usatvline Chapter 153 The Bai Family (Maternal Ancestors)
Chapter 153 The Bai Family (Maternal Ancestors)
Qiao Qingshu got out of the sedan chair and also took Shen Wenying's hand.
"Aunt, what's the big deal?"
Shen Wenying said with a big smile on her face.
"You are truly a prophet! Your second uncle sent a letter back on New Year's Eve, saying that there was a blizzard in the north and the temperature had dropped to minus twenty degrees Celsius. Many soldiers have fallen ill from the cold!"
"Local officials in the north have jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor regarding the extreme cold weather there. I foresee that if the weather continues to worsen, the emperor will surely issue an imperial edict for disaster relief!"
Qiao Qingshu nodded; everything was proceeding as she had planned.
She turned to her third aunt and said,
"Aunt, did you receive the charcoal I sent?"
Shen Wenying nodded hurriedly.
"I received it, I received it a long time ago! I was originally complaining that you sent so much charcoal and it took up so much space, there were three whole rooms in those charcoal piles, but now that I see it, Shu'er, you are really a godsend."
Shen Wenying was also very straightforward and didn't have many hidden thoughts; she said almost whatever came to mind.
She did complain when Qiao Qingshu secretly sent over several cartloads of charcoal.
The weather wasn't cold then, and she didn't think this winter would be too cold either. She still had half a room full of charcoal stored up, and Qiao Qingshu brought over so much more that it might not be enough to burn it all in three years!
She even told the driver not to unload any more, intending to leave only one cartload of charcoal and send the rest back.
But Qiao Qingshu was worried about this, so she personally went to inspect the situation and watched as all the charcoal from the three carts was carried into the Bai family's courtyard.
Shen Wenying frowned and said somewhat displeased at the time.
"Shu'er, what were you thinking? Sending so much charcoal. These things aren't worth much, and they're just taking up too much space at home."
Qiao Qingshu simply raised her eyebrows and said,
"Third Aunt, I have my reasons. If you still find these things in the way after the New Year, I will naturally have someone come and move them away."
Having heard Qiao Qingshu's words, Shen Wenying said nothing more.
Time flies, and it's already the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Bai Jiaguang has been burning charcoal day and night to keep the house warm for the past two days; no one expected this awful weather.
On the evening of the first day of the lunar new year, Shen Wenying, following the instructions of Old Madam Bai, went to the market to buy some more charcoal to keep on hand, but she couldn't find a single piece even after shopping all night!
She suddenly realized how prescient Qiao Qingshu was.
When Shen Wenying told Madam Bai that the charcoal outside had been bought up, Madam Bai was so angry that she slammed her fist on the table.
Shen Wenying has been in charge of the Bai family for the past few years, and she did not tell the old lady of the Bai family about Qiao Qingshu's donation of charcoal a few days ago.
At the time, she thought it was just a little girl's farce, and that she would definitely move the charcoal away again after the New Year, so she didn't want to talk about it and make Old Madam Bai worry about her granddaughter.
Now, Old Mrs. Bai was so angry that she slammed her hand on the table and cursed.
"The charcoal fire in the house can only burn for a few more days! It's freezing at night, and the brothers and sisters can't go without warmth in their rooms for even a moment! You, as the mistress of the house, must find a solution!"
Shen Wenying then revealed that Qiao Qingshu had sent three rooms full of charcoal a few days ago, leaving the Bai family members stunned.
Old Madam Bai's face crumpled in disbelief.
"What did you say? You said Shu'er brought three cartloads of walnut charcoal before the New Year? How is that possible? How could a young girl know about these things!"
When Shen Wenying led Madam Bai to inspect the three rooms, Madam Bai was speechless for a long time.
But it was Steward Liu, standing behind Madam Bai, who excitedly slapped his thigh and said,
"Oh dear, madam, do you know how much silver a pound of walnut charcoal is selling for these days?"
Shen Wenying was curious,
"How many!"
Butler Liu answered excitedly.
"Eighty taels of silver per catty! If the weather doesn't warm up, the price will continue to rise! And this is still the black market price! You can't find walnut charcoal in the regular market anymore!"
Shen Wenying nodded, then thought about how she had spent the whole afternoon running around trying to buy a single piece of charcoal, and realized that charcoal was now more expensive than gold.
She couldn't help but feel grateful for Qiao Qingshu's foresight once again, and thankful that it was the end of the year and she was too busy to deal with the charcoal fire.
If it were according to my usual personality, I would definitely have disliked those cheap things taking up space and cleared them out at a low price.
Now look at the charcoal fire in these three rooms. It's not charcoal at all; it's a gold mine in three rooms!
Holding Qiao Qingshu's hand, she couldn't help but sigh.
"Shu'er, you are really smart. If it weren't for you, not only would I have been scolded by the old lady, but our Bai family would have really suffered from the cold."
He slapped his thigh again and said,
"If I had known the weather would be this cold, I should have stocked up more. If I sold them now, I would have made a fortune!"
Qiao Qingshu just smiled and didn't reply. She had indeed stockpiled a large amount of charcoal, nearly three to five tons, in the suburbs of Beijing.
There were also cotton-padded clothes to keep warm, and food.
She had begun preparing for these things long before her mother's funeral, using all the money she had to stockpile these supplies.
What she now possesses is enough to sustain the people of the capital through three harsh winters.
However, this extreme cold has only just begun, and she needs to observe the court's policies before taking any action.
As they talked, the two entered the main house.
When Old Madam Bai saw Qiao Qingshu enter, she happily got up to greet her.
"Good child, you've finally come! Your grandmother has missed you so much these past few days."
He then tightly grasped Qiao Qingshu's hand, led her to sit down on his couch, embraced her, and placed the hot water bottle in her hand.
Qiao Qingshu chuckled and handed the hot water bottle back to her grandmother, saying with a grin,
"Grandma, I'm not cold at all. You can touch my hands if you don't believe me."
Old Madam Bai touched it and smiled,
"Yes, it is. It's not cold at all."
Qiao Qingshu couldn't help but look around the room and saw that it was full of her sisters.
The two men and one woman sitting on the left are the children of the third uncle and Shen Wenying: the eldest son Bai Baiqing, the second son Bai Yuhe, and the youngest sister Bai He.
Sitting on the right are a man and a woman, the children of the second uncle, Bai Songmu and Bai Ci respectively.
When Qiao Qingshu saw that her brothers and sisters were all dressed in layers upon layers of clothing, she knew that the tiger and fox fur coats she had brought today were a good gift.
She waved her hand, signaling the maid to bring the things up.
Surprisingly, three heavy boxes were placed in the middle of the room.
Qiao Qingshu smiled and gestured for the maid to open the box.
"These are all extremely thick cotton-padded coats. One coat is enough to keep you warm. Each of the brothers and sisters has one, each of the uncles and aunts has one, and the maternal grandmother has two."
Shen Wenying touched the fabric; it was thick with fox fur inside, interspersed with cotton, and the outer layer was made of multiple layers of Shu brocade.
Wearing this will definitely keep you warm!
Despite wearing five layers of clothing today, she was busy outside, shivering from the cold, and her hands are now purple.