Chapter 569 The People's Suffering
The mule cart entered the village, attracting waves of curious gazes from the children playing at the entrance of the village.
Shen Qingqian had already opened the car curtain, and after seeing the children, she signaled Shen Shan to stop the car.
Shen Shan also got off the car and led the mule forward.
The two walked for a long time, but still didn't see an adult.
Shen Qingqian walked towards a child who had been following them, squatted in front of him and asked with a gentle smile, "Little friend, where are the adults in your village?"
The child in front of me looked malnourished, dark and thin, and I had no idea how old he was.
"My parents and the others..." The boy didn't dare to look at Shen Qingqian's glowing white face. He lowered his eyes and replied timidly, "They went to beg for food."
Shen Qingqian was stunned when she heard this. Why would he go begging?
As they walked along, they could see that the land in Shangyang Village was quite good and full of crops. Even the land occupied by sugarcane was planted with different crops.
When the other children saw Shen Qingqian talking to this child, they gradually gathered around and talked about the situation in the village.
"My grandparents said they couldn't afford to eat, so they went to Ebei City to beg for food the day before yesterday and said they wouldn't be back until tomorrow."
"My mother asked my father to work at home while she went to Shao County to wash clothes for others. She also said she would buy me meat buns."
"My family is the same, my father"
Shen Qingqian looked at the oldest child in front of her and asked, "Don't you have sugarcane in your fields? Why don't you sell it for silver?"
When the child heard this, he looked up at Shen Qingqian with a drooping mouth, as if he was about to cry, "My grandfather said that it was reserved for the big boss, and we must keep our word, otherwise no one will come to buy sugarcane from our village in the future."
Shen Qingqian was very surprised. She didn't expect that the people in this village still valued integrity so much. This made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"Are there any adults in your village? We are here to buy sugarcane." Shen Qingqian asked with a smile.
Another child rushed to reply, "My grandma is at home! I'll take you there. Can you buy some sugarcane from my house first?"
Shen Qingqian asked back, "Didn't you say you wanted to keep it for the big boss?"
"No, I heard from my father that the big boss will definitely not come. There is no one in our city who buys it. My father tried to sell it before, but he didn't sell much at two cents per pound."
This kid was a man who saw the opportunity. When he heard that Shen Qingqian was here to buy sugarcane, he quickly told her everything he knew.
Shen Qingqian looked around, still feeling unbelievable, "Then you guys won't be unable to make ends meet, right?"
At this time, an old voice sounded behind them, "Girl, from last year to now, the government has collected grain three times. Just after the New Year, the able-bodied men in the village were conscripted. There has not been much surplus grain in our family in recent years. Last year was a drought year. How can we survive?"
Shen Qingqian turned around and saw an old lady wearing patched clothes looking at her.
"Grandma, do you have sugarcane at home?" Shen Shan stepped forward, bowed, and asked again.
Seeing his friendly face, the old lady nodded and said, "Every household in our village grows at least three acres of sugarcane. How much do you want to buy?"
There are hundreds of households in Shangyang Village. Last year, the sugarcane buyers said they wanted to buy a lot, so they planted as much as possible. Unexpectedly, a war made all this come to nothing.
In those days, few families had much grain stored. The government was collecting grain and recruiting soldiers. No one harvested the sugarcane in the fields, and no one could get money, so naturally no one could buy grain. So the family couldn't make ends meet.
Shen Shan looked at Shen Qingqian.
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