Chapter 58: Yuncheng has changed
After working for more than a day, most of the villagers still returned empty-handed.
There was no other way. Even the cheapest rice had increased in price by three to five times.
Most of the villagers were short of money and could not afford it. They could only sit at the door of the grain store in coarse clothes and sigh.
The village chief knew that he could not sit and wait for death, so he called on everyone to think of a solution together.
"If you can't afford it yourself, ask your relatives for money."
"If you can't afford rice and flour, buy sweet potatoes and other dry grains."
"In addition to dry grains, we can also stock up on anything that can fill our stomachs."
The village chief stood in front of the school, his face wrinkled with anxiety: "Once the price of grain rises, other food will definitely rise as well. Don't be stingy with money. Take advantage of the fact that you can still buy some meat and vegetables now. As long as they are durable, you can buy them." "If
it really doesn't work, take your things to the pawnshop to exchange for some silver, at least you can get through this winter first." Yang Tianmei also said.
Hearing this, many villagers have already regretted it.
If they had known earlier, they would have kept more grain after the autumn harvest. Why did they have to make a fuss to earn a little more than half an ounce or an ounce, and now they have no food to eat.
But regret alone was useless. Everyone listened to the village chief and tried to exchange sweet potatoes and vegetables that could be stored for a long time.
Some women also reluctantly gave up their only one or two pieces of jewelry and tried to exchange them for 20 to 30 kilograms of rice.
But in a village this big, there are always some people who don't know what to do.
"The price of grain has risen so much, and you still spend all your money to buy grain. Are you crazy?" Old Mrs. Jiang stood at the door, her walking stick in her hand almost broken.
"Fools, idiots! Why are farmers learning from the people in the city to rush to buy grain? Do you think you have too much money? The grain price in our Yuncheng has always been stable. In a few days, the government will definitely take action to lower the grain price. You damned prodigals!" She spitted wildly with a face full of spit. When
Jiang Dahai heard this, he snatched back the ten taels from Zhao's hand.
"Mother is an experienced person, listen to her!"
Since learning that the third room had built a new house, Jiang Dahai has been jealous and jumped at home.
Now he heard that it was Fengnian who reminded the village chief, and he was even more annoyed. He would never allow Zhao to listen to them.
"The third wife is used to being poor, and she is making trouble with the village chief. Why are you so crazy?" Jiang Dahai glared at Zhao with his eyes slanted: "After all, our family is the richest in the village. No one can starve to death. Besides, we still have 30 kilograms of cornmeal and more than ten kilograms of rice at home!"
Knowing that some people are stubborn, the village chief was unwilling to interfere.
Anyway, he had said what he should say, and his lips were worn out. If there are still people who don't listen, they deserve it.
In the evening, Xiao Nuobao was lying on the kang, stretching her feet, and by the way, she pulled out a few mandarin fish, two baskets of fruits, and three or four big geese.
She knew that it would not be long before the city would go from being short of food to being short of food, rapeseed, and meat.
So no matter what, she had to prepare food for the whole family, and she couldn't let her family suffer because of this mess.
A moment later, Feng went to the backyard to feed the chickens and ducks.
As soon as she approached the chicken coop, she saw that a few big white geese had appeared in the coop.
The big geese were still spreading their wings and nagging at the ducks' heads!
Feng quickly touched her chest and ran over to separate them, barely saving the mother duck that was laying eggs at home.
Right now, the whole city is short of food and supplies. Feng knew that it was the daughter who was helping the family, but she also felt sorry for this little sweetheart and knew that she couldn't rely on the daughter for everything.
So she called Fengnian and Fenghu and asked them to build another poultry coop in the backyard.
"The city has been in turmoil lately. Whatever we catch in the future, we will not sell it. We will keep it at home and raise it slowly to ensure that we have enough food and drink." Feng thought about it. The
family already has ten hens, eight ducks, and these five geese.
Although chickens and ducks lay fewer eggs in winter, if we keep the pen warmer, we can pick up four or five eggs a day, enough to make egg custard for Nuobao. The
remaining chickens, ducks, and geese will be kept and eaten while we raise them. There will be at least one meat dish every day, so the lady will not be short of food.
After feeding the chickens and ducks, Feng will go into the house to cook rice.
Just after scooping two scoops of rice, she turned around and found that the half-full grain jar was full without her knowing when.
