Jiang Yue burst out laughing.
The two men were so embarrassed that their faces turned red and they covered their faces and ran away.
Some neighbors wanted to gossip, but Jiang Yue simply dragged Jiang Nian away, not having time to listen to their nonsense. Instead of buying food when food prices have risen, they had time to pry into other people's news. They were truly bored.
They drove their mule carts to four grain stores in the east, south, west, and north, buying two dou of soybeans and two dou of black flour from each store. They bought nothing else. Prices had gone up, with grains going up by two wen per liter and refined rice and flour by five wen per liter.
The price of grain has always been stable. It has increased a lot this time, but not many people are buying it.
Perhaps most people still have food stored at home, thinking they will buy more when the price drops. However, they don’t know that the price will only rise and not fall.
In the afternoon, the grocery store delivered a millstone and a rice pounder. Jiang Yue specially cleared out a room and helped to install them.
After finishing all this, Jiang Yue started to count the accounts again.
The remaining cash was 160 taels of silver and more than 450 strings of copper coins.
It’s okay. If you use it sparingly, you should be able to make some money when a natural disaster strikes.
The village chief's house fell into a dead silence. The children looked at the adults' faces and dared not speak.
The adults' eyes were red and they had no appetite.
Li lay down at night, holding her son tightly, suppressing her tears. Jiang Shan and Jiang San had been in the mountains for two days, having agreed to only go one day to explore the trail...
"Knock-knock—"
There was a soft knock on the door outside the yard. The village chief's wife was nervous and grabbed the man's hand.
The village chief, feeling anxious, walked out in the drizzle and asked in a low voice, "Who's outside?"
"Dad, it's us. We dragged all the firewood back." Jiang Shan answered in a low voice, fearing that the neighbors would be alerted.
The village chief was delighted and quickly opened the gate. He turned around and whispered, "Hurry up and boil some water. My son is back from collecting firewood."
The village chief's wife finally felt relieved and ran to boil water and cook.
The two men put down the large bundle of firewood behind them, and when they entered the main room, everyone in the family came out.
Li tearfully checked the man's body for any injuries, while the little tiger rushed over to him, sobbing and calling for his father. It had been so long since he'd seen his father, and his mother had already wiped away her tears several times.
Jiangshan hugged his son, wiped his wife's tears, and then put down the backpack.
Jiang San also opened his backpack and took out everything inside and put it on the ground.
Several people covered their mouths and dared not scream. They actually got prey on the first day!
Jiang San was in high spirits. He couldn't wait to say, "There are five rabbits, two pheasants, and a wild animal of unknown origin. I also packed it in..."
This pointy-headed creature looked a bit like a mouse, but was dozens of times larger and fatter than a pheasant. Jiang San tied its mouth, hands, and feet tightly to prevent it from getting bitten.
The village chief slapped him and said, "How dare you take an animal you don't recognize? Aren't you afraid it might be poisonous?"
Jiang San scratched his head. "I'm just worried that we might miss out on something good if we don't know each other."
The village chief rolled his eyes at him and said, "Go on."
Jiang San smiled and took out two large and heavy objects from the basket. Pingya shouted, "It's Poria cocos!"
There are pictures in the book.
"Yes! There are other herbs for treating typhoid fever, but they all need to be prepared."
The village chief's wife came out with two bowls of dumpling soup, "Hurry up, drink it first."
The two sons ate with big mouthfuls. Jiangshan wanted to give his sons a drink, but the little tiger shook his head, thinking that his father must be hungry from working.
The village chief's wife's eyes were red. "You must have suffered a lot in the mountains, right?"
Jiang San pulled up his sleeves, which were covered with red marks from various branches and leaves, as well as red spots from mosquito bites. As a mother, he felt very distressed.
"We took the wrong path at first and ended up at the edge of a cliff."
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, and then he said, "Then we headed back. At the fork in the road, we found a small path that looked like it had been trampled. Although it had been raining heavily for a long time and the footprints were no longer visible, the grass there was much lower than the ones next to it."
"We just kept walking along that path for two or three hours before we stopped. We saw several traps there, and we almost stepped on one. Then we looked into the pit and saw prey."
"This should have been dug by Jiang Nian and his men. I haven't heard of any other hunters in this mountain."
"Yes, it must be them. There are traces of a fire in the cave next to us! We took the prey out of the trap, covered it with grass, and then went to look for herbs. Because we were unfamiliar with the area and were afraid of poisonous snakes, we moved a little slowly."
The village chief's wife covered her chest and said, "Slow down, please." Things like cliffs, traps, and poisonous snakes were scary just by hearing them.
The village chief frowned and said, "From now on, you go in in the morning and rush back in the afternoon. Even if you don't get anything, you can just chop some firewood."
The two nodded, "Dad, you're right. We didn't dare close our eyes in the cave at night because the wolves howled so loudly. I don't know how Jiang Nian dared to go into the mountains to hunt before."
Jiang Nian: They are all my brothers.
The village chief looked at the things in the backpack and said, "After you finish eating, take a rest. Tomorrow morning, you should go to the capital and take all these herbs. The price of unprocessed herbs is lower, but you can still get some copper coins."
It's drizzling outside again, so we have to be anxious.
"Yes, Dad."
At the beginning of the Mao period (five in the morning), it was still dark when Jiangshan and his brother left in a mule cart.
The neighbor opened the door at 7:00 PM and asked, "Didn't you collect firewood until dark last night? Why are you getting up so early today?"
The village head's wife laughed and said, "It's a bad day, so we have to work hard, right? My eldest and third sons have gone to the city to find work. They do some hard labor, and if they can earn a few copper coins, life will be a little easier. Hey, do you want to go to the front mountain to pick mushrooms? I heard my eldest son come back from collecting firewood and said there are a lot of wild vegetables growing there."
The neighbor's mother-in-law was amazed at how hard she worked. Upon hearing this, she quickly responded, "I'll get a basket and go with you!"
He also called his two daughters-in-law to join him, fearing that he would not be able to compete with others.
The Jiangshan brothers took turns driving, so they could catch some sleep. It was drizzling today, but the road wasn't as difficult as it had been the previous few days. They traveled for four hours, arriving at the city gate at noon, where they lined up at the back of a long queue.
Jiang San swallowed his saliva and said, "Brother, this city gate is really magnificent!"
It was as big as the gates of their two counties, but the town had no gates, only a wooden fence.
Jiang Shan looked at the tall and imposing guards, his legs shaking a little. He said with all his strength, "Don't look around. Hurry up and line up to enter the city. You can still leave the city before dark."
The entry and exit in the town is not so strict. If you look familiar, you will be allowed in. Fortunately, my father asked me to bring my household registration with me before I left, just in case.
Some people who did not have their household registration were not allowed in, and those who had household registration but were not from this prefecture were interrogated for a longer time.
The two brothers were exhausted and their feet were covered in mud, but the guard did not make things difficult for them. He only asked a few questions and then let them go.
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