The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 55 More Grain Distribution

"Ayu, go back and change your clothes. You're all wet. You need to wear dry clothes," Liu said quickly, turning back to little Ayu. "Okay," little Ayu nodded, her arms trembling in the wind.

It's so cold, I'd better hurry back to my room to change my clothes.

Meanwhile, Old Mrs. Wang pulled Liu along in the rain, and the two walked further and further apart.

Seeing that they were already quite a distance from Old Wang's house, Old Mrs. Wang finally found a banyan tree.

"Mother, what should we do about Ayu's situation?" Liu was somewhat flustered, as she was still shaken by what had just happened.

She wasn't a very opinionated person.

Grandma Wang said softly, "Don't rush, listen to me, we'll do it like this..."

As they were discussing, the village chief struck the gong hanging at the village entrance again.

Just then, the rain stopped, and everyone who had nothing to do went over to take a look.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Village Chief Hu said, "I have some good news to share with everyone."

"What good news is it?" Nobody could guess.

Village Chief Hu wasn't one to keep things in suspense. Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, he smiled and said, "The good news is that Lord Zhang has sent over some new grain! This time, however, there's less grain to eat, but there's plenty of seed. Apparently, it was all directly distributed by the Ministry of Revenue!"

Because the spring planting season is about to pass, if the people don't have enough seeds, most of the land will just lie fallow.

If supplies aren't distributed to make up for the shortfall, the grain shortage will be even greater during the autumn harvest.

The village chief went to the county town a couple of days ago, but he didn't manage to buy many grain seeds. The wealthy people in the town bought them all and ate them.

"Village chief, you're not lying to us, are you? Why is the imperial court sending grain twice?"

"Yes, do we need money for the grain and seeds?"

In the eyes of the villagers, anything involving dealing with officials always required paying money.

Village Chief Hu said, "Don't worry, the yamen runner who came to inform us said they won't charge us any money."

Everyone relaxed; at least they weren't charged.

Village Chief Hu added, "Last time, it was Lord Zhang who escorted it, but now the disaster situation in various places is severe, and the officials in the county town are too busy. So this time, the grain is not transported directly here, but is placed in the county government office, and we have to go and get it ourselves."

“Here’s what I’m thinking: our small carts at home are definitely not enough. Do you think we should go to the mountains to cut down a couple more logs and make a couple more carts so we can transport the grain?”

This time, the amount of grain was greater, and it was determined according to the number of people registered in the household, so the quantity was more than before.

Everyone is very enthusiastic because it concerns the future harvest.

The villagers hurriedly said, "We'll go cut down some wood right away. We have plenty of manpower, so just tidy it up a bit and it'll be usable."

Some people said, "I'll go weave a few more baskets, and then I can carry them with me."

"Which families want to go together? Let's make a plan, and once the carts are ready, we'll set off," said Village Chief Hu.

Everyone said they could go together; of course, they wanted to see the excitement of getting free food.

Moreover, the more people there are, the safer the food supply will be.

Even though it would take several hours to walk back and forth, they didn't mind.

"Bring your wife along too, we're also going to the county town, it's better to travel together if there are more people." Old Mrs. Wang also hurried over.

When everyone saw that it was Old Mrs. Wang, and considering how much the Wang family had sacrificed during this time, they naturally had no reason to refuse.

Grandma Wang said, "The imperial court's grain supply is finite. If we go too late, the grain might be gone, and we'll just be wasting our time."

Upon hearing this, everyone realized it made sense and wanted to hurry up and go. It didn't matter if there weren't enough carts; everyone could carry more loads.

Looking at the sky outside, Village Chief Hu hurriedly said, "No, no, the yamen runners said they'll reserve it for our village. If it stays for a day or two longer, we can go early tomorrow morning. It's too late today, and the roads are slippery from the rain. Don't fall down the mountain."

The mountain path is difficult to walk, and it becomes even more muddy and dangerous on rainy days.

