Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 114

After he leaves, the mother and daughter remain in a daze, staring at the iron coins in the wooden frame.

Taking a deep breath, the young girl says, “I’ll go find my brothers! I’ll go buy the grain with them!”

Her two brothers work as laborers for merchants. They earn a few coins each day.

Now that they have money, physical labor can wait—getting grain is the priority. If they wait too long and there’s no grain left, the money is useless!

The old woman knows she’ll only slow them down. So after closing the door, she wraps the coins in cloth and tells her daughter to leave by the back door—to avoid attracting the attention of idle thugs.

Although they wouldn’t rob them openly, the old woman knows they can’t refuse if several strong men ask to “borrow money.”

The girl quietly exits through the back, holding the cloth bag tightly. The iron coins are heavy, but for the first time, she feels strong enough to run with the burden. She runs quickly, her forehead soon covered in sweat.

Fortunately, both brothers are working in the east of the city. It doesn’t take long to find them.

When she arrives, her two younger brothers are shirtless, unloading goods for the merchants.

Her two younger brothers aren’t very old—one is seventeen, the other fifteen. She, the eldest sister, has it better than they do. Despite the tough times, she experiences a few good years during her childhood when the family’s situation isn’t so bad.

“Erlang! Sanlang!” She waves to her younger brothers. “Come here!”

The younger brothers hesitate, looking between their eldest sister and the manager who stands nearby.

Their current job is more like temporary work; they only receive their wages after finishing the task. If they leave now, the work they’ve already done will go to waste.

But they hear their eldest sister call out: “Come quick! It’s urgent!”

Reluctantly, they set down the goods and run towards her.

The younger brother reaches her first, almost breathless. “What’s the urgent matter?! Did something happen to Mother—”

Before he can finish, the eldest sister shoves the money pouch in her arms into his hands. Then she whispers to her younger brothers, “We’ll talk while we walk. Let’s go!”

Without waiting for their response, she turns and starts walking ahead. The two brothers exchange a glance and hurry to catch up.

On their way to the east side of the city, the eldest sister explains everything that happens that day.

The more she speaks, the brighter her younger brothers’ eyes grow. When she mentions they’re going to buy food, their steps quicken. They’re not just walking anymore—they practically slide along the ground, eager to get there as fast as possible, almost wishing for wings.

The road to the east side of the city is already crowded, with people all around carrying cloth bags. The sound of iron coins clinking can be heard everywhere.

When they finally reach their destination, even though they’ve prepared themselves, they’re still stunned by what they see.

The road is packed with people—there’s barely any room to move. It’s a scene Linzi City has never witnessed before.

They can’t even see what’s ahead of them.

Fortunately, the chaos doesn’t last long.

Soldiers arrive from the direction of the city. Armed with long spears, they usher the crowd into an orderly line. The disorganized east side of the city is finally brought under control.

Though the three siblings are anxious, they don’t dare to push ahead. They can only move forward slowly with the crowd.

They see, with their own eyes, people returning from the front carrying bulging sacks. Their eyes grow red with emotion, because they know those sacks must be full of grain.

The people carrying the grain wear excited smiles.

Some even talk to their children as they walk home with the sacks on their backs: “Come on, let’s go home. Father will cook for you! I’ll make sure you eat your fill!”

The three siblings can only continue to watch, eagerly waiting for their turn.

As the people ahead of them thin out, they finally reach the front before sunset.

The eldest brother quickly places the cloth bag in his arms onto the table. They don’t even spare a glance at the building behind the stall. At that moment, all that matters to them is the word “grain.”

The stall is simple—just a long table with a bucket on it, and behind it, large bags of grain.

The grain is mostly millet and sorghum. The people distributing the grain include both men and women. There are quite a few of them, and they don’t even speak to each other.

After the woman counts their iron coins, she asks, “Do you want to use up all this money?”

The eldest sister nods eagerly. “Yes, we want to buy.”

The woman frowns. “It’s too much. Are you sure you can carry it all?” Then she adds, “Don’t worry. We’ll be selling grain here every day—it’s not like we’ll stop after today.”

Her voice is hoarse. She has no idea how many times she’s repeated this, but because of the constant noise, she has to shout every sentence. By tomorrow, she likely won’t be able to speak at all.

The eldest sister, determined, replies, “We can carry it. We’ll manage.”

The woman sighs, having repeated this same conversation countless times. People don’t believe her warnings. They think if they don’t buy the grain today, they might not be able to get it tomorrow.

The woman sighs again and says to the man beside her, “One hundred and eighty dou.”

The man silently begins filling their bags.

Beside their row, there are three more rows of people, all waiting their turn to buy grain. Another grain distributor stands in front of them, counting money and distributing grain.

