Chapter 247: The Underground Cellar Beneath the Vegetable Garden
Yu Shanhe’s optimism was infectious, spreading to Zhang Fen.
When she realized that they could save forty-eight taels of silver a year, and if they were exiled for seven or eight years, that would amount to three or four hundred taels, she suddenly felt that perhaps staying in exile for a few more years wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
By the time they returned home, she could buy dozens of acres of farmland at five taels per acre, build separate houses for both of her sons, and prepare dowries for her daughter. Wouldn’t that be a prosperous life?
With this thought, Zhang Fen became even more eager for their separation and the opportunity to manage their own household, working even harder to pick up stones.
“Father, Mother, in a little over a year, I’ll be fourteen, and then I can go work as a laborer for Sister Xiao Luo’s family. Our family will be able to save an additional twenty-four taels a year. In the meantime, you two can go to work during the day, and I’ll stay home with my younger siblings to clear land. Even though my sister is only seven, she can still help pick up stones. And I’m almost thirteen—half-grown already,” said Yu Xiaogang, grinning as he helped gather stones.
“Yes, next year, after Xiao Gang turns fourteen, our family will be able to save seventy-two taels annually. In seven or eight years, that’s five to six hundred taels! And in another three years, Xiao Hu will turn fourteen as well, adding another twenty-four taels a year. My goodness, if we’re exiled for over ten years, we could end up saving a thousand taels of silver!
“Husband, I hope we stay exiled for longer—ten years would be fine. That way, when we return, Xiao Gang will only be twenty-two or twenty-three. While that might be a bit late to find a wife back home, at least our family will be financially secure for life. With that much silver, our sons will have no trouble finding good wives!”
Seeing the light in his wife’s eyes, Yu Shanhe couldn’t help but grin and nod in agreement.
“You’re absolutely right! I realize now that this exile isn’t a punishment at all—it’s a golden opportunity for our family to get rich! This is a chance! Now that I think about it, everything Xiao Luo arranged was for our benefit. I really don’t understand why others are complaining.”
After speaking, Yu Shanhe finally paused his work, turning to look at his son Yu Xiaogang.
“Xiao Gang, don’t push yourself too hard while looking after your younger siblings. You’re still growing. Do as much as you can, and when your mother and I return from work, we’ll pick up where you left off. Your health is the most important thing.”
In rural villages, even six- or seven-year-old children helped out during harvest seasons, so it was only natural for Xiao Gang and his younger siblings to contribute as well. Listening to their parents’ hopeful discussions about the future, the children grew excited too, nodding eagerly.
While their family shared warm, optimistic conversations, things were different at Zhang Yuan’s house.
“Big Brother, what’s going on with Yu Haojie’s family?”
“How should I know? For now, we have no other choice but to work for them as hired laborers,” Zhang Yuan sighed, his gaze distant and troubled. After he spoke, an eerie silence fell over their cave dwelling.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo and her family had returned to their residence. She sent most of the household staff to Stone Mountain and kept only Ming Ye and the fool man behind.
“How are we going to house so many people? And what about feeding them three meals a day? Xiao Luo, you were too impulsive. We shouldn’t have promised them food. Even if we had to pay them more, it would’ve been better to let them manage their own meals,” Yu Haojie said.
“Father, I currently have over nine thousand system points. I can use some of them to unlock the warehouse. I could provide food for not just ten thousand but even fifty thousand people,” Yu Luo replied.
[Ding! Host, go ahead and unlock it. There is an underground cellar beneath the vegetable garden of this residence. It is massive and can store up to one million jin (~ 500,000 kilos) of food. This system has long prepared it for you. There is also an ice cellar, with ice that never melts, allowing you to store perishables even in the hottest summer months.]
The system’s voice suddenly echoed in Yu Luo’s mind. It had been a while since she last heard it, and its sudden return brought her great joy.
“System, have you recovered?”
[Not yet, it will take some more time. As long as the host remains here, there is no immediate danger. Unlocking the warehouse will also allow the host to purchase tools, which can help speed up the production of weapons your father intends to make. Additionally, I am gifting the host a blueprint for a firearm.]
As soon as the system finished speaking, a blueprint materialized in Yu Luo’s hands. Seeing the simple diagram with Arabic numerals, she became even more excited and quickly handed it to Yu Haojie.
“Father, this is from the system!”
Yu Haojie took the blueprint, his daughter’s excitement evident on her face. Ye Jiamei also leaned in curiously. When they saw the content of the blueprint, the gloom on Yu Haojie’s face instantly vanished. His hands trembled with excitement as he held the paper.
“This… this is a firearm blueprint? Xiao Luo, your system is incredible!”
“Exactly! It looks like the system approves of you taking in all those miners. Otherwise, why would it provide you with this?” Ye Jiamei beamed, her excitement matching her husband’s.
“With this firearm blueprint, once we manufacture these weapons, forget about just defending our city—we could march straight back to Lan Yue Dynasty and take down that wretched emperor!”
Hearing Yu Luo’s bold declaration, Ye Jiamei, ever the supportive mother, clapped her hands and cheered, “That’s right! We should train an entire army with firearms and march back to Lan Yue Dynasty. We’ll dethrone that useless emperor and put your father on the throne! Hahaha! Just thinking about it excites me! Then I’ll be the empress, and Xiao Luo, you’ll be a princess!”
“Exactly! But I don’t want to inherit the throne in the future. Father, Mother, you should hurry and have more sons… Hahaha!”
Yu Haojie…
Watching the mother and daughter duo embrace and dream up increasingly outrageous scenarios, Yu Haojie’s lips twitched. He decided against saying anything to ruin their excitement.
“Xiao Luo, before you get too carried away, check how much food your system has. Those ten thousand people are waiting for you,” Yu Haojie reminded them just in time, cutting off their wild imagination.
“Oh, right! I need to unlock the warehouse and fill up the underground cellar.”
“Wait, what? There’s an underground cellar?” Yu Haojie asked in surprise.
“Yes, the system just told me about it. It’s beneath the vegetable garden and can store up to a million jin of food.”
