The village chief used a whetstone to sharpen all the sickles in his home until they were so shiny that they would bleed if touched lightly.
The village chief's wife grabbed the hands of the eldest and third sons and warned them carefully, "You must be careful! Only take the roads you have walked on. There may be traps in the roads you have not walked on. Also, the roads in the mountains are slippery. You cannot climb with a sickle. You must climb to a flat place before you can take it out. Don't cut yourselves..."
"Oh, Mom, we get it!" Jiang San is only 17 years old this year. He is still a young man with an unstable mind and doesn't like to hear these things.
Jiang Shan glared at him and said, "Just listen to whatever mother says!"
The village head's wife sighed, "I know I'm being nagging, and what I say may not be right, but I'm just worried, and I won't feel comfortable if I don't say a few words. Come on, I won't say any more. You guys go to bed early, because we have to travel tomorrow morning."
"Yes, mother."
Originally, the second oldest wanted to replace the third oldest, thinking that as the older brother, he should also try his luck. But the third oldest didn't want to do that. He loved adventure and wasn't afraid of getting hurt, as minor injuries healed quickly.
They climbed the mountain in the middle of a rainstorm, fearing a flash flood. Fortunately, they escaped unscathed and spent five full days on the mountain before descending.
This time, it was Jiangshan who was injured, with a long cut on his arm. The wound wasn't too deep, but it was bleeding, which was a startling sight.
Li's eyes were swollen from crying, and Jiangshan finally managed to comfort her.
Jiang San was also a little frightened, and trembled at the thought, "That was a colorful snake as big as my son's leg!"
Seeing that he was talking nonsense, the village chief said, "Stop talking nonsense and speak properly. Your son can sit up now. If he is as big as his thigh, it must be a giant snake."
Seeing that no one believed him, Jiang San became anxious and asked his eldest brother to testify for him.
Jiang Shan nodded, "It really is that big."
Everyone took a deep breath. Fortunately, they sent the children to bed, otherwise they would have had nightmares.
Jiang San continued, "The snake was about to bite me, but Big Brother was quick and threw his sickle. He didn't cut off the snake's head, but he injured it, and it ran away. Big Brother accidentally cut his hand while throwing the sickle. We saw blood on the ground and were worried it might attract larger animals, so we quickly came down the mountain."
He actually felt a little regretful. If he could catch such a big snake, he might be able to get three taels of silver.
"Well done for coming back! You should have come back earlier! Safety is important!"
They had been there for so long and had gained a lot. In addition to the usual medicinal herbs, they also dug up two ginsengs as big as a woman's palm! Although they didn't know what kind of ginseng it was, anything with the word "ginseng" in its name was valuable!
In addition, he got five hares, three pheasants, a badger and a black goat.
For fear that the goat would cry out, they had to tie its mouth tightly. It looked like it wouldn't survive much longer.
Looking at his eldest son's arm, the village chief thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave earlier tomorrow. The second and third sons, I will go to the provincial capital together, and the eldest son will stay at home to recuperate."
I have to go, the price of grain in the county town is three or five cents higher than that in the provincial capital.
And in the town, there was no grain to sell! Only two stone of grain was released every day. The people living in the town lined up in the middle of the night. How could the people in the countryside get a turn?
It's time to move his old bones.
When the village chief followed his sons out, he realized how difficult it was for them to go out.
Before daybreak, the road was not only hard to see but also slippery. We had to get off the cart and follow the mule for a while, otherwise the mule would get angry and refuse to move.
After a long journey, we finally arrived in the city at noon.
He whispered to his youngest son, "Was it like this before?"
They had to queue up to check their household registration and be questioned carefully. Their eyes lit up when they saw the things in their cars. He was afraid of being robbed.
Jiang San nodded. "I asked these questions before, but at that time, the number of people entering the city was almost the same as the number of people leaving. Today, more people are leaving the city."
The village chief narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. He made a quick decision, "Let's knock on the back doors of those wealthy families. Their offers might not be any less than what the restaurant offers."
Besides, they have to raise prices.
Sure enough, they only knocked on one door, and the imposing butler took all the game except the badger. He paid the bill quickly and looked very happy, without even asking the price. He even said he would send more in the future.
The village chief offered twice the price he'd paid before, and the other party didn't even frown. It seemed like life wasn't easy for the people in the capital either; even with money, they couldn't buy good things.
The few of them did not dare to delay and immediately went to sell the medicinal herbs and badgers.
As soon as the two ginseng sticks were taken out, the shopkeeper immediately decided to pay 6 taels of silver for each. The village chief's heart trembled, but he didn't show it on his face. He frowned and said 7 taels.
The shopkeeper smelled the ginseng and nodded in agreement.
The village chief's hands trembled. Could it be that he sold it too cheaply?
But you can't regret it.
The two sons looked at their father with admiration. He was so amazing that he even dared to bargain with the big manager of the city!
The price for the medicinal materials was 18 taels of silver, and the price for the wild animals was originally 15 taels and 8 cents, but the housekeeper directly gave 16 taels without asking for change.
Today they brought all the silver in the family, 5 taels, which means that they now have a total of 39 taels of silver!
The village chief tried hard to control his expression and said, "Let's go buy a carriage and replace this carriage. It's too conspicuous to put things on it."
The carpenter's shop had some unsaleable old carriages left, and he was short of money to buy food, so he sold them for 300 coins each.
The village chief didn't care whether the old carriage looked good or not, as long as it was sturdy and could block other people's sight.
After changing carriages, they went to the grain store together to queue up. They didn't dare to queue up separately, lest they would be snatched away as soon as they spent money.
Several people lined up, buying only whole grains. This time, the village chief was determined and bought up all the available shares from the four grain stores. Then, by nightfall, the city gates had already closed.
He immediately bought eight steamed buns and went to the largest inn in the city, where he paid 180 coins for a room in the upper room. They could boil water and feed the mule.
Just one night's stay would cost 180 wen! In the past, they couldn't even think about it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com