Chương 307

Ye Chutang always felt that something was not quite right about this matter.

If it were for money, Ye Heng had plenty of ways to obtain it, and he could do so faster and in larger quantities as well.

If it were for some other reason… why would he hoard grain in the first place?

Moreover, he was extremely cautious in his actions; he only ordered five thousand dan of grain, a quantity that wouldn’t attract too much attention.

Even Ye Chutang herself might not have known about it if she hadn’t returned to Qingzhou this time.

Pan Ying asked tentatively, “Does the second young miss plan to accept these grains on behalf of Second Master Ye?”

Before Ye Chutang could speak, Ye Yunfeng frowned and said, “That’s not feasible.” With five thousand dan of rice, my sister doesn’t do business in this area; even if she accepted it, there would be nowhere to sell it!

And since it involves Ye Heng, who knows how deep the issues really are?

Indeed, after pondering for a moment, Ye Chutang shook her head and politely declined, “It’s indeed not appropriate for me to take on this task.”

This was definitely not something that could be decided on a whim.

Pan Ying’s face showed disappointment, and his shoulders slumped.

In fact, he also knew that it was his own foolish wishful thinking; Ye Chutang and the others had nothing to do with this matter. How could they possibly let someone else pay to take the grain for them for free?

He looked apologetic as he stood up, “Second Miss Ye, I’m truly sorry! I was just too hasty in my words; please don’t mind!”

Ye Chutang smiled and said, “It’s alright.”

Seeing that she really didn’t seem to care, Pan Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Today I have been impertinent in disturbing you; please forgive me. Well, if there’s nothing else, then I’ll take my leave first…”

“If they don’t come at all, what do you plan to do?” Ye Chutang interrupted him and asked.

Pan Ying’s expression showed a hint of helplessness as he smiled wryly, “What else can we do? Either we find someone to sell it at a low price, or… we continue to hoard it.”

Either way, it was actually a loss for the farmers.

After deducting costs such as planting, irrigation, weeding, harvesting, and labor, a mu of land could only yield a very thin profit in the end. If the price of sale is too low, by the end of the year, they might not even be able to recoup their initial investment.

And if they continue to store the grain at home, not to mention being unable to exchange it for silver, next year when it becomes old rice, there will be no market at all for it.

A farming family doesn’t need that much grain for a year; they could only watch helplessly as the rice rots away.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Chutang said, “Maybe they are delayed due to Second Uncle’s matter. You might as well wait a while longer to see if they will come or not.”

Pan Ying actually thought that those people would not come back, but at this point, there really was no other option.

Ye Chutang then said, “Besides, the weather has been damp recently. If the rice is not stored properly, it’s likely to go bad quite easily. I’ll teach you a method: have them dig a few more grain cellars back there. Dry the walls of the cellars with fire, and then lay wood ash and wooden planks on top of them in sequence. This will help to prevent moisture and insects, allowing the rice to be stored for a longer time.”

Pan Ying was stunned upon hearing this.

“Although it’s a bit more labor-intensive, fortunately, it only requires some manpower and doesn’t cost much money.”

For these farmers, what they don’t lack is labor. In this way, they can achieve the least amount of loss at the smallest cost.

To them, it’s definitely worth it.

Indeed, after hearing this, Pan Ying’s eyes lit up, and he said repeatedly, “Great! I’ll go back right now and tell them! I’ll thank Second Miss on their behalf first!”

Ye Chutang shook her head, “I haven’t done anything for you; there’s no need to thank me.”

But Pan Ying still bowed several times before leaving.

Anyway, this is far better than the worst outcome she had anticipated!

At least she can have something to report back to everyone when she gets back!

After Pan Ying left, Ye Chutang lowered her eyelids, her mind filled with various thoughts.

Noticing the unusually quiet surroundings, Ye Chutang looked up to find Ye Jingyan and Ye Yunfeng both staring at her.

Ye Chutang smiled and asked, “What are you looking at me like that for?”

Ye Jingyan paused for a moment before saying, “It’s nothing; I just think that sister is so knowledgeable and understands so much.”

“Indeed!” Ye Yunfeng’s gaze was filled with admiration and awe. “Sister doesn’t deal with farm work, yet she even knows how to store grain more effectively!”

Ye Chutang’s brows slightly furrowed.

