"Ten million catties of grain, you're serious?
Do you really have this much grain to donate?"
To be honest, Yunqi Nu Guan hadn't truly believed Ding Yun's statement about having ten million catties of grain to help. She was willing to listen further and offer assistance primarily because Ding Yun didn't seem like a mere child, and her situation bore some resemblance to her own.
Both had relatives who coveted wealth and sought to harm them.
Empathy had prompted her willingness to help.
She had even prepared to educate Ding Yun and tell her not to lie again if she couldn't produce the grain.
But who would have thought that before she could even bring it up, Ding Yun would mention it herself, and so resolutely, not at all like she was lying.
"Of course, it's true.
Does Daoist Master Yunqi still think I'm lying? Then you would truly be mistaken about me!
I wouldn't deign to engage in fraudulent donations."
Upon hearing this, Ding Yun deliberately feigned anger.
She adopted a posture of being wronged and displeased.
Yunqi Nu Guan immediately admitted her mistake, bowing and saying, "It is my fault; I was narrow-minded.
Please do not take offense, young benefactor!"
At this, Ding Yun promptly stood up and returned the bow, "You cannot be blamed entirely.
Ten million catties of grain is indeed not easy to produce; even grain merchants would likely find it hard to believe if they were asked to donate so much, let alone a child like me.
My ability to donate so much grain is merely a matter of fortunate circumstances and luck."
"Having so much grain and being willing to donate it are entirely different matters. Which of the major grain merchants in Jinling City doesn't have tens of millions of catties of grain? Yet, how many are willing to donate? The most generous donation was only a hundred thousand catties.
But after donating a hundred thousand catties, they raised grain prices by thirty to forty percent. It would have been better if they hadn't donated at all."
Yunqi Nu Guan now dared not treat Ding Yun as a child. As she spoke, she even subtly treated her as an equal while lamenting.
She complained about the grain merchants of Jinling City.
Ding Yun, however, shook her head:
"Even if those grain merchants didn't donate grain,
wouldn't they still raise prices?"
Yunqi Nu Guan was stunned by Ding Yun's words. After a long pause, she smiled bitterly and shook her head:
"I can't see as clearly as you do.
Yes, how much does their price increase have to do with donations? Even without donations, who among them is willing to earn less? It's just that the drought didn't occur here in Jinling City. If it had,
they would likely have increased prices threefold or fourfold.
Alas... the people's lives are so difficult!"
After lamenting the greed of the grain merchants and the suffering of the common people, Yunqi Nu Guan immediately said:
"Young benefactor, regarding this grain..."
"Don't blame me for being anxious; the drought in Jinzhou is simply too severe. The imperial court did send people to provide disaster relief some time ago, but unfortunately, more than half of the relief funds and grain were embezzled. Not only did it fail to pacify the people, but it also led to a popular uprising.
The court is still arguing whether to continue relief efforts,
or send troops to suppress them."
"Every day of delay means more people starving. It also takes time to transport the grain.
Do not worry that I will steal your credit.
Once the grain arrives, I will immediately petition the Daoist Palace on your behalf. With this merit, you should receive some reward from above. At the very least, you should get a plaque for a virtuous family!
This will offer you some protection.
Ordinary people would absolutely not dare to harm you."
Indeed, Ding Yun had not misjudged her. Yunqi Nu Guan was a genuinely sincere person.
"Daoist Master Yunqi, the matter of the grain is simple.
Please hire more manpower and carts, and I will take them to transport it tomorrow. It's in a natural cave in a valley not far from here.
However, there's no need for a petition.
I just wish to remain anonymous and not be discovered by my father and stepmother. That's why I specifically came to Jinling and even changed my household registration. If I am praised and my name becomes known, what if they find out!"
Regarding the grain, Ding Yun had no problem. All she needed to do was find a secluded place to descend the mountain and find a way to retrieve over ten million catties of grain from her farm warehouse.
After all, she wouldn't have to move it herself.
With a thought, she could directly extract it.
However, she was unwilling to have them petition for her merit. Her identity was indeed problematic, and the source of the grain was not through legitimate channels.
It would be troublesome if it were exposed later.
Upon hearing this, Yunqi Nu Guan was immediately relieved and smiled broadly, "No need to worry, no need to worry!
I can omit your name and simply say it was donated by a Daoist follower. They won't pay too much attention to who exactly donated it. In the past, some wealthy merchants, fearing ostracism from their peers for donating too much, specifically requested anonymous donations.
So, this matter is not difficult to handle.
Ultimately, it is your merit.
Even if it's anonymous, I cannot claim it as my own."
"I see. Then I shall accept it with gratitude."
"This is what you deserve.
What is there to feel ashamed of?
Rather, I can gain some merit from this!"
After this exchange, and after inquiring about Ding Yun's name and origin, they quickly finalized the specific arrangements and matters concerning the grain reception. Ding Yun then took her leave and descended the mountain.
She prepared to retrieve the grain.
Yunqi also personally descended the mountain.
Of course, she was not following Ding Yun. She was going down to Jinling City to handle Ding Yun's household registration and to hire some manpower.
Tens of millions of catties of grain could not be moved by a few people.
With only the people in her Daoist temple,
it would take ages.
However, since she hadn't seen the grain yet, she didn't hire too many people at once. She only hired a few dozen people. Once the exact amount of grain was confirmed tomorrow, she could hire more people to move it then, and it wouldn't be too late.
In addition, if the grain was confirmed to be real,
she might have to go to the yamen again to have officials send some people to protect it, as tens of millions of catties of grain were quite valuable.
No one could guarantee that someone wouldn't develop greedy intentions, or even collude with bandits.
Therefore, protection from the yamen would definitely be necessary.
However, since the authenticity was not yet confirmed,
it was inconvenient to request protection from the yamen in advance.
She could only go to handle Ding Yun's household registration first, and then subtly inquire if the yamen runners had any errands or were going out recently.
This was to ensure their availability.
While Yunqi Nu Guan was busy with these matters, Ding Yun was also very busy. She was searching all over the mountains and fields for outdoor locations where wheat and rice could be stored, ensuring they wouldn't be affected by the weather. After all, she had told Yunqi Nu Guan that she had already transported the grain many days ago.
It had also rained in the past few days.
It wouldn't do if she just placed the wheat and rice in an open space.
Therefore, she had to find a relatively dry large cave that wouldn't be exposed to rain, wouldn't cause the wheat and rice to sprout, and could accommodate over ten million catties of wheat and rice.