The next day, coincidentally, the spring rain that was expected to last for several days suddenly stopped, and the surroundings were sunny.

The group then discussed going to the county town.

The day before, Old Mrs. Wang had gathered her sons and older grandsons at the muddy seedbed. She lifted the thatch, revealing the densely growing wheat seedlings, and the entire Wang family gasped in surprise.

These seedlings have only been planted for a few days! How come they've grown so big already?
"Don't make such a fuss. You may not have eaten pork, but you've seen pigs run, right? Stop looking so stupid!" Old Mrs. Wang said irritably. "Tomorrow, I'm going to the county town with the village chief and the others. Ayu is coming with us. You're not allowed to slack off at home. If I come back and find that not all the seedlings have been planted, see how I deal with you!"

The Wang family's sons and grandsons were stunned by the scolding, only thinking about working hard, and completely forgot to ask why the seedling had grown so tall.

In one day, they managed to make three carts. Although they were still a bit rough and hadn't been polished much, they were still usable.

With the carts in hand, everyone set off.

Little Ayu, carrying her little bib and a small flower basket, skipped and hopped along with the group.

The lamb followed beside them, its four hooves flailing happily.

Old Mrs. Wang grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and sent him back.

"You've come all that way, don't you want your hooves anymore? Go back and stay here!" Old Mrs. Wang yelled, scaring the little lamb back down.

Little Ayu stretched out her little hand and waved to the lamb: "Little lamb, wait for us at home."

The little lamb was very angry.

Although the sky had cleared, the ground was not completely dry. The village paths and official roads were all muddy, so carts were pushed very slowly, and when people walked, half of their feet would sink into the mud.

But everyone was very enthusiastic and didn't find it troublesome at all.

Little Ayu only jumped around for a short while before someone picked her up and put her on a cart, carrying her away.

"Ayu, don't walk anymore. You'll get your clothes dirty and it won't look good." Hu San said with a smile. "If you're sleepy, you can take a nap while Grandpa pushes you around."

Little Ayu said sweetly, "Thank you, Third Grandpa!"

It was Xiao Ayu's first time riding in a cart, and she was so excited that she lay on it, looking around with her little eyes darting about, seemingly looking at something.

The villagers of Hujia Village were no longer depressed and were full of energy. Even the muddy road could not dampen their enthusiasm and joy.

Occasionally, when they saw wild berries by the roadside, they would pick them and put them in Xiao Ayu's little pocket.

She would pick wildflowers and put them in her little flower basket.

Little Ayu was overjoyed!

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhan, who was in the Yongding County government office, suddenly felt his right eyelid twitch.

A servant rushed excitedly to the study door, shouting, "My lord, there is a young master outside who wants to see you!"

Zhang Zhan dropped what he was holding and rushed out like the wind, only to see several carriages parked outside the yamen.

Several servants stood outside the carriage, each holding a wooden stick.

At the front of the crowd stood a boy of about six or seven years old, flanked by a monk, a Taoist priest, and a person from some unknown sect.

Seeing these people made Zhang Zhan's head ache even more.

What's going on!
"Xiao...Xiao Huai, you must be tired from the journey. Why don't you go to the county government office to rest for a while, and the rest of you can go to the post station? What do you think?" Zhang Zhan hid his thoughts and showed a standard welcoming smile.

Unexpectedly, the young boy did not listen to Zhang Zhan at all.

He slightly raised his sleeve, looked directly at Zhang Zhan, and uttered a single, sharp word: "Dirty."

He didn't have time to properly groom himself during the month and a half he traveled.

The self-loathing expression on his face almost made Zhang Zhan think he was seeing things.

The young master rarely spoke, let alone showed his emotions.

It seems he really did suffer a lot.

"Hot water is ready. Please follow me."

As Zhang Zhan greeted these people as they entered the county government office, the group from Hujia Village also arrived outside Yongding County.

(End of this chapter)