In the year of the disaster, grain prices would skyrocket, and the following year, with insufficient food supply, prices would remain high.
Zhang Fangyuan still spent 20 taels of silver to buy several carts of grain. It was better to be prepared. Even if he couldn’t make a profit by reselling the grain, having a stockpile would save him from anxiety during the disaster. Besides, the tea shed and guesthouse would also need grain.
Before heading back to the village with the grain, he stopped by the tea shed. Since grain prices in the city had risen, the price of meals at the tea shed would also have to increase. He needed to inform them in advance.
"Little Dad, maybe you shouldn’t come here anymore."
"You ungrateful little thing! If it wasn't for me giving birth to you and raising you, would you be living this good life now? Now that you’re living well, you’ve forgotten about me! You ungrateful wolf!"
As Zhang Fangyuan had the workers carry two large sacks of rice into the guesthouse, he overheard a conversation coming from a side room near the warehouse. He couldn’t help but ask the worker beside him, "Who’s that?"
"It’s Wenzi’s little dad."
Zhang Fangyuan’s brow furrowed slightly.
"I’ll go call them out," the worker said hurriedly. "Master's second aunt said it was okay for them to meet, so I didn’t stop them."
Zhang Fangyuan raised his hand to stop him, signaling him to stay quiet and leave.
"If it wasn't for Little Dad’s improper suggestions, I would still be working peacefully in the main house. I wouldn’t have lost the trust of the master and his fulang."
The person inside the room began to cry.
Instead of comforting him, the middle-aged man scolded him harshly: "That’s because you’re incompetent! The plan was foolproof, but you bungled it with your clumsiness. And now you’re blaming others?"
Wenzi, filled with anger, retorted: "If Little Dad is so capable, why couldn’t you do anything when our family was so poor that we couldn’t even put food on the table? Why did you only think of selling me to pay for my brother’s wedding dowry?"
The middle-aged man was momentarily speechless at the sudden outburst. After a pause, he softened his tone: "Well, it’s also because your master’s fulang is so jealous. After all, he’s from a farming family and can’t tolerate having a concubine. It’s not your fault."
Wenzi didn’t respond.
The middle-aged man took Wenzi’s hand: "Think about it. You have worked so hard for their family, and in the end, they sent you here to toil. They have no conscience. Since that’s the case, why are you still so loyal to them? In the end, only your family can be relied upon. Now that our family’s situation has improved, your brother and sister-in-law know you’re here, and they miss you. The whole family feels guilty about what happened to you."
"Your father and I have discussed it. Once we’ve saved enough money, we’ll buy you back and bring you home. You’ll still have time to marry into a good family. How does that sound?"
Wenzi continued to sob, still not answering.
The middle-aged man shook Wenzi’s hand: "But you know how much debt our family is in. We want to bring you back as soon as possible, but we just don’t have the money right now. Seeing that the weather is not good this year, it will be even more difficult to save enough money."
Wenzi remained silent, just staring at the person in front of him: "What are you trying to say, Little Dad?"
"You silly child, the Zhang family is so wealthy. There’s nothing lacking in this guesthouse. If you just help out the family a little, we’ll have enough money in no time," the middle-aged man said confidently.
"This isn’t just for the family’s sake, but for yours too. You can’t spend your whole life as a servant, can you?"
Wenzi suddenly laughed, his eyes filled with desolation: "What if the master finds out?"
"If you’re careful, how would they ever find out?" The middle-aged man didn't notice the change in Wenzi’s expression, he thought Wenzi had softened and grew even more excited: "When the time comes, you just have to do it like this…"
Wenzi suddenly stood up: "Wuzi! Wuzi!"
Hearing the call from inside the room, Wuzi rushed in. Seeing Zhang Fangyuan still standing at the door, he hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Zhang Fangyuan, with his hands behind his back, gave a slight nod. Wuzi immediately kicked the door open: "What’s wrong?"
Wenzi shouted: "He’s trying to steal! Get him out of here! Don’t let him come back again!"
The middle-aged man was startled and jumped to his feet: "You little beast! How dare you frame your own das! You’ve gone too far! Just wait until I— Ow, ow, ow!"
Before he could finish his curse, Wuzi had already twisted his arm behind his back. The middle-aged man winced in pain.
Zhang Fangyuan watched from a distance as the man was dragged out, letting out a cold snort. Thankfully, the young man hadn’t continued down the wrong path.
"Don’t let that person come here again. Even if he comes to buy something, don’t sell anything to him."
Zhang Fangyuan gave the order to the clerk. Hearing the middle-aged man still shouting curses outside as Wuzi dragged him away, he exchanged a look with his clerk, and soon everything was quiet.
Zhang Shiyue hurried in: "Nothing serious happened, right?"
Zhang Fangyuan shook his head: "It’s fine."
Zhang Shiyue breathed a sigh of relief: "He ge'er is really good at coming up with solutions. Now that he has cut ties on his own, it’s much better than us having to guard against him."
Zhang Fangyuan nodded: "In these troubled times, we can’t afford to have outsiders causing trouble. It’s fortunate that he still has some sense."
Zhang Fangyuan transported several carts of grain back to the village. When the villagers saw this, they couldn’t help but gather around to ask questions. Hearing that many people in the city were hoarding grain and that droughts in other prefectures were causing grain prices to rise, they couldn’t help but sigh.
"How much have prices gone up?"
"Five to ten copper coins. The city is in chaos, and everyone’s talking about the droughts in other counties."
The villagers, however, didn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation. Instead, their eyes lit up: "If prices are rising so much, the grain stores in the city must be buying a lot of grain. Selling grain now must be more profitable than last year! I should take a couple of carts to the city tomorrow. That’ll make more money than last year!"
They even turned to Zhang Fangyuan: "Landlord Zhang, if you’re buying grain, why didn’t you tell us? You could’ve saved yourself a trip to the city."
Zhang Fangyuan took a deep breath: "With the drought coming, grain prices are rising. If you don’t keep your own grain, you’ll end up losing more when you have to buy it later!"
"Last year was a bumper harvest, and there’s plenty of grain in the granaries. Besides, it’s just one year of drought. Siyang is hotter than usual, but it’s not enough to ruin this year’s crops. There will still be a harvest in the fall, and we won’t go hungry. It just won’t be as good as last year’s harvest."
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