Seeing a donkey cart speeding towards them, it was rampaging through the busy market. Li Yan hurriedly stood on the side of the street with Tietou.
After the two men stood still, an accident happened in the crowd not far away from them. A grandmother and her grandson, perhaps in their panic to dodge, accidentally fell to the ground, and all the things in the bamboo basket behind them were scattered all over the ground.
The speeding donkey cart quickly crushed through their scattered wild ginger and spring bamboo shoots, which were immediately crushed to pieces.
The donkey cart drove away, leaving behind the grandmother and grandson who fell to the ground and were extremely sad.
The old lady helped her little grandson to stand up and walked towards the crushed wild ginger and spring bamboo shoots scattered on the ground.
The boy looked at the goods that he had worked so hard to bring down for several days, and saw them destroyed in an instant. Tears as big as beans immediately burst out of his eyes.
These things were what their family used to exchange for money and food! Now they were all destroyed. Thinking of his sister who was crying out for food all day at home, the boy couldn't help himself any longer. While picking up the crushed goods on the ground, he said in a choked voice: "Grandma, it's all my fault. I didn't protect the goods well. Now we can't exchange them for money and food!"
The increased taxes levied last year pushed down grain prices again, forcing the people to sell more of their food rations in order to barely survive the cold winter.
Now the food reserves at home have been used up, but fortunately it is spring now, and we can still dig up some wild vegetables and preserved fruits by going to the nearby mountains and forests.
The family situation of this grandmother and grandson was such that they had finally dug up some spring bamboo shoots in the mountains but were reluctant to eat them. They planned to carry the goods to the market today to exchange for some silver so that they could buy some food for their two children.
The grandmother and grandson picked through the goods on the ground again, put the heavier damaged ones in a basket, and those that were slightly damaged but not so seriously in another basket, thinking of trying their luck again in the market.
Looking at the withered and skinny grandma and grandson, Li Yan walked forward with Tietou and asked, "Grandma, how much are these ginger and bamboo shoots for?"
The old lady was a little nervous when she saw someone asking for the price. The wild ginger was fine, not badly damaged, but the spring bamboo shoots were quite a bit trampled and damaged. The old woman handed the basket of relatively intact goods to Li Yan and said, "Miss, the wild ginger is two cents per pound, and the fresh bamboo shoots are ten cents per pound!"
The old lady was worried that Li Yan would dislike the damaged ones and then not buy them, so she pushed the basket with the most damaged ones in front of Li Yan and said, "If you don't mind, these are for you!"
Li Yan looked at another basket and saw that there were about three or four pounds of goods in it. Although these things were not worth much in Li Yan's eyes, they were enough food for the old lady's family for a few days.
Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "Grandma, I've bought so many things and I don't have anything to put them in. Since you gave me this basket of goods, I'll buy your bamboo basket for thirty coins. That way, I'll have a place to put these things. Is that okay?"
There was no reason for the old lady to refuse. This was because the girl was kind-hearted and found ways to make up for the money spent on the damaged goods. There were many bamboo baskets like this in the city today, and she could buy a bigger and better one than hers for only ten cents.
The old lady had tears in her eyes and trembled as she asked her grandson to thank Li Yan!
Li Yan waved her hands quickly. She came to the city today to buy ginger, and now she just happened to meet him. It can't be considered as helping much!
Li Yan borrowed a scale from a vendor nearby.
The peddler had just witnessed the old lady's misfortune and felt a little sympathy for the grandmother and grandchildren. Without saying much, he generously lent the scale to Li Yan.
Li Yan then weighed the relatively intact wild ginger and bamboo shoots. "Mother-in-law, look, the wild ginger weighs ten catties, and the spring bamboo shoots weigh eight catties. I'll give you a total of one hundred coins. Add that and the bamboo basket, and you'll get a total of one hundred and thirty coins, is that right?"
"Yes, that's right!" The old lady nodded hurriedly.
Li Yan immediately took out some silver from the small bag she brought with her and paid the other party. The old lady took the silver with trembling hands, bowed and thanked Li Yan repeatedly. With this money, her family could buy some more corn and they could get by.
There are too many things like this in this era. Li Yan knows that her abilities are limited and this is all she can do. Hopefully, after this market is built, it will bring some opportunities to the people of Rongcheng!
Li Yan watched her grandmother and grandson leave, then she put on the bamboo basket and continued walking towards Xingren Hall with Tietou.
After getting the silver, the grandmother and grandson went to the grain shop. Even though they only bought the cheapest black flour and brown rice, they were very happy. They put the grain they bought into a bamboo basket, and the little boy carried it on his back first.
The old lady looked at her sensible grandson with heartache, and touched the only twenty copper coins left in her arms: "Let's go, go buy another piece of meat with grandma!"
Buying meat? How long had he not eaten meat? Then he thought of his family's current situation. They had no food left at home, and they had no means of making money. He had finally accumulated these mountain products, but only got these grains in exchange. He didn't know if he would be able to find these mountain products again in the mountains next time.
After thinking it over, the boy said, "Grandma, let's go back. We can buy some meat next time we sell some mountain products!"
Listening to her grandson's words, the old lady turned her head away and wiped her eyes, feeling both sad and relieved. Her son and daughter-in-law were gone, and it was only up to the two old people to take care of the two children. Fortunately, the two children were well-behaved and sensible, so there was still hope for the future.
The old lady was reluctant to leave her two children, so she finally spent ten cents to buy more than a pound of mutton. Nowadays, many people raise sheep, and this place is located in the northwest, so the price of mutton is cheaper than pork.
When the grandmother and grandson left the city gate, they were suddenly stopped by someone. Both of them were startled.
The man who was driving the donkey cart rushed up and apologized to the two of them. Then he took out about two taels of silver from his arms and stuffed it into the child's hand: "I'm sorry, I hit you with my cart just now. This is compensation for you!" After that, before the two of them could react, he suddenly ran away!
The grandmother and grandson looked at each other. The child was at a loss as to what to do with the hot silver coins. "Grandma, what is this?"
This was the first time the old lady had encountered such a thing, and she was a little at a loss for a moment.
Looking at the two men standing there hesitantly, Ying Er stepped out from the corner and said to them, "Don't worry, old man, take the money. Allowing animals to injure people in the street is not allowed by the law. According to the law, he should compensate you a hundred times for the damage!"
Looking at the stern-faced young man in front of her, the old lady knew in her heart that it must be this man who helped her. She hurriedly pulled her grandson to bow and express her gratitude. When she raised her head, there was no trace of Ying Er.
If the silver coins in my hand were not real, it would have been like a dream!
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