"Dad, the river water is rising again today."
The village was bordered by two rivers. One was at the foot of the mountain, so even if it flooded, it wouldn't matter, as Jiang Yue and her husband had already moved away. But behind the other river were five households.
In previous years, these five families were happy that their homesteads were close to the river. They didn’t have to worry about water and could wash clothes as long as they went out.
But now, the main rooms of those houses have been flooded. Now it is only up to the ankles, and they are afraid that when they wake up, the water will be up to their necks.
This mud house is also crumbling.
Many people cried out for help from the village chief, and the village chief was also worried, but he was just an ordinary person. What else could he do except save himself?
The village head's wife looked very unhappy. Three families went to look for their relatives, and two families threatened them that if they didn't help, they would move into their homes. After all, they had more houses.
Those who are reasonable cannot beat those who are tough.
Pingya was afraid, so she asked if she could give them some grains. If she gave them grain, they would leave. But she was severely scolded by the village chief.
"Why give them food? Because you feel sorry for them? You give it to one family, but not to the other? You give it to outsiders but not to your own relatives? Your maternal grandparents are so kind to you, yet you don't give it to them? What about your sisters-in-law's families? Don't they feel sorry for them? Is your family's food enough to feed so many people?"
Pingya had never been scolded by her father before, and she burst into tears. The village head's wife shook her head but didn't stop the man from teaching the children. These children hadn't experienced much, so they didn't hear much.
Not only Pingya looked ugly, but the faces of several daughters-in-law in the family also turned pale.
They had some ulterior motives, and no one wanted to see their parents, brothers, and sisters starve to death. Before they could even open their mouths, their father-in-law revealed the truth.
The village chief took advantage of Pingya's incident and told everything.
"You feel bad? Fine, take your own food back to your mother's house. If your own food isn't enough, take the children's. Take the tiger's head food from the eldest family, take the goose's food from the second family, and the third family's child isn't weaned yet. If you give away your food, the milk won't come in, and the child will starve to death!"
“No, no, no…”
When they heard this, they were horrified. How could they bear to let their own children starve to death?
The village chief sighed, "They were all raised by their parents. Don't I feel bad for them? But have you ever thought about this? You have parents, but do your sister-in-law and sister-in-law have parents? You bring them home, and they bring them home. When will it all end? How many can our family support? How many people can we feed from the eldest and third child?"
"Ask me, were the eldest and third brothers afraid when they heard the wolves howling in the mountains?!"
These words hit everyone's heart hard.
The third son's wife, Wang, hugged her husband and cried loudly.
She was too proud of herself for a moment. She had some food in stock at home and wouldn't starve, so she forgot that all the food was earned by the man at the risk of his life. The injury she suffered the last time she came back had not healed yet, and when she heard her family members crying, she softened her heart and wanted to borrow some food.
But who knows when the food can be returned.
The eldest and the third brother's eyes also turned red. How could they not be afraid when two grown men were in a deep mountain full of dangers and their lives would be lost if they were not careful?
The village chief's house was suddenly filled with cries, and the people who wanted to cause trouble were unable to open the door. They looked at each other in confusion. Could it be that the village chief's family was not as wealthy as they thought?
Life was hard in the countryside, and life in the city wasn't easy either.
When it's time to cook, thick smoke billows from every household, accompanied by the sound of coughing. This is all caused by the burning of wet firewood. Don't despise this wet firewood; it can be lit with a little effort. This is what each family has worked hard to get.
Jiang Yue brought Jiang Nian with her, carrying a load of vegetables every day. After selling the Shanghai greens, they sold cabbages, and after selling the cabbages, they sold radishes. All of them were vegetables that could be found in the city. They were fresher, more delicious, and bigger than the vegetables sold by others. Apart from that, there was nothing else eye-catching about them.
The average price of vegetables was 10 wen for the first three days, rising to 12 wen on the fourth and fifth days, and 16 wen on the eighth day. Jiang Yue always kept the price 1 wen less than the average, and the vegetables were always in great demand.
The only difference is that the customers have changed from ordinary people to ordinary people with a little money.
On the fifteenth day, Jiang Yue sold all the common vegetables here and stopped selling them, closing the business in time.
At this time, she earned twelve taels of silver by selling vegetables - all copper coins. Together with the leftovers from before, she had a total of 155 taels of silver and more than 520 strings of copper coins.
In fact, apart from large items, copper coins are often used in daily life. She doesn't have to worry about not being able to spend them, anyway, she doesn't have to carry them herself.
She has now started to consider bartering.
I drove a mule cart to the bookstore three blocks away.
The bookstore owner spent a huge amount of money to buy oilcloth to cover every corner of the store, for fear that rainwater would leak in.
There is not much business now. Every day I just check whether the books are damp or moldy. The young man even falls asleep.
"Is the shopkeeper here?"
The young man tilted his head and woke up.
"What kind of books would you like to buy?"
Finally, guests arrived. Although the two guests were wrapped up tightly and their faces could not be seen, their voices were pleasant!
Jiang Yue had good eyesight. She was wet, so she didn't go in. She just stood at the door and asked, "How much are the books for my child's elementary school?"
"The one with pictures is 500 coins a copy, and the one without pictures is 300 coins a copy."
The clerk often sells this kind of books to the young book boys in the academy. The current price is 50 coins less than before!
He carefully watched the customer's expression. If the price was still too high, he would, would - reduce it by another five cents!
Jiang Yue looked at the thin book. It was indeed very expensive. Unfortunately, the current printing level couldn't keep up. There was nothing she could do about it.
She had good eyesight and glanced at the books on the shelves. She found that the categories were quite complete.
"I want to buy a lot of books, but I'd like to ask if there are other ways to buy them? For example, using grain or vegetables."
The guy was startled. "You, you are not joking, are you?"
"I've chosen the books, calculated the price and paid on the spot." She was carrying a small basket in her hand. When she opened it, the lush green vegetables inside made the boy's eyes turn green.
"Please wait a moment, my two guests. I'll call the shopkeeper out right away!"
The young man ran into the backyard in a hurry, and after a while, he came out with a tall and thin middle-aged man in a blue robe.
His face was warm, but he could not hide the surprise in his eyes.
"Do you two guests want to exchange food and vegetables for books?"
Jiang Yue nodded, "Yes, if there is a suitable book, I can settle the bill right away."
The shopkeeper lowered his voice and asked, "Do you have refined rice and flour?"
"have."
The shopkeeper was overjoyed. If his family didn't have money, they couldn't open a bookstore. But now, even if they had money, they couldn't buy grain. Not only were there purchase restrictions, but the lines outside the grain store were getting longer and longer.
There is plenty of food stored at home, but there are many people to feed. My children and my wife have weak stomachs, so they can only eat refined grains.
So, although we are all alive, some people live a luxurious life while others live a poor one.
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