The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 399 : Preparation

After talking to Yun Qing and knowing there would be a fierce battle, Yuxi thought she should hoard more food to be more secure. And some medicinal herbs should also be purchased.

After thinking about it, Yuxi sent an invitation card to Da Nainai Fu.

When Da Nainai Fu received her post, she did not reply immediately but asked Fu Tianlei, “Do you think I should go?” She always felt it wasn’t a good thing when Yuxi was looking for her.

Fu Tianlei laughed. “Han Shi can’t eat you. So why are you afraid of her?” He had never found his wife to be so timid before.

Da Nainai Fu thought for a moment and nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll go over tomorrow and see what she wants!” One never went to the temple for no reason. There must be something Yuxi wanted from her.

Fu Tianlei said, “Han Shi is a smart person. Even if she wants to see you, she won’t make you do anything difficult. Don’t worry!” He really felt that his wife liked to overthink things. He and Yun Qing had sworn to live and die together. Han Shi was not a foolish person. What would she get from digging a pit for his wife?

When Yuxi saw Da Nainai Fu, she went straight to the point, “I want to buy some grain to stock up. I wonder if Saozi can help with this?” Yuxi was looking for Da Nainai Fu because Da Nainai Fu’s maternal saozi’s family was a massive grain merchant.

Da Nainai Fu froze, then she smiled and said, “What’s so difficult about that? How much grain does Dimei want to buy?” She thought Yuxi would do something to her when she was asked to come over with a formal invitation.

Yuxi replied, “I intend to buy 30,000 to 50,000 jin.” If she didn’t buy them now, when the war started and she wanted to buy more grain, the price would have gone too high.

Da Nainai Fu frowned. “My Saozi’s family sells grain, so they should have 30,000 to 50,000 jin, but what is Dimei buying so much grain for?”

Yuxi explained, “The school has run out of grain, so I want to buy more and have been waiting for new grain to come out before purchasing it.”

Da Nainai Fu asked, “Didn’t you say you would let the children return home at the beginning of spring?” That was what Yuxi had said before.

Yuxi responded with a bitter smile, “That’s what I said before, but many of these children have lost both parents. The war will start in spring. Isn’t asking them to go back the same as letting them die? So these children will inevitably have to stay at the school.”

Da Nainai Fu was not a heartless person, so when she heard this response from Yuxi, she didn’t say anything else. “The price of food is not low now. It’s forty to fifty per cent higher than usual!” Everyone knew there would be a war at the beginning of spring, so they raised the grain price.

Yuxi stated, “I have to buy it even if the price is high.”

When Da Nainai Fu heard this, she responded, “Alright. I’ll let you know after the matter is settled. What do you think?”

Yuxi shook her head. “I want Han Ji to follow Saozi’s people to Xinping City. It will be good if people over there can agree to this. If not, we can buy them from other families. Besides grains, I want to purchase some other things as well.” Yuxi was prepared to go on a buying spree this time.

Da Nainai Fu thought for a moment and replied, “Okay. When do you think will be the right time?”

Yuxi thought that the sooner, the better. “Tomorrow! It’s not far anyway.” It was only a few days’ journeys. She was sure Han Ji would be able to bear it.

Da Nainai Fu had no objection.

Yuxi smiled. “Thank you, Saozi.” Yuxi wasn’t stupid. How could she not see that Da Nainai Fu was wary of her? This was something Yuxi always believed that she could see people’s true hearts over time. Although she had schemed against Xu and the Xu family and had caused such great aftermath, she still had a moral sense.

When Han Ji saw the list Yuxi had given him, he looked up at her and asked, “Madam, where will we store all this food? And if we transport them from Xinping City, it will also be very conspicuous. So I don’t think this is appropriate.”

Yuxi had also thought of this problem. “We will transport some of it to Yu City and store the rest on the farm.” The people on the farm were all the families of the soldiers in difficulty arranged by Hao Dazhuang, and they were still very reliable in comparison. Wherever the grains were stored, as long as they were well guarded, there was no need to worry about any news leak.

Han Ji thought the small farm was an excellent place to store them. “Madam, there will be a war in the spring. I won’t be going to the West Sea, will I?” He thought it would be more appropriate to go to the West Sea in the sixth or seventh lunar month. Although the weather would be hotter, he could get away at that time since it was a time of truce.

Yuxi wasn’t thinking of sending him there when war was about to begin at the start of spring, either. “I won’t let you go there for the time being.”

Han Ji had been out and about, observing things from a distance. “Madam, I think it would be better if the school were disbanded. If Madam is concerned about those parentless children who cannot make a living by themselves, they can remain.”

Yuxi didn’t have the energy to think about so many things. Hence, it was inevitable that she would overlook certain matters. “Are you worried that some people will throw their children into the school when the war starts, and the situation becomes tense?”

Han Ji nodded. “Not only that but I’m also worried that some people will kneel in front of the General’s mansion asking for help. If these people can’t make ends meet and come to us for help, will Madam help them? It would be inappropriate to help them since Madam cannot help all of them. If Madam doesn’t help, Madam will have to bear the reputation of being cold-blooded and heartless.” It was fine to do good deeds, but a degree had to be maintained. If that degree were not adequately grasped, it would become a constraint.

