74 Chapter 74
Before dawn the next day, a long line had already formed outside Tong Shu's RV. Tong Songming went to check the fire ditch from the previous night early in the morning, and was startled by the scene when he opened the door. He quickly ran back to find Tong Shu.
Hearing that there was business outside, Shuli and her two sisters started working yesterday, rushing to produce a lot of cotton fabrics in different patterns. There are many forests and little farmland in the mountains, and no one grows cotton, so the sales of cotton fabrics should be very good. This can be seen from the fact that cotton quilts and clothes sold well yesterday.
Sure enough, when Tong Shu and the others brought out bolts of cotton cloth, the villagers, who had been queuing quietly, became noisy again, pointing and discussing the cloth and deciding which patterns they wanted.
Besides, instant noodles are also a best-selling product. People in the mountains have a strong preference for this kind of fast food that can be eaten immediately after being soaked in hot water and has a wide variety of flavors. Tong Songming had always regretted the failure of his workshop, so he made a few instant noodle machines on the island. After all, the wheat on the island was just piling up and he had to find a way to deal with it. Now, with the help of the villagers of Yangshan Village, the homemade instant noodles that he had previously stockpiled finally had a market.
Moreover, many of the items that villagers brought to exchange for supplies yesterday included wheat that they had grown themselves. After Wang Jianye and Qin Jiaqiang transported it to the island, Tong Songming and his grandparents quickly processed it into instant noodles and then resold it.
"Sister, sister. Can I trade these for candy?" A little girl squeezed in front of Tong Shu and opened her small hand, which contained tiny seeds the size of sesame seeds: "Brother Ashun said that we can trade the seeds of the 'Lala Vine' for things. These are the seeds I picked myself. I want to trade them for candy."
Tong Shu put down what she was holding, carefully took the seeds from the little girl's hand, and smiled, "Of course." Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of candy—lollipops, milk candies, mints... The colorful packaging made the little girl's eyes widen. Tong Shu shoved the candy into the little girl's hand: "Here you go."
"These...are all for me?" the little girl asked incredulously.
Tong Shu nodded: "It's all yours."
After saying that, Tong Shu ran back to the car, took out several jars of candy, and placed them on the corner of the table: "If the children in the village want to exchange their vine seeds for candy, there's plenty of candy. It's all homemade berry candy and winter melon candy."
"Sister, I'd like to exchange two of my homemade candies." The little girl picked out a few not-so-pretty candies from the pile of candies in her hand and handed them back to Tong Shu, then pointed to the candies in the jar she had just taken out.
Tong Shu generously changed it for her.
The little girl jumped up and down with joy. The seeds of the vine were everywhere, and a small handful could be exchanged for so much candy. She turned and ran back to the village, feeling incredibly happy. She had to quickly call her younger siblings so they could go and collect seeds to exchange for candy.
The village was remote, and their electricity was cut off after the natural disaster. However, power outages were common in their area, sometimes lasting one or two months, so the villagers were used to it and kept plenty of candles on hand. But now they had heard about the disaster outside the mountains and figured no one would come to repair the electricity. Today, many villagers came to exchange candles, and some even wanted flashlights. Since Tong Shu couldn't make these things on the island, she charged high prices and limited quantities. Some shrewd villagers lined up early, exchanging a lot of candles and flashlights, and then set up stalls in the village.
Tong Shu didn't care when Ah Shun came to tattle. The items had been exchanged and were now theirs; she hadn't lost anything anyway.
After Qin Jiaqiang obtained the Lala Vine seeds, he returned to the island to try planting them. Upon learning that the wild grass grew well on the island, Tong Shu was relieved. Originally, she didn't plan to collect Lala Vine seeds from the villagers anymore, but the island's encyclopedia was truly outrageous; after collecting all the seeds, buying them again cost three Forest Coins. Tong Shu was furious and angrily closed the app, then continued collecting seeds from the villagers.
The trading activity lasted for three days in full swing. Every day, villagers went into the mountains in groups, racking their brains to find some mountain products available in this season, each one more exotic than the last, all in order to get a good price and then exchange them for some rare items from the city.
When a villager brought over a 200-pound sow to trade with Tong Shu for a refrigerator and a color TV, Tong Shu was bewildered.
"No, the village has no electricity, what use are these things to you?" Tong Shu was completely puzzled.
"Of course, it's for my son to use when he finds a wife! I went to the county town down the mountain more than ten years ago. There, you need a refrigerator and a color TV to find a wife. With these, wouldn't girls from other villages be eager to marry into my family?" The old man, who was over fifty years old, said confidently.
Tong Shu glanced at him speechlessly and waved her hand: "We don't have that stuff. This is all the goods on the stall. If you want it, we'll exchange it. If not, we'll take the pig back."
"You gave the bald guy a different... something-or-other machine yesterday, but it's gone when it comes to me!" the old man argued unreasonably.
