After the deal was done, the horse dealer breathed a sigh of relief. He almost thought that the two mules were going to be a waste of his time.

Although mules can carry more than horses, are faster than cows, and have the endurance of donkeys, making them best suited for transporting goods over long distances, they have two major disadvantages.

First, the price is more expensive than that of a horse [the price of a horse is generally above 30-100 taels (the upper limit is not fixed), depending on the breed].

The second mule cannot reproduce, which is very unprofitable for the farmer's family.

Mules are basically used by merchants and are mostly used by the military.

The two mules were originally ordered by a merchant, but the merchant offended a powerful official and was sent to jail. The two mules were kept in his hands for quite a while and were not sold.

It is natural to be happy to sell a horse now, and the sooner you sell it, the more profit you can make.

The horse dealer was very quick and had the men harness the cart and load the fodder.

The two men led the mule to a cloth shop first, bought some thick clothes, bedding, linen, and some oilcloth, and then went to the drugstore owned by Manager Li to buy a lot of medicines.

There was still not enough food, so Su Yin went to the grain shop again. Unexpectedly, the price of food had risen again, with the price of rice rising to 320 wen per dou.

Su Yin is from the south and likes to eat rice, but it is too expensive. The two hundred taels in his pocket may seem like a lot, but it seems not enough once he starts spending.

She could only buy cheap millet rice. This time she did not buy aged millet rice, and bought cheap white flour.

There were already a lot of things piled on the mule cart, but Su Yin covered it with oilcloth and covered the top with straw so that outsiders could not see what was inside.

"You stay here and watch over the things. I'll be back soon."

"where you go."

Su Yin pointed at the blacksmith shop across the street.

When fleeing from famine, having a good self-defense weapon can scare off many people and increase your chances of survival.

When the owner of the iron shop saw a customer coming, he did not neglect her even if she was a woman.

"Girl, what do you need?"

"Do you have any long knives in your shop?"

"Yes. These are all. Which one do you want?"

Su Yin looked at the row of long swords. There was only one style, the horizontal sword. As for the ceremonial sword, barrier sword, and Mo sword, they were not something that common people like them could use.

The ceremonial sword was an accessory carried by the nobility, the barrier sword and the mo sword were mostly used by the military and yamen runners, while most ordinary people used the horizontal sword.

There are different lengths of horizontal swords, and each one has a different weight, so the price is naturally different.

Su Yin tried it out and finally chose two horizontal swords.

"Do you have a short blade?"

"have."

Su Yin selected three short blades, placed the two selected horizontal swords and the three short blades in front of her, and also selected a small iron pot.

"Boss, how much is it?"

The iron shop owner was very happy because this was a big customer and it was rare to meet such a customer throughout the year.

"The past two years have been turbulent, the price of materials has increased, and the price has also increased a lot."

The blacksmith shop owner was afraid that the price would scare off the customer, so he gave the customer a heads-up before he started to quote, "This sword is five hundred coins each. The short blade is two hundred and sixty coins each, and I'll give you a discount for the pot, one hundred coins. The total is one ounce, eight cents, and eighty coins." [Note 1]

"How about one or two?"

The blacksmith's owner's heart trembled. This little girl was bargaining too hard.

"There's not that much profit to be made. How about this, I'll give you the eighty cents." The blacksmith shop owner said with a painful look on his face.

After all, eighty cents can buy several kilograms of millet.

Seeing the boss's pained expression, Su Yin smiled and said, "Boss, you don't have to charge a discount, how about giving me two axes?"

A hatchet costs about fifty cents, and two hatchets cost only a hundred cents.

The blacksmith shop owner was completely stunned. This girl was so good at bargaining.

"Okay." The blacksmith shop owner made up his mind and nodded in agreement.

Pay the money, take your stuff and leave.

All the necessary things have been prepared, but there is one thing that is indispensable, that is the household registration certificate. Once you start to flee, as long as you have a household registration certificate, you are not a refugee. Without a household registration certificate, you can only be a refugee.

We bought a lot of things this time, so it was inconvenient to move during the day. We waited until the night deepened before we dared to go up the mountain.

Su Baozhu held a torch to light the way ahead while Su Yin led the mule cart into the mountains. The mountain road was difficult to walk on, so the two walked very slowly, using a hatchet to chop a path from time to time to make it easier for the mule to walk.

It took the two of them a lot of effort to put everything in order.

Su Baozhu put on her old clothes again and after arriving in the village, she had to find a way to get their household registration certificates.

Su Yin found a relatively flat and dry place in the cave, spread a layer of hay on it, and then put a straw mat on it, preparing to sleep there for a few days.

Dinner was three meat buns bought from the town, accompanied by a bowl of water, and they managed to get by. Before going to bed, Su Yin approached the fire, followed the firelight, and modified her new clothes, adding some patches on them so that they would not look out of place.

Early the next morning, Su Yin drove a mule cart to her uncle's house.

First, they wanted to practice their driving skills, second, they wanted to help their uncle's family, and third, they wanted to find helpers. There is strength in numbers. If they just rely on their family, they are too weak and will easily become the target of competition.

If I can convince my uncle and the others, my safety will be more guaranteed.

Su Yin has three uncles. Her mother Yang Chunxiang is the third child. She has two older uncles and one younger uncle. The three uncles are nice to her mother, and even the three aunts dare not bully her.

My eldest uncle is a carpenter. If there is business, he does carpentry work at home. If there is no business, he works in the fields. My second uncle and my youngest uncle both work in the fields, but they are good hunters, thanks to my great-grandfather. My great-grandfather is a famous hunter in the surrounding area.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!