A peasant girl traveled through time and space, and she became prosperous

Chapter 345 12 Higher

"No, I, I'm here to find the water tank."

As soon as he turned around, the old man's expression changed. These were all young men from his village, and meeting them here gave him a sense of security and confidence.

Those young men were carrying buckets of water; they had just returned from the other side.

Wen Meijiu asked everyone to go door-to-door in the village to ask if they needed water. They all knew who Wen Meijiu was, and they would never buy water from her. They wanted to buy it from the soldiers across the village because they felt they were closer to her.

To their surprise, the soldiers had tricked them. They still sold them water at the rate of one ounce per bucket, but after they took the money, when they went to fetch water, the water in the ditch had already seeped out, and they couldn't even get half a bucket.

Sure enough, the group slunk back, their money and water gone.

"Water tank? How did we end up here while looking for a water tank?"

One of them asked a rather strange question.

"Hmph, you'll have to ask her that."

Just now, she went to my house, and my water tank is gone.

"Tell me, if they didn't steal it, how come the water tank is gone?"

As the old man spoke, he subtly moved his small steps to the side of the group, lest the warm wine be of any use to him.

"Who would steal a broken water vat?"

As soon as Wen Meijiu entered the village, she visited the other houses. None of the water tanks in any of them were filled with water. She asked them in bewilderment why they didn't fill the wells with water when they were tending them.

The result was pretty much as she expected. Despite the high price of the water, the village chief and the soldiers didn't allow them to hoard it. They were only allowed to fetch some water each time they cooked, and that was enough for their needs.

So when she saw the village elder's water vat filled with water, she knew that no one else knew.

Upon hearing about the broken water vat, the old man also became anxious, his eyes widening:

"What a lousy water vat! The water in that vat alone could buy ten maids."

His family's water vat can hold twenty buckets of water. Each bucket of water costs one tael of silver. Ten buckets of water would cost twenty taels of silver.

An ordinary maid only costs two or three taels of silver, which is not enough to buy ten maids.

However, he immediately regretted saying that, because he had misspoke; none of the other villagers had a drop of water in their water tanks.

"Village chief, what did you say?"

A young man, somewhat incredulous, reached out and tugged at the village chief's arm, trying to hear more clearly.

He said the water in his water tank was enough to buy ten maids!

Fearing they might not have heard clearly, Wen Meijiu repeated it for the old man, and the young men's faces immediately turned into a variety of colors, which was quite a sight.

"Miss, one tael of silver per bucket, right? I want two buckets."

Some people were the first to realize that the well water in the village was just a privilege granted to the village chief and the soldiers; the meager benefits they had received in the past were nothing compared to what they had gained.

The well has now been blown up, and they've finally seen the village chief's true colors.

Once trust is lost, hearts scatter, and no one wants to end up with nothing to drink.

"I'll take two buckets too, pay up."

To be honest, a tael or a bucket of water costs an astronomical price. Such a good deal would be enough to make anyone take the risk.

When no one was looking, everyone secretly engaged in some shady deals and amassed some wealth.

We still have enough money to buy two buckets of water.

"I want five buckets."

"I want three buckets."

The water source guarded by the soldiers has run out of water. Instead of wasting money there, it's better to spend some money here at Wenmeijiu to buy real water, since the prices are the same anyway.

Once people understand this, things become much easier to handle.

Before long, twenty barrels of warm wine had been sold, leaving only sixteen barrels of water.

Everyone else had taken their water home, leaving only the old man standing there, staring at each other, somewhat bewildered.

Even if he poured some water into his own home, they wouldn't go so far as to antagonize him like this, specifically buying water to warm wine. After all, they've cooperated with the other side before, so they should at least give them some benefits.

"Idiots, a bunch of idiots!"

The old man muttered a string of curses under his breath. Everyone had left, and no one was protecting him. He wanted to leave but didn't dare to.

"Do you want the remaining two taels of silver in the bucket?"

Seeing his timid demeanor, Wen Meijiu pointed to the remaining water on the ground and asked him in a wealthy and arrogant manner.

"I don't want your water, my son will be here soon."

The old man still remembered what he told the old woman before he left: he believed that his sons would definitely come, and then he would have confidence. That's the advantage of having many sons.

"Don't give up now, or you'll regret it later."

After saying this, Wen Meijiu stood at the village entrance, covered her mouth with both hands, and shouted loudly:

"Water for sale! Two taels of silver a bucket. Come late and it'll be gone!"

"They're really ruthless, even more ruthless than us."

The old man grunted, shifting to the side with his stick between his legs; he didn't like seeing Wen Meijiu's arrogant demeanor.

Whoever buys it, why doesn't she just raise the price of water to the sky?

Just as the old man was feeling smug that no one in the village had come out, a group of soldiers rushed menacingly toward the village entrance.

They were very alarmed and immediately stood in a row, placing the bucket in the middle to prevent it from being snatched.

"Sir, these outsiders are despicable! They not only stole our water source, but they also plan to sell us water at exorbitant prices. No way!"

The old man eagerly went to greet them, wishing these soldiers would stand up for him.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

Because he was blocking their way, he was shoved aside without any dignity or warning.

When the group of soldiers arrived, they saw that Zhizheng and his men had surrounded the water buckets tightly, so they did not make any rash moves.

The water source there was fine before, but when they went there, the water was gone. This made them think of what Wen Meijiu said when she left: she was enlightened by Guanyin Bodhisattva to find the water source.

Could it really be a divine intervention?

Out of doubt, and also because of the facts before them, they came to see for themselves.

"Two taels of silver for a bucket of water, do you want it or not? If you don't, it'll be gone."

Wen Meijiu ignored the soldiers and shouted at the old man who had been pushed aside.

The old man was already upset after being pushed, and when she shouted at him, he froze on the spot, not reacting for a long time.

"Two ounces it is, just count how many buckets of water there are in total, and I'll take them all."

The well was blown up, and the water source they had seized was also gone. The officers and soldiers were panicked; there were so many of them, and they also needed water.

Although there is some water stored in the water tank in the courtyard, it will eventually run out.

Once we need it, even if we borrow it from the next village, we'd have to cross mountains and valleys, which is no easy task.

"Sir, this is sixteen buckets of water. We are people of our word; cash on delivery, how about it?"

Wen Meijiu knew what kind of people these were; she wouldn't act until she saw a clear benefit.

"Take the money."

The officers and soldiers in charge did not hesitate. This water was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and no amount of money could buy it again. They were afraid that the warm wine would not be sold.

As long as she's willing to sell, no matter the price, he can sell double the amount if he doesn't use it all.

One was afraid the other would regret it, and the other was afraid the other wouldn't sell, so they quickly reached a deal.

The old man standing to the side watched helplessly as the remaining sixteen buckets of water were bought up by the soldiers.

"Could you save me a bucket?"

Seeing that all the water was about to be taken away, the old man panicked; his family was now completely out of water.

"Five taels of silver, how about it?"