When the man heard that they were going to take food from the children, his face turned red, especially since the children looked thin and pale.
Although the older children had been eating well for several days, their constitution was still weak, and they had been running around with the adults day and night, so how could they possibly look well? Although they were considered to be doing well among the refugees, they still looked pale and sickly in the eyes of the guards who were not lacking in food.
The man, who had originally planned to spend three taels of silver to buy a pot of meat, suddenly felt it was a bit unfair and gritted his teeth to add two more taels, making it five taels in total to buy the pot of braised roe deer meat. This was undeniably expensive; even in the grand restaurants of the city, it wouldn't cost that much!
But who can blame them when they have such a big appetite! They can't afford to offend this guy.
Qin San Niang hurriedly handed him the pot as well, but the man already had a food box ready.
The wooden food basket contained a large wooden bowl, its surface a smooth, glossy reddish-brown, making Qin Sanniang extremely envious. This was an antique! If she could bring one back, it would be worth millions.
After the man left, Qin San Niang turned around, looked at the resentful children, and hurriedly took out a few pastries from her basket and distributed them to the children one by one, lying that she had bought them from Luzhou City and only remembered them yesterday.
There was also candy, but it could only be given to them after they had eaten.
The children happily gathered together to eat snacks, which were just as appealing as meat. They broke off small pieces and put them in their mouths, slowly waiting for them to melt before swallowing them.
Like a mouse stealing millet...
Now that Liu was allowed to move around slowly, they had to set up the pot again and cook meat porridge. Fortunately, there were also steamed buns, so it was a decent meal.
Thinking that the braised roe deer meat had just sold for five taels of silver, Liu was still in a daze. That was too expensive!
Wu Chunhua wondered if, even in good weather, they could save five taels of silver a year by toiling in the fields. It was clearly difficult. Once they arrived in the south, she planned to start a small business to save up for Fatty's dowry, so she could even find a son-in-law to live with her.
"Auntie, once things settle down, I plan to work hard and save up a lot for my daughter's dowry." Wu was eager to do so. She was good at embroidery, and her hands had become much more delicate since she hadn't done any heavy work. She was confident that she could earn money if she took on more work.
Liu nodded quickly. Hearing her say that, she felt exactly what she was thinking. With her youngest son not around, Liu had focused all her attention on her three children. She was determined to build up a family fortune for her grandson and find him a capable wife.
This girl deserves a generous dowry. Look at our eldest daughter; she returned all the betrothal gifts from the Wang family and gave them a dowry of five taels of silver, not even counting a few quilts. That was quite respectable back then. If her mother-in-law, Madam Xu, hadn't died young, Third Sister would have lived a very comfortable life.
When Qin San Niang arrived, Gu Qingshan was tanning the roe deer hide. The hide was nailed to a wooden board and had almost dried in the shade. He was gently scraping off the rotten flesh with a knife.
This person can even tan fur; he's truly multi-talented.
Placing three taels of silver beside him, and ignoring his surprised look, Qin Sanniang said leisurely, "You caught this roe deer meat, so it's yours. But I also provided the recipe and seasonings, and this one tael is a token of Chunhua's hard work."
Gu Qingshan wanted to refuse, but considering that his daughter, Azhi, didn't even have a cotton-padded coat, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Three taels of silver was enough to buy his daughter a set of clothes and a quilt in Dingzhou. Besides, his eldest son and the others now had carriages to ride in, and as their father, he couldn't help but feel envious. It was one thing for others not to have it before, but now that they did, his child should have it too.
"Thank you, Madam Qin." Putting the silver into his sleeve pocket, Gu Qingshan thought that perhaps he could hunt more game, either to tan the hides or to sell them directly. Once he reached the prefectural city, he could buy a cart, whether it was a donkey cart or a mule cart.
"Do you want to make more money?" Qin San Niang suddenly asked.
"..."
Looking at Qin San Niang's sly yet seemingly harmless face, Gu Qingshan inexplicably thought of a saying: "It's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person."
But who doesn't want to make money? At least right now, he really needs it.
Qin San Niang gave her a look that said, "Look at me and I'll tell you what to do," and said, "Here's what we'll do: go and hunt another pheasant tonight, and we'll rip off that sucker again!"
Thinking that this small amount of roe deer meat could be exchanged for five taels of silver in an instant, calling him a sucker wasn't an insult!
Gu Qingshan nodded without hesitation.
Qin San Niang walked briskly back to the mule cart and, together with Pang Ya, fed Big Grey hay. Besides that, she would secretly add a handful of black beans to its food. As for Little White, it had been getting plenty of bones lately, and with Qin San Niang occasionally feeding it dog food, it was growing very well!
For the past month or so, Qin San Niang has been going to her space every day. In addition to practicing target shooting, she also observes the previous supplies. She still has doubts about whether the supplies will be automatically replenished. If so, she would have an inexhaustible resource library.
In reality, after repeated verification, it seems that everything in this warehouse is finite, such as the stone ear fungus, bird's nest, and crossbow bolts. Once they're used up, they're used up.
Qin San Niang was a little unhappy, but she was an optimistic person by nature. Even so, the things in this space supermarket were enough for her to enjoy for decades.
Besides, if that were the case, what would be the point of living in this world? I would lose all motivation.
In comparison, what Qin San Niang lacks now is money. She needs more connections to lead her family to prosperity. The master of the guard who bought meat ahead of her is the wealthiest person she has ever seen in this strange world, and she must get to know him.
In the afternoon, Fatty followed the group of people at a leisurely pace, as instructed by Qin San Niang. In addition to her previous plans, she also intended to seek refuge, since the local refugees dared not act rashly in the face of guards with knives.
This afternoon they encountered several groups of refugees.
Most of the refugee groups were quiet, with only occasional long sighs or curses directed at the heavens, all saying that the drought was severe and the harvest was failing, which was driving them to their deaths!
Liu's expression grew increasingly grave. She already thought the war in her own territory was bad enough, but she hadn't expected a severe drought to appear on the road. This meant that food would become increasingly scarce, refugees would increase, and the dangers that followed would grow ever greater.
"Third Sister, how much longer until we reach Dingzhou?" I just hope things will be better once we get there.
Qin San Niang looked up at the sky, which was clear and cloudless, and really did not look like it was going to rain.
"It's about a thousand li from Luzhou City to Dingzhou, and we've only traveled halfway so far!"
It was Liu, the shopkeeper of the dried goods store, who told her this; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so determined to buy a car. She hadn't encountered any towns or even villages along the way, let alone bought any grain.
Mrs. Liu glanced worriedly at the rice bag in the cart. If they ate it sparingly, there would be enough rice. Besides, her eldest daughter had received divine assistance, so she wasn't too worried. The constant snacks and sweets they'd received along the way must have come from that source.
Even Wu began to worry. However, thinking of Qin San Niang and Gu Qingshan, she felt more confident. Touching the one or two taels of silver that San Niang had insisted on giving her earlier through her sleeve, Wu felt there was nothing to fear! Anyone who dared to ruin her happy life, she would fight them to the death!
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