early morning.
The sky is still overcast.
Due to heavy rain yesterday, the roads in the fields of Dahe Village were muddy, and there were many fewer people working outside.
However, the main road was trampled back and forth by human feet and animals, and the road condition was slightly better, at least ox carts could travel.
Zhao Da's oxcart was parked in front of Cheng Wanwan's house, and Mrs. Zhao was sitting on the oxcart, waiting for Cheng Wanwan to come out with rice and go to town together.
Zhao Dashan came out carrying a large sack and placed it on the bullock cart. Cheng Wanwan sat on it.
Mrs. Zhao frowned: "Boss, wife, you won't just bring a hundred pounds to the town, right?"
In the past, when the harvest was good, the autumn harvest would include not only rice, but also beans, quinoa, corn, and millet. However, this year's drought has meant that all the beans, quinoa, corn, and grains have dried up. Only the rice in the paddy fields is barely surviving until water finally comes.
Because there is less food, it is even more important to make good use of the only food. In the second half of the year, we will rely on this rice for food, clothing and housing.
We only sold a hundred kilograms, should we keep the rest at home and eat it? Most of the people in the town would not eat white rice every meal. This would be a waste of food.
Cheng Wanwan explained: "Isn't there a young master living in our family? He has been accustomed to eating white rice since he was a child. How can we wrong him to eat corn and black noodles with us? And another one with such a poor age, who knows what will happen? Nothing will happen, food is more secure than money."
Mrs. Zhao paused immediately.
She looked at the 500 kilograms of rice she was carrying on the bullock cart, and suddenly felt that she had done something wrong.
There is a shortage of food everywhere, and the price of food will definitely rise in the future. If you go to town to sell rice now, you may suffer a big loss.
Their family has more than 20 acres of paddy fields and harvested more than 2,000 kilograms of white rice, which sounds like a lot, but they have a large family of 12 people, each with a mouth and a mouth waiting to eat every day, so she must be careful with her budget.
Mrs. Zhao jumped off the bullock cart, picked up a sack of rice, and said, "I'll carry this hundred kilograms of rice back first, and I'll be here soon."
The old lady ran away quickly.
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
At the age of fifty or sixty years old, he can still carry a hundred kilograms of rice and walk like flying. It is really awesome.
While waiting for Mrs. Zhao, Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng walked out of the yard.
"Second aunt, I also want to go to the town." Cheng Zhao said, "My cheating is over. I want to find some work copying books."
"I'm going to town too." Shen Zheng followed closely, "I want to go home to get a change of clothes, and I will never run away. Ah Fu is still at your house, and I will definitely not leave Ah Fu alone. "
Ah Fu stood in the yard crying and feeding the chickens, ducks and geese. Why did he feel that the young master couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to run away early?
However, the young master has always felt sorry for him. After convincing the adults, he will definitely come back to pick him up. He must believe in the young master!
Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng sat on the other side of the bullock cart.
Mrs. Zhao came back easily. Just as she was about to say hello to the young master of the county magistrate's family, she suddenly smelled a strange smell.
"Why is it so smelly?" The old lady twitched her nose and smelled everywhere, "It seems to smell like rotten eggs. This is too smelly..."
Cheng Zhao said: "It should be the smell of chicken excrement and duck excrement in the yard."
He has been able to smell this stink every day for the past few days. He has become accustomed to it, but it seems to be getting worse and worse. Maybe the chickens and ducks have grown up and are producing more and more feces. The stink is normal.
"Chicken feces and duck feces don't smell like this." Mrs. Zhao frowned and suddenly grabbed Shen Zheng, "Master Shen, it's your body that stinks. Why do you stink so much?"
Cheng Wanwan also smelled the strange smell. When she asked about it the day before yesterday, Si Dan said that Xiao Hei had pooped in the house, so she didn't ask any more questions.
At this moment, the old lady put her hand into Shen Zheng's clothes.
Shen Zheng, a frail young scholar, was not as strong as an old lady who had been working in the countryside all year round. She could not move at all.
Then he saw the old lady taking out a white egg from his clothes. The egg white was black and exuded a strong stench.
