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Chapter 216: Chapter 209 Buy Rice
Since things had already come to this, worrying was useless, so Shen Yunfang simply stopped fretting. She was bound to receive her share of the grain, and even though she didn’t qualify for the full 480 jin, getting more than 300 jin was virtually guaranteed. They had already distributed 200 jin of corn, so taking a little less millet or other grains would be no big deal. After all, it was only a matter of time before she got her share of grain.
Others, however, saw things differently. This day, Dashuan’s wife, along with Erzhu’s wife and Jianjun’s wife, all came together.
"Yunfang, don’t worry. Even if the team doesn’t distribute grain to you, you certainly won’t starve. Tonight, I’ll have my husband carry a bag of grain over to you," Jianjun’s wife said, carelessly.
That’s just her personality. But she meant well—upon hearing that Yunfang might not get her share of grain, the first thing she thought of was to bring some over so Yunfang and her child wouldn’t go hungry (knowing how Yunfang had a taste for luxury, preferring rice over coarse grains). Of course, she was still crafty and wouldn’t carry the grain over blatantly, opting instead to bring it quietly at night.
"That’s kind of you, but I’ll only take rice. Two mao per jin without husk, and one mao five per jin with husk. Cash and delivery in one go," Shen Yunfang didn’t refuse, since she was deeply touched by her sisters-in-law’s care and concern. But no family had it easy, and she couldn’t just take their grain for free.
Moreover, she had also bought a significant amount of rice from them over the years. If she could buy some more this time, all the better.
"Two mao?" Jianjun’s wife exclaimed in surprise, wondering why the price had gone up as it used to be one mao seven per jin. She couldn’t immediately come to terms with this pleasant surprise.
"Look at you, making it sound like such an ordeal. I’m now embarrassed to even mention bringing you grain as if I’m coveting that bit of money," Erzhu’s wife said, glaring at Yunfang. It was as if she couldn’t tell whether Yunfang was serious about accepting the grain or not.
"You’re mistaken, it’s not you coveting money, it’s me coveting grain. My dear sisters-in-law, please take pity on us—the helpless mother and child. If you have any extra rice, bring it all to me," Shen Yunfang threw the pumpkin seeds back into the winnowing basket, and began to lament over her hardships with tears in her eyes.
Dashuan’s wife couldn’t help but laugh at her melodramatic antics, "Ha, you’re fiercer than my little Xiaohu."
Shen Yunfang pouted unhappily. She thought she was delighting everyone while also seeking benefits for herself; how did that make her fierce?
Erzhu’s wife, however, had something serious to inquire, "You’re just one person, what do you need so much rice for?"
"How can I be alone?" Shen Yunfang deliberately protruded her belly.
"Oh dear, you’re mistaken. Yunfang counts as two people—she’s got her son in her belly," Jianjun’s wife chimed in after spitting out a pumpkin seed shell, grinning as she spoke.
"You’re wrong; it’s a girl. I have a daughter in my belly," Shen Yunfang corrected her, turning to point out her mistake.
"So you’re sure it’s a girl? You’d better not tell your Hongjun that; he’d hardly be pleased," Dashuan’s wife warned, knowing the mindset of valuing boys over girls was still prevalent. Which man wouldn’t wish for a son to carry on the family name?
"Let’s not get sidetracked. We should talk about the rice first," Shen Yunfang said, eager to avoid veering off-topic and to get the matter at hand resolved.
"What’s there to say about it? Tonight, if their family has extra rice, they’ll carry it over to you. Just have the money ready," Dashuan’s wife grabbed another handful of pumpkin seeds.
In the past two years, her family hadn’t sold any rice outside, as it all went to feeding their two children and the elderly at home. Now, with over thirty chickens at home—mostly hens—they collected about thirty eggs daily, and eating quail eggs was sufficient for their family. Hence, they saved the eggs to exchange for money, and over time they had saved quite a bit. There was no longer any need to sell grain from their household.
