Natural disasters in books: I stockpiled goods to escape famine in ancient times

For two consecutive days, a large number of people from Damo Village and Xiahuang Village came into the city to buy food, which naturally attracted the attention of officials, aristocratic families and other villages in the city. Fortunately, Zhou Huai had made arrangements in advance, and because there was a young man in Damo Village serving as a lieutenant general under General Zhou, the village was not targeted by the aristocratic families.

The heads of other villages came to inquire about the matter, but Wei Cai and Wei Xiong didn't know how to tell them directly, so they just reminded them to stock up more food and firewood.

The other village chiefs were full of doubts, but the two men refused to say anything.

Throughout history, the general mentality of most people is to follow the trend. It would be fine if it was just one village, but if two villages made such big moves, people in other villages would inevitably become uneasy and follow suit.

Before the rumor spread, the surrounding villages in the city had already begun to stockpile food and firewood, openly or secretly. However, the weather was very hot, and every time one went out one was swept by the heat wave. Naturally, the food stored in other villages was not much, but there was plenty of firewood on the volcano, so people were hoarding it as much as they could.

The firewood rooms in the front and back yards of Song Shiwei's house were filled with firewood. Some of it was bought from the space, and most of it was sent by the villagers of Damu Village and Huang Changyuan and others.

Song Shiwei thought of the hesitant look on Huang Changyuan's face when he came to deliver firewood yesterday. He probably knew that the firewood of the two was bought from the city. He must have felt like Wei Cai that it was a waste of money. So early this morning, Huang Ping brought Liu Daming and Huang Hai to deliver three carts of firewood.

Song Shiwei sighed softly.

"We have enough firewood at home. Go back and tell Uncle Huang that he doesn't need to send any more."

Huang Pingfang looked at the firewood room in the backyard and realized that both rooms were full of firewood. He smiled and nodded, and said loudly, "Okay, I think you can't put more here. I'll tell my dad when I get back. But your yard is quite spacious, so you can put a few thicker logs in there as a backup."

Song Shiwei's eyes widened, showing a rare look of disbelief: "Then there's no need. Zhang Wu has been with you into the mountains these two days. He will bring it back. Don't worry about sending it to me. Have you prepared firewood at home?"

Liu Daming stood beside Huang Ping and smiled brightly when he heard this: "Don't worry, Sister Song. There are so many of us, and we already have enough firewood at home. It's enough for two winters."

"What Daming said is true, but my father was frightened by the extreme cold, so we need to get two more days of firewood. Every household in our village has mobilized people, so there will definitely be no shortage of firewood."

Song Shiwei was relieved. "Go back and tell the village chief. The rumor will probably be out in the next two days. There will definitely be a lot of people buying food by then. I don't know if the food store will have enough food. You should prepare more food if you have time in the next two days. If fine grains are too expensive, buy coarse grains. As long as they are edible, it's fine."

Huang Ping nodded repeatedly: "My father said the same thing at home. He even bought a lot of dried vegetables in the city."

"It's quite good. Every household in the Northern Territory grows large plots of vegetables. The prices are much cheaper than in other places, and sometimes you don't even have to pay for them."

"Yes, the village sent us a lot of vegetables these days. We couldn't finish them and the sun was too hot, so they sent us a lot. My father said we shouldn't take other people's things for free, so he gave us some silver as a token of appreciation."

Huang Ping looked around and took a step towards Song Shiwei, lowering his voice, "The village has stockpiled enough food these past two days. Although other villages didn't know about the rumors, they also bought some. People in those villages complained privately, saying that it's so hot now and people walking outside will inevitably get heatstroke. Buying so much food is likely to go bad, so my father told us that we have to buy food quietly next time to avoid attracting attention."

Huang Changyuan was cautious by nature, so it was normal for him to have such concerns. Song Shi nodded slightly, "Then listen to your father. We have bought a lot of grain in the past two days, which is indeed eye-catching. The officials and noble families in the prefecture city are well aware of the rumors. It was the first time that Li An took you to the grain store, so those noble families did not take any action."

Speaking of Li An, Huang Ping's smile widened: "That Lord Li is only doing this for your sake. If it weren't for you, how could farmers like us meet someone of that status? It's getting late, so we'll go back first. We still have to go to the mountains to collect firewood."

"Okay, walk slowly."

Song Shiwei watched them leave, asked Zhang Wu to close the door, and walked towards the main hall while speaking: "If they send firewood again, don't accept it. The Huang family still needs to go to the city to buy food in the next two days. You drive the carriage to accompany them."

"Yes, I will escort them back and forth safely."

Song Shiwei looked at him strangely, crossed his arms, and looked mischievous: "I want you to go to the Huang family to earn your reputation and win the heart of your daughter Huang Ying as soon as possible."

Zhang Wu looked up instantly and looked at Song Shiwei in surprise. It took him a while to react and his face turned red.

"Don't be shy. You are a grown man. If it were someone else, they would have started a family long ago. You followed me voluntarily, but I, your master, have no ambition to establish a career, nor do I have the desire for wealth and glory. You are destined to achieve nothing by following me. Since you are mine, you may not have the opportunity to establish a career, but you can start a family. All a person wants in life is peace and success."

Zhang Wu's face was filled with emotion, and his eyes were boiling with passion.

Song Shiwei patted his shoulder and smiled brightly: "If you are sure of that person, just go after him. I will take care of anything for you."

"master...."

"Okay, since I have nothing to do now, go over there and help. Win over Miss Huang as soon as possible, and I will build a yard for you then."

Zhang Wu was deeply moved and nodded vigorously.

Song Shiwei gently waved her hand and sent him to Xiahuang Village. She was really impatient to see him looking like he was about to cry.

In the next two days, people from the two villages who went to the city to buy food began to be very cautious, for fear of being seen. Fortunately, Li An made a call to the Li family, the owner of the grain shop, so that the villagers could still buy food in the evening. However, most people in the village bought coarse grains such as beans or corn, and only those who had pregnant women or children at home would buy some fine grains.

Two days later, rumors of extreme cold suddenly spread among the people in the capital city. Within half a day, everyone in the entire northern border knew about it. For a time, people's hearts were in turmoil and everyone was in panic.

Song Shiwei had just finished practicing sword skills and was resting and drinking tea in the main hall when he saw Zhang Wu coming back in a hurry.

"Didn't you accompany the Huang family to the city today? Why are you back so early?"

"Master, rumors have spread, and the whole city is full of them. I went to see Li An on the way, and he said that it was a joint agreement between the Zhou family and other noble families. Li An also said that if it continued, the city would be in chaos for a while, so I asked Huang Ping and the others to go home."

Song Shiwei's face was calm: "It's almost time to release him. If it's any later, it will be too late for everyone to prepare."

Zhang Wu nodded and asked, "Do you want me to go to Village Chief Wei's house and tell him?"

Song Shiwei shook his head: "No, I told him the news of the extreme cold in advance because we still want to live here. We don't want to cause any trouble in the future and make things chaotic for a few days. Come with me to the city this afternoon."

"Yes, I will go feed the horses and cook first, so you can have a rest."