On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 433 Apology
As soon as the Xiao family members put down their bowls and chopsticks, Mother Yan asked the maid to take them away, and she reported to Xiao Xiao: "Master, I took a look and found that nearly 300 kilograms of brown rice were used for lunch."

"In the morning, we had brown rice stewed with sweet potatoes. We used 45 kilograms of brown rice and 110 kilograms of sweet potatoes."

"There are only 600 kilograms of brown rice, 300 kilograms of mixed noodles, 500 kilograms of sweet potatoes, and 200 kilograms of potatoes in the warehouse now."

Mrs. Xiao gasped: "Oh my God, we need more than 600 kilograms of brown rice in one day? That's really a waste of food, right?"

Xiao Xiao nodded silently.

What she didn’t say was that there might not be enough in the future.

The main reason is that most people nowadays lack oil and water, so they eat more.

And now the food is distributed in fixed quantities to everyone, and each person can only eat one large bowl.

This is also because we are worried that people will be hungry for a long time and eat too much all of a sudden, which is bad for the stomach and intestines.

If we let everyone eat as much as they want, I'm afraid we'll have to add at least 100 kilograms of rice.

She had also looked around and realized that it was impossible to farm here.

I heard that this place used to be all hills. The stonemasons mined all the stones and repaired them before building houses, so stones and gravel can be seen everywhere.

It is not easy to grow something on such inferior land, so we can only resort to breeding.

"Let's go buy two thousand kilograms of brown rice first." It wasn't that Xiao Xiao was stingy: "In a few days, let the craftsmen rebuild the warehouse first."

"Once the warehouse is built, we can go to the farm and get the grain donated by my mother."

The warehouse here has also been in disrepair for a long time, and she had seen rats running around in the warehouse before.

So she looked at Old Man Xiao again: "Grandfather, please take care of this warehouse for me. You must not cut corners, otherwise I don't know how much food will be wasted."

Old Man Xiao nodded: "Don't worry."

Then he continued, "I will go find some ordinary people here to do some work and dig up the mud in the ditch. We can then cultivate the land and plant trees. Do you think it's possible?"

Xiao Xiao immediately started to speak well of him: "It will definitely work. Grandfather, you are really far-sighted and far-sighted. Fortunately, I invited you to come..."

Finally, the old couple of the Xiao family went to recruit people with smiles on their faces.

The thirty or so households closest to the charity hall are more than two miles away, separated by a cemetery and a small hill.

There are no good farmlands here, but fortunately there are many mountains and forests nearby, so people chop wood, hunt, or learn skills to become bricklayers, carpenters, or do odd jobs.

Anyway, the poor have their own way of living. As long as they are hardworking and willing to work, they can always survive.

Therefore, when Old Man Xiao went to recruit people, almost every family had someone willing to come.

Xiao Xiao didn't expect that her grandfather actually brought a group of people to dig ditches. She didn't go over to join in the fun, but went to see the accountants.

The accountant was still diligently counting the accounts, and when he saw her he said that it would take another two days to settle all the old accounts.

Although Xiao Xiao promised the Gu family that she would not pursue the matter further, she still asked the accountants to continue checking the accounts.

This way, you can gain more experience in the future and know which areas are prone to tampering.

She walked around and saw her grandparents at the ditch behind, watching people digging out the mud and directing them to carry the mud to the rocky beach not far away.

My mother and second aunt directed the old women to organize the medicinal materials, tidy up the warehouse, and prepare to tear down the old warehouse and rebuild it.

Linglong and Chunxiang Qiuxiang were teaching some maids how to sew and match colors.

The little girls who were nominated by themselves to be team leaders have already started selecting team leaders, and asked each team leader to select ten people.

Although it was still a dilapidated charity hall, it seemed full of vitality. As the time was approaching, Xiao Xiao was ready to go back.

The guards outside came to report: "Grandma, the Gu family hired a bullock cart to deliver food."

"So soon?" Xiao Xiao was a little surprised, but still very happy: "We will unload it into the warehouse first."

The warehouse was just vacant.

But it doesn’t matter. She can build a warehouse opposite when the time comes, and she must store the food first.

When she went out and took a look, she was a little shocked. There were at least twenty ox carts, and the convoy looked particularly long.

The housekeeper of the Gu Mansion came over first and handed over the gift list with a smile: "Hello, Grandma, this is the gift my wife asked me to bring."

The people in the Gu family also wanted to save face. Mrs. Gu had previously promised to pay Xiao Xiao 10,000 taels of silver, 20,000 kilograms of new rice and 100 pieces of fine cotton cloth in exchange for Xiao Xiao's promise that she would not pursue her daughter-in-law for corruption.

This time, the gift was given in the name of He Xiaoxiao taking over the charity hall.

Xiao Xiao took the gift list and looked at it, but she wanted to hit someone.

Very good, the Gu family is indeed trustworthy. This time, the silver, grain and fine cotton cloth that Mrs. Gu promised to me were all delivered so quickly.

But if she dared to leave so much silver in the charity hall, she would be robbed.

If this were taken to the money house, the people in the Gu family would have gained a good reputation for nothing.

If she took it back home, the Gu family might suspect that she had embezzled it.

Even if she didn't embezzle the money, the Gu family would spread some rumors and make everyone suspect that she was doing something behind the scenes.

She knew in her heart that she had extorted so much from the Gu family, and the Gu family must be feeling the pain, so they deliberately set a trap for her.

So she smiled and said, "Mrs. Gu is really a kind-hearted person. She sent such a large sum of money when she knew that we were going to rebuild the charity hall."

Unfortunately, Mrs. Gu did not expect that she would be preparing to rebuild the charity hall.

She also wants to buy the land and hills behind and prepare to enter the breeding industry?
Besides, the weather will soon get cold, and I will have to buy bedding and cotton-padded clothes for the little girls, which is another expense. Add to that the wages of the craftsmen and the money for raising livestock, and I'm afraid that the ten thousand taels of silver are not enough.

Mrs. Wu also heard the news and came to watch the fun. Seeing this, she couldn't help but gasp: "This is really grand. The Gu family is really amazing. In such a short time, they have already bought so much food."

When Xiao Xiao heard what Wu said, her heart moved.

Yes, Mrs. Gu is indeed a bit fast.

Is she doing this for a good reputation, or for something else?
When the housekeeper heard what they said, she forced a smile and said, "Grandma, the deeds to the other two charity halls are all here."

Another maid followed behind and presented a mahogany box with both hands: "Grandma, there are more than 300 people in the two places. When can you ask someone around you to hand over to this old slave?"

Xiao Xiao had thought about it a long time ago. It would be difficult to manage them separately. Since they were preparing to rebuild, they might as well just squeeze in for now.

She looked at Yan's mother and said, "Go with them and bring them back to me."

Mother Yan responded.

When the housekeeper of the Gu Mansion heard this, she couldn't help but smile: "Grandma, if we bring everyone here, will you still be able to accommodate them?"

Previously, the Gu family wanted to transfer the older or more capable people to the other two places.

But the original people from the other two places were also sent here.

This means that the living quarters are a bit crowded and there is no room for more people.