Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 57 Distributing Grain_1

Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Distributing Grain_1

In the following days, Nanzhi continued to uncover various ways to prepare chestnut flour, and most households in Lihua Village had almost finished repairing their own homes.

Early in the morning, Shen Dashan, along with brothers Shen Qingchuan and Shen Qinghe, were heard ringing gongs around the village, calling everyone to gather at the village entrance.

Yawning and still half-asleep, Nanzhi washed her face and rinsed her mouth, then followed Liu’s family to the dam.

"Girl, I’ve calculated the amount of chestnut flour we can get. We can produce six or seven taels of flour from a pound of chestnuts!" Liu’s mother said to Nanzhi, who was pecking at the food like a chick, with a smile.

"That much?" Nanzhi perked up at the news.

A pound of chestnuts, once shelled, would weigh around nine taels. For some chestnuts with thicker shells, a pound might contain only eight taels of chestnut kernels. Liu’s mother had milled twenty pounds of chestnuts into flour, and being able to produce six to seven taels of flour would mean they were close to wheat!

Liu’s mother glanced at the people around them and whispered to Nanzhi, "Tell Li Zheng about this later, understand?"

"Huh?" Nanzhilooked perplexed. Why should she be the one to tell him?

According to reason, her initial flour milling method didn’t work, and the succesful method was figured out by Liu’s family. Why should she be the one to claim the credit?

"Stupid girl, just do as I say. You think I would lie to you?" Liu’s mother looked at Nanzhi with mild annoyance.

This girl Lin is really a good child, just unlucky. At such a young age, she became a widow. It is difficult for a widow and an orphan to survive in this era.

"But..."

Before Nanzhi could finish speaking, Liu’s mother had already mingled into the crowd, greeting her friends.

"Sister Nanzhi, just listen to my mother." Seeing Nanzhi hesitating, Shen Yuntian stepped in to advise.

"Okay." Nanzhi nodded subconsciously. By the time she reacted, Shen Yuntian had already walked ahead.

"Mom, let’s go! Brother DouDou has already gone ahead!" Gougou tugged at Nanzhi’s clothes, pointing at the crowd.

"Let’s go, let’s go."

The mother and son joined the crowd and headed towards the dam.

"Sister Nanzhi! Sister Nanzhi! Over here!"

As soon as Nanzhi and Gougou got to their spots, they heard Shen Miaomiao calling. Upon looking, they saw the little girl standing in the crowd, waving at her with a bright smile.

After a lot of effort, Nanzhi finally squeezed into the crowd. Panting, she asked, "How did you come so early?"

"Our house is closer." Shen Miaomiao replied, while wiping the sweat from Nanzhi’s forehead.

"Do you know why Uncle Li Zheng has called us here?" Nanzhi, while looking at the dense crowd, and then at the few people and a pile of bags under the tree, was completely clueless.

"My mother said that they’re going to distribute food." Shen Miaomiao whispered into Nanzhi’s ear.

Nanzhi blinked. Distribute food?

Before she could ask further, Shen Dashan had already started speaking.

"Since everyone is here today, let’s begin."

After finishing, Shen Dashan raised his hand, and the four clan elders sat down one after another.

Shen Dashan walked towards the table that was set aside.

"The silver and grain we collected earlier in Lihua Village have all been recorded, and everyone’s homes and courtyards are almost repaired, so now we will distribute the grain."

"There are a total of fifteen households affected by the disaster. The grain we salvaged included 700 pounds of stored rice, 261 pounds of white flour, 2046 pounds of rye flour, 1013 pounds of sweet potatoes, and 829 pounds of potatoes."

Shen Dashan’s words were like throwing a stone into a calm lake, instantly stirring up waves among the crowd.

"That’s a lot of food!"

"Who would have thought..."

"Everyone should be able to get a share, right?"

"What about the silver? It can’t be all just food, right?"

Shen Dazhu’s gaze turned icy cold, immediately focusing on the speaker, Zhao Si.

Zhao Si, originally blending in with the crowd, felt a chill down his spine when he saw Shen Dashan looking at him. Tactfully, he shut up.

