Chapter 66 Return to the Village
The guy from the grain store did not come back very quickly, so Sang Luo waited in Dongfulou for nearly an hour, feeling very anxious, fearing that something unexpected would happen and she would not be able to buy grain.
Shopkeeper Xu looked at the time and came over specially because he was afraid that Sang Luo would be worried.
The waiter also came back at this time and said to Shopkeeper Xu: "Nine stones of grain have been delivered to the back door of our restaurant."
Shopkeeper Xu hurriedly invited Sang Luo to come over.
The clerk on the road replied that the grain shop was limiting the amount of grain that could be purchased. "If we hadn't gone there, Shopkeeper Tong wouldn't allow us to sell nine shi of grain. If an individual went to buy grain, the most he could buy was five dou. If he bought more, he wouldn't sell it. The grain sold in a day was also limited. Once it was sold, the shop would close. When I went there, Shopkeeper Tong gave us a slip and we went directly to the warehouse in the back to pick it up. There were a lot of people there, and some food shops in the county heard about it and went to buy grain today, so the queue is now."
Sang Luo realized what great fortune she had encountered today, and she kept saying, "I really owe it to Shopkeeper Xu today. Otherwise, it would have taken a lot of trouble to prepare nine stones of grain by myself, and I might not be able to buy it at this price later."
I guess I'll have to ask Qin Fangniang and a few others to help queue up, but this will also delay everyone's livelihood.
Shopkeeper Xu waved his hand: "It's just a piece of cake."
He just sighed: "I don't know how high the price of food will go. This year, most people are having a hard time."
Although the impact on restaurants should not be significant, for most people, life will probably be a torment from this autumn until the harvest of autumn crops next year.
"Who says it's not?"
As they were talking they had already reached the back door of the restaurant. A clerk from the grain shop was unloading the cart. Upon seeing the main owner coming, he hurriedly greeted Manager Xu. Manager Xu smiled and chatted with him, and while they were chatting he also learned about the situation.
Because Manager Xu was so polite, the clerk did not hide the truth from him and whispered, "We do have grain. Our boss has already collected it from various states, but we may not be able to sell much."
Waiting for the price to rise.
This is how grain merchants are, so Manager Xu couldn't say anything. He just thanked the guy and waited until the car was unloaded. Sang Luo looked at the goods and paid for them. Manager Xu then quietly gave each of the guys who came to deliver the goods some hard-earned money, and then sent them away politely.
Although the action was covert, Sang Luo saw it all but said nothing.
People like Shopkeeper Xu have their own way of dealing with social situations. If she had to squeeze in and pay for a few dollars of tip herself, it would seem awkward. So she just had to accept the favor.
The food was bought, and Shopkeeper Xu looked at the time and wanted to keep Sang Luo in the restaurant for a quick meal. He said, "After lunch, I'll ask the shop assistants to help you send the food back."
Sang Luo refused, saying, "Shopkeeper Xu's kindness is such that I shouldn't decline it. However, there are several other aunts from my village who are setting up stalls in various places in the county. We had agreed to meet at the entrance to the East Market. I have to go over and tell them, and then we can come together later. We won't have lunch here. I'd rather trouble the shop assistants in Shopkeeper Xu's shop to go with me today."
"Okay, okay." Sang Luo refused. Manager Xu did not want to keep her any longer. He just said, "Then I will arrange for the staff to load the food into the truck and send it to you when you come. If Madam Sang goes to the East Market, please tell the aunt from your village to send me thirty pieces of tofu and twenty pieces of fairy tofu tomorrow. The price is the market price. Send them to the kitchen in the morning and then settle the bill with the accountant. I will discuss future orders with her tomorrow. I will not go to the East Market again today."
Sang Luo smiled and agreed. Before leaving, she handed a signed and pledged IOU to Shopkeeper Xu and said, "I am indebted to you today, Shopkeeper Xu. I will not thank you again and again. This is the IOU for six taels of silver I borrowed from Dongfulou. Shopkeeper Xu, please give it to the accountant to enter in the account. When I pay off the money, you can return this IOU to me."
Shopkeeper Xu was stunned, and then he thought of the pen, ink, paper and inkstone that had been used to write the contract in the private room and had not yet been removed.
He smiled and nodded, took the IOU, and then watched Sang Luo leave.
When he returned to the building, he gave the IOU to the accountant and said, "Make sure the accounts are done. When the money is paid off, I will return the IOU to Madam Sang."
The accountant groaned and patted his forehead: "It's me who is petty."
It turned out that when Manager Xu asked him to pay money to Sang Luo, the accountant was still a little hesitant. After all, it was six taels of silver. If he asked one more question, wasn't he afraid that he wouldn't be able to collect the money?