Yuxi listened to his argument and said, “After this matter is taken care of, you will come back to manage the affairs of the outer courtyard.” With Han Ji around, he could remind her of her oversight.

Sheng And Dou

The top row is sheng, and the bottom row is dou.

Image Credit | As mentioned in the picture, via 伤感说说吧 www.sgss8.com

Han Ji naturally had no objection. Since Yuxi was his master, he would do whatever he was told to do. “Madam, I think that since you said that the school would be disbanded at the end of the second lunar month, you must do what you said. As for those parentless children, if you are worried that they will not survive, you can put them on the farm. There are many things to do on the farm. These children can’t do physical work, but they can still do some trivial and odd things there.” Han Ji’s meaning was simple. Yuxi could not keep raising these children without any purpose. She had to make them work even if they could not do much. There was a saying a sheng of rice brought gratitude and a dou of rice bred hatred. If one just raised these children without letting them do anything, it would bring harm to them when they start to become dependent in the future.

Yuxi thought this was a good idea. “Okay. We will send these children to the farm when school is over.” By that time, the grains would have been appropriately handled.

Now the main question came up again. Han Ji asked, “Madam, what are you buying so much grain for?” It would be good if he could know what it would be used for and have some idea in his mind.

Yuxi said, “To keep it on hand for emergencies.” She didn’t know exactly what it would be used for, but she thought it would be good to have more food on hand.

Han Ji listened and suggested, “In that case, buying 50,000 jin of grain would be enough, Madam.” Fifty thousand jin of grain was more than enough.

Yuxi didn’t hide her thoughts in front of Han Ji as she said, “Buy more if you can. There’s no harm in having more grain stored in this place.”

Han Ji understood that there should be other uses for the grain, causing him to immediately suggest, “Madam, I have heard a lot of news from outside the restaurant. I think that if it is possible, we can start our own grain business in the future.” Han Ji said it could be done in the future, not now. It was clear that he had faith in Yun Qing as well.

Yuxi didn’t answer Han Ji’s remark but said, “We’ll talk about it later.” Since Qin Zhao had to wipe Xu Shi’s *ss last time, it was apparent that he was also not clean and got caught up in the Xu family’s chokehold. Yuxi would not allow such a thing to fall on her own family.

Han Ji’s remark just now was also a test to see if Yuxi had any thoughts in this regard. Now he knew that Madam had this kind of idea!

Buying so much grain was not a small matter. Yuxi didn’t hide it from Yun Qing and told him about it. Of course, she couldn’t hide it even if she wanted to. Fu Tianlei would definitely talk to him about it then.

After hearing this, Yun Qing asked, “What did you buy so much grain for?”

Yuxi replied, “Didn’t you say there would be a fierce battle? I’ll save more food, which may come in handy then!” She was doing the same as an old saying, where there was a precaution, there was no danger.

Seeing that Yun Qing looked like he had something to say, Yuxi hurriedly stated, “I am determined not to leave without the other higher military officers’ families.”

Yun Qing asked somewhat helplessly, “Why are you so stubborn?”

Yuxi countered, “What’s there to worry about? I have Master Yang and Zisu with me. I also have Xu Wu with so many guards. I’m sure I’ll be fine, so don’t worry.” The war was about to start. Although she couldn’t do anything else because of her bulging belly, she could still wait at home for Yun Qing’s return.

Yun Qing could only compromise. Since Yuxi did not want to leave, he could not tie her up and sent her away. This act would not be respectful to Yuxi. “I have already hired a physician, Guo Xun is picking the right people, and in a couple of days, I will be able to have that physician train them.”

Yuxi smiled. “That’s a good thing.”

Yun Qing gave his agreement. “You previously said that treating the wounds with strong liquor would heal them faster, and the results have come out. Treating wounds with it is indeed more effective. However, Qin Zhao disagreed. I want to buy some myself and put it in the barracks so I can use it then.” However, the price of strong liquor was not low.

Yuxi thought that was Yun Qing’s good point. He didn’t strictly stick to the rules and wouldn’t refuse any idea as long as it was worthwhile. Knowing Yun Qing’s concerns, she smiled. “This is for medicine, not for drinking. You won’t use much of it if it’s not wasted or stolen! Besides, since you’re going to buy it, you definitely have to pay the cost price.” If you wanted to give it away for free, that was definitely not an option. This was for public use, not private use, so how could you give it away for nothing?

Hearing this, Yun Qing nodded. “Then prepare two hundred jars!” He felt that two hundred altars should be enough!

Hearing his request, Yuxi teased him, “Two hundred jars is not a problem, but the issue is that you can’t reclaim the wine since you aren’t afraid that those people will steal it.”

Yun Qing was not the type who could tell something was a joke as he responded thoughtfully after hearing Yuxi’s words, “If they know what this stuff is for, they won’t get any wrong ideas about it.” It was true that many soldiers in the camp loved to drink, but these people had a good sense of propriety and knew what to do and what not to do.

Yuxi couldn’t help laughing. “Why are you being so serious? I’m just joking with you. Can’t you see that? Silly you!” Her husband was honestly a stump of elm.