Chapter 208 Refugees
Zhou Erlang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go with you then, and Lao Liu will watch the stall."
Zhou Liulang's eyes widened and he said directly, "I don't want it!"
Manbao was also unhappy, "Sixth brother, just go with me. We still have Datou and Daya. Why do you want to switch with Sixth brother, second brother?"
Zhou Erlang looked at her and said, "You despise your second brother so much."
"Not really," Manbao pointed at her finger, but she just didn't want her second brother to follow her. Is this the generation gap that Koko was talking about?
Zhou Erlang pushed his cart over to the queue and whispered, "There are many people in the city now. You have to listen to me. If you don't listen, we will go home now."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone lowered their heads and obeyed obediently.
Although the queue was long, it moved quickly. Zhou Liulang was familiar with the soldiers guarding the city gate, so they just glanced at them and let them through without further inspection.
Of course, there is a city entrance fee.
After not being in the county town for a while, Manbao felt that the city was very different from before.
There were more people in the city than before, but she did not feel it was bustling. People walking on the street were in a hurry, with either sadness or vigilance on their faces, or numbness and expressionlessness as they hurried back and forth.
Manbao sat on the cart, and the joy on her face couldn't help but fade away. She looked at the people walking past her curiously.
Zhou Erlang quickened his pace, pushing the cart quickly into the street specializing in agricultural products, and found a stall in a corner.
He unloaded the goods, turned a bamboo basket upside down, placed a fine winnowing basket on it, and carefully placed the tofu out. He wiped his hands and was about to ask Lao Liu to stay and watch the stall. He took Manbao to the back of the county government office and saw a group of people walking down the street, banging and banging on the goods in every stall on the street.
He paused, pulled the four children to stand behind him, and then went to the stall owner next to him and asked quietly, "Brother, who are they?"
Luojiang County is very small, and there are only so many people setting up stalls on this street. Zhou Erlang came here quite often some time ago and last year, and the stall owners also knew him.
He looked around and lowered his voice, "It's a guy from the street where the gambling house is. His name is Xiao Dalang. Ever since the refugees came into the city, robberies and the like have been happening all the time. Xiao Dalang brought his men to occupy the three streets around here and collect protection fees every day. This way, if there are refugees stealing, robbing, or causing trouble, they will help solve the problem."
Zhou Erlang thought that he might only be here for one day and didn't really want to pay the protection fee, so he asked, "What if I don't pay it?"
"You won't hand it over?" He looked around and lowered his voice, "If you don't hand it over, the refugees won't even have time to rob you. They'll drive you out first, and your belongings will be confiscated. That would be more trouble than it's worth."
Zhou Erlang was shocked. "The officials don't care?"
"How could they have the time? There was a heavy rain a while ago, and some houses collapsed, crushing people to death. Many villages along the Luo River were flooded. I heard that many people were washed away by the water, and no one knows whether they are dead or alive. The officials have called away all the officials from the county government, and there are only soldiers patrolling the city, so they have no time to take care of these trivial matters."
Zhou Erlang weighed the pros and cons, glanced at the group of people who were getting closer and closer, and then glanced at his brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces standing behind him. In the end, he didn't dare to take the risk, so he asked in a low voice, "How much are you giving?"
The stall owner said, "My things are not worth much, and the location is not good. I will give you six coins a day."
Zhou Erlang was very distressed. Six cents could buy four big meat buns.
Zhou Liulang returned to his stall and sat down. The group of people came over quickly. The owner of the stall next door had already taken out money and was waiting, so they offered the money as soon as they came up.
The man flipped the copper coin, threw it to the younger brother behind him, and asked with a smile: "How's business these past two days?"
The stall owner smiled bitterly, "It's not that great. There are a lot of people in this city, but it's getting harder to sell things every day."
The other person tsk-tsked and said, "We're just a bunch of refugees, how could we possibly have any money? Because of them, even the wealthy dare not leave their homes. But you're much better off than the peasants in the countryside. You at least have to make some money every day, and now they're crying over a field of water."
As he spoke, he walked up to Zhou Erlang. Zhou Erlang obviously had a very good memory. He glanced at Zhou Erlang and said with a smile, "New here?"
Zhou Erlang nodded repeatedly, handed over the money in his hand, and explained carefully, "It's a rare sunny day, and I have some local specialties at home, so I brought them to the city to try my luck. I came here in a hurry and didn't know that this street was under the management of Mr. Xiao, so I didn't prepare any local specialties."
Xiao Dalang smiled rarely when he heard him speak so nicely. He took a look at the things on Zhou Erlang's stall, which were all common bamboo weavings and tofu in a winnowing basket.
He has no use for bamboo weaving or anything like that, but as for tofu...
He asked curiously, "Does your family also make tofu?"
"Yes, yes, my sister-in-law can make it, but her skills are average. Why don't you try it, Uncle Xiao? If you think it's delicious, come back next time."
After saying that, he hurried to pick up tofu, but people who came to buy vegetables usually brought their own baskets or bowls, and Xiao Dalang came empty-handed...
After a little thought, Zhou Erlang picked out one of the small bamboo baskets from his youngest sister and the others, spread a layer of leaves on it, and put the tofu in it.
He picked up several pieces and filled the small bamboo basket before giving it to Xiao Dalang.
Actually there wasn’t much, just four pieces of tofu, but because the bamboo basket was small, it seemed like a lot.
Zhou Erlang was very satisfied and thought that the bamboo basket was really well made.
Xiao Dalang was also very satisfied. He took Zhou Erlang's bamboo basket and asked with a smile, "How much?"
"No money, no money, these are all homemade things, not worth much, as long as Mr. Xiao likes them."
Xiao Dalang hummed in agreement, then picked up the bamboo basket and said, "Alright, if you run into any trouble in the county town in the future, just come to me. I'm in charge of this whole street. Since I've taken your money, I'll naturally keep you safe."
Zhou Erlang naturally thanked them repeatedly, and after seeing them off respectfully, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The stall owner next door waited until everyone had gone far away before coming over and saying, "Zhou Er, you're really generous. That basket of tofu, plus the bamboo basket, must be more than six cents, right?"
Zhou Erlang felt his pocket. He only brought fifteen cents with him when he went out today. Including the city entrance fee, it was equivalent to not earning a penny today, but spending almost all the money.
He smiled bitterly and said, "I would rather give him a gift than cash."
But the stall owner said, "Don't do that. Money isn't worth much these days."
Zhou Erlang frowned slightly and asked, "What do you mean?"
"You just arrived in the city and you don't know, but the grain prices in the grain shops have gone crazy." He said, "Now a bushel of rice has risen to thirty wen."
Is the book review section back today?
(End of this chapter)
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