunting. We can sell animal pelts for extra silver.” Yu Yongcai suggested.
But the moment he mentioned going to Fengcheng, Shu Suhua’s face darkened. “Absolutely not! Your brother almost died—he won’t recover for months. We only have two sons—if anything happens to you, our entire family will collapse!”
Seeing his mother’s distress, Yu Yongcai chuckled awkwardly. “Relax, Mother! I was just talking—of course I won’t go. That place is too dangerous for someone like me.”
After confirming their orders, Yu Qiang and Yu Yongcai met up with Yu Zhengqing and Zhang Yuan. But by then, the two men had already been surrounded by a crowd. Behind them was a makeshift wooden cart, built from chopped trees. Though it lacked luxury, it was functional.
“Zhengqing, we only have ten taels left. Can you get us a few hundred catties of grain and some seeds?” Yu Liang pleaded.
Before Yu Zhengqing could answer, Yu Xiaoxuan scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Ten taels for hundreds of catties of grain and seeds? Do you think this is a hundred taels?”
Seeing Yu Xiaoxuan’s sarcastic glare, Yu Liang quickly forced a smile. “Haha, well… we’re not as rich as you guys. Back in the countryside, ten taels could buy hundreds of catties of rice.”
“Yeah? Well, this isn’t the countryside—this is a resource-starved wasteland. We don’t even know if grain is affordable in Fengcheng!” Yu Xiaoxuan shot back.
“Xiaoxuan is right. I’ll take the ten taels, but I can’t promise how much grain I’ll find.” Yu Zhengqing said bluntly.
What Yu Zhengqing didn’t realize was that Yu Liang was trying to trick him. His family had received the same amount of silver as Yu Qiang’s. Yet, he only offered ten taels while secretly hoarding the rest—hoping to profit from their kindness. His daughter-in-law, Liu Lan, had even encouraged the scheme.
Inside their cave, Yu Luo and her parents watched the commotion outside. She hesitated. “Should we just open the general store now?”
“If we open it now, wouldn’t it seem like we’re taking advantage of them?” Ye Jiamei frowned. “If they realize we have supplies, they might demand we give them away instead of selling them.”