When the siblings hear “one hundred and eighty dou,” their entire bodies tremble. They’re too overwhelmed to speak, staring intently as the man fills the grain.

The man doesn’t level off the bucket, but instead gives them a heaping scoop, forming a small mound, and pours it into their bag.

They don’t recognize the bag, but don’t care. No matter what the bag looks like, it can’t compare to the grain.

The scent of rice lingers in the air. People continue to leave, their bags full, while more join the line.

Finally, the three siblings receive their grain.

They don’t say anything—not even a thank you. They’re too focused on helping each other carry the precious food.

Only as they’re leaving do they remember to thank the people distributing the grain.

But new people are already stepping up, and it’s unclear whether the grain distributors even hear them.

Cao’er feels like she never wants to speak again. She hasn’t had a moment’s rest, not even time to go to the toilet. Sarah wants to take over her shift, but her appearance makes that impossible. Even if she’s willing, Ye Zhou would never let her go outside.

All this grain is purchased by Ye Zhou through the system. In the system, any agricultural or daily necessities that exist in Ye Zhou’s dimension are available at the same prices as in his own world.

The grain collection idea is Ye Zhou’s suggestion to Chen Hou. At first, he worries that giving away or selling grain at low prices would instantly crash Chen State’s fragile economy. But this method—where Chen Hou hands out money to the people and covers the difference with Ye Zhou—means it’s Chen Hou subsidizing the citizens.

Chen Hou gives the people money, and then uses that money to pay Ye Zhou for the grain. In the end, it’s only Chen Hou’s wallet that takes a hit.

But Chen Hou can afford it. He even sells his throne and quickly grows fond of the activity of turning dead assets into money.

He sells almost everything of value in the royal palace. Each year, the noble clans from across the territories offer tributes to Chen Hou—most of it just for show, but among the piles of offerings, a few are truly valuable.

Originally, Chen Hou doesn’t plan to touch these, since he needs them for rewarding officials and noble families. In the past, he simply re-gifts the tributes. But now he has a new idea.

Rather than gifting, why not sell?

He sells the items to Ye Zhou, then uses the proceeds to buy low-cost grain and distribute money to the people.

As long as grain prices remain stable, the prices of other necessities like salt and needles also drop and stabilize.

This effectively means Chen Hou is single-handedly feeding the entire population of Linzi City.

When Ye Zhou pitches the idea, he warns Chen Hou: while this method can solve the people’s immediate problems, if grain prices don’t hold steady, Linzi will collapse.

To truly stabilize the situation, after the autumn harvest, Chen Hou will need to forgo collecting land and grain taxes.

Once the people have surplus grain, they can sell it themselves to grain shops. When Chen State is no longer lacking in grain, the crisis will truly be over.

Chen Hou thinks long and hard but ultimately accepts the plan. He even begins preparing to confront Zhao and Lu after the autumn harvest.

Ye Zhou, however, feels that Zhao and Lu might not actually cause trouble over grain.

Because even though both countries appear to back down after their last clash, there are still frequent skirmishes at the border.

Both nations want control over Chen State’s grain stores, and with rivals watching closely, neither wants to drive Chen into the other’s arms.

When major powers clash, small nations have room to survive.

But it’s still a gamble—one that risks the fate of the nation. That’s why Chen Hou has recently begun investing heavily in agriculture and military development.

The officials Ye Zhou recommends are now Chen Hou’s trusted aides.

Especially the scholar from the Jiang family—Jiang Jin.

Jiang Jin once has a long talk with Ye Zhou. Many of his ideas are shaped by Ye Zhou’s influence. Unlike another scholar, he isn’t a radical and doesn’t believe Chen State can change overnight.

He even advises Chen Hou that for Chen State to become strong, ten years would already be fast; twenty years would be a blessing.

With him by Chen Hou’s side, Ye Zhou feels reassured.

When Cao’er returns to the supermarket, she’s practically delirious with exhaustion. Chen Shu has come to relieve her. Even though it’s already dark, the people of Linzi City aren’t afraid of losing their way. They all hold torches and are determined to stay in line. Judging by their determination, they could probably wait all night if necessary.

The people can endure it, but the supermarket staff and soldiers maintaining order are on the verge of collapse.

Ye Zhou can only say to Cao’er, “Take a break. Have your mother make some sour plum soup for the folks outside.”

Cao’er nods weakly and mumbles, “Lord Immortal… this is too exhausting…”

Normally distant from the employees, Ye Zhou looks at the barely-holding-it-together Cao’er and, in a rare gesture, pats her on the shoulder and says comfortingly, “Just hang in there for a few more days. I’ll give you a raise.”

Cao’er: “!!!”

She’s not tired anymore!