After exchanging greetings outside the town, Tian Gui said that he couldn't enter the town and wanted to ask Xu Errui to help him buy some rice.

"I have fifty coins here. I'd like to buy some fine grains, as much as I can!"

Tian Gui fumbled in his pocket and took out a money pouch, which contained the money he had earned from selling coarse grains while working at the medical shed.

I don't know the current price of grain, so I can only use the money I have. But now I can't even get into the town.

Xu Errui took the money, somewhat surprised: "Uncle Tian, ​​your family can afford to eat white rice now?"

Tian Gui was a little embarrassed: "My wife is pregnant again and is vomiting a lot, so I wanted to buy some white rice to make porridge for her!"

Jiang Zhi: Humans have such a strong reproductive capacity; it's still possible to get pregnant under these circumstances.

However, Magistrate Zhang was most pleased to see these things; the population was too small, and everything was waiting to be developed!

She took the money bag: "Okay, I'll ask about the price of rice for you. You can use these fifty coins to buy it! You wait here!"

Tian Gui thanked her repeatedly, "Thank you, Sister Jiang!"

As the crowd moved into the town, just as Xu Errui and Xiaoman entered the town smoothly, and Jiang Zhi was worried that Li Laoshi would be stopped, Li Laoshi blurted out, "I won't let you through. You're a local, so you're allowed to pass."

He was quick-witted and had spent several months hanging out with Xiaoman and Xu Errui on the mountain, so he had already learned the local accent and managed to sneak in before the new year.

Pear Blossom Town has only one street, with shops built along the river, all of which are tiled and brick houses.

What was originally a large village of fifty or sixty households gradually became a market spontaneously formed by people from surrounding villages.

As people opened shops and started businesses, restaurants, taverns, pharmacies, and cloth shops gradually formed a sizable commercial street.

The village chief was in charge of the trivial matters of the market and recruited young men to serve as town guards. However, when the rebel soldiers and bandits came, the low wall outside the town was breached, the village chief living in the town was killed, and all the town guards were dispersed and slaughtered.

These town guards are recruited from various villages, so they are unfamiliar with the work and their accents need to be recognized.

The destroyed town of Lihua has now been partially restored.

There were many people at the market, and everyone set up their goods on the street.

There are whole grains, vegetables, and slightly worn clothes and furniture.

Whether it's selling for money or bartering, everyone wants to find what they need for their home as quickly as possible.

After a long winter, everyone's longing for life seems to sprout like grass shoots under the ground, ready to burst forth in the coming spring.

Xu Errui, carrying a large bag of rush pith, stood out in the crowd.

Before he could put it down, someone came over and asked, "Young man, how much is your rush pith?"

Xu Errui had never sold anything before, and Jiang Zhi didn't know the prices here, especially the current prices.

Li, who was always up to no good, answered honestly: "Fifty coins per catty!"

The man turned and left, clearly indicating that he had asked for too much!

Xu Errui immediately panicked: "Mom, what if they don't want to buy it?"

Jiang Zhi wasn't in a hurry. If she didn't want to buy, she wouldn't. She wanted to take another look around and check the market prices before making a decision.

You really can't blame Li Laoshi for shouting too loudly.

Most people rarely buy a pound of rush pith, as the pith is loose and light, and a pound would make a large bundle. Xu Errui's large basket, though full, weighed less than four pounds.

The wick of a lamp can be used up in less than three inches in one night, and a pound of grass is enough for half a year.

For people who still lack food and clothing, oil lamps are optional; at least Jiang Zhi rarely uses lamps on the mountain.

Occasionally, a cotton thread can be used to light a lamp, so there's no need for rush pith.

Li Laoshi wasn't in a hurry. That's how buying and selling things is. In the past, in order to get a bargain, he would often pretend to want to buy something but then deliberately turn away to trick others.

There are many sellers in the market, but few buyers. Everyone is poor, and everyone hopes to meet a fool.

Jiang Zhi asked the price at the egg stall. An egg cost four coins, which was not cheap and more expensive than rice with its shell.

