Chapter 294 A Slightly Heavy Day
The young woman looked troubled; these items were all she had managed to hide, and now there was nowhere to conceal them.
She stood by the door, gazing at the emaciated face on the bed. She truly had no more time to wait.
"My mother doesn't have an infectious disease. You can come in, otherwise, if she's taken out, those people will find her very quickly."
After speaking, the young woman entered the room. Ye Shenggē felt a little embarrassed about the reason she was told not to enter.
"Ahem, perhaps we should go in then."
Ye Shenggē hadn't removed the gauze scarf from her face and followed them in without much burden.
Zi Yīshèng had no choice but to follow closely, yet he still shielded Ye Shenggē in his arms.
Upon entering, Ye Shenggē saw a woman on the bed so thin she was mere skin and bones, whether she was asleep or unconscious, she coughed intermittently.
The young woman was diligently digging by the stove where she was cooking, and Wèi Shí, putting down the sack he was carrying, went over to help.
"Miss, does the auntie on the bed need any help from us?"
The young woman's digging paused, her dark face drooping even lower.
"No need, she doesn't have many days left."
Refused, Ye Shenggē could only sigh. Her medical skills were only half-baked, and she dared not casually take out the Western medicine from her space. The question she asked seemed redundant.
With Wèi Shí's help, the first box was quickly dug out. The box was about eighty centimeters long and square.
"You two take a look, these are all good things."
Ye Shenggē walked over, squatted down, and looked. Apart from the jewelry, she didn't understand any of the other antiques or calligraphy and paintings, so she could only seek Zi Yīshèng's help.
The items in the box were very jumbled, clearly packed in a hurry. The two of them rummaged through and examined them, both appearing quite satisfied.
In less than twenty minutes, Wèi Shí had dug out five boxes. While the contents might not be considered top-tier, they were still quite valuable.
Five boxes for five gold bars seemed a bit more expensive than outside. But Ye Shenggē looked at the two people in the room and inexplicably felt a pang of pity, so it didn't matter much to her to take a slight loss.
Seeing that both were satisfied, Wèi Shí took out five small gold bars from his pocket and handed them to the young woman, then turned to leave.
The young woman clearly hadn't expected the transaction to go so smoothly. Her hand holding the gold trembled, and her gaze involuntarily drifted to the bed, her eyes filled with tears.
Wèi Shí was swift. He pulled back a handcart from somewhere and quickly loaded the five boxes onto it before leaving.
Ye Shenggē wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so she could only sigh silently and leave. She couldn't help everyone like this, nor could she help them significantly.
"Good luck to you."
The young woman wiped away her tears and bowed to Ye Shenggē and Zi Yīshèng.
"Thank you. We will repay this life-saving kindness when we have the chance."
Although it was a transaction, this was a life-saving kindness. In the black market, these items would only fetch two small gold bars at most. The extra three bars she had asked for were considered a generous gift from her benefactors, and she felt it had saved her life, giving her another chance to live.
Ye Shenggē didn't want to browse any further. Today had been a "colorful" day, consuming a lot of her energy.
Zi Yīshèng had originally wanted to take his little girl to the department store and then for a meal. But seeing the weariness on her face now, he lost the inclination.
"Shall we go home first? We can come back another day."
"Yes, I'm a bit tired."
When they returned to the alley of the black market, it was deserted and peaceful. Zi Yīshèng knocked on the courtyard gate. The bicycle was still parked in the courtyard, along with the five boxes placed beside it.
"Send people to deliver the boxes to the house tonight and sort them out."
Ye Shenggē leaned against Zi Yīshèng's back, gazing at the green mountains and clear waters, finding it hard to associate them with a drought.
"Brother Zi, since arriving here, I don't recall it raining. Do you think it might get dry here too?"
Zi Yīshèng slowly pedaled the bicycle, looking at the greenery around them, but his heart felt a bit heavy.
"It doesn't snow here in winter. If it continues not to rain, it will eventually become dry."
Ye Shenggē knew that the nationwide drought had been ongoing for three years. It should have eased by now, but even southern cities were suffering from drought. How could other cities survive?
"Life for the common people will be even harder. Has the country not considered any other solutions?"
She had clearly given the books from her space to her father. Why wasn't artificial rain being used? It seemed that plan had been in place for a long time.
"Many solutions have been considered, but they only address the symptoms, not the root cause. After all, growing grain isn't a matter of a day or two. Bai Rong Brigade is doing okay; the nearby river hasn't fallen much."
"Then the task assigned by the county to Bai Rong Brigade will only become heavier."
"There's no other way. Any place in the country that can grow grain will have heavy tasks. If more is handed in, more lives can be saved."
Ye Shenggē knew that her own family was also mixing coarse grains with their food. Only she, Xiao Tiántián, and the elders in the family ate fine grains. Others were also rationing appropriately.
Her eldest brother would take away a batch of grain every ten days, never waiting for her to save up for a month before sending it off.
Ye Shenggē was also working very hard now. She only planted one plot of medicinal herbs, and the rest were planted with grain. She even pulled out the fruit trees she loved.
However, six hundred tons per month couldn't save that many people, but she was truly doing her best.
They were both silent along the way due to this topic. Some conversations, once started, would weigh heavily on one's heart.
Ye Shenggē was woken up the next day by knocking at the door. The family only locked the door when she was asleep. After the incident with Hán Yǔyán, someone was always left to guard the house.
Ā Liàng opened the door. Most people had gone to Xī Shān today, and it was his turn to stay and guard the courtyard. Seeing the beautiful girl outside the door, his eyebrows rose slightly.
Bái Huì stood there without speaking after seeing who opened the door. Then, a smile appeared on her face.
"Excuse me, is this Ye Shenggē's home?"
"Just state your business directly."
Bái Huì was taken aback. These people had such poor manners.
"Hehe, I was saved by Ye Shenggē yesterday, so I came to thank her."
As she spoke, Bái Huì offered the pastries she had brought, but Ā Liàng didn't reach out to take them. He even took half a step back.
"Shēgē is still sleeping. Please come back another day."
With that, he was about to close the door, but Bái Huì stuck her foot out to block it.
"May I wait for her in your courtyard? Don't worry, I absolutely won't disturb her."
Ā Liàng expressionlessly kicked away the foot blocking the door and closed it directly, almost hitting Bái Huì's nose.
Bái Huì, standing outside the door, was so angry she could no longer control the expression on her face.
"Who are you, and what are you doing standing here?"
Bái Chǔmò, the third young master of the Bái family, happened to be standing beside Bái Huì and saw her distorted expression clearly.
Bái Huì quickly composed herself, smiled, and turned around. Upon seeing him, she recognized him as a young master of the Bái family. As for which young master, she couldn't tell. She then put on a wronged look.
"I came to see Shēgē, but I was locked out."
Bái Chǔmò nodded and knocked on the door.
When Ā Liàng saw it was Bái Chǔmò, he ignored Bái Huì and moved aside.
Bái Chǔmò walked in without saying another word. The main door was closed again.