Chapter 230: Bandit Trouble Wouldn’t Happen So Soon

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Yes, just bring the firewood to the side of the main road, that’s all,” Wang Dashan said.

Since he dared to make such an arrangement, he naturally had the confidence to sell off the firewood.

Notwithstanding the families in Yong An Lane who regularly purchased firewood from him, Wang Dashan had been selling firewood in town for so long that he already knew where were the best places to sell firewood.

He had a handcart, so he could send the firewood to the doorstep directly and just knock on the doors.

Most families would be willing to buy two bundles of firewood if they did not have much left at home.

This was especially true for the area near the town center district. It was possible for some families to buy a lot in one go.

It was just that it was a little further from the town’s West Gate, and he had to walk a little further.

However, this was nothing to him.

“Alright! I’ll go tell your Uncle Liu and Erniu!” Aunt Liu quickly answered.

Then, she walked away with a beaming smile.

Wang Dashan returned to the room he shared with Wang Laoshuan.

The father and son then began to eat.

After they had taken only a few bites, Uncle Liu and Liu Erniu arrived.

They even brought some pancakes over, with the intention to discuss the matter of gathering firewood.

Wang Dashan quickly invited the two of them to join them for a meal.

However, the two of them said that they had already eaten. They even placed the pancakes on the table for the father and son to eat.

The Wang father and son didn’t stand on ceremony either. They had only eaten very diluted food for dinner which couldn’t quite fill their stomachs. The pancakes came at the right time.

As they ate the pancakes, the four of them began to talk about gathering firewood to sell.

Uncle Liu and Liu Erniu were very willing to do this job, and they were very grateful to Wang Dashan.

“Uncle Liu, you don’t have to be so polite with me.”

“It’s not easy to earn money now. By doing this, everyone will have a way to survive,” Wang Dashan replied.

Uncle Liu and Liu Erniu looked at each other and sighed.

Wasn’t it all about finding a way to survive?

Given the current situation in Mountain Spring Town, who knew if people like them, who didn’t have much household savings, could survive?

After confirming a few more details, both parties agreed to go out of town to gather firewood the next morning. The Liu family’s father and son then left.

After the duo left, Wang Laoshuan looked at his son.

“They… Are they really going to gather firewood with us in the future?” he asked his son.

Ever since the Liu family took over the Song family’s goods collection business in Brook Falls Village and subsequently moved to town, he had thought that the Liu family had struck it rich.

He thought they were very different from his own family.

However, from the looks of things, the Liu family’s situation was not good either.

Other than the eldest son of the Liu family, the second son and his father had no work to do.

Now, they even had to gather firewood with the Wang family to sell!

“Mm-hmm!” Wang Dashan replied.

“In the future, the three of you will gather firewood together so that you can take care of each other. Leave the wood-selling task to me.”

“Also, I’ll pay you for the firewood you gather in the future,” Wang Dashan added after some thought.

“It will be the same arrangement as agreed with the two of them. Two and a half coins for a bundle of firewood, in accordance with the price of the firewood in the town minus 50%.”

Wang Laoshuan was very surprised.

Wang Dashan continued, “In addition, you will pay for 40% of the family’s expenses in the future.”

“Er…” Wang Laoshuan’s face stiffened somewhat.

He was a little excited but also at a loss.

He had lived to such an old age but had never once managed money.

When he saw his son looking at him, Wang Laoshuan quickly said, “Oh, what I mean is, it’s better that you keep the money.” He was afraid his son would misunderstand him.

It was actually quite a good idea to have his son take charge of the money. Anyway, as long as his son had a bite to eat, he would not let his own father starve.

“You can keep it for yourself. Just don’t spend it carelessly,” Wang Dashan said.

He would let his father take the money himself. When his father could feel the actual money, he would be more motivated to work.

The way Mrs. Song managed the Song family was something worth learning from.

“Alright!” Wang Laoshuan finally agreed.

