Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Whom Heaven Would Destroy, It First Makes Mad
"Thank you..."
Cheng Zongyang took back his Travel Permit, chuckled softly, and headed into the city.
As he observed the situation in the county, Cheng Zongyang tucked the Travel Permit into his robes and surveyed his surroundings.
The streets were clearly less crowded than usual. Pedestrians hurried along, their anxious faces making the already tense atmosphere even more fraught. It was as if disaster would strike if they were a step too slow.
Cheng Zongyang didn’t linger, quickening his pace as well. He planned to go to his second uncle’s house first to ask about the situation.
As people rushed past him, Cheng Zongyang occasionally overheard snippets of their hushed conversations.
He mulled things over while taking note of the various businesses.
Most non-essential shops were closed—jewelry stores, costics stalls, silk shops, furniture makers, and the like.
But many were still open, such as rice shops, general stores, and butcher shops.
Just then, he saw a few people still queuing in front of a familiar butcher shop.
The at on the stall was almost sold out, but the line was still long.
Cheng Zongyang thought for a mont, then walked over. He didn’t cut in line or buy any at, but simply asked the pot-bellied Butcher Zhang:
"Uncle Zhang, what’s the price of pork now? The fattier cuts."
Butcher Zhang brought his cleaver down, splitting a bare pork leg bone he had finally managed to sell. He glanced at Cheng Zongyang and answered with a smile:
"Well, if it isn’t Yangzi. Fatty cuts are one hundred ninety cents, lean is one hundred fifty, and half-fat is one hundred seventy-five. What, you got sothing to sell ? The price is negotiable!"
Cheng Zongyang gave a wry smile. "These days, you can’t even find a pig’s hair in the mountains, let alone any pork. I was just asking. I have to go, Uncle Zhang."
Cheng Zongyang bid him farewell and left.
The price had only gone up by about fifty cents compared to a while ago, so it wasn’t too outrageous yet.
But that was just for the relatively cheap pork. The prices for lamb, beef, and other ats would be even higher—unaffordable.
Learning the general price of at, he thought about the snake and bear at he had sold to Zheng Yan. A pang of regret hit him.
But he’d had to sell them cheap for a reason. He hoped it would pay off today.
Next, he took a detour to check the prices at so rice shops. He discovered that the price of rice and flour had risen by thirty cents!
The price of White Rice, in particular, had already hit one hundred twenty cents! This price was unimaginable.
’Still rising. This is insane!’
Setting aside whether the price was high or not, how many common people could even afford it?
’Those whom the heavens would destroy, they first make mad!’
The consequence of these wildly soaring prices would only be to add fuel to the fire.
He didn’t investigate the market any further and turned to head for the dical hall.
However, when Cheng Zongyang arrived, he found the dical hall’s main doors shut tight, and a look of anxiety crossed his face.
He went up, knocked on the door, and called out a few tis.
He only relaxed when he heard Cheng Zongwen’s voice from inside asking who it was. He replied, "It’s , your cousin."
Hearing the familiar voice, Cheng Zongwen said happily, "Brother, go to the back. I’ll open the door for you."
Cheng Zongyang acknowledged and, after a glance around, circled through the alley to the back door.
Cheng Zongwen opened the back door to see his cousin’s smiling face.
He imdiately pulled him inside and quickly bolted the back door. He asked nervously:
"Brother, what are you doing here? How did you get into the city at a ti like this? I heard the inspections are really strict."
Cheng Zongyang didn’t answer his question, asking instead, "What happened today? Why aren’t you open? Is sothing wrong at ho?"
Cheng Zongwen quickly explained, "No, it’s just that the situation is pretty chaotic today. Dad said to keep the doors closed for a day and see how things go."
Cheng Zongyang nodded as he walked inside. It was a sensible decision; safety ca first. He then asked:
"Where are your sisters?"
Cheng Zongwen led Cheng Zongyang toward the main hall, replying, "Second Sister is in her room reading, and Little Sister is in the dispensary playing with dicinal Materials. I don’t know what she’s up to."
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Second Sister is good-natured. It’s a pity she’s a girl. Otherwise, if we sent her to a private school, she might even co back with a scholarly degree."
Cheng Zongwen nodded in profound agreent. "She takes after
in that regard."
Cheng Zongyang rolled his eyes at him. Soon they reached the main hall, where he saw his second uncle and second aunt sitting.
Seeing their nephew, they both smiled happily, and Mrs. Chen of the Cheng Family went to pour Cheng Zongyang a cup of water.
Cheng Guangshan asked about how things were at ho. Cheng Zongyang gave a simple update and also described the situation outside the city.
After listening, Cheng Guangshan sighed. "I didn’t expect the situation to get more and more severe."
Cheng Zongyang asked, "Will things descend into chaos?"
Cheng Guangshan thought for a mont and shook his head slightly. "It’s hard to say. Generally speaking, as long as there is enough food to ensure the refugees outside have sothing to eat, it shouldn’t cause a major impact on the County Town. But if there isn’t..."
Cheng Guangshan trailed off, knowing his nephew understood.
And Cheng Zongyang did indeed understand the implication.
If there wasn’t enough food, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Unless the army was deployed to suppress them!
A recent grain shipnt had been hijacked, leading to a food shortage in the county.
A situation where the county’s food supply ran out was bound to happen.
As for whether the Governnt Office would force the grain rchants to release their stores of rice and flour, he didn’t bother to think about it. It was pointless.
rchants hoard grain and sell only a little each day for one purpose: to make money. It would be impossible to get them to hand over that grain for free.
The entire grain reserve of Jade Peak County, even including what the rchants held, couldn’t possibly supply all the refugees and the county’s residents!
So, the day would co when choices had to be made.
When that ti ca, it would either be iron-fisted suppression or everyone going down with the ship...
Cheng Zongyang and his uncle Cheng Guangshan chatted for a while, analyzing the current situation and what might happen in the future.
But they were just ordinary people. There was no point in discussing grand strategies or the bigger picture; they could only talk about preparing for what was to co.
Finally, Cheng Guangshan asked about Cheng Zongyang’s martial arts training.
In the current situation, only a Martial Artist had the strength to protect their family.
Hearing his second uncle bring it up, Cheng Zongyang casually ntioned that he was looking for a dicinal al recipe.
Hearing this, Cheng Guangshan smiled. "I might not have much else, but I have plenty of dicinal al recipes. Tell
what you need, and I’ll prepare it for you."
Cheng Zongyang thought for a mont and said, "I have Antler and ginseng. I want to use them in a recipe to supplent my Body Forging. It should speed up my training and save a lot of ti. Of course, if you have a recipe for using Snake Gall, that would be great too."
He didn’t ntion Antler Mushroom, but he figured it was probably similar. They were both for strengthening the body and nourishing one’s vitality and blood.
Hearing this, Cheng Guangshan smiled. "You’ve got so good things over there. There are dicinal als for the first two, but Snake Gall can’t be boiled; it’s used for infusing wine. I’ll go look for them."
With that, he stood up and headed out.
"Thank you, Second Uncle."
Cheng Zongyang expressed his thanks and also stood up.
"Second Uncle, I’m going to go out and check on the grain market. If you could get those things ready for , I’ll take them back to try. I’ll co back to get them later. Oh, and please prepare five more doses of the prescription you gave
last ti."
Cheng Guangshan nodded, simply reminding him to be careful.
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