Chapter 28 The time has come for the villagers' savings to be tested by stockpiling goods in the village...
Lu Xuan still had 180 taels of silver on him. He came with the villagers this time mainly to buy some agricultural products that he had missed last time, such as cured pork, cured pork ribs, and sausages.
Because of their different purposes, the four members of the Lu family parted ways with the villagers not long after entering the town, agreeing only to meet outside the town at noon to go back together.
The villagers all went to the grain shop with one mind, while Lu Xuan took his three family members to the cured meat shop.
Because it uses a lot of seasonings, cured pork is much more expensive than buying fresh pork directly.
It didn't matter; as soon as Lu Xuan entered, he bought up all the stock in the entire shop.
Lu Qing: "!!!"
Lei Yan: "!"
Who buys everything in the store?!
Viewers in the live stream: Hehehe, of course it's your good little brother.
Lu Xuan not only bought up all the stock in one shop, but also plundered the entire inventory of two other smaller shops.
After visiting three shops, Lu Xuan only spent a little over fifty taels of silver. After thinking for a moment, he decided to take a look around the spice shop.
Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, evodia, bay leaves, fennel seeds, star anise, cumin, pepper, dried tangerine peel... I buy a portion of everything I need for cooking.
I bought less of the expensive items and more of the cheap ones, thus spending another thirty taels.
Because spices were so expensive, what we ended up with was just a small bag, even smaller than a rice sack.
Lu Qing and Lei Yan were completely stunned.
Viewers in the live stream: Did you see that?! Your little brother is spending money way too much!
The money they spent that day was enough to build a very grand brick and tile house in the village.
Lu Qing and Lei Yan realized that this trip was only to fill in the gaps, and that Lu Xuan must have spent much more in the prefectural city. They were so excited that they almost couldn't breathe, and their hearts were pounding.
Only Lu Chen was carefree, enjoying the snacks Lu Xuan bought for him from the roadside stall, completely ignoring how much money his family had spent.
My brother said that saving money won't put food on the table. The things we buy now are for them to enjoy a good life in the future, so there's no need to feel bad about it. Just buy whatever you want!
With less than ten taels of silver left, Lu Xuan led his family to Xiangxuelou and ordered a large table of food and wine for the four of them to enjoy a big meal together.
Afterwards, we went to a clothing store to buy clothes for them. We also bought whatever we liked on the roadside. In short, we enjoyed the shopping experience to the fullest and also enjoyed the last bit of lively atmosphere in the town.
When the appointed time arrived, Lu Qing and Lei Yan carried large and small bags, their expressions a mixture of heartache and satisfaction.
Lu Xuan originally wanted to put them all into his spatial storage, but the two of them felt that it was a waste of money to have nothing to do with their shopping, so they took them themselves.
It was thanks to the fact that they were carrying a lot of things that they didn't seem so out of place when they met up with the others outside of town.
When they arrived, the grain shop staff had just delivered the grain.
Almost every household bought no less than a thousand kilograms of grain, and several truckloads of rice and grain were delivered. The deliverymen looked at the villagers of Yunlu Village with a strange expression.
At this time of year, the autumn harvest is still far off, and farmers usually try their best to save money and rarely buy large quantities of grain.
Although the village chief and his entourage came under the pretext of buying grain as representatives of the entire village, they still attracted a lot of attention from the people at the grain shop.
But so what?
With disaster looming, they couldn't care less about anything else. In any case, they had already obtained essential supplies such as food, salt, and cotton, so even if the news spread later, it wouldn't affect them much.
The grain delivered by the grain shop also included a portion for Lu Qing and Lei Yan, which they had asked the Zhang family to help them buy.
The couple had saved up some money over the years, not much, just three taels. Although Lu Xuan had already bought enough food for the four of them to eat for a long time, they still took out the money and used it all to buy coarse rice.
Lu Xuan didn't say anything about it. After the people from the grain shop left, he put all the grain into his spatial storage.
The villagers, who hadn't seen Lu Xuan use his spatial ability yesterday, were inevitably shocked once again, and their awe of Lu Xuan grew even stronger.
Because of this reverence, they never thought of asking Lu Xuan to help them store the grain. Once the people who had hired the carts brought them over, they loaded the supplies onto the carts and embarked on their journey home in a grand procession.
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The villagers of Yunlu Village, whether they were working in the fields or not, were all distracted today. At the village entrance, there was a large gathering of men, women, and children, who kept glancing towards the road.
When the group led by the village chief actually appeared at the village entrance with cart after cart of grain, the villagers were instantly excited, their weathered faces filled with shock.
They actually bought so much grain!
The impact of verbal talk is vastly different from that of actual action. When people actually saw so many supplies being brought back, those who were already wavering panicked. They surrounded the village chief and others, asking them about today's harvest, while secretly resolving to buy grain the next day as well.
