Qin Junyao refused Sheng Yining's offer of a padded jacket and left the Qu Bing Tang with her medicine pouch.
Thinking of the five hundred taels of silver notes in her spatial dimension, it felt as if her burdens had all been lifted. Qin Junyao finally understood the feeling of being lighthearted and unburdened by debt.
Most people in Salt County were at the grain stores buying food, leaving other shops rather quiet. This suited Qin Junyao's shopping needs.
After browsing through three or four shops, Qin Junyao headed to the grain store to find Grandma Qin.
After checking three closed grain stores, Qin Junyao spotted Grandma Qin and Uncle Hou Si and his wife queuing at the Ying Feng Grain Store, the one that had sent a shop assistant to follow her.
"Aunt Hou Si, didn't you buy any grain?" Qin Junyao noticed their empty hands, indicating they hadn't bought any.
Aunt Hou Si pulled Qin Junyao closer. "No, the two stores you and your Uncle Si lined up at sold out before our turn. This is the only grain store still open in the county now, but it's too expensive."
They knew they had grain at home, but if they didn't buy some with money today, there would be no source for their food in the future.
.
Manager Jin of Ying Feng Grain Store stood inside, watching his employees weigh and move grain, the cashier collect money and record accounts. His joy was almost uncontrollable.
His master was indeed wise to buy the stale grain from other stores at a low price and sell it today at more than double the cost.
If it weren't for the restriction on excessively high prices, he would have wanted to raise the price again.
Manager Jin walked to the entrance to observe the queue outside. Suddenly, he spotted Grandma Qin, wearing her red headscarf.
His eyes lit up. He walked down the steps and approached Grandma Qin. "Old woman, we meet again? Oh my, queuing in this cold weather. Hurry, come inside the shop. Tell me what you want to buy and choose inside."
Qin Junyao saw the shopkeeper and thought, "This is bad." She walked to Grandma Qin's side and discreetly tugged her sleeve, shaking her head.
Grandma Qin forcefully pulled her hand away and grabbed Manager Jin's sleeve with both hands. "Young man, I'm so glad to see you. I told your young assistant before that an old woman like me had done business with you, but he didn't believe me."
"It's my fault for not managing my staff properly. Are these people together? Please, come inside and warm yourselves," he said, leading Grandma Qin into the store.
Qin Junyao dared not speak loudly for fear of her voice giving her away. She could only whisper to Uncle Hou Si that this shopkeeper was not a good person. Uncle Hou Si nodded and followed closely behind Grandma Qin.
Once inside the store, Grandma Qin no longer followed Manager Jin's pace. She ambled around, looking at a bag of wheat here, a bag of corn there.
Manager Jin tried to lead Grandma Qin to the back courtyard, but she pretended not to hear and continued to wander around the shop.
"This one, I want this grain. Manager Jin, will you sell me this?" Grandma Qin found a bag of new grain and asked Manager Jin.
"Old woman, no need to rush."
Grandma Qin cut off Manager Jin. "I must rush. How can I not rush? If I don't buy now, there won't be any tomorrow."
"Old woman."
"Young man, sell it to me. Just these corn kernels. Eight dou? Six dou. Less than that, I really can't."
Manager Jin reluctantly asked a shop assistant to pack the grain for Grandma Qin and instructed the cashier to process the payment.
Those queuing outside dared not voice any objections to someone cutting in line. Some feared not getting grain, while others feared the master behind the grain store.
Six dou was only a little over sixty catties. As soon as the shop assistant finished packing, Hou Gan shouldered the grain. Grandma Qin thanked them and was about to leave.
"Old woman, don't go yet. I've given you such a great convenience, you should give me some information," Manager Jin couldn't let Grandma Qin go before he got the information he wanted.
Manager Jin approached Grandma Qin, lowering his voice, his tone full of menace. "Old woman, I know where your family lives. The rice you sold me last time wasn't a gift from someone else, was it?"
Last time, he had sent Sizhi to follow the woman who sold the rice, but the person never returned, and the woman never reappeared. It seemed she had met a grim end.
Later, they discovered that the rice sold by that woman looked and tasted exactly the same as the rice sold by the old woman with the red headscarf.
Since that woman couldn't be found, wasn't this old woman with the red headscarf delivering herself to him?
Hearing Manager Jin's words, Qin Junyao's heart tightened, and she instinctively grabbed Grandma Qin's hand.
Squeezing her granddaughter's hand back, Grandma Qin's face looked somewhat embarrassed as she said to Manager Jin, "Young man, you know?"
Manager Jin thought, "There's hope."
"Well, I didn't know that rice belonged to your store at the time. It was lying by the roadside, and I picked it up. Could I not pick it up?"
"It was lying there, and when I opened the bag, a fragrance of rice wafted out. At that moment, I wondered if I should take it home or..."
"Wait, old woman, you picked that rice up? Did you pick up our store's rice?" Manager Jin's voice suddenly rose, drawing the attention of everyone around.
Grandma Qin looked confused. "Doesn't it belong to you? That rice is the same as the one on your shelf."
Manager Jin slapped his forehead. How could he be so stupid? This poor old woman could only get such superior rice through picking it up.
He wasn't actually stupid; it could only be said that Grandma Qin had good acting skills, coupled with the thin clothes worn by Qin Junyao and the others.
At this time of year, even the poorest families would have a thin padded jacket for going out, especially if there were elders. Unlike them, the three generations – old, middle-aged, and young – were all wearing single layers.
"Ah, ah, ah," Grandma Qin's three "ahs" once again attracted the attention of Manager Jin and the people queuing to buy grain.
"You tricked me. That rice isn't from your store."
"Oh my, you even lie to an old woman. Old Si, carry the grain and let's go, let's go quickly." Grandma Qin grabbed Qin Junyao and turned to leave the grain store. Hou Gan and his wife quickly followed.
Once outside the grain store's vicinity, Grandma Qin looked back, relieved that no one was following. She told Hou Gan to take the grain to the donkey cart first, as she still needed to buy some old clothes to patch together.
Qin Junyao had many questions she wanted to ask Grandma Qin, but with Hou Gan and his wife present, she could only say that there was pork she had stored and not yet picked up at the pork stall.
This way, they split into two groups. Hou Gan and his wife went to get the pork, and Qin Junyao followed Grandma Qin.
On the way to the pawn shop, Qin Junyao couldn't help but ask Grandma Qin, "Grandma, you..."
"You shut up, I'll ask first. You sold rice at that store, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Because I went there to sell it?"
"Right."
"Sigh," Grandma Qin sighed. "Before you were enlightened by the Bodhisattva, you were just a foolishly bold person, and your bold actions were only within the village."
"Even what I can imagine, the most you could do is steal someone, climb into their bed, or elope. You wouldn't dare."
Qin Junyao's face darkened. Was this her grandmother?
"After you were enlightened by the Bodhisattva," Grandma Qin looked at Qin Junyao, "you only have foolishness left." Sudan Novel Network.
"Sigh, you sold quite a bit, and you knew how to disguise yourself, but you encountered trouble. Did Zhao Chui Zi sending you back by carriage help you resolve the trouble?"
Qin Junyao was now almost starry-eyed looking at Grandma Qin. It was amazing; she had guessed everything correctly.
Suddenly, she became worried. This intelligent Grandma Qin wouldn't already know that she wasn't the original person, would she?