Wang Dashan raised his head to look at his father again. When he saw the smile on Wang Laoshuan’s face, he was even more certain that he had done the right thing.

After the meal, Wang Laoshan cleared the table and went to wash the dishes.

Wang Dashan suddenly said, “Oh, yes. Remember to bake some pancakes later.”

“In the future, we’ll eat pancakes for breakfast and lunch. We can eat more diluted food at night.”

“When we go out in the morning, bring the pancakes along for lunch.”

Whether it was gathering firewood or selling firewood, it was all labor-intensive manual work. If he didn’t eat something filling, he wouldn’t be able to endure the hard work.

Fortunately, his younger sister still had food with her, and it was enough to feed them for a while.

Of course, when he had more money, he would have to go to the grain store to buy some grain from time to time.

“Alright!” Wang Laoshuan answered with a smile.

It was already very good to be able to eat two filling, undiluted meals!

The next day at daybreak, Wang Dashan brought Wang Laoshuan and the Liu family’s father and son out of the town.

After bringing them to a mountain that was closer to the town’s West Gate, the few of them began to get busy.

At the same time, in the Song family’s residence.

Before she left to deliver the bean sprouts to Fortune Mansion and Fortune Restaurant, Qin Xiaoyao found Wang Xiaomei and asked her about moving her portion of the grains.

“This matter… I’ve already discussed it with my big brother.” Wang Xiaomei said with a troubled expression.

“His intention is… he still hopes to leave the food with me.”

“Then, when he needs it, he will come and ask me for it.”

“This way, my father won’t…” Wang Xiaomei didn’t finish her sentence.

Qin Xiaoyao’s expression froze.

Wang Xiaomei quickly added, “If Mrs. Song feels that it’s not convenient, I… can move the food into my room.”

Qin Xiaoyao frowned.

She could understand the Wang siblings’ thinking but… What she was worried about was that the food might be snatched away in the future.

Compared to their home, the Liu family’s home was much safer as it was located in the illegal construction area.

After all, if the Liu family’s house was located in the middle of the illegal construction area, the bandits might not even bother to search there.

Qin Xiaoyao hesitated for a moment when she saw the pleading look in Wang Xiaomei’s eyes.

“Alright. Then you don’t have to move it.”

“Also, don’t move it to your room. Just leave it in the storeroom. When the time comes, I’ll set aside a corner for you to put your food,” she said.

It was only a few hundred catties of grain, so hiding it in a pile of firewood might not be a big problem.

“Thank you, Mrs. Song!” Wang Xiaomei quickly thanked her.

Qin Xiaoyao gave a smile.

Only then did she leave to deliver bean sprouts to the Mansion and Restaurant.

On the way back, she passed by the grain store at the corner of the street and found that there was a long queue of people waiting in line.

Qin Xiaoyao asked a random person in the queue and learned that the price of brown rice and coarse flour today was 25 copper coins per catty. Qin Xiaoyao had an idea of what she wanted to do.

When she got home, she went to her room to look for Song Que.

After updating Song Que on the situation, Qin Xiaoyao said to him, “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

It was already October, and she felt that the temperature had dropped a little over the past two days.

Her husband had only said that before winter, there would be an outbreak of bandit trouble in Mountain Spring Town, but he was not sure when exactly.

What if the outbreak occurred within these few days?

It was only right to make preparations in advance.

Song Que merely smiled.

“Don’t be impatient,” he said.

Seeing that his wife was still not calm, he continued, “Don’t worry. The bandits won’t come until the gates of Mountain Spring Town are completely closed off.”

Then, Song Que told Qin Xiaoyao that there would be a large number of refugees flooding into Mountain Spring Town.

And after that, the town gates would be closed off.

There would also be a large number of refugees who would hang around the town gates, unwilling to leave.

Qin Xiaoyao’s heart tightened when she heard this, but at the same time, she felt very certain at that point that the bandit problem would not happen so soon.

Qin Xiaoyao felt a little more at ease then..