After Master Chen finished speaking, he and Yun the Butcher led the donkey out and harnessed the carriage. This job was much faster than moving the carriage.

After about an hour, Yun the butcher had harnessed all the donkey carts and tied the donkeys to the fence.

"Master Chen, it's too hot. Let's take a break before we continue working." Butcher Yun wiped the sweat from his face, and his clothes were also soaked with sweat.

"Yes, Master Chen, the mule carriage is bigger and it takes longer to harness it. Let's take a break first." Old Man Wu said, panting.

Master Chen was also hot and tired. Not since the drought had anyone bought so many donkeys and mules at once. So, this busy work had exhausted Master Chen quite a bit.

"Okay, let's go drink some water and take a rest." Master Chen took the lead and walked towards the wooden house.

After entering the cabin, everyone sat down on the floor. They were all covered in dust from working, so no one cared whether the floor was clean or not.

Yun Yiyi and Xie Zirui each held a bowl and added water to it, and then served water to Yun the butcher and his men.

"Yiyi, Zirui, we have all finished drinking the water. You two should take a rest for a while. When your Uncle Zhang and others arrive, we can leave." said Yun the Butcher.

"Dad, should we leave the city first and come back?" Yun Yiyi asked.

"Drive the donkey and mule carts to the city gate first. Wait until the village chief and his men have driven their carts away before we go shopping. As for our family, let your brother and his men take one of the mule and donkey carts back, and we'll use the mule cart to go shopping."

"Dad, with a mule cart, you, my brother and mom won't have to push the cart anymore, and life won't be so hard." Yun Yiyi said happily.

"Yes, let's give our cart to the villagers when the time comes."

"I guess everyone will be very happy after buying the car this time. When the weather gets colder, we don't have to worry about the elderly and children getting cold." Old man Wu sighed.

"Haha, Brother Wu, having a car alone is definitely not enough. We still have to buy charcoal, a small stove, cotton and other things for heating." said Yun the Butcher.

"I wonder if there's anyone selling charcoal in the city at this time?" Yun the butcher muttered to himself.

"Grandpa Chen, what were you thinking about just now? I saw you didn't say anything." Yun Yiyi asked in a low voice.

"I just heard you say you want to buy charcoal. Do you have a suitable place to buy it?" Master Chen asked.

Yun Yiyi shook her head.

"Grandpa Chen, this is our first time in this city. We don't know anyone here. If we want to buy charcoal, we probably have to ask while buying." Yun Yiyi answered loudly.

"I have a nephew whose family makes and sells charcoal all year round. However, his home is outside the city. I wonder if you are willing to travel a long way to buy it?" Master Chen thought for a while before saying.

"Master Chen, does your nephew have much charcoal in stock at home? We need to buy it for everyone in the village, so we'll need to buy a lot."

"My nephew has a lot of charcoal at home. He makes and sells charcoal all year round. He also delivers it to grocery stores and restaurants in the city. So he always has a lot of charcoal on hand."

"Also, burning charcoal takes time. He's also worried that grocery stores and restaurants might suddenly need more, so he usually stocks extra. I estimate the quantity is definitely enough for everyone in your village to buy."

"And he uses the trees on his own hill to make charcoal. So the price he sells it at is much cheaper than what you would get at the grocery store." Master Chen said carefully.

"Brother Wu, what do you think?" Butcher Yun turned around and asked.

"I think if it's not far from the county town, we can go and have a look. The main thing is that the price he sells is cheap, and we can save a lot of money." said Old Man Wu.

"Grandpa Chen, is your nephew's home far from the county town?" Yun Yiyi asked loudly.

"My nephew lives not far from the county town, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sell charcoal to the county town. Go out from the south gate of the county town and walk three miles along the official road. There is an Erli Village next to the official road. The first tiled house at the entrance of the village is my nephew's home." Master Chen said hurriedly.

"It's indeed quite close. Brother Wu, I think we can go and take a look." Butcher Yun said to Old Man Wu.

"Then let's not buy charcoal for now. Let's go to Master Chen's nephew's house first. If Master Chen's nephew's house is out of charcoal, we still have time to go to the city to buy some." Old man Wu said after thinking for a while.

"Just go ahead and don't worry. From the county seat south, no one in our village has fled famine. There's enough water in the village. The crops we grow are drought-resistant, so while we won't get much, we can still harvest some."

"Also, the government here will give each family some relief food. The amount of relief food is not much, but if you eat it sparingly, you can still get by," Master Chen explained.

"Master Chen, the government here is so great that it even takes care of the people below. The government here doesn't do anything, otherwise we wouldn't have to flee from the famine." Yun the butcher said sadly.

"Yes, it was very difficult to escape the famine. My third son also died because of the famine. Alas, it's all because the government didn't care about our lives." Old Man Wu said indignantly.

"Yes, so we are all very content. We can live well and don't need to leave our homes to escape famine. Compared with you, we are so lucky." Master Chen said thankfully.

"But don't lose heart. The hard times will eventually pass. Once you get through this period, good days will follow." Master Chen advised gently.

"Thank you for your good wishes, Master Chen." Yun the butcher said happily.

"Haha, no one will live a hard life forever. You will live a good life soon."

"We are also looking forward to that day coming sooner." said Old Man Wu.

"After a short rest, let's get back to work. Master Chen, we've only planned to go into the city for one day today, so thank you for working with us." Yun the Butcher said apologetically.

"Don't be polite. This is what I should do. Come on, let's get back to work." Master Chen said as he stood up and walked out.

Butcher Yun and Old Man Wu also went out to work.

Yun Yiyi and Xie Zirui were the only ones left in the room. Both of them were extremely sleepy. They had woken up too early in the morning, and their upper and lower eyelids were fighting each other.

"Yiyi, Zirui, you two sweep the floor and sleep against the wall for a while. We will call you when we leave." The voice of Yun the Butcher came from outside.

"I understand, Dad." Yun Yiyi shouted loudly.

"Brother Zirui, let's just sweep the floor and take a nap. I'm so sleepy." Yun Yiyi said as she dozed off.

"Yiyi, you're not needed. Just sit aside and wait for a while. I'll go sweep the floor." Xie Zirui said in a low voice.