I traveled through ancient times to escape famine with my arch-rival, the movie star.

Her current image is just that of a passerby with ordinary clothes and ordinary appearance. She has already been remembered by people after just visiting a few rice shops. I thought to myself that we really can't treat ancient people as background figures.

If the Xu family's hoarding of grain was some kind of news, then Shen Ying would have to be careful and cautious with her future living expenses.

She didn't want to argue with the ancients about superstition.

She also bought some food, then turned into the alley, took out a few packets of seasoning from the mall, opened them, wrapped them in oil paper used to wrap Chinese medicine, and after disguising herself, she left the alley and met Shen Youtian.

When he got closer, he showed him mysteriously that he had obtained five bags today: "That person is about to leave here. These are the last of his stock. They are all given to us."

Shen Youtian carefully collected the seasoning packets, feeling a little regretful: "Your mother and grandmother are still thinking about making some braised food as a long-term business."

I had been hoping to earn some extra money, but I didn't expect that the vendor selling the fishy seasoning didn't have that much stock left, and was about to leave. I guess I'd better keep it for my own use.

Seeing that Shen Youtian believed it without a doubt and didn't even ask the vendor where he was now, Shen Ying had an idea. "But, Dad, I think this thing can remove the fishy smell and increase the fragrance. I thought that when he comes back, we can buy some more and do a small business. Do you know what that man said?"

Shen Youtian looked at him with a puzzled look. What did he say?

"He said that he would not come again in the next few years. He said that he saw many gentry preparing to leave the north and go to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yunnan and Guizhou. Many people were secretly collecting grain. What are they doing? There is no grain over there, so can they stock up and sell it over there?"

"Strangely enough, the Xu family seems to be hoarding food as well..." Shen Ying stopped talking here and was no longer interested in the topic. Instead, she looked around to see if there were any ox carts from the same village that she could hitchhike back with.

On the way, Shen Youtian seemed a little silent, and he was in low spirits when he got home.

Mother Shen pulled Shen Ying aside and asked, "But the Xu family won't pay us anymore?"

"No, I gave it to you."

"So, what bad things happened?"

"No, I just heard someone say they wouldn't come again when I was buying the seasoning to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor, so I told Dad, and he was like that on his way back."

Mother Shen pondered for a moment, went into the room and said something to her husband.

Shen Ying knew that for the subsequent events, she only needed to fan the flames and was not in a hurry to spread the matter.

In the afternoon, because the sun was very strong, water was delivered to the house two or three times.

Shen Ying didn't go to the fields, so she cooked mung bean soup to cool everyone down.

In an era when there were no iced drinks, no electricity, and scarce fruits and vegetables, there were only a few heat-relief products: sour plum soup, mung bean soup, ice dew, and ice yogurt. The latter two were only consumed by the rich, while mung bean soup was considered a luxury for ordinary people to relieve the heat.

Looking into the pot, Shen Ying sighed.

She just bought mung beans today and said she wanted to make mung bean water, so I gave her two handfuls.

It was that small hand that grabbed it twice and refused to give any more.

There are nearly twenty people in the family, but they only gave us two handfuls. I guess later on, we will just be drinking mung bean "water".

Shen Ying could only throw some rock sugar into it to make it taste better.

The mung bean soup was not cold yet, and Shen Ying felt it was still hot, so she went to the mall to sneak a glass of ice-cold Coke. The first sip was absolutely delicious!

After the second sip, I didn’t want to take a third sip, so I switched to refreshing iced green tea.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed outside the door: "Aunt, what do you want to eat?"

The two-year-old kid was holding onto the door, standing firmly, staring at Shen Ying's bamboo cup with sharp eyes.

Shen Ying was embarrassed. Most of the adults in the family had gone to work, and her sister-in-law, who stayed at home to cook, felt too hot and took care of the younger children in the house. Therefore, Shen Ying did not expect the child's footsteps to be so light and ignored it.

"Well, do you want some?"

Shen Xiaobao nodded seriously, came in, sat on a small stool, and looked at Shen Ying's bamboo cup.

Shen Ying stood up and deliberately put the cup high. She took a small bowl and filled it with mung bean water. The warm mung bean water with a little sweetness was refreshing and pleasant. After one sip, she wanted another sip.

Shen Xiaobao finished the drink in one go and burped comfortably: "It tastes good."

"Still drinking?"

Shen Xiaobao thought about it and shook his head: "Dad, Mom, milk, drink."

Shen Ying was surprised. This kid was really righteous.

While playing with the children, the men of the Shen family came back from work, wiping their sweat. "This year's weather is so hot that it makes people panic."

"Who said it wasn't? I wanted to work harder, but more crops died than grew in the field. It felt like they would break if touched."

Shen Ying came forward, handed everyone handkerchiefs and provided water for washing hands. Bowls of mung bean water were already placed on the table, which was sweet and refreshing.

Mother Shen tasted the sweetness and frowned slightly.

This child added the candy he bought himself.

But then she thought again, if she gave the flowers to her family, their family would know how good she was. If she gave the flowers to that crappy scholar, they would be gone like fart.

In the evening, the village suddenly became noisy.

Every household went out of their homes.

The reason was simple: the kid from the Qi family was taken to the entrance of the village and thrown off a ox cart.

The person accompanying him was actually a soldier guarding the gate. When he saw the villagers coming over, he did not panic and shouted to everyone, "Qi Yanchuan from your village has been stealing the property of the city residents.

Considering our past friendship, the Xu family will not pursue the matter for now. We hope that the Qi family can keep him under control. If he comes to the town to cause trouble again, don’t blame us for being rude. Don’t use the reputation of your entire village to cover him up.”

Qi Yanchuan, who was lying on the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes were red. At this moment, he was like a fish that had come ashore. He kept struggling but was temporarily unable to move freely because of the beatings on his body.

The gazes of the people around him were like knives cutting every inch of his skin. The soldier took the bribe and deliberately slandered Qi Yanchuan, saying that he was crazy or something like that. When he saw the Qi family coming, he said that he would take good care of Qi Yanchuan, and then the soldier drove away.

Mrs. Qi carried her child on her back and dispersed the villagers who were watching and blocking the road, while helping her husband carry Qi Yanchuan back home.

Qi Yanchuan half opened his lips and wanted to say something, but was pushed back by Mrs. Qi's desperate eyes.

His eyes swept over the crowd and saw Shen Ying's surprised expression. He looked at the child holding her calf at her feet and her aunt, sister-in-law and mother talking to her. Qi Yanchuan gave a wry smile.

They are all worn here, why is his side such a mess?

Is he a failure as a person, or is Shen Ying lucky?

He was clearly actively trying to solve the problem. When he encountered Mrs. Qi's outburst, he also realized that his original self, that is, himself, could no longer be controlled by the Xu family, and it was time to get back the Qi family's life-saving food this year. So he went to the Xu family and expressed his desire to get back today's food.

He also tactfully expressed that he knew what the Xu family meant, and that he would give the Xu family a decent turn, that is, to let the Xu family cancel his engagement. He was clearly negotiating, and had given the Xu family enough initiative, but the Xu family turned hostile directly.