Chapter 139: Money Available for the Taking on the Slope
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The people from the Azure Dragon Base had dug a pit on the slope and placed the 200 sacks of grain in it.
Li Yong and his men carried all the grain sacks back to the Tiger Base. However, for safety’s sake, Tiger Might asked them to take the grain to Su Ying and let her have a look to see if it had been poisoned.
“Are you saying that the Azure Dragon Base wants to form an alliance with the Tiger Base, and these 200 bags of grain are a gift of sincerity?” Su Ying asked as she looked at the sacks of grain with a frown.
“That’s right, Madam Su. Our leader didn’t believe it at first, but this was 200 sacks of grain. If it was true, then we would have profited from this. So, our leader told me to go to the slope to take a look. After confirming that it was really grain, we carried it back for Madam Su to check if it contained poison.”
Su Ying nodded, but it would take some time to check all 200 sacks of grain carefully. She asked Li Yong to move all the grain sacks into her courtyard so that she could check them one by one.
Li Yong and the others quickly followed her instruction.
After the grain was moved, Li Yong said, “Madam Su, we can’t buy any grain now. Our Leader still needs a thousand sacks of food. If we can’t gather them, we’ll be in big trouble, so this batch of grain is very important to us.”
Su Ying carefully checked the grain in the sack and did not pay attention to Li Yong’s words. She only thought that he meant the Tiger Base had many people and needed a large amount of food for the winter. Without food, they would starve to death, which was a big problem.
“Leave the grains with me for now. I’ll let you guys carry it back after I’ve checked it and made sure there’s no problem.”
“Alright. Then I’ll have to trouble Madam Su.”
Su Ying nodded. She told Number One and the rest to practice by the stream in the afternoon while she stayed at home to check on the grains.
Su Ying asked Bai Shuang to bring her a few large bamboo winnowing baskets. These winnowing baskets were made by Uncle Hea when he was free.
Su Ying poured out all the rice in the sack and examined it sack by sack.
It took Su Ying two whole days to make sure that there were no problems with the 200 sacks of rice.
She packed the checked rice and asked Jiang Yang to send a message to Li Yong, telling them to transport the sacks back.
Tiger Might stood near the railing on the second floor and watched Li Yong and the others carry the 200 sacks of rice into the warehouse.
“Big Brother, did they really give us 200 sacks of rice for free? Is Wu Feng crazy?” Qiao Yang had almost lost his life to the Azure Dragon Base. He did not believe that they would be so kind.
Tiger Might didn’t know what the people of the Azure Dragon Base wanted to do either, but since the other party dared to release the grain, they would be bold enough to take it too.
“Who cares. We’ll deal with whatever situation that arises with the appropriate measure later.”
Li Yong ordered his men to move the grain sacks. When they had completed the task, he reported to Tiger Might, “Leader, the grain has been stored away.” Tiger Might nodded. “Did Madam Su say anything about this?”
Li Yong shook his head. “Madam Su didn’t ask much.”
“Mm-hmm. Continue to send people to keep an eye on the Azure Dragon Base. If there are any unusual movements, report back immediately.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Su Ying did not know about the conflict between Tiger Might and the Azure Dragon Base. After she asked Li Yong to carry the grain sacks away, she took the shovel and went to the charcoal pit. The wood in the pit had been burning for a few days, and she planned to open it up today to see if the charcoal was done.
“Mistress, are you going to the pit? I’ll go with you.” Tian Mu saw Su Ying leaving with a shovel and followed her.
Su Ying nodded, and the two of them went to the pit.
Tian Mu pushed away the dry grass on the pit, and a plume of white smoke rose up, stinging his eyes.
Su Ying used a shovel to break the yellow mud at the mouth of the pit, revealing a bigger hole.
After the white smoke had mostly dissipated, Su Ying used the shovel to scoop out the burnt wood inside.
Tian Mu squatted down to check the finished product. With one look, a look of joyous surprise appeared on his face. “Success, success. Mistress, we’ve done it. Although this charcoal can’t be compared to the high-grade low smoke and long-lasting charcoal, it’s definitely not a problem to use these to generate heat in winter.”
Su Ying walked over to take a look as well. On the surface, the charcoal was indeed quite ordinary. However, it was good enough to burn, and she was quite satisfied with this result since it was her first attempt at making charcoal.
“It’s good that it’s a success. Go and pull a carriage over and bring these charcoal back.”
“I’ll go now,” Tian Mu replied excitedly and ran off.
With the charcoal for fire, at least they wouldn’t have to suffer from the cold during winter. How could Tian Mu not be excited?
Su Ying took out all the charcoal and put some ash on the charcoal to cool it down. After the charcoal’s surface temperature had cooled down, she and Tian Mu loaded the charcoal onto the carriage.
“Hurry up, you useless thing. You’re walking so slowly. You won’t be able to pick anything up when we reach there!”
“Father, don’t hit me. I’ll walk. I’ll walk, okay?”
As Su Ying walked behind the carriage, she saw many people walking towards the slope behind the Tiger Base.
One or two persons was no big deal, but slowly, more and more people came in this direction.
“Quick, go quickly. If we’re late, there will be nothing left.”
Su Ying stopped in her tracks and stopped a middle-aged man. “Big Brother, where are you guys going?”
The man was quite friendly, and he replied, “Madam, you don’t know yet? In the morning, someone came back from the slope at the back and said that the slope was full of copper coins. He picked up a lot. If Madam has nothing to do, you can go and take a look. Maybe you can also pick up a lot. In any case, it’s free for the taking.”
The man dashed off in a hurry after he finished speaking.
Su Ying was even more puzzled when she saw how excited everyone was. The slope they were talking about was the one between the Azure Dragon Base and the Tiger Base. How could money appear there for no reason?
Then, she recalled that Li Yong had said that the grain given by the Azure Dragon Base was also placed on this slope. Could this be a coincidence?
Something was amiss if things were out of the ordinary. Su Ying decided to go and see what was going on.
“Tian Mu, drag the charcoal back first. I’ll go to the slope at the back to take a look.”
Tian Mu looked at the surging crowd and said worriedly, “Mistress, why don’t I bring the charcoal back first and go with you?”
Su Ying shook her head. “I’m just going to take a look. I’ll be back soon.”
Tian Mu nodded in resignation. “Be careful, Mistress.”
Su Ying murmured her reply and disappeared into the crowd.
Su Ying had just reached the slope when she discovered a copper coin in the earth.
She squatted down and picked up the copper coin for a look. It was indeed real money.
She looked around and saw that everyone was searching for the scattered copper coins.
Su Ying continued walking and found another copper coin on the ground.
She kept walking and picking up coins along the way. Within a short distance, she had already picked up more than ten copper coins.
The people who were scattered around the area were like ants returning to their nest, slowly swarming toward the slope.
Su Ying walked to the front and found a big pit on the slope. This big pit was probably used by the Azure Dragon Base to store the rice earlier.
“I’m rich, I’m rich, I’m rich! This pit is full of copper coins. Hahahahaha!” A man who had jumped into the pit dug the yellow mud under his feet like crazy. He shouted excitedly when he saw the copper coins emerging one after another.
When they saw this, the rest of the people jumped into the pit like crazy.
As more and more people jumped down, Su Ying could clearly feel the ground beneath her feet loosening.
Her eyes darkened. She turned around and wanted to leave, but the soil under her feet collapsed and she fell into the pit..