At that time, Manager Xu smiled and told him to lend it to him without worry. If he couldn't get it back, it would be his own fault.
At this point, after Sang Luo left, Shopkeeper Xu said, "Mrs. Sang is quite particular. Not to mention that we have two businesses, vegetarian tripe and tofu, but she taught us a few recipes for our restaurant today. Even if she doesn't pay us back, our restaurant won't lose money."
The accountant had originally written the contract, delivered the money and then returned to the front hall. Only now did he realize that there was also the matter of delivering the recipe for the dishes. Finally, he understood.
…
It is also said that Sang Luo went to the East Market and easily found Qin Fangniang's tofu stall. When she looked at the tofu stand, she saw that there were only eleven or twelve pieces left on the plate. Sang Luo asked, "How is business today?"
Qin Fangniang shook her head: "It's worse than yesterday. It was almost sold out at this time yesterday. It seems that this county has also been affected."
How could it not have an impact? Three or four thousand coins, for the lower-class families in the county, although it would not break their bones, it would be enough to make them feel painful. If they spend money here, they will naturally have to be more frugal on food and clothing.
Sang Luo said, "The price of grain has risen again. Yesterday afternoon, the price in the county was already raised to 82 wen per dou, and it is sold in limited quantities. One person can only buy a maximum of five dou. The grain shop will close once the daily quota is sold out, so the 82 wen is just the beginning. The news should spread in the county today and tomorrow, and the price of grain should rise further by then."
She said sternly, "Aunt, you should go back and ask Grandpa and Grandma what they think. If you really make some money, save some for emergencies. Before the grain price goes up too high, see if you can stock up some grain."
Qin Fangniang was a little confused: "Do we still need to store food? We can eat until next autumn if we save money."
Sang Luo shook her head: "I don't know, I just think that if I have food in my hands, I won't be panicked."
Both of them were silent, and the entire East City was especially silent today.
The atmosphere in the East Market is much more solemn than that in the main street of the county town because most of the people there are country people who come to the city to sell things.
Sang Luo asked Qin Fangniang to do her work first while she walked around the East Market. She found that all the people who used to sell grain at the stalls in the East Market were gone.
Yes, at this time of year, apart from grain merchants, who else can sell grain?
At noon, Qin Fangniang still had a few pieces of tofu that she had not sold, so Sang Luo simply went to buy two steamed buns, and they ate one each for lunch.
While eating, he told Qin Fangniang about borrowing money from Manager Xu of Dongfulou to buy grain, and about placing an order for tofu with Manager Xu of Dongfulou.
Such good news undoubtedly gave a shot in the arm to Qin Fangniang, whose business had obviously declined in the morning.
But she quickly reacted: "Since you are the one who got the business, why did you place the order with me? I am taking advantage of you for nothing."
Several dozen dollars a day.
Even if the magic tofu cannot be sold by mid-September, she can still earn an extra ten cents a day by selling only thirty pieces of tofu.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "I won't let you take advantage of me. From now on, I will send vegetarian tripe to Dongfulou regularly. You will bring it to me. You will also bring back the orders from Dongfulou every day."
Qin Fangniang: "It's not a big deal. You don't have to take care of the business for me."
Sang Luo said, "It's not just one or two days. Maybe we will cooperate with other companies in the future. I have to make a lot of food every day and I don't have time to run back and forth. Auntie, you can just take over the tofu order from Manager Xu."
Qin Fangniang nodded and said, "Okay, from now on, when you go to the county, just tell me what you want to bring. If you don't bring mine, I'll make sure you bring yours."
These words made Sang Luo laugh.
At the end of noon, Feng Liuniang and Gan arrived at the East Market one after another, and the four of them met.
Sang Luo told a few people about the rising grain prices, and also told them that she had borrowed some money from Dongfulou to buy grain. Of course, she also told Gan and Feng Liuniang about her suggestion to Qin Fangniang that they should stock up some grain while the price was not rising too high.
Gan said, "I saw it today when I was carrying a load to sell things. In the morning, there were long queues at several grain stores in the county. I went over to ask and found out that the price of grain had increased."
Whether to buy grain or not, Gan had to discuss it with her family when she returned home.
If they lived frugally like they did in the first half of the year, they could probably hold out until autumn. But if they spent a high price to buy grain and store it until after next autumn, even Gan, who was usually a decisive person, could not make such a decision.
If by then the price of food has dropped, a lot of money will be wasted.
We went all the way to Dongfulou and passed by a grain store. It was only the end of noon and the shops next to it were still open for business, but the grain store had already closed its doors.
At the back door of Dongfulou, the young boy that Sang Luo met in the morning was still busy washing dishes. When he saw Sang Luo from a distance, his eyes lit up and he called out, "Madam Sang, come here! Our shopkeeper has given instructions. My brother and I will drive a cart to bring the grain back to you in a while."