Tong Shu did have some recollection of the bald man from yesterday. She explained, "That was a portable juicer. You could use it by changing the batteries, but the batteries are running low now. Once the batteries are gone, his juicer will be useless."
"Yes, Uncle Liang, Uncle Baldy's grandson lost his mother, and Xiao Hua doesn't have much formula, so he was thinking of getting a juicer to take back. Your daughter-in-law isn't even here yet, why would you need a refrigerator or a color TV? Getting some blankets and clothes to take back would be much more practical," someone explained from the side.
The old man was fuming and not very happy. He muttered, "Whatever the bald woman said she wanted, she just took it out of the car. I can tell they have it, but they just won't give it to us."
Tong Shu was also getting impatient. The villagers here were rarely reasonable; most were stubborn and opinionated, and several times they had even gotten into fights in front of her car. Tong Shu now deeply missed her time at D County No. 1 Middle School.
The village chief's son was still selecting supplies when he saw that Tong Shu's expression had turned sour, so he quickly called for someone to drive Uncle Liang's family away.
"Xiaohua, don't pay any attention to that family. What's going on? They're still thinking about getting married. What a bunch of fools!"
Tong Shu waved her hand. She was just doing a faith point quest on the side; she'd earn a little if she could, and wouldn't care if she didn't. Since the villagers were already thinking about these trivial matters, there was no need for them to stay in Yangshan Village any longer. Tong Shu made up her mind to leave with her family by car at dawn the next day.
"Brother, do you still have any piglets, chicks or other young animals in your mountain valley? I'd like to raise some to eat myself," Tong Shu asked the village chief's son.
"Yes, yes! We just had a lot of piglets, and we also have chicks. Do you want a lamb? I can bring you one too," the village chief's son asked solicitously.
After estimating the living space on the second floor of the RV, Tong Shu nodded, thinking that raising these cubs shouldn't be a problem.
The village chief's son quickly whispered a few words to his wife, who then ran home, presumably to call her brother and sister-in-law to go up the mountain to catch cubs.
"Xiao Hua, do you have any powerful crossbows? You definitely won't stay in our village for long. I'm afraid people from outside the mountains will come later. With these things, we can protect ourselves." The village chief's son pulled Tong Shu aside and asked in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Tong Shu looked at the man with newfound respect. He had previously been reluctant for the old village chief to hand over the grain to them, but unexpectedly, in just a few days, the man had made such progress and learned to plan ahead.
Tong Shu looked him up and down. He looked directly into Tong Shu's eyes without flinching. Tong Shu nodded and then said in a low voice, "Okay, here are a few more axes and machetes for you. Find me at the corner of the hill tomorrow at daybreak." The corner of the hill was where Tong Shu and the others had temporarily parked their RV.
Upon hearing this, the village chief's son understood that Tong Shu and the others were leaving the next day, and nodded in agreement.
By the afternoon, all the items on Tong Shu's stall had been replaced, and Tong Shu and his team did not restock.
"Young lady, I was just about to buy a few more pairs of scissors. Why are you closing up shop already?" a woman rushed over and asked.
"We're not setting up today; we still need to tidy up the things we collected," Tong Shu said with a smile.
The woman had no choice but to give up upon hearing this. While packing their things with Wang Jie, Tong Shu kept an eye on the few villagers lingering nearby, unwilling to leave.
"They're still watching us. I think there's something off about the way they're looking at us," Wang Jie whispered to Tong Shu, his head down.
Tong Shu responded, she could also sense that these people had ill intentions.
“We took so much stuff from them. I paid special attention to these people. Apart from exchanging a few blankets and clothes with us at the beginning, they just stayed nearby and mainly kept an eye on our cargo boxes.” Tong Shu sneered, “They’re probably just waiting for the day we’re ready to leave so they can come and rob us.”
"What are your plans?" Wang Jie asked.
"Spray pesticide on the car tonight, then drive it back the way it came, all the way to the corner," Tong Shu said.
Wang Jie knew what Tong Shu had traded the livestock cubs for with the village chief's son, and now he was worried: "Is the village chief's son trustworthy? What if they're in cahoots and come to rob us around the corner?"
Tong Shu recalled the man's eyes and suppressed her uncertainty: "Trust him this once. If he's really not a good person, then use those crossbows on himself."
Wang Jie thought about his cousin's current abilities and felt relieved. After all, they were just a few villagers who had been starving for more than half a year, and there was really nothing to be afraid of.
As dusk fell, the killer vines around them began to stir. The villagers of Yangshan Village had already taken refuge in their homes. Tong Shu and the others got out of the car and sprayed the vehicle with spray bottles, causing the killer vines to retreat in fear.
With a soft hum of the engine, the wheels, which had been idle for many days, began to turn slowly, and the vehicle headed toward the bend in the hillside.
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