Chapter 218: Casting the Net for Fish

Before heading over to Big Brother, Yan Yu did a quick mental tally based on the earlier numbers.

“Uncle Hu Da, your family’s grain still isn’t enough. Add another five hundred jin,” she said, putting charcoal to paper without hesitation.

Not just Hu Da—even Yan Xiangheng, who was off to the side rubbing his wrist, was stunned.

Hu Da’s eyes went wide. “Xiao Er, what’s this… how did you calculate that?”

It was based on your household’s current reserves and how much grain your family of several will need until the next autumn harvest—nearly a whole year.

“Uncle Hu Da, and all the uncles behind you—did you only calculate up to the end of winter? But we can’t plant until spring, and the harvest won’t come until fall. What are you going to eat in between?”

Hiss!

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

As the old saying goes—the hunger between harvests kills the most.

Spring was the real trial.

Nothing was growing then. Even a pot of wild vegetable soup would be a luxury, with not a single green sprout in sight.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be buying enough to last the whole year?” Yan Xiangheng asked in surprise.

“It should come out to about eight or nine months,” Yan Yu replied. “The Master gave each household enough for three months. If we stockpile more wild greens, dried fish, dried meat in summer and fall… anything edible, and buy enough to make up the rest, we’ll be fine.”

She thought to herself: this calculation didn’t even factor in the vegetables they’d already planted. By the time those were ready for harvest, it would coincide with grain season—they could reassess then and decide whether to store another batch.

If they overstocked, worst case, they could sell it off later.

But if they couldn’t buy any later on? That would be a real panic.

A strong sense of crisis was essential.

Yan Yu reminded herself firmly: the world they were in had been classified as a medium-risk zone.

No matter the disaster—if you had grain in hand, you had peace of mind.

“Alright!” Hu Da gritted his teeth. “Add another six hundred jin for my family.”

Teenage boys could eat a man out of house and home.

He had two sons—both in growth spurts—and still more than a year ahead of them. Better to store a little extra now.

Yan Yu smoothly jotted down the additional amount beside his entry.

Now that one family had set a precedent, the others started estimating based on their own silver and increased their orders accordingly.

But Yan Yu didn’t automatically approve increases for everyone.

Everyone’s household funds had passed through her hands.

She’d reviewed them all—and once she matched face to name, she had a solid grasp on each family’s situation.

And if not, she had the ledger—she could always flip back to it.

Others had no idea what she was checking, but Yan Xiangheng could see it clearly.

She… his little sister… was calculating each family’s silver reserves, then factoring in the household size to suggest a slightly increased amount.

As he watched her do this for several people, Yan Xiangheng began to discern a pattern.

He felt like he was learning something new again.

His Second Uncle and Xiao Er—same bloodline, both sharp in economic matters. He was far behind.

After recording the current families, Yan Yu began calculating for the ones who hadn’t shown up yet.

She scribbled down some additions and subtractions. “Big Brother, it’s best if these families revise their numbers.”

Some had plenty of silver but were reluctant to spend it on grain—that wouldn’t do.

Others, terrified of going hungry, had brought out every last coin to stock up.

That kind of spirit was admirable, but it was still better to hold on to a little.

Yan Yu used to think buying grain was simple—just stockpile it.

But the Village Chief’s words had made her think more deeply.

Crouching Tiger wasn’t the only village—if they included Gufeng and Yongning, the total amount of grain they needed was no small figure, no matter where they tried to purchase it.

They couldn’t buy everything in one place. They’d have to divide it into batches.

Or even disperse their purchases further.

If they bought grain only from the surrounding towns, the prices would skyrocket—and that would help no one.

This was Guanzhou—a sparsely populated region with untended farmland.

Before they arrived, the population here had been stable. The grain stores likely hadn’t prepared for such a sudden surge in demand.

She didn’t dare think too far. The deeper she went, the more she realized—even holding silver might not be enough to buy grain.

Sigh!

At the end of the day, it all came down to poor harvests and low yield.

Could Guanzhou’s current farmland even support this sudden influx of refugees?

Still uncertain.

And if they tried to purchase grain from a larger province?

No! Don’t even think about it.

Just the thought of it gave her a headache.

Nearby provinces had all suffered disasters—where would Guanzhou get grain from? The south?

Stop! Enough!

Yan Yu forcefully ordered her brain to quit spinning in circles.

Focus on the task at hand.

Madam Qi Da was the last one. She reported a shocking number.

Thankfully, the others had all left. Aside from her and Big Brother, no one else knew.

Yan Yu quietly removed the final page from the stack.

These numbers were now mostly set—no need to change them again.

Yan Xiangheng took the remaining sheets and went door to door to follow up.

Daya brought over a basin of water and first helped Yan Yu smooth out her tangled hair, tied it up neatly, then secured it with a small headscarf.

Then she had her wash her hands again before taking the basin to the backyard to pour into the vegetable garden.

As usual, she went to check the chicken coop.

Two hens were brooding, and the other two didn’t lay every day—but she still looked forward to it daily.

A faint bit of white peeked out.

Daya happily lifted the hen and found a warm, freshly laid egg.

She quickly carried it to the kitchen.

Granny Rong gestured to ask how she wanted it cooked.

This had become their usual way of communicating.

Daya was thoughtful and quick to understand. Most of the time, she could guess with near-perfect accuracy.

“Add this to yesterday’s—how about a steamed egg custard?”

Granny Rong smiled and nodded, cracking the eggs and whisking them expertly over the hot pan…

Daya stood nearby, eyes fixed on her every movement. She occasionally handed something over when needed, but mostly she just watched Granny Rong work.

She’d already asked Second Aunt and gotten Granny Rong’s permission to observe and learn while she worked.

Daya was especially interested in kitchen skills.

Second Uncle’s cooking was already delicious, but she felt Granny Rong’s craft was even finer—watching her cook always brought a sense of smoothness and satisfaction.

If it were Yan Yu, she would’ve told them this was the magic of time management.

Not a single second wasted—everything planned to perfection, transitions seamless.

A master chef relies on experience. Granny Rong? She relied on… intelligent computation.

Steamed egg custard with goat’s milk!

Wuwuwu! Yan Yu couldn’t have been more satisfied—she was so moved she wanted to cry.

It was delicious!

At first, she ate in big mouthfuls. But as the bowl neared empty, she slowed to tiny sips.

She couldn’t bear to finish too quickly…

Just as Yan Yu was nearing the last of her custard, Yan Xiangheng finally returned.

At last—it was all recorded.

Thanks to his visits to each household, not only had the grain numbers been revised, but a few families had also taken the opportunity to bring up the matter of net-fishing.

Village Chief Luo’s words had struck a nerve. These few didn’t even know if they were any good at casting nets, or if they could do it properly—they were too embarrassed to say anything yesterday.

The reason they brought it up today was because before Yan Xiangheng arrived, Hu Da and the others had already spread the word about Yan Family Xiao Er’s grain calculations.

Suddenly, everyone felt a real sense of crisis about food shortages.

Every household had to fetch water from the river, and the fish in that river were plentiful—none of them were blind.

Sometimes, if luck was on their side, they could scoop up one or two fish while fetching water.

If they used nets? They’d definitely catch even more!

(End of chapter)