"Oh my God, can we eat more and more rice?" Feng's hand trembled and the rice scoop almost fell.
Listening to his mother muttering in the outer room, Xiao Nuobao couldn't help showing his little white teeth and giggling.
In the evening, Li Qiqiao made a stew of pork belly and vermicelli, and the whole family burped while eating.
Xiao Nuobao ate up half a bowl of rice and lay on the kang with his belly full.
Seeing that it was not completely dark yet, the adults went out to find some work to do.
Feng went to the cellar to tie up the white flour to prevent insects and rats from getting in.
Jiang Fengnian and Jiang Fenghu continued to expand the poultry pen.
Little Fengmiao wanted to take a walk to digest his food, so Sun Chunxue went with him. Unexpectedly, as soon as they reached the edge of the field, they ran into a nest of wild rabbits.
They were so happy that their eyes lit up.
They ran home with the rabbits in their arms, not daring to loosen their hands on the way, for fear of dropping one or two.
"Mom, look what my sister-in-law and I caught, a nest of rabbits, seven or eight!" Fengmiao sniffed his big nose and shouted as soon as he entered the yard.
Looking at the soft fur of the gray rabbit, Feng walked out of the cellar and smiled: "This fur looks good. When it grows bigger, I will peel it off and make a rabbit fur vest for your sister."
Jiang Fengmiao hugged the shivering little rabbits, just waiting to eat rabbit meat, and was so happy that his eyes could hardly close.
"By the way, eldest daughter-in-law, did anyone see you when you caught the rabbits?" Feng remembered and asked.
Although Sun Chunxue was not smart,
she knew how to keep a low profile.
She whispered, "We picked the rabbits in the field. When Lao Wu and I brought them back, Mrs. Liu saw us. I just told her that we caught them in the mountains. Is that okay, mother?"
Mrs. Feng said "hmm".
No matter what we picked, as long as we attributed it to the mountains, it would be fine as long as it did not arouse suspicion.
Hearing that the Jiang family had just caught wild rabbits in the mountains, the villagers were like chickens with blood, and ran to the mountains several times.
Xiao Nuobao was not stingy, and occasionally she would throw some tributes for them to pick up.
After all, after some time, a small number of villagers would begin to lack food, and once they were extremely hungry, the village would begin to fall into chaos.
The Jiang family lived in Dalui Village, and it was difficult for them to stay out of trouble.
So Xiao Nuobao knew how to act. With her around, no one in Dalui Village would starve to death, and her family would be safe and sound.
--
More than ten days passed in a flash, and the situation in the city became worse.
The grain stores were sold out and had closed down.
When Fengnian and Fenghu went to the woodworking workshop to retrieve the custom-made furniture and rocking chairs, they saw many people on the street, all holding silver, rushing to the vegetable market and the butcher shop like crazy.
"Look, big brother." Jiang Fenghu frowned and raised his head.
The craftsman in the carpentry workshop sighed, "Rice and flour are hard to buy now, and people are starting to fight for meat and vegetables. This morning, pork was as expensive as 300 coins per catty, and eggs were 10 coins each. The city has really changed."
"Our business is not doing well. After finishing the last two jobs on hand, we will all go back to the countryside to accompany my mother." Another carpenter shook his head.
Jiang Fengnian couldn't help feeling sad when he heard this.
He felt that this time, it would affect more than just the fight for rice.
"If there is no rice, other food will become more expensive. People will be short of money and will no longer go to teahouses and restaurants for entertainment. Then the people working in the city will lose their livelihoods. Without a livelihood, they can't afford to eat. If this goes on, I'm afraid life will be bad." After leaving the house, Jiang Fenghu looked solemn.
Jiang Fengnian naturally knew this.
He looked up at the streets that were once prosperous but now became bleak and chaotic, and felt a little uneasy.
"Let's go to the fourth brother's private school first." Jiang Fengnian sighed, "Fortunately, their private school is going to close for winter. We can take him home and rest for more than a month, and let him avoid the chaos in the city."
After arriving home, the warm kang at home finally gave the Jiang brothers some comfort.
The Jiang family thought that they would not go to the city anymore and would live peacefully at home.
However, at night, Xiao Nuobao's words made the Jiang family sweat coldly!
"Liang, there are bandits." In his sleep, Xiao Nuobao suddenly kicked his legs and began to hum.
"A lot of bandits are going to enter the village to kill people and steal food!"
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