Traveling through time and space to become a lady of a noble family, but she only wants to escape

Chapter 212 Food and Grass

Bai Zhi ran all the way to Xiliu Street, but didn't see anyone distributing food. She asked the woman at the nearby pancake stall, "Auntie, is anyone distributing food here?"

When the old lady heard this, she quickly pointed to the south and said, "He hasn't gone far yet. Go and catch up with him. See if you can still find something!"

Bai Zhi hurriedly thanked him and immediately ran south. The old lady behind him shouted from afar, "It's a beautiful girl and a pale-faced girl! Don't look for the wrong person!"

A pretty girl and a pale-faced girl? Bai Zhi chuckled. This combination sounded quite novel. She quickened her pace and asked a few more people along the way. The villagers were all impressed by this wonderful combination and gave Bai Zhi directions.

But I don’t know whether the fellow gave me the wrong directions or the two of them walked in the wrong direction. Bai Zhi was sweating all over and when she looked up, she found that she was still on Xiliu Street.

She stopped on the spot, took a deep breath, and then said to herself, "Forget it. Even if I catch up, I may not be able to get the meat. I can wait for two days. I don't believe that Wei Fuguang will leave me behind when distributing the meat..."

"Huh? Bai Zhi?"

Bai Zhi looked back and saw a heavily made-up girl standing in front of her, greeting her with joy. "I was thinking of looking for you in the evening, but I didn't expect to run into you here. It's been a while, you've lost weight!"

The face wasn't familiar, but the voice was very familiar. Bai Zhi looked him up and down and said incredulously, "You... Ying Xu? Is it Ying Xu?"

"Sure enough, the makeup is too heavy." Tu Yingxu pursed his lips, turned around and shouted to Zhou Shensi who was looking at the stall not far away, "Shensi! The makeup is too heavy! Even Baizhi can't recognize me!"

Zhou Shensi waved to Bai Zhi as a greeting, then went back to looking at the stall.

Bai Zhi looked at the gorgeously dressed Tu Yingxu, then at the pale Zhou Shensi, and asked, "You... aren't the ones who are here to deliver the meat?"

"Oh, you're quite well-informed." Tu Yingxu took Bai Zhi's arm and walked over to Zhou Shensi, rummaging through the bag he was carrying. "We made a lot of bacon at home and brought it along with dozens of pigs. We're distributing it to the villagers today, and we specially reserved some for you and Wanwan... Eh? Shensi, where's the bacon?"

Zhou Shensi was mentally calculating the cost of the bunk in front of him. Tu Yingxu called him several times before he came back to his senses with a confused look on his face. "Ah? Hasn't the bacon been distributed?"

"Where are the ones for Baizhi and Wanwan? I remember covering them with a piece of cloth at the bottom. Where did you put it?"

Zhou Shensi raised his eyebrows and squinted his eyes as he recalled: "...all given away."

"..." Bai Zhi was so angry that she gnashed her teeth. "Zhou Shensi, I ran all the way across Banlawu County to chase the meat. If I can't get the bacon today, I'll make you into bacon."

Tu Yingxu wanted to laugh twice, but his face was already stiff and he could only twitch the corners of his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey, boss, there's meat, there's meat, I won't let you go without meat no matter who you are." Zhou Shensi slapped Bai Zhi's arms and legs in a very servile manner, "It has to be distributed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, there's a pile of meat in the house, but it needs to be cut up and packed up."

Bai Zhi raised her eyelids and said, "Then now..."

Zhou Shensi immediately followed up: "Go back and get the meat!"

The pig, bacon, and their luggage were temporarily placed in a deserted house in Wu County, and Wei Fuguang assigned someone to look after it. On the way back to the house, Bai Zhi asked them why they came to deliver the meat. Zhou Shensi smiled grimly and told them the whole story.

It turned out that two weeks earlier, Provincial Governor Wei Fuguang had sent word to all prefectures that the situation on the front was critical, urging them to quickly gather silver and grain and send them to Ningzhou. The Thirteen Prefectures had only been rebuilt a few years earlier, and the prefectures were still tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall. Where would the money come from? Shi Fangzhiheng of Ningzhou had an idea: he would borrow silver from the people and repay it in installments after the war.

At this time, Zhou Shensi's milk tea with the radish she picked was very popular. The profit from this product was high, and she made a lot of money.

Bai Zhi thought to herself that it was no wonder Chu Yunchuan wasn't worried about running out of money, and then she interjected, "We almost broke our legs running up the mountain to pick that small bunch of radish. How could you possibly have picked so many? Enough to make milk tea?"

Zhou Shensi covered his mouth with one hand and said mysteriously, "In Yangshan, the area around your hot spring pool is full of radishes."

Rather than lamenting that she had chosen a truly blessed location, Bai Zhi narrowed her eyes and asked Zhou Shensi, "Grandfather, I built a man-high fence around the hot spring house. How did you get in with the iron lock on the gate?"

Zhou Shensi raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course I climbed in by using stones as a cushion. Boss, you're not living here anyway, so just think of me as someone keeping an eye on you to see if anyone sneaks in, right?"

Bai Zhi: "..."

It sounds like sophistry but it seems to make some sense.

Zhou Shensi continued, "I lent all this money to the government office, boss, and your dividend is also in it."

"My share of the dividends doesn't matter. It's just..." Bai Zhi looked at Zhou Shensi suspiciously, "You've also lent out your own share. The government doesn't lend money interest-free. Are you so kind?"

"I'm not finished yet, Boss."

The money was raised, but food was still lacking. Coincidentally, Tu Yingxu's pigs were ready for slaughter. Hearing that Lin Ruogui planned to buy all the pigs and send them to the front, Zhou Shensi quickly snatched them up. She selected a few fat, unlucky ones to make into bacon, then dragged Tu Yingxu along to get the pig transport cart and set off together.

After finishing his long speech, Zhou Shensi finally mentioned the purpose of his trip: "Boss, the money we earn now is just a small profit. Businesses rely on the people to make a living. As long as I meet the people's wishes and show them that I am generous and charitable, not only giving money but also working hard, and I have a good reputation, why worry about not being able to make money in the future?"

Tu Yingxu added, "She came here specifically to spread her good name."

Bai Zhi pinched her chin and nodded: "So, it is indeed her style."

The three of them were talking when they arrived at the abandoned house. The guard at the gate let them in after checking their identities. Tu Yingxu took Bai Zhi straight to the shed where the bacon was stored. Inside, rows of bacon were neatly dried.

The bacon didn't look good, being wrinkled, but it tasted great, with an alluring salty aroma. Bai Zhi took a deep breath, thinking that since it was rare to have meat, she would eat it in large mouthfuls. She put it in the pot that night and cooked it thoroughly, then each of them would hold a piece and chew on it.

The clean chopping board and kitchen knife were placed on the table next to them. Tu Yingxu washed his hands with water first, then started chopping the meat without saying a word. As he chopped, he instructed Baizhi, "I'll cut it into small pieces for you. Take it home and soak it in water before cooking. Qiaoqiao and Chuqi are here, right? I'll cut a few more strips so this can hold more. I'll give you Wanwan's share as well. After we divide the meat, Shensi and I will go back. I don't think we'll see Wanwan again, so remember to give it to her."

Baizhi leaned over the chopping board, staring at the meat intently and nodding her head as she worked.

When entering the house, Zhou Shensi went to another room to put the package. Now he came over with a letter in his hand and handed it to Bai Zhi: "A letter from County Magistrate Lin to you."