"Okay, let’s get a count. Tell me how much rice you can sell to me so I can prepare the money." Shen Yunfang was insistent on confirming the details, needing a definite number from them.
"I can spare two hundred pounds from my house, that’s all. I’ve already husked it," said Jianjun’s wife.
"Alright, what about you, Erzhu’s sister-in-law?" Shen Yunfang turned to the major rice seller.
Shen Erzhu’s family was large, spanning over ten members from old to young. They hadn’t split their household, so they always had a substantial share of rice every year. With many able bodies in the household, their consumption was high; to avoid hunger, they would only keep the essential amount of rice and exchange the rest for coarse grains. In the past two years, Shen Yunfang had already bought rice from Erzhu’s family several times.
After thinking, Erzhu’s wife asked, "Can you take however much I have?"
Shen Yunfang’s eyes lit up at that, "However much you have, that’s how much I’ll take."
"Then would it work if I bring you a thousand pounds of rice?" She figured it was better to directly sell the rice, so she could feed an extra pig with the remaining grain.
Her words left two people in shock and one in delight—the delighted one was, of course, Shen Yunfang, while the other two stared at her in surprise.
"Why is your family selling so much rice all at once? Don’t you need to keep some for eating?" Jianjun’s wife asked.
"Is there something going on at home? Come talk to us, and we’ll help you find a solution," said Dashuan’s wife.
Indeed, none of the families had much in the way of savings. If a family had an emergency, such as someone falling ill and needing to see a doctor in the city, they would usually sell grain privately to get money for it.
Erzhu’s wife smiled and explained, "There’s no big issue. My younger sister-in-law has gotten engaged, and she’ll be getting married next spring. She’s the only girl in our family, and my mother-in-law insists we can’t shortchange her. She shouldn’t be looked down upon in her marital home, so we decided to sell more grain this year and prepare a better dowry for her."
The three people fell silent upon hearing her explanation. They say it’s one thing to help someone in an urgent situation, but it’s quite another to sell grain for a daughter’s dowry. They couldn’t really say it was right or wrong, just that it was tough on Erzhu and his wife, who worked the hardest yet were the least considered in the family.
Shen Yunfang quickly interjected, "Well then, sister-in-law, I was just bluffing earlier. I’ll still buy the rice at one mao seven per pound, no price increase." She opened her own family’s standing cabinet, pulled out a small bag, counted thirty yuan, and handed it to Erzhu’s wife, "Sister-in-law, this is thirty yuan, wages for the work you and your husband did for me a while back." After saying this, she stuffed the money into Erzhu’s wife’s pocket.
This gesture left everyone else baffled; when had Erzhu and his wife worked for her?
Dashuan’s wife was the quickest to catch on and hurriedly said, "Right, you keep that money; it’s what you and your husband earned in your spare time, no need to give it to your mother-in-law. Look, don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way, but your kids are getting older, and you should start saving some ’crossing the river’ money for yourself. And that mother-in-law of yours with her favoritism, do you think she’d give you money if you really needed it? Let’s not talk about anything else, just imagine if your daughter were ill and needed to go to the hospital—would your mother-in-law agree to pay for that?"
Of course she wouldn’t. Shen Erzhu’s mother wasn’t exactly a wicked mother-in-law, but she clung to old ways, valuing boys over girls. Her own daughter was an exception, of course, but she barely cared for her granddaughters, to the extent that she wouldn’t pay for their medical treatment when they were ill, forcing them to endure it on their own.
Erzhu’s wife initially moved to return the money but stopped after listening to Dashuan’s wife’s words. She then clutched the money tightly in her hand, nodding seriously and said, "Thank you." The gratitude was genuine; she understood these people were looking out for her and could distinguish good from bad.
"Let’s not talk about this anymore. Yunfang, tell us, is it really a girl in your belly? Your husband, Li Hongjun..."
