"Brother Li, why did you buy so much brown sugar?" The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and tried to find out the information. The half-year-old child in front of him often came to his shop to buy things. He naturally recognized it, but he spent so much money all at once. It’s the first time I’ve seen it.
Of course, Li Ping'an couldn't tell the truth. He just pretended to be casual and said: "Think about a new food. If you don't make enough money, you can find an income for the family."
The shopkeeper took a deep look at Li Ping'an with doubt, but did not ask any more questions. Instead, he said with a warm smile: "Three kilograms of brown sugar is worth a lot of money. You, the food made with brown sugar, must give you some when the time comes." Give me a taste."
"Definitely!" Li Ping'an laughed, then rolled his eyes, "Shopkeeper, you also said that brown sugar is worth a lot of money. I often come to you to buy things. Even if we are not familiar with each other, we know each other. You Let’s see if the price can be a little cheaper?”
Among the three things he wanted to buy, coarse salt was the lowest priced at 40 cents per pound.
The price of vinegar is a little higher, five hundred and twenty cents per dou, twelve liters per dou, which translates to about forty-three cents per liter, which is more expensive than wine. Food is expensive these days, and things made from food cannot be cheap. However, Li Ping'an didn't want to buy wine. This thing has a low alcohol content and is not as effective as vinegar in terms of sterilization and disinfection. Moreover, the wine can be drunk directly. If someone smells it, it may make people think twice.
The most expensive one is brown sugar, which costs sixty cents per tael, or six hundred cents per kilogram (this article uses ten taels per pound). Li Ping'an didn't know about the sugar-making skills of the Dajing Dynasty, but he inquired and found that only those in the south could make brown sugar, and most of them were bought by the royal family and dignitaries, with only a small part circulating in the market.
Things are rare and expensive, and since they were transported thousands of miles from the south, it is not surprising that brown sugar is expensive.
The shopkeeper calculated the accounts and pondered for a moment, "The price is inevitable, so let's do this. I see you didn't bring any jars, so I'll make two jars for you."
The jars weren't worth much, and he still had a few that had been dropped in his warehouse, so he didn't lose any money as a partner.
Li Pingan gritted his teeth in annoyance and thanked the shopkeeper gloomily. If he had enough time, he would like to continue bargaining with the shopkeeper, but unfortunately time does not allow for it. Fortunately, he was still thinking about what to buy when he was at home, but he forgot to take the jar of vinegar with him when he went out.
After paying the bill, he only had a lot of money left. After thinking about it, he gritted his teeth and asked for another pound of caramel. Caramel was much cheaper than brown sugar, fifteen cents per tael. After stuffing a piece of sugar candy to Li Dong, the two of them plunged into the rain again. The salt candy was wrapped in oil paper, and they used their bodies to block the rain, so they didn't worry about water seeping in.
When he arrived at the drugstore, he spent all the money he had on him, leaving nothing behind. What I bought were some common and cheap medicinal materials, mainly for reducing heat and heat due to wind and cold. Although there were not many, they were enough for emergencies.
Besides, if it doesn't rain anymore, he can also look for medicinal materials in the mountains. In his last life, he was in an era of information explosion, and he was also from Guangdong Province. Guangdong Province loves to cook delicious soups, pays attention to dietary supplements, and has a mysterious obsession with the use of common Chinese medicinal materials. Even when he went to visit the tomb in the mountains, he saw something suitable for cooking. All the ingredients for the soup must be taken home.
Growing up in such an environment, he still recognized some common Chinese medicinal materials in the wild. The important thing is that these medicinal materials he recognizes can be eaten even if you are not sick. As long as he didn't admit the wrong medicine, he didn't have to worry about taking the wrong medicine.
After finishing shopping and having no money left, Li Ping'an didn't stay long and hurried to the grain store with Li Dong to meet his father and the others.
Li Dong followed Li Pingan silently with a jar of vinegar in his hand. Although he didn't show it on his face, he was secretly surprised in his heart. From the grocery store to the drugstore, Li Ping'an spent more than four thousand dollars, so how much food did he have to buy?
However, although he didn't know the use of Li Pingan spending so much money to buy these things, Li Dong had a blind trust in Li Pingan, and Brother Pingan must have his reasons.
As soon as he reached the street entrance, Li Ping'an saw a lot of people surrounding the door of the grain store with the word "Chen" written on it from a distance away. The sound of quarreling seemed to be faintly heard through the noisy rain. It reached his ears roughly.
He walked over quickly, searched in the crowd, and found the location of his father and the others. He looked back and saw Li Dong following him closely, and pointed in the direction of his father and the others to signal Li Dong to follow.
It didn't mean that he would secretly come to the county to hang out when he had something to do. Li Dong came to the county a handful of times, but he had to keep an eye on him. If Li Jun got lost, he wouldn't know how to explain it to his uncle.
Arriving next to Li Erlin, Li Ping'an wiped the rain off his face and asked loudly: "Dad, what's going on? Have you bought the food?"
Li Erlin shook his head, while Li Silin, who had a relatively hot temper, spat and said angrily: "The grain store doesn't sell grain!"
Li Ping'an quickly asked what was going on, and through Li Silin's cursing voice, he understood the reason.
It turned out that when Li Erlin and others rushed to Chen Ji Grain Store, about ten people had gathered at the door. They were wondering why they didn't go in. However, when they planned to go in, they were blocked by the grain store clerk with a stick. They claimed that they would not sell grain today, and also said that they had sent people to ask for the government officials. Anyone who dared to rush in would be arrested and beaten by the county government and put in jail.
The owner of the grain store is the Chen family of Qingfeng. The Chen family is a well-known surname in Qingfeng County. There are four villages including Dachen Village, Xiaochen Village, Shangchen Village, and Xiachen Village. , and more importantly, the county captain of Qingfeng County is a member of the Chen clan.
The county lieutenant is in charge of public security, so the threat from the grain store clerk is naturally not without purpose.
Originally, Chen Dazhu thought that everyone's surname was Chen, and that they were from Xiaochen Village or a branch of the village head Chen's family. Maybe they said they were from Xiaochen Village, and the clerk could be accommodating, but it turned out to be useless.
"Have you seen the other two grain stores?" Li Pingan asked. Of course, Chen Ji is not the only grain store in the county.
Li Erlin said in a deep voice: "I went to see it, but it was closed."
Li Ping'an's face suddenly turned ugly, and he looked silently at the door of the grain store. The sounds of people and rain around him seemed to be cut off, and a feeling called despair arose spontaneously from the bottom of his heart.
Yes, even low-income people like them know that they need to stock up on food. How can these shrewd businessmen not know that now is a good time to make money? When the food store sells food again, it may not be at the usual price.
But don’t ordinary people like them deserve to live? Is it that difficult to survive?
"Hey, Dazhu, two and three, why are you here?"
A voice came to Li Pingan's ears, pulling Li Pingan back from his thoughts. Li Pingan turned his head dullly. When he saw that the person coming was the village chief of Xiaochen Village, a bright light burst out in his eyes, as if he had found a life-saving straw. As if, he shouted excitedly: "Grandpa, village chief, we are here to buy food. Can you go talk to the shopkeeper and ask them to be accommodating?"
