In mid-April, the city was built and farming began.
"Son, why are you still sneaking around? Didn't you say you were just here to visit relatives?" An old woman asked with a frown when she saw her son.
They received a letter from their son, asking them to come visit and bring the whole family, even their two-year-old child. Not only did they set out at night, they also traveled through the night, exhausted and nearly breaking her old bones.
The soldier hugged the child he hadn't seen for a long time and kissed him. The child was so young that he didn't recognize his father. After a while, he said to his mother, "Mom, don't ask so many questions. We're staying here for the time being and won't go back."
"What?! No, not going back?" The old woman grabbed his arm tightly. She had not seen much of the world, but she knew that this was not normal.
Normally, soldiers go home to visit their families, but now they are asked to bring their families with them, and they are not allowed to tell anyone...
She looked at her son's tightly closed mouth, her heart tightening, and she said, "Mom won't ask anymore...If you want to live here, then live here. Anyway, as long as the family is together, that's all that matters."
As she spoke, she began to complain again, her words were unclear. She only asked to bring the whole family, but didn't mention moving to a new place to live. She didn't bring any pots and pans, only some clothes and bedding...
For a month in a row, people came into the city with their families. Most of them were soldiers' families. Taking them in and settling them down also put the hearts of the soldiers on the front line at ease.
General Liang's wife and youngest daughter were also brought in. She was clever and had brought a lot of vegetable seeds, which she planted on several acres of plowed land outside the city.
General Liang only had time to have a meal with his family, and then he was busy again.
He led the craftsmen to dig many new wells in the city, and also dug ponds outside the city to store water.
Li Zhi spent a month wiping out the bandits along these stretches of road, and he also attracted many civilians. The city gradually became populated.
"The East Market is open today. Anyone in need can go there on their own. No stall fees will be charged!" An official shouted as he walked through the streets.
Most people are illiterate, so this method is faster than posting notices.
The weather has completely warmed up, and there is a faint trend towards summer. Jiang Yue and the others changed into light clothes and went out to join in the fun.
The East Market is now a large open space with a sign that says "East Market" at the entrance and officials patrolling the area. A new trading market has formed here.
Jiang Yue arrived fairly early, and many open spaces were filled with items. The most popular items were pots, pans, vegetables, firewood, and other daily necessities, which were quickly snatched up by someone else almost as soon as they were put out.
There are many stalls selling baskets woven from rattan. These materials can be found outside the city, so there is no shortage of them. There are more people selling than buying.
"Rat skin, snake skin, pig skin, all dried, steamed and ready to eat..." an old man shouted.
This is not used to make leather clothes, but to be dried into jerky to fill the stomach.
When even the soles of shoes could be swallowed, no one would think these were pickled food. More than a dozen people rushed over and asked, "I have straw sandals, can I change them?"
"No need to change, just change if you have cloth shoes."
"Bean exchange?"
"A liter of beans for a rat skin."
This was a huge price to pay. The rat skin was only as big as Jiang Yue's palm, so it was definitely expensive. But the fields were guarded by someone.
Both field mice and mountain mice are delicious, but we don’t eat those mice from the city for fear of contracting diseases.
"Would you like to exchange it for half a liter? If so, I'll pay right away."
The old man pretended to be reluctant, but said very straightforwardly, "Change!"
"Pig skin, the size of a palm, costs a liter of beans!"
Pig skin is fatter and thicker than rat skin, so the price cannot be said to be expensive.
The only people exchanging goods in the East Market were ordinary people. Even the better-off families didn't show up. I don't know if they were worried about showing off their wealth or if they looked down on the things here.
Jiang Yue walked around and came to the last corner. She looked down at the goods on the ground. No wonder people were squeezed here. They were all books and paintings. No one was willing to exchange for things that were not suitable for eating or wearing.
And Jiang Yue happened to be the exception.
She squatted down and turned over slightly.
Perhaps he didn't expect anyone to be interested, and the stall owner stood up with some surprise and helplessness.
"Are you interested? These are all out-of-print good books, and these calligraphy and paintings are all works by famous people..."
The stall owner spoke this very carefully, not daring to say anything like "priceless". It wouldn't last long if he gave it to someone to burn in a fire.
Two people squeezed up from behind Jiang Yue, saw the things on the ground, turned around and left without staying for a moment.
The stall owner's expression became increasingly embarrassed, his fingers trembling slightly at the edge of his whitish robe, and he could no longer utter any nice words to promote his products.
Jiang Yue didn't understand what was so good about those paintings, but the stall owner had kept them so well even during the disaster years, which showed that he was a true lover of talent.
"What do you want to change?"
The stall owner's face lit up with joy, and he asked in a low voice, "Excuse me, do you have any food?"
Jiang Yue nodded, "Do you want coarse grains or fine grains?"
He suppressed the corners of his mouth that were about to turn up, but his neck was flushed with excitement and his lips were trembling. "I want coarse grains!"
There are only four people left in their family now, and the food distributed by the government will not last long.
Jiang Yue also lowered his voice, "I want everything you have on your stall. I'll give you three dou of black noodles. Is that okay?"
There were only six items on the stall, and three dou of black noodles was considered very generous to him.
"OK!"
She took out a big cloth bag from Jiang Nian's backpack.
With the officials watching, no one dared to steal food in the city. The last person who stole food was beheaded and his body was hung at the city gate as a protest.
The stall owner's eyes were red, and his hands were shaking as he collected the calligraphy and paintings, his fingertips turning white. He was clearly reluctant to leave. But no matter how reluctant he was, he had to live.
Jiang Yue watched him limp away, his right leg seemingly shortened. She placed the calligraphy and painting in her backpack and turned to walk away.
People came and went, and Jiang Nian stood behind her, saying, "He didn't recognize us."
Jiang Yue pursed her lips, "Yeah..."
She still had a lot of his calligraphy and paintings in her space. She had originally said that she would return them to him the next time they met, but now she thought he had no use for them.
"This was all woven today. Look, it's very sturdy. I'll give you two large baskets in exchange for one small jar. What do you think?"
"No, no, these are all made of rattan. No matter how strong they are, they can't compare to bamboo. I have to exchange them for three."
"Well... okay, let's exchange." Li took three baskets from her stall and went to exchange, as her family was really short of food.
Jiang Yue stared at the little guy on her back. The innocent smile on his skinny little face was gone. Only a pair of round eyes remained, and they didn't move around anymore, just staring blankly.
Jiang Shi saw that the two people in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who they were, so he patted his mother's shoulder.
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