Chapter 77: Adorable Yet Formidable

As expected, Bai Xi’s intuition had been correct. Just a few days after Li Jia’s twins’ one-month celebration, the commune’s grain requisition team arrived at Niuluo Village.

Their implication was clear: Niuluo Village’s harvest outshone all the surrounding villages, so they intended to collect another batch of grain from them.

Luckily, Chen Daliu stood his ground, insisting there was no surplus. The grain left in the village was reserved as seed for the next season. If they handed it over, they’d have to request more from the commune when it was time to sow.

Villagers could reserve a bit less when it came to saving their own seed, but if they had to apply through the commune, they’d have to request an extra two hundred pounds, as was customary. After all, the commune’s seed grain was sometimes inferior to what the villages saved themselves.

Niuluo Village had always cooperated enthusiastically with grain collection. Hearing this, the requisition team realized it would be unwise to push further and left it at that.

Having overheard, Bai Xi thought for a moment, then called Chen Daliu over to give him instructions.

“Madam, do you really want to do this?” Chen Daliu asked hesitantly.

“Go ahead. It never hurts to be cautious.”

Hearing this, Chen Daliu wholeheartedly agreed and immediately set things in motion.

Every time Bai Xi pondered matters, Chen Rui’s eyes would light up. She’d rest her cheeks in her hands and quietly watch from the side, her gaze filled with admiration.

Just look at Madam—she might play tricks on others now and then, but when it came to serious matters, no one could compare to her!

That night, the villagers of Niuluo moved under cover of darkness, bustling for nearly two hours before all fell silent again.

The day before Bai An’an returned home for the holidays, the commune’s grain requisition team came again, this time with more than a dozen people swarming into the village.

Their attitude was much more aggressive. When Chen Daliu insisted there was no grain left, they said nothing more, but began searching the villagers’ cellars and grain bins.

Not only did they seize the grain set aside for seed, but they also ordered Niuluo Village to resolve their own seed grain for next season.

No matter how Chen Daliu pleaded, it made no difference. After the requisition team left, Chen Daliu and several others sat fuming under a big tree, cursing loudly.

“What kind of people are these? Oh, the mission, the mission! All they care about is their quota—not the real situation. Now we don’t even have seed grain. Next season, what are we supposed to plant?”

Bai Xi was leading Chen Rui back from the creek when she heard Chen Daliu’s angry shouts in the distance, and the villagers’ furious discussions. After a moment’s thought, she walked over.

“So… the grain was all taken?” (Timidly asking, have I written something I shouldn’t have again? I’m shivering a bit…)

When everyone saw Bai Xi approach, they hurried to greet her. Chen Daliu scrambled up from the ground, dusting himself off as he respectfully called out, “Madam.”

Every time, Chen Rui would quietly find a spot at the edge of the crowd, her eyes shining as she gazed at Bai Xi. Just earlier, Madam had been laughing, splashing water at Xiao Shunzi and the others at the creek, playfully urging them to catch birds and fish.

Now, her soft and adorable little face tried its best to appear serious as she tilted her head, searching for solutions for the village.

How could Madam be both so formidable and so adorable…?

Bai Xi had no idea Chen Rui was bubbling over with adoration for her. Sensing Chen Rui’s gaze, she looked over, then listened as the villagers poured out their grievances.

“Madam, you have no idea—the village is in terrible trouble. They took all our seed grain!”

The villagers started explaining the situation to Bai Xi, each adding their part.

No one thought Bai Xi was too young to understand. Despite her age, Madam was a person of great fortune and exceptional intelligence. If not for her earlier warning, everyone would surely be facing starvation now.

After all the incidents of the past months, the people of Niuluo Village nearly worshipped Bai Xi.

When the village chief quietly spread word instructing everyone to transport their grain elsewhere and leave only enough at home for three to five days, and to keep more wild vegetables at home instead, no one questioned it. Once they heard it was Madam’s suggestion, they set to work without complaint.

No one expected that day’s events.

When the requisition team searched door to door, everyone’s faces went pale. As their grain was seized, many people collapsed to the ground. If they hadn’t been ordered to cooperate and forbidden from crying out, there would have been wailing and lamentation throughout the village.

Yet deep down, the villagers were grateful. If it weren’t for Madam’s foresight, how would they survive the coming months?

Indeed, following Madam’s advice was never wrong.

“The commune also told us to handle our own seed grain for the next season.”

An elder added furiously, “Are they trying to drive us to ruin?”

Bai Xi nodded to show she understood and asked, “Is everyone’s reserve grain safe?”

She didn’t need to ask—she already knew it was. The hiding place was a cave Xiao Hei had found while hunting, and these days he stood guard there. The grain was perfectly safe.

“It’s safe, but we lost all our seed grain. That’s no small amount.” Without seed grain, everyone would have to supply their own, which was a significant loss.

Those people only spoke of supporting debt repayment, of helping city residents, never minding whether the farmers might starve as a result.

If they hadn’t hidden most of the sweet potatoes as well, those would probably have been seized, too.

“Madam, you wouldn’t believe it—someone in Xin Village let something slip, and a lot of their grain was found and confiscated. Half of it was taken as a penalty.”

Everyone knew how hard times were. Grain was life itself. Even if half remained, this year’s harvest was already poor—they were already tightening their belts. Now, losing half was like borrowing from future harvests, leaving entire households in dire straits.

“Exactly. Then the commune’s requisition team, not content with that, swept through every village within a hundred li. Our village truly had no more grain, but even our seed grain was taken.”

The speaker glanced around nervously, and everyone present did the same, worried that an outsider might overhear and spread word.

The villagers were both angry and relieved. Though few had seen the other villages’ plight, the way the requisition team searched for grain, along with the rumors they’d heard, made it easy to imagine the fate of others.

If not for Madam, Niuluo Village would be suffering the same.

After everyone had said their part, Chen Daliu respectfully asked Bai Xi, “Madam, what should we do next?”

No one found it odd that the village chief would seek the counsel of a five-year-old child. Madam was blessed with great fortune—she was no ordinary person. She was different.

The villagers admired Chen Daliu for his tact and humility, convinced they’d chosen the right man as chief.

After all, anyone who only knew how to oppose Madam wouldn’t get far.

Of course, in Niuluo Village, no one would dare oppose Madam.