Southeast limped up, this time splitting his buttocks in two. Grandma Yan said with concern, "Southwest, go and ask Third Uncle to drive the oxcart. Xuemei, help Southeast to his room to lie down."
Xuemei was making pancakes in the kitchen when their groans almost burned them. She quickly took the pancakes out and ran outside.
Seeing Dongnan limping and grimacing, Grandma Yan was anxious to take him to the village doctor. She quickly took out her handkerchief and gave Xuemei two yuan. "Go, go quickly! If you don't have enough money, Grandma has some here."
Southeast waved his hand, saying there was no need to go; he had just fallen hard and would be fine after a while.
Uncle San rushed over in a hurry. His own ox had always been well-behaved, so why had it gone crazy today?
Upon entering, they gasped in shock. Dongnan and Old Lady Yan were both groaning and rubbing their buttocks, while Yan Xiaonan was deathly pale, clearly terrified.
Cuihua and Xuemei were at a loss, tears welling up in their eyes. The culprit, Old Niu, probably knew he was wrong, or perhaps he was so frightened that his front legs buckled on the ground, and he couldn't get up.
Third Uncle hurriedly asked Southeast what happened. Southeast rubbed his buttocks and shook his head, saying, "I don't know either. As soon as the cow came in, it rushed towards my grandma. I couldn't hold it back and it fell."
Third Uncle rushed to Grandma Yan's side: "Sister-in-law, how are you? Can you walk? Are you alright?"
Grandma Yan shook her head: "His bottom hurts from the fall, but he's fine. Dongnan is really tough from the fall. His father should take him to the village doctor to get him checked out."
Uncle San sighed and went over to help the old ox up. Seeing its master arrive, the ox mustered its courage and stood up with a burst of strength. Uncle San untied the rope and said:
“Come to the southeast, come up, your third uncle will take you to the village doctor for a checkup.”
Southeast shook her head. "No need to go. It's just a fall. She's so young, what's the big deal? I'm just worried about whether Grandma got hurt or if Nan Nan got scared."
It's good to be young. After walking around a few times with a limp, Dongnan was basically back to normal. Yan Xiaonan was relieved and glanced at Lao Niu, who almost knelt down again.
Yan Xiaonan was in a hurry to get to the county town. Seeing that her grandmother and Southeast were alright, she said, "Grandma, let's go."
Yan Xiaoqiang was a little worried. He suggested going tomorrow, but Grandma Yan was also anxious. The family was out of food, and they couldn't afford to delay even for a day.
Uncle San drove the cart to town, then took a ride to the county. The three adults and one child hurriedly boarded the oxcart. This time, the ox was well-behaved, walking steadily and quickly.
There are two buses a day to the county, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Yan Xiaonan and his friends were really lucky. If Lao Niu had been five minutes slower, they would have had to wait for the afternoon bus.
Two cents per person, children pay free. The ticket seller, with a canvas bag hanging around his neck, was shouting. Yan Xiaonan looked at the ticket seller curiously. There was a ticket seller on the bus?
Without a ticket, there was no seat. Yan Xiaonan stood between Cuihua and her grandmother, looking around. The bus wasn't big, it could only seat about thirty people. The seats were all made of wood, and sitting for a long time would definitely make your butt hurt.
The car door slammed shut, and the car began its shaky journey towards the county town. It stopped whenever someone flagged it down; if there was a seat, it cost two mao (0.2 yuan); if there wasn't, it cost one mao (0.1 yuan).
After nearly two hours, the people in the car were so crowded that they could barely stand. The smell inside the car made Yan Xiaonan almost vomit. Grandma Yan quickly opened the door a crack; there was no other way, otherwise the sand and dust would blow in.
The cool breeze carried grains of sand, making Yan Xiaonan's nose itch as she took a deep breath. She sneezed, and two large snot bubbles covered half of her face.
Yan Xiaonan looked at Cuihua with teary eyes, her mouth covered in snot, unable to speak. Cuihua was about to wipe the snot from her nose with her hand when Grandma Yan stopped her.
Yan Xiaonan took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her face clean. She finally felt better, but she no longer wanted to go to the window. So what if it smelled bad?
Yan Xiaoqiang could only laugh. This mischievous little girl was so cute. He should go to the county town and buy her a few more pretty handkerchiefs.
They finally arrived. Yan Xiaoqiang carried Nan Nan in his arms, and Cuihua helped Grandma Yan out of the car. Nan Nan could finally let out a breath she had been holding, but this time she dared not take a deep breath.
Grandma Yan looked at the unfamiliar place. The county town had changed more or less. Everything that Grandma Yan was familiar with was now unfamiliar. Yan Xiaoqiang asked the staff at the station and found out that there was a guesthouse 500 meters away where he could stay.
The group first settled their accommodation problem. Each room had two beds and cost 80 cents per night. Grandma Yan arranged two rooms for two nights.
Cuihua felt a little sorry for the money, but Yan Xiaonan admired her grandmother's domineering and decisiveness. She decided to ask her grandmother for help in the future, and that her mother was fine as long as she provided food and drink.
It's 2 PM now, and Yan Xiaonan is about to take a nap. Grandma asked her son and daughter-in-law to go outside and find out where the market was and what the prices were, so they could go out once Xiaonan woke up.
That was their plan too. Cuihua even carefully took out a large scarf from her bundle and wrapped her face completely, leaving only her eyes showing.
Looking at Yan Xiaoqiang again, a large hat covered most of his face.
Yan Xiaonan wanted to laugh, as if she were going on a travelogue, but she couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep.
The two actually found out about several farmers' markets in the county town. People in the county town are a bit delicate and can't swallow pure coarse grains; they must add some refined grains.
But last winter was so cold that the village's wheat and rice harvests were almost completely wiped out. Some coarse grains survived, but there was virtually no fine grain available.
The price of fine grains at the market had risen to one yuan and ten cents per pound, while coarse grains ranged from eight cents to six cents. The two of them memorized this information and were overjoyed.
Their inquiries were so obvious that they caught the attention of a young man at the market, who followed them discreetly.
They entered a guesthouse called Xikelai, chatted and joked with the staff to find out their room numbers, and then returned to the market.
"This might be a big fish," the young man said to his older brother as they returned to the market.
The two brothers are surnamed Zhao. The elder brother is Zhao Weiguo, and the younger brother is Zhao Weimin. They are from the county town and make a living by buying low and selling high in the market. In fact, they are what everyone knows as reselling.
The two lost both parents at a young age and were unkind to their grandparents. They fought, scheming, and competing with their uncles and brothers for food. In particular, the eldest brother, Zhao Weiguo, would beat his uncle half to death over a single bite of food.
From then on, their family never dared to make things too difficult for them again, and the two brothers grew up slowly, half-starved and half-fed.
In order to get more food, the two of them frequented the trade market from a young age, cheating, swindling, buying and selling, and even making money out of thin air, which led them to a path to wealth.
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