Just moments ago, she was so focused on thinking about why Ye Heng would do such a thing that she talked a bit too much.

After all, she is a young lady who has never done manual labor in her life and shouldn’t really know about such things.

After a pause, Ye Chutang said, “It’s nothing; I just read a variety of books, and I happened to come across this method mentioned in one of them.”

She does read a lot, and over the past few years, they have encountered all sorts of situations that she has managed to resolve. This little “trick” is really nothing significant.

The brothers didn’t continue discussing this topic but turned their attention back to Ye Heng’s grain storage efforts.

“But then again, what do you think about this matter, sister?” Ye Yunfeng crossed his arms and thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “I think that so-called grain merchant must be someone associated with Ye Heng! He’s definitely involved in this!”

Ye Jingyan nodded in agreement, “If it weren’t for his deep connection with them, those people wouldn’t have suffered such misfortune due to Ye Heng’s family being raided and he being exiled.”

“But what does he need so much grain for?” That was what Ye Yunfeng couldn’t figure out.

Ye Jingyan was about to say more but then stopped, instinctively looking towards Ye Chutang.

He had a few guesses in his mind, but...

Ye Chutang lắc đầu nhẹ nhàng, cười một cách bình thản: “Thôi thì thôi. Dù sao đi nữa, đây cũng là chuyện của Ye Heng. Bây giờ người ấy không còn ở đây nữa; dù chúng ta có suy nghĩ hàng ngàn, hàng vạn lần đi nữa, cũng chưa chắc đã biết được sự thật.”

Ye Yunfeng nhướng mày: “Chẳng lẽ chúng ta phải chạy đến Tông Bắc để hỏi rõ sao?”

Ye Chutang không trả lời gì.

Liệu Ye Heng có thể sống sót và đến được Tông Bắc hay không… vẫn còn là điều chưa biết.

Ye Chutang nhìn ra ngoài.

Bầu trời vẫn u ám, có lẽ buổi tối nay sẽ lại mưa.

“Chúng ta hãy đợi thêm một chút đã.”

Những gì đã xảy ra, cô không tin rằng chúng sẽ không để lại bất kỳ dấu vết nào.

Tuy nhiên, bây giờ cô thực sự nhận ra rằng người chú thứ hai của mình dường như phức tạp hơn nhiều so với những gì cô từng tưởng tượng…

……

Thành Thạch Tản.

Shen Yanchuan cùng nhóm mình đã chọn một quán trọ, quyết định sẽ tiếp tục hành trình sau khi mưa tạnh.

Đã là đêm, tiếng mưa rơi róc rách.

Shen Yanchuan nằm trên giường, mí mắt khép hờ, có vẻ như đã ngủ thiếp đi.

Bỗng nhiên!

Một bóng đen lặng lẽ bò ra từ dưới giường! Một con dao sắc bén lao về phía Shen Yanchuan đang nằm trên giường!

Tất cả diễn ra quá nhanh!

Khi con dao sắc nhọn đó sắp đâm vào ngực, Shen Yanchuan, người lẽ ra đã phải ngủ thiếp đi, lại bất ngờ mở mắt!

Hành động của anh ấy nhanh hơn nhiều!

Anh ấy vén tấm chăn lên, che khuất tầm nhìn của kẻ địch; đồng thời dùng một tay đỡ người và đá thẳng ra bằng chân dài!

Kẻ đó không ngờ tới, cảm thấy đau nhói ở cổ tay và vô thức buông lỏng con dao.

Tuy nhiên, tiếng dao rơi xuống đất như đã được dự đoán thì không hề vang lên.

Giây tiếp theo, cổ anh ta cảm thấy lạnh lẽo.

Người đàn ông trẻ tuổi cúi người xuống, nhìn xuống từ vị trí cao hơn; con dao trong tay chỉ cần tiến thêm một inch nữa là có thể cướp đi mạng sống của anh ta!

Rầm! Sấm sét vang lên!

Cửa sổ sáng lên trong chốc lát, phản chiếu khuôn mặt đẹp trai, lạnh lùng như tiên nhân của người đàn ông đó.

Nhưng ánh mắt anh ta cực kỳ lạnh lẽo, giống như một vị thần sát thủ từ địa ngục bước ra!

Anh ta nói lớn:

“Xu Jie, ngươi coi thường ta đến thế sao?”