156 Chapter 156: People Who Had Experienced Famine
As the drought continued, the price of food would definitely rise.
She didn’t have much savings left. Otherwise, she would have continued to stock up on grain in large quantities.
Since she already knew what was going to happen next, she had to remind her family.
However, her father had only just realized that their family’s coffers had been emptied.
It would not be easy for them to stock up on food.
“It’s not news anymore. The price has already gone up,” Qin Dazhuang said with a frown.
“When I opened my stall yesterday, I heard more than one person talking about this.”
“Previously, it was only one or two grain stores. Now, people are saying that all the grain stores in the west of the town have raised their prices.”
“Brown rice and coarse flour are now sold for three copper coins per catty. Some grain stores even sell them for three and a half copper coins!”
“If the drought continues, we won’t be able to harvest this autumn’s grain. I’m afraid the price of grain will go up some more.”
When Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu heard this, their faces turned grim.
“Today, I was thinking of going to the grain store to take a look and spend some money to buy some grain. But…”
“But… Cough-cough…” When Qin Dazhuang recalled what had happened at home recently, he wanted to give himself two big slaps.
He felt really remorseful…
Qin Xiaoyao hurried forward and supported her father, and then she helped to soothe him.
“Father, don’t be angry! It’s not worth it to get angry and harm your body!” she said as she helped to soothe and pacify him.
Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu also stood up worriedly.
When they saw Qin Dazhuang had calmed down, they felt more relieved and sat down again.
“I’m fine,” Qin Dazhuang said to his daughter after he had caught his breath.
He gestured for Qin Xiaoyao to go back and sit down.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao return to her seat.
“It’s necessary to stock up on grain,” Qin Dazhuang said to Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu.
The brothers’ faces froze.
After exchanging glances, Qin Dahu turned to look at his father.
“How much should we stock up?” he asked.
“See how much money your two households have.”
“If you have enough money, we can just stock up 6 to 700 catties. If you don’t have enough money, we must still stock up at least 200 catties,” Qin Dazhuang said.
Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu were both shocked.
“So much?” Qin Erhu asked at once.
Qin Dazhuang glanced at his second son.
“It’s not much.”
“If we can’t harvest the grain this autumn, the grain price won’t drop until the next autumn’s harvest.”
“This… might still be considered good. If it was the same as 25 years ago when we had that massive calamity, the situation could be even worse.”
Qin Dazhuang sighed when he saw his two sons’ skeptical looks.
He told them about the disaster that happened in Mountain Spring Town 25 years ago.
“The drought at that time was much more serious than the one five years ago. The affected area was also much wider.”
“After the drought, there was a locust plague, which ate up almost all the crops in the villages around Mountain Spring Town.”
“Some people sell their children, and some even… exchanged their children for food.”
The three Qin siblings were all stunned.
As they listened to Qin Dazhuang’s story, they felt a chill in their hearts despite the hot weather.
“That year, your mother and I just got married. It’s all thanks to your mother’s foresight. After she realized that the situation was not right, she pawned off the dowry and bought 200 catties of grain in advance. Our family only managed to survive because of that.”
The three siblings heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this.
“So, was that why you bought a few hundred catties of grain in advance when the drought happened five years ago, Father?” Qin Dahu suddenly remembered this and asked Qin Dazhuang.
“Yes.” Qin Dazhuang replied.
“Only those who have actually experienced famine know how terrible a food shortage is.” He sighed again.
The three siblings fell silent.
“If your family has extra money, don’t forget to stock up on some food.” As Qin Dazhuang spoke, he looked at Qin Xiaoyao.
Qin Xiaoyao laughed.
“Don’t worry, Father. I’ve already stocked up on all the food,” she said.
Qin Dazhuang was stunned.
“Oh? How much did you stock up?” He was a little surprised.
“2000 catties of coarse flour, 1000 catties of brown rice, and some dried food and seasoning.”
“In any case, with just the few of us in my family, the food can last us for two years without any problem,” Qin Xiaoyao said outright.
If she included the food in the cellar, it could last for another five or six years.
...
Of course, she had an agreement with her attractive husband that the food in the cellar was a secret and could not be revealed to outsiders.
“So much?” Qin Erhu immediately stared at his younger sister.
Qin Dahu and Qin Dazhuang were equally stupefied.
Qin Xiaoyao smiled in embarrassment.
“Hehe, I… didn’t just hoard them for food.”
“I feel that the price of food will probably increase. If it really rises, we can earn some money from the price difference by selling it. ”
“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t rise. Next year, I’m going to open a porridge shop so we can use up the food at home at that point.”
The trio of father and sons nodded.
They totally agreed with Qin Xiaoyao’s thinking.
“Then my household will stock up 400 catties. 200 catties each of brown rice and coarse flour. It should be enough to last our whole big family for two to three months,” Qin Dahu said.
“My household will also stock up 400 catties,” Qin Erhu added.
...
“If we really encounter a great calamity, 800 catties of food should be sufficient.”
Qin Dazhuang nodded.
“Then you two brothers should get this done as soon as possible. Otherwise, the price of food will continue to rise if you delay.”
“Yep. Don’t worry, Father. When the sun is not so hot, I’ll get it done with Younger Brother!” Qin Dahu immediately replied.
Qin Erhu also nodded.
Only then did Qin Dazhuang feel relieved and start to talk about other topics with the three siblings.
Qin Xiaoyao chatted with the three of them until it was almost three o’clock in the afternoon before she got up and left.
She didn’t want to leave, but she had to go back and prepare her century eggs.
Fortune Mansion was still purchasing her century eggs in large quantities.
However, Second Brother said that the meat that Fortune Mansion ordered had decreased, so their business must have declined.
When she went to deliver the goods tomorrow, she would have to ask Uncle Zhao about the situation.
She had to review whether she needed to adjust the number of century eggs she prepared every day.
After all, if she made too many century eggs which could not be sold off, her small family wouldn’t be able to finish all of them.
In addition, with the famine, it was hard to say if she could open a porridge shop.
The Qin family’s father and sons saw that the sun was still high overhead, so they all wanted to keep Qin Xiaoyao back for a while longer.
Qin Xiaoyao replied that if she went by the alleys, she wouldn’t get too much sun.
Only then did the three of them let Qin Xiaoyao go.
As soon as she walked out of the shade, Qin Xiaoyao felt a heat wave hit her body.
Following that, she didn’t think about it anymore and left quickly.
After leaving the Qin family’s residence, Qin Xiaoyao quickly turned into the nearest alley leading to the Song family’s residence.
Then, after weaving through the streets and a few alleys, she finally made her way back to the Song family’s house.
It was Song Yun who opened the door for Qin Xiaoyao when she knocked on it.
Song Yun was overjoyed to see her sister-in-law.
She asked about the Qin family.
Qin Xiaoyao was in no rush to answer. Instead, she went back to her room to look for Song Que.
At this moment, Song Que had already gotten up and was writing at his desk.
Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao had returned, his heart, which had been held in worried suspense, finally settled down.
Qin Xiaoyao entered the room and saw a pot of tea on the coffee table. She immediately walked over and poured herself a cup.
After that, she poured another cup from the teapot and gulped it down again.
“It’s too hot. I feel as if I’m almost half dead after walking all the way back.”