People tend to conform; what they find most unacceptable is having something others don't.
When the first group of people who hoarded food were the first to be affected and their neighbors took action, they inadvertently spread anxiety to those around them, and those who had not yet taken action gradually became restless as well.
There were only about forty households in the village. The word spread quickly, from one person to ten, and from ten to twenty. Before long, more than 90% of the people were mobilized.
This move will test the villagers' financial situation, revealing which households are truly wealthy and capable of saving money to stock up on goods.
Many families who usually lived frugally and seemed so poor that they had to eat bran and wild vegetables bought thousands of kilograms of grain in one go without batting an eye.
Some people who usually live a carefree life and spend money extravagantly have empty pockets, but they can empty their family's savings by buying a couple hundred pounds of grain.
Some people don't like each other. If one family buys an extra bag of grain, the other family will inevitably try to squeeze out a few more copper coins to catch up. In the process of competing, they will spend all the savings they originally intended to keep in case of emergency.
In this way, the villagers had a good show to watch, even though it was just a hoarding process.
At the same time, a new problem has been presented to everyone.
There aren't many people from Yunlu Village who marry out, but it's true that some do. The disaster is no small matter. Should they tell their married daughters and daughters-in-law's families about it?
If I say those things, will people believe me?
The villagers were undecided and went to the village chief's house to ask. The village chief felt that regardless of whether they believed him or not, as family members, they could not stand by and watch someone die.
Others agreed, and those with married-out daughters quickly called their children back home and told them about the disaster.
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"Catastrophe? Father, Mother, what are you talking about? Have you been deceived?"
"Lu Xuan? Isn't that the village idiot? What kind of magic could an idiot know? Father-in-law and mother-in-law, you've definitely been fooled!"
"Why buy grain? The crops in the fields will be ready for harvest in two more months. It's better to save that money to buy some meat for the family."
As expected, nobody believed the disaster. Some of the men who came with their sons-in-law even mocked the villagers for being cheated by their own fellow villagers and wasting their money.
Li Yue, the village chief's daughter, was also married out of the village. When her parents told her about the disaster, Li Yue initially did not believe it. However, after the village chief told her about Lu Xuan's magic and demonstrated it on the spot, and even gave her some vegetables that Lu Xuan had given her, she began to waver.
Li Tie said with a solemn expression, "There are only a few days left until the start of the catastrophe. Go back to town tomorrow and bring Xiaoxiao with you. We have a lot of food stored up at home. As long as we are together as a family, there is nothing to be afraid of in the catastrophe."
Li Yue frowned and remained silent for a long time before shaking her head.
Miao Jinfeng, standing nearby, said anxiously, "You still don't believe me? We are your parents, would we ever harm you?"
Li Yue said helplessly, "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I'm already married. I can't just bring Xiao Xiao back and ignore my husband and in-laws."
As for telling his in-laws about the disaster, not only would they most likely not believe it, but even if they did, they would certainly think that staying in the town was safer than in the village, and would not come to Yunlu Village to take refuge.
Li Yue said firmly, "Father, Mother, I am already a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. Even if a natural disaster really happens, I should stand with my husband's family and be with my husband and children."
Miao Jinfeng was furious: "So you're just going to abandon us?!"
Li Yue reassured them, "Dad, Mom, don't worry. Our village is so close to Baisong Town, and there are no mountains in between. If something really happens, I will definitely find a way to come to you, or you can come to town to find me. It's not like we'll never see each other again."
Li Tie sighed, "Since you've already made up your mind, I won't say anything more. Just remember, if something unexpected happens and we can't reunite, just live well with your in-laws and prioritize your own safety. You don't have to come looking for us. Your older brother and younger brother are here for us, so you can rest assured."
Unable to persuade their daughter to stay, the couple could only repeatedly remind Li Yue to stock up on food at home after returning to Baisong Town.
While some, like Li Yue, believed but didn't stay, others were forcibly detained by their families regardless of whether they believed or not.
Some families didn't have the courage to detain the person, and the daughter had her own ideas, so they simply didn't take it seriously and left. Each family had its own outcome.
As for the Lu family, Lei Yan hesitated for two days before returning to the neighboring Wangshan Village, but soon returned with a livid face.
The Lu siblings could tell from his expression that the trip had not gone smoothly.
Lu Qing: "Didn't your older brother send a message?"
Lei Yan gave a curt "hmm" with a stern face.
He told Leishan about the disaster and asked him to prepare food in advance. Leishan not only did not believe him, but also joined his sister-in-law Zhao in mocking him, saying that he couldn't stand seeing them doing well and was deliberately trying to trick them. They said a lot of nasty things and even questioned whether Lu Qing had instigated him.
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