Qin Sang gave him a deep look. Others only saw Zhong Pingan as an honest man, but whether he was truly honest was something only he knew.
He was actually a beneficiary as well. In the past, no matter how much Tian Hongmei took advantage of others, he, as the man of the house, never came forward to apologize or compensate. He put on an act of being suppressed by his wife, which earned him a great deal of sympathy from the villagers. Qin Sang had no favorable impression of him, but she couldn't push an 'honest man' too hard.
"For the sake of your sincere apology, you and your children can continue to come tomorrow. Her?"
"I don't want to see her."
Zhong Pingan was overjoyed and immediately nodded.
"I understand, I understand. Don't you worry."
Qin Sang ignored him and said to the other villagers in a deep voice:
"Line up, weigh the grain, and exchange for water."
Everyone cheered and lined up in an orderly fashion. Some held several slips in their hands, all proof of the work their families had done today.
After handing the mule cart over to Da Zhuang, Qin Sang led the Horse carriage out of the village. Da Huang, being very perceptive, jumped onto the flatbed again and sat obediently beside Qin Sang like a most loyal guard.
"Da Zhuangs Mother, are you going out again?"
Qin Sang said indifferently:
"Steward Huang knows my family has two flatbed carts. One cart can't hold everything he sent, so I have to go again. Steward Huang's men are still waiting for me outside the village."
Everyone beamed with joy.
"Then go quickly, and be safe."
Qin Sang nodded. Once she entered the darkness, she took an infrared night vision device out of her warehouse. With this, she could move freely in the night and easily detect if anyone was following her.
The long delay earlier was because tying the water buckets took some time, but she also deliberately created the illusion that she had traveled a long distance and worked very hard to exchange for the supplies.
After driving the Horse carriage slowly onto a fork in the road where no one was around, Qin Sang began her work.
She didn't even turn on a flashlight, using the night vision device to set out the supplies.
The cart of grain and water wouldn't be fully exchanged today, so for this trip, Qin Sang wanted to bring out some other items.
Ten catties of sugar—a necessity to meet energy needs.
Two hundred catties of salt, which would be distributed to the villagers later.
Oil was difficult to transport, so she used cured meat instead.
One hundred salted duck eggs, packed in jars so they wouldn't spoil.
Two hundred sausages. In the heat of summer, only sausages could be preserved for a bit longer, and giving them to the villagers saved them the trouble of smoking meat themselves.
One hundred catties of beans, mainly as fodder for the mules and Horses.
Ten catties of dehydrated vegetables, which could be soaked in boiling water to supplement vitamins and dietary fiber.
Ten each of smoked chicken, smoked duck, and smoked fish to occasionally change their palate.
Ten bottles each of floral water and insect repellent. Along with some mosquito coils for herself, she wouldn't have to fear mosquito bites in the mountains.
There were also various emergency medicines, disinfectants, fever reducers, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Qin Sang prepared ten first-aid kits, packed individually. She planned to have everyone carry one so that even if no one was by their side during an incident, they could handle it promptly.
Ten packs of compressed biscuits. These were very filling; one piece soaked in water became a bowl. Though the taste was mediocre, to Da Zhuang and San Gui, they should be a delicacy.
After packing a few things, the carriage was full. The items were scattered, and without a carriage cabin, they couldn't be stacked high.
Qin Sang covered them with an oilcloth, leaving a corner of the sausages and salt exposed. Seeing these would give the villagers more motivation.
Qin Sang planned to wait another hour before returning. Since there was nothing to do, she took the opportunity to take a bath and even washed the dog.
Good heavens, this was the first bath she had taken since she transmigrated. Previously, she had only managed to give herself a quick, secretive wipe-down.
Although she was still wearing the same dirty clothes, her body and hair felt much more refreshed.
After drying her hair and the dog, it was about time. Once the carriage reached the village entrance, Qin Sang put the night vision device back into the warehouse.
The Horse could find its way home on this road with its eyes closed, so there was no need to worry.
Returning to her courtyard, she didn't expect some villagers to still be there. The torch on the courtyard wall had been replaced and was crackling loudly.
Several men, including Tian Yougen, were there chatting with Da Zhuang and San Gui about archery. Seeing Qin Sang return, they immediately came over to greet her.
"Da Zhuangs Mother, now that you're back, we can rest easy. This trip took too long."
"Da Zhuangs Mother, you bought another cartload? This... is this sausage? It smells so good."
"Wow, so much."
It turned out they were waiting here out of concern for her safety. Facing the villagers' discovery, Qin Sang gave a faint smile:
"There were too many items, so settling the accounts took some time. In the pitch black, I had to count the money several times before leaving."
"These sausages and salt are the extra rewards I promised everyone for reaching the target quantity. Naturally, I had to prepare them early. I arranged it with Steward Huang that day, and he sent them to me."
"It's just that fresh meat isn't available right now, so I could only buy sausages."
The villagers' faces lit up with joy. Sausages were great! One catty of sausage wasn't something a catty of fresh meat could produce. If they could really get this reward, they could taste meat even when it wasn't the New Year.
Tian Yougen pushed aside a man who was almost drooling and said to Qin Sang:
"It's getting late, and Da Zhuangs Mother has had a long day. Go home and rest early. Don't worry, everyone will definitely work hard to complete the goal you set."
"Paternal uncle, you should also go back and rest early. You have to go up the mountain tomorrow morning."
"Alright, then we'll head back too."
Qin Sang smiled as she saw them off, then drove the carriage into the courtyard.
Da Zhuang closed the courtyard gate. The whole family was still awake and rushed out to help move the things.
After the oilcloth was pulled back, Si Jin, Eldest Girl, and Er Fu were all dumbfounded.
So many things, many of which they had never even seen before.
Qin Sang asked:
"What are you all standing there for? Start moving them."
Si Jin, being the boldest, asked:
"Mother, what is this?"
Si Jin was holding the dehydrated vegetables. Qin Sang introduced them without blinking:
"These are dried vegetables, but not the kind we sun-dry ourselves. This is something only officials and nobles get to eat. Steward Huang said our vegetables were eaten by locusts, so he specifically spared a few catties for me. They're very expensive."
The girls all knew how to cook. Looking at the cloth bag of dehydrated vegetables, they were very curious.
"Mother, how do we eat this?"
"When making soup or porridge, just soak them in hot water for a while. That's what he told me."
Next, everyone curiously picked up items they didn't recognize and asked Qin Sang about them one by one. Qin Sang's explanation remained consistent:
"These are all things that wealthy households like Steward Huang's eat and use. It's rare for commoners like us to see them, and even if we did, we couldn't afford them."
Tian Sangui felt a bit distressed about the money:
"Mother, you must have spent a lot of silver. Is there enough left?"
Qin Sang waved her hand:
"If it's spent, it's spent. After all, life is more important. Once we enter the mountains, even if we have silver, there will be nowhere to spend it. It's better to buy things we can eat and drink."
"I felt these things Steward Huang gave us were useful and easy to carry for our time on the mountain, so I took them all."
"Once the money is spent, we can earn more. When this batch of mosquito coils from the village is shipped out, won't we have more silver coming in?"
After being consoled like this, everyone nodded one after another.
Indeed, staying alive was the most important thing.
With many hands, the carriage was empty in no time. Before finishing, Qin Sang said:
"Wen Mo, let me see the list you registered."