kvmb Chapter 56 An Immense Number
Chapter 56 An Immense Number
"Dao Ge'er and the others have gone to town to buy grain. They're really rich!"
A male villager said with a look of envy.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Dao Ge'er's family and Chen Dajia's family are living better lives than the village chief these days!"
"Of course! They eat white flour steamed buns every meal. Even those big-bellied men like Chen Cheng can afford white flour steamed buns. How could the village chief's family eat that every meal?"
"Dao Ge'er's family lives a life like gods!"
"I wonder how much grain Daoge will buy this time?"
"..."
The villagers' conversations always revolved around Chen Dao's family's wealth, and their faces were full of longing and envy when they talked about Chen Dao's family.
Despite their envy, the villagers have probably gotten used to it after so many days. Although they still can't help but feel envious when Chen Dao is mentioned, they are now able to take it in stride.
However, their composure was about to vanish.
Just as everyone was chatting, a donkey cart slowly drove up from the direction of the village entrance. Seeing the grain sacks piled up like small mountains on the cart, the villagers who were watching the spectacle almost turned green with envy.
"Is that the village chief's donkey cart?"
"Yes! That donkey had a scar on its forehead, I remember it clearly!"
"Damn it, this donkey cart is full of grain, how much grain is that?"
"Those grain sacks at the bottom, you can tell they're rice at a glance. Damn, so many sacks, how much rice is that?"
"Look at those ruts, they're so deep they're almost sinking into the ground. I reckon there must be over a thousand pounds of grain here!"
"I think it must weigh at least two thousand jin!"
"Too little! At least three thousand catties!"
"..."
The villagers' remarks were reminiscent of my country's Great Leap Forward, with their outrageous statements. Saying a thousand catties was somewhat plausible, but saying two thousand or three thousand catties was utterly absurd.
This wooden donkey cart would be crushed to pieces in no time if three thousand catties of grain were placed on it. The wheels might even break. Even if it didn't fall apart, the load-bearing capacity is probably beyond what a donkey could possibly possess.
The reason for such shocking remarks was simply that the villagers spoke without thinking in a state of extreme astonishment.
At this moment, every single villager had their eyes glued to the donkey cart, as if they were looking at a mountain of gold and silver.
From a certain perspective, the grain on the donkey cart was indeed as precious as gold and silver to the villagers, or even more precious than gold and silver.
After all... in these days, not having money is nothing, but not having food at home is what really means to starve to death.
"Brother Dao!"
A young man named Chen Gou couldn't help but move closer to the donkey cart, next to Chen Dao, and asked with drooling eyes, "Did you empty out all the grain stores in the county town?"
"Brother Gou is joking!"
Chen Dao replied with a smile, "I only bought 900 jin of grain, how could I possibly empty the grain store!"
900 pounds!
Chen Gou Ru was struck by lightning and froze completely!
900 jin of grain was an astronomical figure for him, yet... Chen Dao still used the word "nothing"...
The phrase "just two words" coupled with the number 900 jin (approximately 450 catties) almost made Chen Gou want to punch Chen Dao in the face. It was just too damn infuriating!
"It weighs 900 jin! Daoge'er's family is too rich!"
"Even the landlord's house doesn't have this much grain!"
"Look at those big-bellied men, Chen Cheng and his burly husband, they're practically grinning from ear to ear! With Dao Ge'er buying so much grain, how could they possibly go hungry?"
"The three Chen brothers are really hooked. They're hanging out with Brother Dao, and they're eating like there's no tomorrow. Their mouths are always full of oil!"
"I also want to work for Brother Dao! Why doesn't Brother Dao look down on me?"
"I want to marry Daoge! I want to eat steamed buns every day."
"..."
Amidst the envious gazes of the villagers, the donkey cart slowly came to a stop in front of Chen Da's house.
"Squeak!"
Having heard the commotion, Li Ping and He Cuilian opened the front gate and said with a smile, "You're back?"
"Ok!"
Chen Dao nodded and said to Chen Cheng and the others, "Brother Cheng, could you please help me move the grain inside?"
"Look at what you're saying, Dao-ge'er, this little thing isn't troublesome at all!"
Chen Cheng was always the most enthusiastic worker. He and his two brothers began to move the grain, and Chen Da, Chen Jiang, and Chen Si also joined in.
As for Chen Dao, he naturally didn't need to do this kind of work.
"Brother Dao, how much grain did you buy?"
Looking at the bags of grain being carried from the truck into the house, Li Ping couldn't help but ask.
Even He Cuilian stared intently at Chen Dao, awaiting his answer.
"A total of 900 jin!"
Chen Dao finished speaking.
Li Ping and He Cuilian instantly froze.
What does 900 jin (450 catties) of grain mean...?
In good years, this number wouldn't be too large, only about the harvest from three acres of land. But in these kinds of years...
900 jin of grain, that's an enormous number!
It's no exaggeration to say that the total grain reserves of all the more than one hundred households in Chenjia Village probably wouldn't even amount to 900 jin (450 catties), and that doesn't even include things like rice husks and wheat bran...
Chen Dao went to the county town and brought back so much grain...
"I originally planned to buy two or three thousand catties, but the donkey cart couldn't fit them all, so I could only buy 900 catties for now!"
Chen Dao's additional sentence instantly plunged Li Ping and He Cuilian's minds into an even longer state of lapse.
Three thousand catties of grain... This was a number that two women had never dared to dream of!
"Dao'er, where did you get the money to buy so much grain?"
Li Ping asked subconsciously.
"Don't ask me, Mother. I have my own way of doing it!"
Chen Dao smiled and brushed it off, then stepped aside to reveal Ding Xiaohua behind him: "Mother, let me introduce you. This is Ding Xiaohua. She fled from Qingzhou. I took pity on her and brought her back!"
Upon hearing Chen Dao introduce her, Ding Xiaohua quickly stepped forward and said somewhat nervously, "Greetings, Auntie."
From the conversation between Chen Dao and Li Ping, Ding Xiaohua already knew Li Ping's identity; she was Chen Dao's mother. In the Xia Kingdom, filial piety was the foundation of governance, and mothers held a significant position in the family.
Therefore, when facing Li Ping, Ding Xiaohua was very afraid that Li Ping would be dissatisfied with her and drive her away.
If she couldn't stay at Chen Dao's house, Ding Xiaohua would have nowhere to go but to try her luck in the county town.
"Fleeing from Qingzhou?"
Li Ping frowned and looked at Ding Xiaohua in front of her. The woman was wearing tattered burlap clothes, covered in mud from head to toe, even her face was covered in dust and dirt, and she was carrying an unconscious child on her back. It was hard not to feel sorry for her.