"Old man, these two comrades are looking for you," the captain's aunt shouted to a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties.
Song Shuxi and Tiantian quickly greeted him, "Hello, Captain. We are wives of soldiers from the higher-ups. We want to exchange some mountain products with our village, and also a few jars of pickled vegetables. I heard that there are people in the village who can do it."
When the captain heard that it was a soldier's wife, he felt relieved and said, "Yes, there are a few craftsmen. I'll take you there."
The team leader was very happy. It was not easy for the villagers to earn money throughout the year. If they could establish a relationship with these military wives, with so many people in the family compound, the villagers would be able to earn more money. But he knew that the people of Liushu Village lived so well by exchanging meat and eggs with these military wives.
Both sides were trying to maintain a good relationship, and after a few interactions, their relationship became much closer.
The captain took them to a yard and said, "This is it, Uncle San, someone comes to exchange black goods."
The uncle was about 60 years old, a very energetic old man. He was not surprised to see Song Shuqian and the others. "They are all here. There are different sizes. What do you want to use them for?"
"Two larger ones are used to store sauerkraut, and six smaller ones are used for pickling vegetables and salted vegetables," this was what the two of them had discussed before coming.
When the team leader heard this, he thought it was a big order. The villagers were frugal, so they could only sell so much by going to a big market.
"We have them ready. The big jar is 12 yuan each, and the smaller pickle jar is 8 yuan each." When saying this, Uncle San was a little nervous, fearing that they would not buy it.
Song Shuqian and the other person thought it was a good deal and immediately decided to buy it.
"Captain, can the village send a bullock cart to deliver the goods for us? We will pay the money," Tiantian said.
The captain naturally agreed to this good thing.
"Captain, are there any dried mountain products in the village? We would like to exchange hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, etc. If you have meat or mushrooms, that would be fine too," Song Shuqian asked.
The captain's aunt has just told the captain about this, which is why he is so enthusiastic.
These are the things that are needed in the long run.
"The villagers don't have much else but a lot of mountain products. How much do you want to exchange?"
Thinking that these things would not go bad, Song Shuxi said, "Take as many as you can. We all came here to follow the army. There's a lot of people in my parents' and my in-laws' families. We can send money to both sides."
The captain knew that soldiers had high salaries, but he didn't expect them to be so high. He felt relieved when he thought that those who could accompany the army were all officers.
He didn't dare to call the whole village together, so he asked the team leader's aunt to find some people who were usually clean, efficient and less troublesome.
In the end, Song Shuxi and her partner exchanged for "20 kilograms of pine nuts, 100 kilograms of walnuts, 200 kilograms of chestnuts, 150 kilograms of hazelnuts, 50 kilograms of dried mushrooms, two chickens, 200 duck eggs, and two pieces of bacon."
Before leaving, a child came to Song Shuqian and asked, "Sister, do you want some ginseng?"
Song Shuqian thought the child was just being naughty and coaxed him, "Yes, but ginseng is hard to come by. If you need ginseng, you have to go to the hospital to see the doctor."
The hope in the child's eyes disappeared in an instant, and Song Shuqian realized that the child was serious. "Little boy, selling ginseng requires the consent of your parents."
The child looked at Song Shuqian with timid but extremely firm eyes. "Sister, I know that grandpa needs money for his medical treatment."
Children from poor families have to grow up early, and Song Shuqian doesn't mind helping out, as she also needs ginseng.
I took the child to the team leader and asked, "Aunt, this child said that his grandfather is sick and needs money, and he wants to sell me ginseng. I don't know the details. Can you tell me more?"
The captain's aunt sighed and said, "This child is pitiful. His parents died early, leaving him and his grandfather to depend on each other. He has an uncle who is a ruthless person. He left and never came back.
At the beginning of the month, the old man fell and broke his leg. He had no money to go to the hospital, so he went to see a village doctor. The village doctor in our village is good at treating headaches and fevers, but not anything else. The ginseng she was talking about was left by her father.
Girl, if you need ginseng, just buy it. I can see that you are a kind-hearted person. "
Song Shuqian looked at the skinny little child and said, "Little boy, can you take your sister to see your grandfather?"
The child nodded in agreement.
Song Shuqian and Tian Tiantian brought their children to his home, a very dilapidated yellow mud house.
The situation is more serious than what the captain's wife said.
The old man took out some ginseng and showed it to Song Shuqian. It was a fifty-year-old wild ginseng, of average quality, with a few broken ginseng roots. The purchase price would not exceed 200 yuan.
The old man should have asked, "Girl, I know the condition of this ginseng. Several ginseng roots were broken when it was dug out, and it is not preserved very well. Give me 180 and give me the same price as the purchasing station."
It's real, Song Shuqian thought.
In front of the captain, Song Shuqian said, "I'll give you 220 yuan. Don't be quick to refuse. This thing is priceless to those who need it. I just want to find a ginseng for emergencies. My husband is a soldier, and I can only feel at ease if I prepare these things to ensure his safety."
After handing the 220 yuan to the old man, Song Shuqian said, "You'd better go to the hospital as soon as possible for your injury. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to treat. You should try your best even for your grandson."
The old man took the money and said to the little boy, "Huzi, you must remember the kindness of that sister. She bought the ginseng to help us."
The old man worked as a scout when he was young. After the war, he returned to the village and lived with his family.
As a result, I watched my family members leave one by one.
Now I only have a little grandson who has not grown up yet.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to see a doctor, but he is an old man and it is already difficult for him to support his grandson, and medical treatment costs money.
Song Shuqian certainly doesn't need any ginseng, but she also doesn't want too much.
After replacing various things, Song Shuxi looked at the big jars and asked, "Captain, do these big jars have lids?"
"Yes, it's made of wood. There's a carpenter in the village who can make it. Why don't we go and have a look?"
The captain's current mentality is that it is rare to meet two people who are stupid and rich, so try to get them to spend money.
Song Shuxi and the other two didn't care about the money.
They hit it off immediately.
The carpenter in the village used to be a carpenter for a wealthy family. It was an inherited craft from his ancestors, but he returned to the village because he had no other choice.
Now I do some things for the folks around me to supplement their family income.
As soon as Song Shuxi entered the door, she was dazzled by the wooden products all over the yard. These plates are so beautiful.
She was looking at a set of tableware, wooden bowls, wooden spoons, and small plates in the shape of cutting boards.
"Can everything in this courtyard be exchanged?"
The carpenter could see that Song Shuxi really liked it, and he was very happy. "All of them can be replaced, you can choose whatever you like."
In that case, Song Shuqian won't be polite.
She chose a lot, including wooden tableware and wooden shelves.
"Uncle, can you make something according to my drawing? I want to make a lamp stand and a hook with a pattern," Song Shuxi said and started drawing.
She was a very good painter, and the carpenter could tell at a glance what she wanted to do.
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