Traveling through the mountains and farming

Although Lin Wan only heard fragments of information, she was unable to understand the whole story.

But she knew that the stalemate on the front line meant that the two sides were still fighting fiercely and the people in the war zone would still be in dire straits.

What about her? Although she is away from the battlefield for the time being, can she really be safe?

For example, now she can see the skyrocketing grain prices, and the abnormal behavior of grain merchants, who actually enter the village to collect grain before the autumn tax.

There are also issues such as the possible increase in autumn taxes and compulsory conscription in the future.

These should be caused by war, right?

Just as she was lost in thought, Shopkeeper Shen came into the private room.

Shopkeeper Shen, with his usual gentle smile on his face, gently opened the door and said:

"Mrs. Lin, why are you so sad? What are you thinking about?"

As he spoke, he walked in steadily, his eyes revealing a bit of concern and curiosity.

Lin Wan heard the voice of Shopkeeper Shen, came back to her senses, and responded:

"Oh, nothing, it's just that there's been a strange thing in the village recently. Before we've paid taxes, grain merchants have come into the village to collect grain. I'm a little worried."

When Shopkeeper Shen heard this, he was surprised for a moment, then asked, "You didn't sell any grain, did you?"

"I don't even have any land, and the grain was sold to me by you out of kindness. How could I sell the grain? Some villagers couldn't resist the temptation and sold it." Lin Wan shook her head helplessly.

"Remember, don't sell the grain!" Shopkeeper Shen said seriously, "The current situation is unclear. There must be something behind these abnormal actions of grain merchants. Keep the grain and live a good life."

Lin Wan looked at Manager Shen's serious expression and nodded solemnly.

I thought to myself that this was the first time I saw Manager Shen so emotional, so serious and stern.

Then Shopkeeper Shen regained his usual gentle demeanor, looked at the two large baskets of things in the room, and asked with interest:

"Mrs. Lin, did you bring any new drinks or cakes today?"

Lin Wan collected her thoughts, stood up and walked to the basket, gently squatted down, opened two of the cloth bags, and took out a yellow and a purple-black candied fruit-like food respectively.

Then he walked over and handed it to him, smiling and saying:

"This is the new sweet and sour cookie I made. The yellow one is the original flavor, and the purple-black one is the perilla sweet and sour cookie."

After he took the two kinds of sweet and sour biscuits, she went back and opened one of the cloth bags, and used the plate on the table to fill it with a dish of food that looked like watermelon seeds.

At this moment, he tasted the sweet and sour biscuit in his hand and couldn't help but comment in his heart: "Hmm, sour and sweet, it tastes really good. I have never eaten or seen such a unique food before."

The next second, when his eyes fell on the plate of food that looked like watermelon seeds in front of him, he became more and more confused, and couldn't help but wonder how this Madam Lin did it.

You know, watermelon seeds are usually eaten by nobles, but she was able to make something similar to watermelon seeds, and it seemed that she brought a lot of them.

While savoring the unique flavor of the sweet and sour biscuits, he looked at the plate of things that looked like watermelon seeds. His heart was filled with curiosity and his eyes revealed anticipation. He really wanted to know what this new and exotic food was and how Lin Wan would introduce it to him.

"These are melon seeds, a kind of nut that tastes better than sunflower seeds and watermelon seeds." Lin Wan said with a smile.

Then she pushed the plate of melon seeds in front of Shopkeeper Shen and said, "Try it. It has a very crispy texture and a unique fragrance."

He looked at the melon seeds in Lin Wan's hand with some surprise. After hesitating for a moment, he took it, put it in his mouth, and gently bit it. At that moment, a rich fragrance spread in his mouth.

As Lin Wan said, the taste of these melon seeds is different from that of sunflower seeds and watermelon seeds, and is more delicious and unique.

Shopkeeper Shen immediately made the decision: "We need both kinds of food in our teahouse. You can send them over whenever you make them in the future."

Finally, the two of them quickly negotiated a price. Sweet and sour biscuits were 160 wen per pound, and melon seeds were 200 wen per pound. Lin Wan could deliver the goods anytime she had them.

As for the problem of unstable supply, Lin Wan also gave the teahouse a new idea. It is possible to set up special food supply days every five or seven days, and supply them in a fixed quantity.

Shopkeeper Shen was amazed at Lin Wan's ability to provide new and fresh ideas again.

At the same time, he became more and more curious about Lin Wan. He wondered how many wonderful ideas were hidden in her little head, and he admired her intelligence more and more.

When she was about to say goodbye and leave, she said:

"If there are any goods or new food in the future, you can send someone to pass on the message and I will send someone to pick it up."

Lin Wan smiled and nodded, "Okay, Manager Shen, I'll remember that."

Then she turned around and went downstairs. She planned to go to the toilet before going out.

As soon as she arrived at the thatched cottage, she heard a conversation between two people next door.

Jia said softly, "Have you heard? Recently, it has been rumored that the people in the vassal states recovered by the new emperor are living very well. It is said that land has been distributed to each household, and taxes have been reduced for three years."

B responded: "Yes, this time they don't even have to pay the autumn tax. These things are spreading more and more in the city, making people a little restless."

A said again: "I remember there were many students discussing here before the teahouse."

B said: "I heard that they were holding a petition campaign in private."

A hurriedly said, "Don't worry about your life. If the King of Chu finds out, I will definitely lose my head."

B immediately said, "Indeed, we are still under the jurisdiction of the King of Chu. If he hears us, we will be in trouble."

"But then again, the new emperor's policies are really something to be yearned for. It would be great if we could have the same here." A couldn't help but sigh.

B responded: "Yes, ordinary people like us just hope to live a stable and prosperous life."

A continued, "Alas, who knows? Perhaps we can only hope that the new emperor can recover our territory, so that we can all enjoy those good national policies."

B sighed and said, "Yes."

"What's the point of saying all this? Let's just finish the job at hand first." A said helplessly.

"That's right, we can only discuss this in private here." B agreed.

The two were silent for a while, and then the footsteps gradually faded away. Lin Wan held her breath and quietly came out of the toilet, sorting out the news she had just heard while leaving the teahouse.

If the new emperor's new policies spread throughout the areas under the jurisdiction of the King of Chu, the unification of the entire dynasty would be what the people want!

The King of Chu is bound to become more and more passive.

Does that mean the war won't last much longer?

Lin Wan felt that this trip was still somewhat useful. At least it let her know that the war might not last too long. She now had a year's worth of food in stock and had sufficient daily necessities. She just needed to pay attention to changes in the external situation.