An Shuyi was puzzled. Since it cost so much money to enter Anhe Prefecture, and they weren't going in, why didn't they leave? She later learned that the prefect would distribute porridge every two days. Although they couldn't eat their fill, they wouldn't starve.
Moreover, the imperial court is now conscripting soldiers, and anyone willing to go will receive a settlement allowance of two taels of silver. Although it is not much, joining the army means having food to eat. You may die, but at least you have a chance to live. Every extra day you can live is a day more.
Knowing they could get in, An Shuyi and the others were finally relieved. This time, they not only brought baskets, but some even pushed carts, hoping to buy more grain in Anhe Prefecture.
Finally, after their anxious wait, the city gates of Anhe Prefecture opened, and several soldiers came out and stood at the gate, followed by two soldiers who came out to register.
Then a soldier came out and said, "Those who want to enter the city, line up here. One tael of silver per person will allow you to stay for five days. Those who want to settle down will need one hundred taels. Those who want to join the army, line up here. The settlement allowance is two taels of silver. No disorder is allowed. If anyone disorderly conducts, they will be directly conscripted into the army without the settlement allowance and will also be beaten."
"If you don't fit either of these categories, then stand further back. The porridge will be distributed tomorrow. If you try to sneak into the city during the chaos, then you won't get any porridge later."
After the soldier finished speaking, he stood by and watched. If anyone disobeyed, he would kick them away, and those people wouldn't dare to say anything.
An Shuyi hurriedly had the clansmen line up. She walked at the front. There weren't many people going into the city, so it was her turn soon. After all, it cost one or two taels of silver to enter the city, which was not cheap.
"Sir, could we only go in for one day, buy some things, and come out? We'll give you less money." As she spoke, she secretly handed five taels of silver to the official, and Xia Hua also turned her body so that no one else could see them.
The soldier took the silver and put it in his pocket, his eyes full of smiles. He hadn't expected these refugees to be so perceptive. "How many of you are coming into the city?"
"Yes, sir. There are forty people. We'll be out quickly and won't take up too much time. Please do us this favor," An Shuyi said softly.
The soldier thought for a moment, then said, "You'll each receive two hundred coins, but you can't stay too long." He then took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it. "This is your pass to enter the city. Keep it safe and don't lose it."
An Shuyi took the money and handed over eight taels of silver. "Thank you, sir. We'll go in now." She then led her people into the city. At the city gate, she showed the paper to the soldiers guarding there and received their permission before entering the city.
Once inside the city, they discovered that it was completely different from the outside world. The refugees outside were starving, disheveled, and emaciated, while the people here lived normal lives, doing business, chatting and laughing, eating and drinking to their hearts' content, and indulging in pleasure.
Although the contrast made them somewhat uncomfortable, they quickly adjusted. After all, while they couldn't compare to the people of the prefectural city, they were much better off than the refugees.
Seeing that the two women walking ahead of him weren't moving, Lin Changchun came over and asked, "Auntie, aren't we leaving?"
An Shuyi snapped out of her daze and looked at the person who was speaking. This was her eldest brother's third son, Lin Wenfeng, a tall and strong man. He had come along to buy grain this time.
His mother had said she was going to visit her, but she twisted her ankle the day before and couldn't go. "Let's go, let's go buy some food first." After saying that, she and Xia Hua walked ahead.
"Shushu, there's a grain shop over there, let's go take a look!" Xia Hua said, pointing to the grain shop in front of them.
"Okay!" The group then headed there, but the other clansmen waited outside the grain shop. Only An Shuyi and Xia Hua went in. After all, with so many people going in, the shop would be too crowded, and they were worried that it would scare the shopkeepers and they wouldn't be sold grain.
Seeing that customers had come in, the waiter came over and asked, "What kind of grain do you ladies want? Our shop has everything, and the prices are fair."
"How much is a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice here? And what about flour?" Xia Hua asked.
The waiter replied, "Madams, a shi of rice now costs two and a half taels of silver, and a shi of flour costs two taels and seven hundred wen. Please don't think it's too expensive. You can go to other grain shops and take a look before deciding whether to buy."
"Although the price of grain in our Anhe Prefecture has increased, it is all with the approval of the Prefect. In other places, grain is sold for five taels of silver per shi, and it is still hard to buy."
"It's all thanks to the prefect that he's so capable. Not only does he distribute porridge every few days, but he also lets the merchants control prices. The prosperity of our Anhe Prefecture is all thanks to the prefect."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua exchanged a glance. This was really expensive. If they bought it through her trading system, she could buy hundreds of kilograms for the price of one shi of silver.
But since the clansmen were all waiting outside, they couldn't do anything tampering with it. Otherwise, they could have bought some from the trading system and the rest from the grain shop.
"Waiter, we need a lot, can you give us a discount?"
The waiter shook his head. "Madams, the price won't go any lower. But how much do you want to buy? If it's tens of thousands of catties, that's impossible. The manager said that each person can only buy a maximum of one shi (a unit of dry measure)."
“I saw those people outside too. They must be with the ladies. Even if you have money, I won’t sell to so many of you. Besides, we don’t have that much grain in our shop.”
An Shuyi asked again, "Are you saying that you can only buy one shi of any kind of grain? Or that you can only buy one shi of a single type of grain?"
The waiter hesitated for a moment, then said, "Madams, since there are so many of you, how about one shi of rice and one shi of flour? Is that alright with you?"
"Okay!" That way we can buy more.
"Hey waiter, do you sell burlap sacks here?" Xia Hua suddenly asked.
"Yes, would you two ladies like to buy burlap sacks?" the waiter asked.
Xia Hua nodded, "We'll just buy forty shi of rice and forty shi of flour, but we need to go through your back door, is that alright?" Seeing him nod, she continued, "How many sacks do you have here? We'll take them all."
An Shuyi glanced at her and quickly guessed what she was going to do. Well, that's good. She thought she would have to spend a lot of money to buy food, but now it seems she doesn't need to.
As long as they put it in the backyard, they can fill it up however they want. Then she can buy grain in the trading system, fill it up, put it in the backyard, and let the tribesmen take it away. No one will know how much they bought. Hua Hua is so smart.
"Okay!" The waiter nodded readily this time, since the boss hadn't told him whether all the sacks could be sold.
"Let's start packing the grain. Once it's packed, put it in your backyard. We'll also need to buy some more later and put that in your backyard too, then we'll haul it all away together, okay?" Xia Hua asked.
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