Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 40 She is different from others
Lu Jia had actually wanted to scold this imperial envoy for a long time.

After all, his experience in the capital in his previous life told him that the person who came was most likely a member of the Yan family.

But her current situation meant she couldn't do anything about this imperial envoy, so she could only endure it. At the docks, when people were discussing the matter, she could only listen.

But the scene before her made it impossible for her to hold her breath.

What's wrong with cursing?
If she could, she'd even want to hit someone!
After berating the corrupt official in front of everyone, she strode outside and placed the half-sack of grain she had taken from the He family in front of the farmers: "Take this."

Li Chang exclaimed in surprise: "This can't be..."

When faced with danger earlier, he did consider taking the rice out to ensure his safety.

But since the reality wasn't what they thought, and the danger had passed, he stopped thinking about it.

This rice is very important to Lu Jia!
She had already made an agreement with Liu Xiyu that she must help procure the grain before Liu Xiyu would agree to participate in her plan.

It is urgent to deal a heavy blow to the Zhang family. The He family has gone so far as to pay people to deal with Lu Jia. How can we tolerate them and give them another chance in the future?

If we can't get the rice back, we won't be able to get a price, and the He family will also be hindered.

These people in front of us are pitiful, but if we miss this opportunity to win over Liu Xiyu, when will we get another chance?
What if it works but then comes up with some terrible idea?
Lu Jia took out the rice without saying a word!

"sister!"

Not only was Li Chang surprised, but Xie Yi's eyes also revealed his rejection. He understood the Zhang family's wickedness even better than Li Chang!
"Give it to me!" Lu Jia snatched the rice from their hands and calmly handed it to the farmers. "Take it and distribute it."

The farmers, their faces filled with despair, stared at her in astonishment. Only when they were certain that the bag of rice was for them did they quickly take the grain and hurriedly open the sack. When they saw the white rice inside, their hands trembled with excitement!

"Bodhisattva! Bodhisattva!..."

Shen Qingzhou also turned her face and fixed her gaze on Lu Jia's face.

From the moment I met her, she never did anything that put me at a disadvantage, to the point that I've gradually gotten used to her little schemes.

Even if she didn't give him the bag of rice, Shen Qingzhou would still think it was perfectly normal.

Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, she was still willing to give up the opportunity she had finally managed to obtain.

"Then what are you going to do?" he said. "Without this half bag of rice, you won't even be able to get the thousand bushels of rice from the He family."

“I don’t know what to do either.” Lu Jia looked at the vast rice paddies outside the door. “But even though I’m poor, at least I’ve never gone hungry. They don’t have this half bag of rice, but they could starve to death.”

The Lu family was a government household supported by countless people, and she had eaten rice in the Lu family for five years. How could she watch these people die with a clear conscience?

Moreover, if ordinary people are living like this, don't those high-ranking officials bear any responsibility?
“This… young lady.”

Lu Jia cursed the Yan family and her treacherous father in her heart with a heavy heart. Just as she was cursing them, she heard the old man's voice behind her.

Were you just discussing collecting the money?

Lu Jia turned around. She saw an old man who had been the first to kneel and kowtow looking at her hesitantly: "I saw you come from the He family earlier. Are you from the grain store?"

Lu Jia paused for a moment, then immediately said, "We came to the He family to collect grain, but our shop hasn't opened yet; we're just here to gather grain first."

One should not harbor malicious intent, but one must be wary of others. Although these are all pitiful people, their plight was caused by the people in the grain shop.

To avoid a new wave of conflict, Lu Jia naturally couldn't speak directly.

The old man said "Oh," and then said, "If you've come here to collect grain, then I can provide you with a clue."

Lu Jia was stunned: "What?"

The old man pointed to the east end of the village: "About five or six miles past here, there is a family surnamed Zhou. They have at least three or four thousand shi of grain stored up."

"Three or four thousand shi!"

Li Chang and Xie Yi exclaimed in unison, "Really? Someone in Shawan County is still hoarding this much grain this month?"

The grain in the grain store came from both local and out-of-town sources. The grain from out-of-town sources was from landlords in nearby prefectures and counties. Because of the long distance and the need to compare prices repeatedly, the delivery time to the grain store was often delayed.

Local grain has always been pre-ordered by grain merchants well in advance. So it's unbelievable that someone would still be hoarding thousands of bushels at this time!

“Of course it’s true,” the old man said. “Don’t laugh at me, brothers, but we’ll do anything to make a living.”

"We know exactly how much harvest each landlord in the neighborhood has and how much grain they have stockpiled."

"After all, we also hope that one day they will be merciful and just give some away."

"The Zhou family doesn't own much land, and the few thousand bushels of grain they have are all bought from elsewhere, which they intend to resell to grain dealers."

"Therefore, not many people at the docks knew that their family had grain. In addition, since they resold it, the price would be about a hundred coins per shi higher than other landlords, and they haven't been able to sell it yet."

"If you don't care about the price, you can go and ask around."

The old man's hesitant words immediately boosted the morale of Lu Jia and the other two!

Even Shen Qingzhou couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Lu Jia was overjoyed: "Uncle! Is everything you said true? You're not lying to me, are you?"

"Of course it's true." Seeing that she still didn't believe him, the old man grew a little anxious. He glanced back at the half-sack of grain and said, "Wait until we divide the rice. I'll cook a couple of bites and then I'll take you there myself!"

With things having come to this point, how could I possibly allow him to cook?!
Lu Jia grabbed his arm: "Don't bother dividing this rice, give it to them! Take me there now, I'll have someone go to town to buy you some steamed buns! I'll also give you a bag of rice afterwards!"

After saying that, she dragged the old man outside.

A stone costs over a hundred coins; what's so special about that?
When the He family poached the He family, they promised to pay an extra 100 coins. Before coming here, Lu Jia had already told Liu Xiyu that the He family would most likely ask for more money. Not to mention 100 coins, even 300 coins would not be a problem!
No matter how expensive it is, it's still less than the money owed for breach of contract!
Watching her joyful figure disappear with her entourage, Shen Qingzhou, lagging behind, turned back to look at the few farmers left behind, and pulled out a few silver notes from his pocket:

“Take one of these cards and use it to buy some rice to get through these next few months.”

The farmers, with tears in their eyes, accepted the gift with trembling hands and then prostrated themselves on the ground in gratitude.

Shen Qingzhou looked at them and said, "That was Miss Xie. She is different from other grain merchants. She asked me to give you this money. If she ever has any difficulties in buying and selling grain in the future, you should all remember to help her."

(End of this chapter)