Slowly, Yunjia Village quieted down. Everyone fell asleep. The city gate was still some distance away, so even if there was some noise, the noise coming through was very quiet. It didn't affect their sleep at all. Only the two people on duty persisted. They sat down, then stood up, and walked around the camp. The fire in the middle burned until dawn, only going out at the break of day.
By this time, Zhang and Yun the Butcher were already up and preparing to cook. Breakfast was simple. Zhang prepared to boil water and make a bowl of fried noodles for everyone. She also gave each child a boiled egg. Yun Yiyi had already woken up when she heard the noise. Last night, because there were too many people around, she hadn't gone to the space, so she went to bed early. She woke up early this morning as well.
Soon, Zhang's meal was ready, and she called the children to eat. After finishing their meal, Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi unloaded the items from the donkey cart and set them aside. After Li Xiucai and Zhang the Hunter arrived, the village chief handed over a purchase order to Yun the Butcher and another to Li Xiucai. The villagers' money for the purchases was split equally between Yun the Butcher and Li Xiucai. Yun the Butcher took a look and saw that most of the items were for food, with only a small portion for oil, salt, and cloth. There were also the medicinal herbs that Uncle Wu had specifically requested.
"Mr. Li, let's each buy half of the grain. It doesn't matter if we buy a different variety of grain. You and Hunter Zhang go buy the medicinal herbs. Yiyi and I will buy oil, salt, and cloth. Let's meet at the city gate in the evening. What do you think?" Butcher Yun asked Mr. Li and Hunter Zhang.
"Okay, Brother Yun. Let's get going quickly," Li Xiucai and Zhang the Hunter agreed after some discussion. "First, go to the grain store and see if they have any old grain. If they do, buy it. It's cheaper than new grain, so you can buy more. If they don't have any, just buy the cheaper ones. Don't worry about whether they taste good or not." The village chief specifically instructed Yun the Butcher, Li Xiucai, and Zhang the Hunter. Yun the Butcher and the others nodded in agreement, then said goodbye and drove towards the city gate.
The square at the city gate wasn't as crowded as it had been yesterday. Many early risers had gone to the back to relieve themselves, leaving a large gap. A donkey cart could easily cross the square. Arriving at the city gate, Butcher Yun approached Officer Xiaobai and handed him two taels of silver. He asked Officer Xiaobai to wait until they left the city before leaving. Officer Xiaobai agreed.
Butcher Yun drove his donkey cart into the city. Yun Yiyi noticed the city walls were very high. The lower part was built with long stone blocks, while the upper part was made of neatly laid bricks. It looked very imposing.
After entering the city, Yun Butcher crossed a long street and headed towards the eastern district of the city. Before entering, Officer Xiaobai had specifically instructed us to go to the eastern district for shopping. It was a civilian area, offering more affordable prices. There were food stores, groceries, and even cloth shops. However, for medicine, we had to go to the western district. There were no pharmacies in the eastern district; all the pharmacies were located there.
The West District is the wealthy area of the city, home to the most restaurants, high-end clothing stores, and pharmacies. To buy medicine, I visited several pharmacies and found one called Ren De. It's a chain store with many branches, offering the most comprehensive selection of medicinal herbs and the most affordable prices.
Arriving in the East District, they turned onto a street with a grain shop. Li Xiucai and Zhang the Hunter parked their car in front of the shop and went in to buy some grain. Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi separated from them and continued walking forward.
The street was long, and almost all the shops were open. Yun Yiyi spotted numerous small food stalls, cloth shops, and general stores along the way. However, the shops didn't look large, generally around thirty square meters. She peeked inside and saw the simple decor. She figured the items wouldn't be expensive. Yun the Butcher thought he'd buy food first, then everything else. At a time like this, buying food was paramount.
They walked all the way to the end of the street but couldn't find a grain store. So, Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi went to the adjacent street to look for a grain store. They walked all the way to the middle of the street before they found a grain store. The grain store looked quite large, and there were more than ten people queuing at the door to buy grain. Yun the Butcher parked his donkey cart in the open space next to the grain store and joined the queue. There was a designated parking space outside the grain store, and there were also shop assistants to help watch over the cart, so there was no need to worry about losing the cart.
While Yun the Butcher was waiting in line, Yun Yiyi walked around to the grain store and peered inside. The store was large, approximately sixty square meters. Wooden barrels were placed on the east and west sides of the store, revealing from a distance that they contained soybeans, mung beans, millet, corn, peanuts, and other grains.
There was a counter in the middle of the store, and behind it was a bearded middle-aged man. Next to the counter were layers of sacks; Yun Yiyi counted eight. Six young men were scattered around the store, weighing and bagging grain for customers.
The young man was very efficient and the butcher was soon in line. He walked around the shop and then headed to the counter.
"Shopkeeper, what's the price of grain now? I'm here to buy grain on behalf of the village. I'm buying a lot, so you'd better give me a cheaper price." Yun the butcher bowed to the shopkeeper and said.
"Hello, fellow. Come over here and take a look. I'll tell you the price. If you order more, the price will definitely be cheaper." The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter and answered with a smile, leading Yun the butcher to see the grain.
"The current price of millet is fifty wen per catty, rice is one hundred wen per catty, corn flour is forty wen per catty, and wheat flour is one hundred wen per catty. Soybeans and mung beans are both twenty wen per catty, and peanuts are fifty wen per catty. We also have sweet potatoes here, which are twenty wen per catty, and potatoes are thirty wen per catty. These are all in stock now." The shopkeeper quoted all the prices.
"Boss, I need one thousand kilograms of corn flour, one hundred kilograms of millet, one hundred kilograms of mung beans, two thousand kilograms of sweet potatoes, and three thousand kilograms of potatoes. Please give me a lowest price." Yun the butcher said politely.
In Yunjia Village, wheat flour and corn flour are the most common foods. However, wheat flour is too expensive now, so corn flour is still the best choice. At this time, the taste is not important; just enough is enough to eat. Each family can only share a few pounds of millet. Mung beans are also a must. Uncle Wu specifically instructed that mung beans can be boiled in water to relieve summer heat, so every family should have some on hand. Sweet potatoes and potatoes can both be eaten as a meal, but sweet potatoes don't last as long as potatoes. They rot easily, so buy more potatoes.
When the journey was tight, he could build a fire, bury the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the fire, and eat them when they were cooked. It was convenient and delicious. Yun the Butcher thought silently. Or, he could add another 100 jin of corn flour, 200 jin of potatoes, and 100 jin of sweet potatoes, and pay for what he wanted. With so many children at home, he had to save more food. Yun the Butcher thought about the money Zhang had given him; it was more than enough.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
