179 Prices have risen
By mid-September, news of events in the southwest had gradually spread to Yong'an and to other parts of the Great Zhou.
The people who were originally planning to sell grain did not dare to do so. Those in the city who were worried rushed to the grain shops to stock up on grain. The shopkeepers of the grain shops were not stupid and immediately raised the price a lot.
And the price changes every day.
Overall, the grain output this year is still okay, and there is no water shortage now. The price of grain has risen too fast, and those who grow grain in the countryside are neither selling nor buying. So they should hurry up and plant radishes and vegetables in the fields now.
Radishes and vegetables are also food. They can fill your stomach and can also be sold for money.
People in the city also went to the counties and towns below one after another, and rushed to buy more before the price went up. However, as more and more people took advantage of the bargain, the price of grain soon rose everywhere.
The price of rice has risen to 20 wen per pound, broken rice has risen to 15 wen, and even brown rice has risen to 10 wen.
Wan Changsheng once again sighed to his uncle, thank goodness he listened to Master Ping'an and stockpiled a lot of food, so his relatives back home no longer lacked food, otherwise they would have been so worried.
Sun Hongyu was more worried about the situation in the north. The foreign tribes in the southwest were ready to move. Would the Mongolians, who were already suffering from drought, just sit there and do nothing?
He didn't quite believe it.
If it were in the past, maybe he would write a letter to the military camp to find out the situation. If he was really needed, he would rush over immediately, but now he was a little reluctant.
When I returned home in the evening, the family was lively around the dinner table. Xin'er, three months old, would laugh whenever he was tickled and was particularly close to him. Xiao Ping'an would discuss medicine with him from time to time. Changsheng would occasionally be scolded by him during the day, but when he got home, he would walk with him to help digest his food.
These days are beautiful.
After Ping An’s birthday last month, Changsheng formally offered him tea and held a banquet.
Now Changsheng is his formal apprentice, and the relationship between master and apprentice is like father and son, which is much more formal than the previous uncle-in-law relationship, although he still calls him uncle or uncle grandpa to outsiders.
Ping'an has been staying in the medicine store with his master these days. Of course, most of the time he is still reading and writing articles with his teacher, and reading medical books. Occasionally, he is pulled to the new workshop by his master.
The new workshop is basically completed.
What does "basically completed" mean? It's simple. The house is built, the courtyard wall is still being built, and stones are being paved in the yard. Originally, they only planned to build a big house to brew wine and make alcohol at the same time.
Later, I thought it would be better to build two courtyards and two rows of wing rooms along the wall. That way there would be enough place for people to live and there would also be space to store food and other things.
The cellar for storing goods was dug under the two small courtyards. It is best to store wine and alcohol in the cellar.
In this way, two months were gone.
Blacksmith Li's finished product is finally completed.
There were two sets of distillers, one of which was delivered a month ago. Ping An felt something was wrong at first glance, as some details were not done well enough. After a simple installation and a try, it turned out that it did not work. The amount distilled was too low and the cost would be much higher.
This time when they were picking up the goods, Master Li said that if it didn't work out he would retire. These things didn't look difficult, but they took him a lot of thought.
Fang Xiao was busy with the autumn harvest and had already returned to the valley.
Ming Wanli and Wang Chun and others were installing these things. It was impossible for outsiders to know about them. Master Li was no outsider now. He had signed a 20-year agreement with Sun Sicheng. During these 20 years, he would only work as ironsmith for the Sun family. The blacksmith shop would be moved to the medicine store this month. If the Li family members were willing, they could also live in the medicine store.
But the Li family said they would still live in the city for the time being so that it would be more convenient for their children to go to school.
There were two guest houses in the medicine shop where Wan Changsheng lived. The two small courtyards were connected together with only a wall separating them.
The Li family is also simple, a couple with parents and a pair of children. The eldest daughter just got married this spring. She married a local man with good conditions and they don't have to worry about life. The son is still young, only eight years old, and has just started private school.
If his family wants to live in the village, they can come in at any time.
Seeing that half the morning had passed, Sun Yat-sen put down the textbook in his hand.
"Ping An, you are now nine years old. You can take the county examination in February next year. There are ten-year-old students. In some places, there are even nine-year-old students. I see that you have been distracted recently. Logically, your father's matter has been resolved and there is nothing for you to worry about.
If you are worried about the outbreak of war, there is no need to worry, because this is not what you should worry about. Moreover, I think occasional border wars are common, and it is unlikely to become a major war unless it is..."
Ping An knew that what the master said was true, unless there were continuous droughts, the people would be unable to make a living.
What if it’s true?
He wants it more than anyone else.
"Okay, let's stop talking about this. Write a poem that fits the situation. Four lines will do, eight lines will do. Finish it in a quarter of an hour."
Ping'an looked out the window. It was almost the end of September. In previous years, the northern capital was not hot at this time of year, but now the sun was still shining brightly outside the window, and the farmers in the fields were bending over to plant something.
He couldn't help but read it out loud.
"When the sun is high in the sky,
Sweat drips down to the soil,
Who knows what's on the plate?
Every grain of rice is hard-earned.
Sun Yat-sen was stunned. Reciting these four lines of poetry, each of which sounded simple and down-to-earth, but when put together, it made people sigh with emotion and even feel like crying.
And the more you read it, the more excited you become.
"Good poem, peace, well done, this poem can be given a title."
Ping An said, "Let's call him Minnong."
"Pity the peasants? Good, pity the old peasants. It's really not easy for these people. Stay safe and write more poems when you have nothing to do. The weight of poetry in the imperial examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty is still not light.
Write down your own poems in a small notebook and don't show them to others. You are still young, so you don't need to attend poetry gatherings. To be honest, I don't attend those either, because many of them are extremely boring. "
"Sir, you are right. I don't like to participate in those things. Besides, I have never been to school and I don't have any classmates or friends. Even my brother Zhiyuan is busy and I can only see him once or twice a month."
The people he basically interacted with were Qingshi and his friends, but the master felt that although not all of them had to be good at martial arts, they had to be better than ordinary people. So he brought all of them into the valley, including Yuanqing, who was the least fond of practicing martial arts, and said that they would not be released until three years later.
Zhou Heng also went into the valley to teach them basic lessons.
Ping An has already promised Fang Xiao to teach the Stepping Snow Heart Sutra to Er Qiang and others, including Fang Xiao and Ming Wanli's most important subordinates, but there is no need for others for the time being.
The ones who accompany him here are Da Wu and Xiao Wu. They have to practice with him in the early morning, but he doesn't feel lonely. He said this when his teacher asked him.
Unexpectedly, Sun Wen sighed and said, "Mr. and your master may be wrong. Ping An, if you want to make friends with your classmates, let Mr. send you to the academy next year. However, you cannot enter the prefectural academy if you are not a Tongsheng."
His son Zhiyuan was studying in the provincial school.
Ping An smiled and said, "Teacher, I'm just saying that. For now, forget about going to school. I like studying with you. At such a young age, it's just a matter of making friends. We'll see after a few years."
"That's true."
"Ping An, go check it out with the master. Ah Wen, you should go too. The installation is almost done. We can start the trial production in a few days. No, I have to go to the toilet first."
Sun Sicheng went to the backyard like the wind.
Sun Wen looked disgusted and said, "Look at your master. He looks like a jade-like gentleman, but he speaks carelessly. He said to me loudly, "Go to the toilet, Ping An. You must not do this in front of others in the future, understand?"
Ping An pursed his lips and smiled: "I know, sir."
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