Chapter 104: Distributing the Grain

Yan Yu drank her porridge, still feeling dazed and muddled.

It wasn’t until the exaggeratedly large group of disaster victims approached them that she began to notice.

She tried her best to open her eyes wide and rubbed them, attempting to determine if she was dreaming.

Why!

Why are there so many disaster victims!

Right nearby!

She put down her bowl and quickly ran to her father’s side.

If she wanted to know what was happening, following her father was the right choice.

Yan Huaiwen stood up and, after roughly estimating the number of people, furrowed his brows slightly.

There were more than he had expected.

Second Uncle Yan truly thought this was madness. What were these disaster victims here for? Couldn’t they just go their separate ways without interfering with each other?!

It wasn’t until the scholar named Liang Manshan explained the situation to his brother for a long time that Second Uncle Yan finally understood what was going on.

Exchanging a glance with his daughter, who had been holding his hand the whole time, they both saw the same complicated helplessness in each other’s eyes.

Some of the disaster victims had stayed behind on Old Pine Mountain to scavenge for anything useful, while others had gone to the main road overnight to search for lost family members.

Some found their loved ones, while others did not.

The ones who failed wanted to continue along the main road, chasing that slim chance, willing to take the risk.

The ones who remained hoped to travel with the Yan family scholars. They had weapons and a sense of righteousness, giving the disaster victims a strong sense of security.

It was only natural for people to seek safety and avoid danger.

But for the Yan family, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Resources along the way were limited. More people meant less for each individual.

And a bigger headache now lay before Yan Huaiwen.

Everyone hoped he would help distribute the supplies taken from Old Pine Mountain.

Yan Huaiwen remained silent for a long time.

Second Uncle Yan and Yan Yu were also speechless.

Wasn’t this making things difficult for him?!

“Why should my big brother be the one to distribute them? If someone gets more or less, he’ll end up offending people! And what does this have to do with my brother anyway? It’s your stuff—divide it yourselves!” Second Uncle Yan’s face darkened as he snapped at Liang Manshan.

Liang Manshan and the other disaster victims were clearly embarrassed. If they had been able to divide the supplies on their own, they wouldn’t have troubled Yan Huaiwen in the first place.

Village Chief Luo, who had been quietly listening on the side, now glared at them.

“So you people saw that our scholar is kindhearted and decided to take advantage of him? Let me tell you—no way! Whoever wants to distribute the supplies can do it themselves. We’re not interested in those things and won’t get involved!”

Even Yan Yu huffed and shouted, “Uncle won’t divide them!”

The composition of these supplies was extremely complicated. Some belonged to the bandits of Old Pine Mountain, some to the villagers they had abducted, and some to these disaster victims.

In fact, there were even belongings from the previous group of disaster victims that Cloud-Piercing Stronghold had sent away.

Who could say for sure how much belonged to each household except the families themselves?

There were bound to be people trying to claim more than they actually had.

Returning the original items wasn’t feasible, and redistributing them was even more troublesome.

How should they divide things? Grain and water were straightforward, but what about clothing and bedding? They differed in condition and value.

People don’t fear scarcity, they fear inequality!

When the bandits robbed them, they didn’t dare utter a word. But if the redistribution didn’t satisfy them, they’d start arguing immediately.

That was exactly why this difficult problem had been placed in front of Yan Huaiwen.

Since they couldn’t agree among themselves, the only person they all trusted became their sole hope.

The disaster victims pleaded, “Benefactor, we can’t divide this ourselves, and we’re in a hurry to find our elderly and children. Please help us so we can quickly take some rations and be on our way!”

Many others chimed in, “We’ll accept whatever portion you give us, we just want to leave as soon as possible!”

Yan Yu could see that those who wanted to continue on the main road were the most anxious.

Those who wanted to travel with them, on the other hand, worried about others taking more and preferred to distribute things slowly.

“Brother Yan, we didn’t mean to trouble you, but…” Liang Manshan looked ashamed. “Since I am among them, I cannot be impartial, so I must step aside.”

Liang Manshan held some influence among the disaster victims, but the mountain villagers didn’t respect him just because he was a scholar. They didn’t care about his status as a child scholar.

However, when they saw Uncle An, their expressions improved.

“Uncle An, they don’t have much grain. The grain on the mountain belongs to us!”

“That’s right, Uncle An! We carried that grain up the mountain. The bandits ate what we brought. That grain is ours!”

“Why should they get a share of our grain?”

“But we helped kill the bandits too.”

The problem stemmed from the bandits’ greed. The mountain villagers had originally been forced to provide grain, which the bandits ate. But after robbing the disaster victims, the bandits preferred rice and flour over the villagers’ sorghum. As a result, the supplies were now mixed.

The mountain villagers insisted that all the sorghum should belong to them.

Meanwhile, the disaster victims, led by Liang Manshan, believed everything should be pooled together.

Yan Yu suddenly understood: The main conflict was between the disaster victims and the mountain villagers.

Yan Huaiwen pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s first tally the available grain.”

Other items were secondary. Only food was truly essential.

As for water, it wasn’t exactly scarce in the mountains, just difficult to find.

The water source on Old Pine Mountain was known to both the disaster victims and the mountain villagers.

The mountain villagers were very protective of their grain and refused to let the disaster victims check it.

There was no choice but to have Uncle An and Second Uncle Yan count it.

After the numbers were gathered, Yan Huaiwen said, “Those who helped kill the bandits, step forward.”

Many people from both groups stepped out.

Yan Yu tugged at her father’s sleeve and glanced toward the injured.

Second Uncle Yan immediately understood and said loudly, “The wounded count too.” Then he added, “And our people should be counted as well! We killed quite a few bandits ourselves.”

No one objected. Everyone acknowledged that their group had killed the most bandits.

Village Chief Luo and a few village elders whispered among themselves.

“It has to be Second Uncle Yan. Our scholar is too soft-hearted—without a thick skin, we’d end up at a loss.”

“We should stand up for ourselves. If it weren’t for us, they’d still be locked in that mountain cave.”

“That’s right. Our young men shouldn’t suffer unfairly.”

Yan Huaiwen declared, “Those who fought in the battle deserve a reward.”

Second Uncle Yan, quick to act, called over the Qi brothers and had them each move a bag—one of rice, one of flour, and one of sorghum. Then he placed a measuring container in front of Yan Huaiwen.

Yan Huaiwen thought for a moment and said, “Each person takes one measure. This will be the standard.”

The people who had fought against the bandits immediately grinned with joy.

Yan Yu estimated that the measuring container could hold over ten pounds of grain. Three measures would be around fifty pounds—a significant amount given the current famine.

Second Uncle Yan cheerfully collected their share.

He, his brother, his nephew, and his wife all qualified for a portion.

Yan Yu sulked, crouching down with her hands stuffed in her sleeves.

Why didn’t her contribution with Sanbao count? And Uncle Hu stole her kill.

Such a loss!

The mountain villagers grew restless, but Uncle An quickly silenced them.

“What? Without us, you’d still be trapped in Old Pine Mountain, waiting to be sold off after the disaster victims. You’d be next!”