Finding such a place was obviously not easy.
The caves themselves were relatively easy to find, but most were either damp and smelly, or far too small. Some were so damp they could be described as water curtain caves, which would be a complete scam for storing wheat and rice.
Yunqi Nvguan, clearly, was not a fool.
By the time evening arrived, and Ding Yun still hadn't found a suitable cave, she was so frustrated she wished she had a shovel to dig one herself.
But that was simply unrealistic.
In the end, Ding Yun had to lower her requirements. She no longer insisted on finding a dry cave that could hold over ten million catties of grain. Instead, any dry cave with a reasonably sized interior was deemed acceptable for storing the grain. While this meant the grain would be dispersed, at least it provided a plausible excuse.
It was far better than having nowhere to put it.
After half a night of frantic effort, during which Ding Yun narrowly avoided being bitten by snakes, insects, rats, and ants, she successfully transported fifteen million catties of wheat and rice, storing them in the six caves she had found. Simultaneously, she made sure to conceal the entrances to these caves, ensuring that outsiders wouldn't immediately notice anything within, or even that they were caves.
After all, this was hidden grain.
If it wasn't concealed, how could anyone believe it was hidden?
Having completed these tasks, Ding Yun quickly harvested another round on the farm before going to sleep.
She slept until she naturally woke up the next day. After tidying her appearance, she ascended the mountain alone. This time, she didn't enter through the vegetable garden as she had the previous day. Instead, she requested to see Yunqi Nvguan at the entrance, stating she had an appointment.
The people at Nan Hua Guan were quite courteous. They didn't look down on Ding Yun because she was a poorly dressed young girl. They even warmly escorted her inside and served her a bowl of thin porridge while they went to notify Yunqi Nvguan.
As Ding Yun had only eaten a peach that morning and nothing else, she drank the porridge while she waited.
Yunqi Nvguan, it seemed, was in a hurry. She likely hadn't slept well the previous night. Within three to five minutes, she arrived in a rush, her face looking somewhat drawn.
Upon seeing Ding Yun, she couldn't wait to speak:
"Little Daoist, you've come as promised.
Your household registration has been processed, with your name and place of origin as you specified."
"Thank you so much, True Master.
We can transport the grain now. Have you hired enough laborers? If so, I can lead you to them immediately."
Seeing the other's eagerness, Qiao Mu stated directly:
"Hired, hired. They've been waiting in the side hall's guest rooms at the Daoist temple for a while now.
I'll have them come over right away!"
With that, Yunqi Nvguan immediately turned and instructed a disciple to fetch the laborers. She then retrieved the household registration she had processed for Ding Yun the previous day from her sleeve.
As she handed it to Ding Yun, she explained:
"Since you haven't formally joined our order, I haven't registered you as a Daoist. Your registration is currently affiliated with Nan Hua Guan, making you a civilian.
I don't think you need to rush.
Having civilian status is sufficient for now.
Moreover, the age I registered for you is twelve, leaving six full years until the compulsory marriage age of eighteen. So, you have plenty of time to reconsider whether you truly wish to become a nun.
I know you must have received some education.
However, Daoist scriptures and the Four Books and Five Classics are quite different. If you remain steadfast in your desire to become a nun, I can spare some time each day to teach you. But whether you can pass the examination for the Daoist certificate, I cannot guarantee."
Ding Yun wasn't sure what household registrations looked like in this era, so she casually accepted it, examining it and confirming that all the information she had provided the previous day was present. She nodded with a sense of relief.
Then, tucking the registration away, she thanked her:
"Regardless, thank you again, True Master.
I understand your actions are out of concern that I might regret this later. In truth, I didn't initially intend to become a nun. But over the past year, I've seen too many faithless lovers and too many men who abandon their wives and children. Many of them even had the protection of their natal families.
Not to mention those without such support, or those whose families' support was less than useless. If they had more wealth, it was like a child clutching gold.
Human hearts are unfathomable, and I don't wish to try and fathom them.
It's better to remain unattached, free and at ease.
This way, I can avoid the coercion of official matchmaking. (1)
As for needing to study Daoist scriptures and undergo examinations, I will work hard on that myself."
Ding Yun understood True Master Yunqi's good intentions, but she had her own plans and could only reluctantly decline her offer.
She also stated her position and her reasons.
Upon hearing her explanation, Yunqi Nvguan sighed deeply. In their youth, who hadn't yearned for a beautiful love, to find one person and grow old together? Sadly, in this world, true partners were hard to find. Wealthy and powerful families had multiple wives, while impoverished households, facing hardship, would often sell their wives or daughters. Where could one find a good partner?
Because some of her reasons for becoming a nun herself were similar to what Ding Yun had just described, she was at a loss for words on how to persuade her further. She could only sigh again:
"Alas, don't be too hasty. If you're still disappointed in three to five years, then we can discuss this again.
For now, let's go transport the grain."
This statement was clearly meant to be dismissive, but Ding Yun was happy to go along with it. She immediately nodded, stood up, and started to walk out:
"Very well, I'll lead the way now."
Meanwhile, the disciple Yunqi Nvguan had sent to fetch the laborers had already brought the dozens of laborers she had hired the previous day. Thus, under Ding Yun's guidance, they began to head towards the closest grain storage point to Nan Hua Guan.
Even though it was the closest point, they still had to go down the mountain and then back up. Furthermore, Yunqi Nvguan's physical condition was not very good.
As a result, it took a full hour.
Only then did they finally reach their destination.
The laborers, under Ding Yun's direction, cleared away all the concealment she had arranged the previous day, revealing the first grain cave.
"True Master, I had to sell it in a hurry back then, so I didn't thresh it. Later, since it wasn't used, I didn't think about threshing it.
However, I did make a rough estimate.
The weight was fifteen million catties. Even after threshing, it should still be around ten million catties. So, I haven't lied. It's just that I might trouble you to hire people to help thresh and husk it."
Ding Yun didn't need to look at Yunqi Nvguan's expression to know she would have questions, so she preemptively began to explain why things were this way.
This reason was also something she had fabricated beforehand.