A Widow

She also purchased 60 kilograms of flour for five copper coins per half a kilogram, 15 kilograms of soybean for five copper coins per half a kilogram, and 20 kilograms of cornmeal for three copper coins per half a kilogram.

Not only did she spend all the money she had just earned on this trip, but she also had to fork out over a hundred copper coins extra.

"Miss… Miss, you've bought so much food. How are you going to bring them home?" The shop assistant in the grain store stared at An Jiuyue, a young lady who had just purchased 215 kilograms of food. He was dumbfounded.

Although he was happy to sell so much food in a single purchase, he was uncertain if a weak young lady like her could carry so much food.

Moreover, it was still pouring.

"It's fine. Help me to place it outside the door first. My family will come and get it soon," An Jiuyue said to the shop assistant.

She had noticed a tucked-away spot outside the grain store before she entered. That spot was also dry enough to place the grain there for a while.

She could wait for the people around her to be distracted, before putting the grain into her space and leaving quickly.

The shop assistant believed her and packed all the rice and flour she bought into individual bags. The brown rice and white rice were packed into 30-kilogram bags, and there were four bags in total. The flour was packed into 15-kilogram bags, and there were also four bags. The soybeans were loaded into a bag, while the cornmeal was separated into two.

All the bags were carried to the place An Jiuyue specified. The shop assistant even placed a few sacks underneath the bags as he was concerned about the moisture.

An Jiuyue watched the shop assistant leave, and after confirming that there was no one around a few moments later, she placed the items into her space and headed home.

After some time, the owner of the grain store emerged from the back, and the shop assistant told him about what happened.

"Don't you find it strange though, boss? I've never seen anyone buy so much grain. Is she storing up for the new year? But it's only the beginning of spring!"

"What do you know?"

The boss rolled his eyes at him.

"It's been raining for so many days. Who knows how much longer this darn rain will continue? We don't even know if the Cascade River will burst its banks one day.

"Things may not be too bad for us here, but the villages in the west rely on the Cascade River to earn a living. If anything happens to the river, they'll be finished.

"How will they survive if they don't stock up more food now? Our grain prices have increased after all."

"But it doesn't make sense to store that much anyway," muttered the shop assistant.

Besides, what's the point of storing so much grain? They'll go bad if they are soaked from the rain, and all the money will go to waste.

However, he was not the one wasting money, so he was not too bothered.

…

After An Jiuyue hurried back from town, she did not return home directly. She headed for the village, where her household was registered, and knocked on the door of the Chief's house.

"Oh, aren't you Jiuyue from Old Tu's family? What are you doing here in this heavy rain?"

The Chief's wife had braved the rain to open the door. She was extremely displeased to see An Jiuyue at the door. She asked scornfully as she ran her snobbish eyes over An Jiuyue.

An Jiuyue had two sons and was a widow.

But she had a face so beautiful it could charm any man. Many young men in the village were eager to marry her and become the stepfather to her sons!