"Silence!"

Shen Qingchuan struck the gong. Immediately, everyone quieted down, looking at Shen Dashan automatically and waiting for him to speak.

"There were thirty-three households who had donated silver and grain."

Shen Dashan finished speaking and looked around at the people in the front rows.

"Shen Er’s house donated three hundred wen, Shen Lao San’s house donated two hundred wen, Hu Lao Si’s house donated two hundred wen, Shen Dazhu’s house donated five hundred wen..."

As Shen Dashan read out the names, murmuring started in the crowd.

Those who had donated grinned widely while those who hadn’t grumbled quietly to themselves.

"Even Ms. Lin donated thirty pounds of grain!"

Hearing her name being called, Nanzhi stood up straight. Fortunately, Shen Dashan continued speaking, and only a few people glanced in Nanzhi’s direction.

"Those houses which provided both silver and labor are the Tian Chengfu family, the Li Erniu family, the Wu Shoucai family, Shen Dazhu’s house, Li Lao Tou’s house..."

"Those who sent laborers are the Wang Caiyi family, the Liu San family..."

People from families that had not donated silver breathed a sigh of relief when Li Zheng mentioned their names.

Shen Dashan bent down and handed another ledger to the village elder.

The elderly patriarch cleared his throat before continuing, "Shen Dazhu’s house will receive thirty-two pounds of stored rice, sixteen pounds of white flour, one hundred pounds of coarse flour, thirty pounds of sweet potatoes, twenty pounds of potatoes."

After he finished speaking, Shen Qingchuan and Shen Qinghe quickly fetched the pre-packed grain to confirm the weight.

Liu Dama’s house called out for her three sons to come up and collect.

Thus, each household went up one by one to receive their allotted grain. It took half an hour before it was Nanzhi’s turn.

"Ms. Lin, you will receive twenty pounds of stored rice, ten pounds of white flour, sixty pounds of coarse flour, ten pounds of sweet potatoes, and ten pounds of potatoes..."

When Nanzhi heard the village elder call her name, she finally relaxed her grip on Gougou’s hand and hurriedly stepped forward to collect her grain.

However, she couldn’t possibly carry the one hundred and ten pounds of grain by herself. Luckily, Shen Yuntian, who was standing nearby, stepped forward to help her.

After Nanzhi had collected her share, the village elder closed the ledger in his hand.

Some people eyed the remaining sacks on the ground with different intentions. Just as the distribution was about to end in silence, a voice suddenly asked, "What about the leftover grains?"

With someone taking the lead, others from families that hadn’t received any grain chimed in.

"Zhao Si, what’s your hurry?" Shen Dashan frowned as he looked at the restless Zhao Si.

"I, I’m just... I’m just thinking for the sake of everyone, am I not?"

Zhao Si, seeing that he had been caught in the act again, took a bold step out of the crowd and loudly inquired, "Why is it that they get grains, but we don’t? Are we not also people of Lihua Village?"

Shen Dashan also stood up and walked towards Zhao Si. After giving him a once-over, he snorted coldly, "Zhao Si, don’t you feel guilty when you say these words? Have you given silver or labor?"

"On what basis do they get everything, while we get nothing? What are you, biased? You gave your own family two hundred pounds of grain!"

Zhao Si, a man not known for hard work but having a great deal of pride, felt humiliated in front of so many people by Shen Dashan’s words, decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Zhao Si, don’t fabricate false accusations! My family painfully gave a tael of silver! Not like you, wanting to take advantage of everyone else. And when you couldn’t, you didn’t even provide a bit of physical labor! You better fear that Wang Mazhi will find you in the night!" Qin Damap was immediately filled with anger upon hearing Zhao Si’s words. This Zhang Si was a two-faced person, now he was trying to tarnish her family’s reputation.

"What do I have to fear? I definitely won’t secretly steal grains for my own home!" Zhao Si retorted loudly, and everyone around him immediately fell silent.

"When my family donated silver, the elders all saw! Do you think that they could be bribed by our family?" Ms. Zhou got upset as she saw her mother-in-law was angry, and she hurriedly spoke up.