The price was high and the quantity of goods was small; there were only three eggs in front of the man.

Nowadays, few families can raise chickens. In winter, chickens lack food and don't lay eggs. Even the chickens of the two families on the mountain only lay one egg every few days.

Secondly, eggs are always more expensive than grains. Right now, a free-range egg costs at least 2 yuan, while a pound of rice costs 1.1 yuan.

The blacksmith shop was probably the most popular business of all, and it was now surrounded by a crowd of people, one hand clutching a money bag and the other touching a hoe blade, their faces full of conflicted reluctance.

With spring planting just around the corner, whether they stayed behind or returned to their hometowns, their families were short of hoes and sickles.

Without farming tools, you can't farm; you have to empty your savings to buy them.

Jiang Zhi first helped Xiaoman and Errui find an empty spot on the street and set out a dozen pairs of straw sandals and several bundles of hemp thread.

Straw sandals are priced at 15 coins a pair, a small bundle of hemp at 10 coins, a bundle of kudzu at 10 coins, and home-dried red thorn fruit powder at 3 coins a pound.

Regardless of the amount of money, money comes first.

The dried wood ear mushrooms we brought weren't displayed, as it would be difficult to set a price here. Selling them too low would result in a loss, but since they can be stored, we'll keep them until we have the chance to go to the county town later.

With everything arranged, Jiang Zhi asked Li Laoshi to take her to the pharmacy.

This is a two-room shop. Last time bandits came to the town, no one robbed the pharmacy, but the items were smashed. The inlaid door panels still show signs of damage.

Compared to the bustling streets outside, business inside the store was slow. Only one customer was leaving, carrying a bunch of medicine packets, looking very unhappy.

Well, no one would be happy to go to a pharmacy before the first month of the lunar calendar is even over.

As soon as Li Laoshi entered the shop, he immediately called out loudly, "Shopkeeper, medicine for sale!"

Soon, a young man emerged from the adjacent cubicle. He was wearing a faded blue cotton robe, holding a medicine packet in his hand, and his hair was covered in dust. He was processing medicinal herbs.

The young man glanced at Li Laoshi, clearly not recognizing him: "Are you selling medicine?"

As soon as Jiang Zhi placed the rush pith and basket on the counter, the shop assistant immediately pushed it down in disgust: "Put it down, put it down! Don't you see the bottom of your basket is all muddy? Don't make my counter dirty!"

Jiang Zhi smiled, not bothering to argue with the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, and simply picked up the basket in her hand: "Shopkeeper, do you buy these rush pith?"

The young man walked over, squeezed the rush pith, felt that the quality was good, and nodded, saying, "This rush pith is good. My Hundred Herbs Hall wants to buy it, but the price can only be 90% of what it was last year."

This is a case of prices falling instead of rising!

Jiang Zhi frowned: "Why did the medication level drop?"

Li Laoshi retorted, "Are you the manager? You're just a greenhorn, you can't do anything reliable. Call out the old manager from before!"

He sold medicine here before the New Year. The old shopkeeper was very generous with money. His herbs were fresh, but he bought them as dried ones and offered a high price.

These young people are so stingy.

The young man smiled, but there was a hint of sorrow in his eyes: "This uncle must be talking about my grandfather."

Originally, pharmacies were not open before the Lunar New Year, but my grandfather said that illnesses do not discriminate based on time of day, and medical clinics and pharmacies do not discriminate based on holidays, so they would stay open until New Year's Eve.

As a result, he caught a cold after returning to the city in the rain and is still recovering at home. I'm temporarily managing this pharmacy.

Li Laoshi's eyes widened: "Oh my, old shopkeeper, you're such a good person! You even have a pharmacy in your county town?"

The young man nodded: "Yes, there is another pharmacy in the county town!"

Jiang Zhi remembered that she had sold medicine at the Huo family's pharmacy in the county town, which was known as the largest and most comprehensive pharmacy. She then asked, "What is your surname, young master? I used to sell medicine at the Huo family's pharmacy in the county town."

The young man glanced at Jiang Zhi in surprise: "That's the owner of our shop!"