"Boss and daughter-in-law, you are too stingy!" Mrs. Zhao couldn't help scolding, "Master Shen is the only son of the county magistrate, a noble son, how can you give Master Shen rotten eggs? It’s been there for at least seven or eight days, and the smell can’t get any worse, it will kill someone if you eat it!”
Cheng Wanwan looked confused.
The eggs laid by the two big hens at home are usually eaten on the same day, how could they be kept for seven or eight days!
Besides, the family hasn't eaten hard-boiled eggs recently. Where did Shen Zheng get this egg? Well, she remembered that it was the third day after the rice harvest, and she rewarded the child because of the stone roller.
After so many days, this egg is still there?
How could a noble man like Shen Zheng save eggs and be reluctant to eat them?
"Ahem!" Shen said without changing his expression, "I thought they were raw eggs and could be kept for a few more days. I planned to keep them and take them back to my father to eat..."
Mrs. Zhao asked curiously: "Your Excellency, the county magistrate, you can't even eat eggs?"
"of course not!"
Shen Zheng immediately denied it.
This egg was obtained through his own efforts. It is different from other eggs and has special significance.
Of course he knew that the eggs were smelly and couldn't be eaten, so he just wanted to take them back to show his father how powerful he was.
"Poor child..." Old Mrs. Zhao held Shen Zheng's hand, "The County Magistrate is such a good official. He would rather have nothing to eat than to reduce taxes for us people. The County Magistrate loves the people like his own sons, so that the people can How can we let the county magistrate eat rotten eggs when we can have food? Master Shen, I tell you, old lady, these are rotten eggs and cannot be eaten. When the ducks at home lay eggs in two months, I will pick some. Send the big ones to the county government..."
As she spoke, she threw the rotten eggs in her hand into the grass and woods on the roadside.
Shen Zheng: "..."
The eggs he had hidden in his arms for seven or eight days, the eggs that others had disliked and not thrown away for seven or eight days, were thrown away just like that.
If he jumped off the bullock cart now to pick up eggs, would it damage his image as the son of a county magistrate?
Cheng Wanwan vaguely understood something.
But this kid wanted to save face, so she decided not to pierce the window paper.
The bullock cart wandered to Ping'an Town. A group of people got off the bullock cart and went to do their own business.
Shen Zheng walked to the county government office in a hurry.
Cheng Zhao went to the largest Mobaozhai in Pingan Town.
Cheng Wanwan went to the food store with Mrs. Zhao and Zhao Da.
When I arrived at the grain store, I learned that the county magistrate had issued some decrees on grain during the autumn harvest. Major commercial banks were not allowed to collect farmers' grain privately. If farmers wanted to sell grain, they had to send it to the granary in Ping'an Town. The rice in Huzhou was The price is ten cents per catty.
The price of grain in grain shops was also restricted, with a maximum of twelve cents. Sales were also restricted, and commercial houses were not allowed to hoard large amounts of grain.
In previous years, rice cost about six cents per pound. Although the price of twelve cents was much higher than in previous years, in this year of food shortage, this price was considered very fair. If there was no government intervention, grain dealers would stock up on grains. If the grain is put out for sale after a month, the price of the rice will probably be fifty cents.
By then, money will be worthless and food will be the hard currency.
And the resulting social consequences will be serious. People who have money can't afford food, so they become refugees. When refugees gather together, it is easy for them to rise up and rebel...
Cheng Wanwan secretly praised the current imperial court. Food price restrictions can greatly reduce the occurrence of refugees and eliminate many future troubles.
Zhao Da brought three hundred kilograms of grain to the town and exchanged it all for money. He had a patient at home who needed money for treatment. Money was the most important thing to him.
Half of the 400 kilograms of grain that Mrs. Zhao brought was replaced with copper coins, and the other half was replaced with staple foods such as corn, black flour, buckwheat flour and beans.
Cheng Wanwan followed the instructions, and one hundred kilograms of rice finally turned into fifty kilograms of corn, twenty kilograms of black flour, twenty kilograms of buckwheat flour, twenty kilograms of beans, twenty kilograms of quinoa seeds, twenty kilograms of old rice...