"That's great. Have you all had lunch?"
The boy nodded: "I have eaten, I have eaten."
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Okay, then please go and call your brother. I'll go say hello to Shopkeeper Xu, and then we'll go."
The young man went in to call his brother. Qin Fangniang held Sang Luo and said, "Alie's wife, my cart can carry nine shi of grain even if it is piled higher. There is no need to trouble others, right?"
Everyone can carry their own load, and someone can help push the cart from behind.
Sang Luo patted Qin Fangniang's hand and said, "Aunt, our cart is small and there are many things in it. It's too hard to pull it. Let's ask Manager Xu's people to help us. Since we have business dealings, it's good to recognize the door. If there is any need in the future, we can find it."
Qin Fangniang was stunned for a moment before she realized that this was the first time Sang Luo had dealt with Dongfulou and she had borrowed six taels of silver from them. So wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask them to help deliver the goods? At least she could recognize the place and have a place to look for people in the future.
Qin Fangniang really guessed it. Although Manager Xu probably didn't have such an idea at all, Sang Luo had borrowed so much money from him, so it was necessary to give him some reassurance.
Qin Fangniang nodded: "Yes, my cart is too small. If we load nine stone of grain, it will be very difficult for us to get back. But I will help to carry a few bags, otherwise the guy who helps deliver grain to us in Dongfulou will be very tired."
Sang Luo nodded: "Okay, I'll push the cart for you later. When the two young men come out, you can talk to them too."
After the two of them made the deal, Sang Luo went in from the back kitchen, thanked Manager Xu and said goodbye. During the trip, she also met Chef Yu, who was all smiles when he saw Sang Luo and greeted her warmly.
At the end of the hour of Wei, two carts were parked on the mountain road outside Shili Village. Feng Liuniang was left to watch the carts, while Gan went into the village to call her husband and the Lu brothers for help. Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang worked together to carry a bag of grain, leading the way for the two brothers carrying the grain bags, and walked along the mountain road to move the grain to Sang Luo's home.
The young boy still had some difficulty carrying the food bag along the mountain path. He followed Sang Luo into the mountain and asked curiously, "Madam Sang, don't you have a road in your village that can accommodate cars?"
He was glared at by his brother.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "There is a village road, but my family lives alone on the mountain, so we have to walk a distance. The most important thing is to walk this way without being conspicuous, so it will be more convenient."
She is a woman living in the mountains with her two children. If she were to show off a large amount of food to the village today, it might not be a big deal at the moment. But if the situation gets really bad in the future and the villagers become extremely hungry, her family would probably be the first to suffer.
Don't underestimate how horrible a person can become when faced with life and death.
The boy seemed to understand, but didn't ask any more questions.
After turning left and right on the mountain road and passing several mountains, we finally saw a brand new courtyard built halfway up the mountain. Two children were guarding outside the courtyard. When they saw them from afar, they ran towards us with joy on their faces.
Then he called Madam Sang his sister-in-law.
Sister-in-law?
The two brothers looked at each other. It was obvious that Madam Sang did not comb her hair. Was she already married?
Seeing the two children looking at them curiously and vigilantly, the two brothers didn't say anything. They just asked Sang Luo where the food was, carried it into the yard as Sang Luo asked, and turned around to carry it for the second time.
On the way back, they found two men and a boy of about seventeen or eighteen coming towards them, each carrying food bags on their shoulders. Judging from Sang Luo's attitude, the two brothers knew they were familiar with her.
With help, the grain was moved in two more trips. Shi Erlang and the Lu brothers left quickly. The two brothers who came to help from the restaurant drank the water sent by Chen An and Chen Ning to moisten their throats, and then said goodbye to Sang Luo.
"It's getting late and the way back is long, so I won't keep you any longer. You two have worked so hard today." Sang Luo escorted them out of the courtyard and took out the sixteen coins she had prepared earlier. The two brothers each got eight coins. "It's just a small token of my appreciation. Go back and thank Shopkeeper Xu for me."
The two brothers refused several times, but finally the elder brother took the lead and accepted the money. They also asked Sang Luo to stop and not see them off, and then said goodbye and left.
When he returned to report to Shopkeeper Xu, he naturally showed the reward money to Shopkeeper Xu. Shopkeeper Xu nodded and said, "It's been a hard trip for you. Just keep it."
But I was thinking, I wonder which wealthy family in the north this girl came from. Farmers' families couldn't come up with so many food recipes, nor could they afford to raise such a girl who would not forget to reward the guys who helped her in such a situation.
In my heart, I value Sang Luo a little more.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
