inspire-indiana Chapter 787 Buying Grain
Chapter 787 Buying Grain
At night, you have to put three hot water bottles in the quilt to keep warm.
These days, the hot water bottle gets cold by the middle of the night.
The person on duty had to get up and boil a few pots of hot water and pour it into the hot water bottle.
Only in this way can we survive the night.
They suffered a lot during the several days they walked.
Now, we have finally arrived at the first marked location on the map - Toyama Town!
The four of them were delighted and relieved at the same time.
They were finally able to live in a warm house and have a good rest.
After Lu Qingqing's joy, she stopped the carriage and stopped outside the town to observe for a while.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw smoke coming out of many chimneys in the town and occasionally people walking on the streets.
She drove the carriage and continued towards the town.
When I walked to the main street of the town, I found that the snow on the street must have been cleared.
This layer of snow is obviously much thinner than that on the road.
It seems that there should still be quite a few families living in this town.
However, as the carriage passed by each shop, it found that most of the shops on the street were closed.
When I reached the center of the street, I saw an open grain shop.
This shop is a two-story house.
There is a shop downstairs, living quarters upstairs, and a backyard at the back.
When Old Man Zhuang and Sun Yue saw the grain shop, their first reaction was to go in and buy a lot of things.
The fact that they had to hand over 20 kilograms of food every day in exchange for a chance to survive when they were captured was deeply engraved in the minds of the two men.
They stopped the carriage at the door and invited Lu Qingqing to go in and do some shopping.
Lu Qingqing looked around and didn't see anything unusual.
He said something to Qin Lang, found his wallet and went in.
When I entered the shop, I found that there was no grain in the lobby of the shop.
At this time, a young shopkeeper in his twenties stood up behind the counter.
He glanced at the three of them, his gaze lingering for a moment on the broadsword at Lu Qingqing's waist, and said,
"My dear guests, do you want to buy food?"
Old Man Zhuang bowed to the shopkeeper and asked:
"Exactly. I wonder if the store has any food left, and how much is it worth?"
The shopkeeper bowed in return and put up a sign on the counter, on which were written the prices of various types of grain.
While the two sides were talking, four strong men came down from upstairs.
Although the four men had no weapons in their hands, their gazes staring straight at him gave people a strong sense of oppression.
Old Man Zhuang and Sun Yue unconsciously took a step back and moved to Lu Qingqing's side.
At this time, the shopkeeper who was introducing the guests smiled and said:
"These are my four brothers. We usually help out in the shop, doing things like moving things and carrying things.
If you guys want to buy some food, you can ask them to help move it over."
Old Man Zhuang moved behind Lu Qingqing and whispered:
"Qing girl, this store looks a bit creepy!
There are so many strong men here, and there's not even a grain of food in the store. Is this a scam? "
After Lu Qingqing came in, she also observed the situation in the store.
Although there is no food in this store, it is kept very clean.
With such a strong snowstorm now, if the store is not cleaned for a day, the floor will be unsightly.
Looking at the young shopkeeper and the four men, although they were taller, they did not have a fierce look on their faces.
She patted Old Man Zhuang's arm soothingly, took a step forward, and took the initiative to speak:
"Boss, I need 160 kilograms of flour and 80 kilograms of rice.
Also, forty pounds of cornmeal."
Seeing that she wanted so much, the shopkeeper agreed with a smile and looked at Old Man Zhuang and Sun Yue.
"Would you two like to buy some food?"
When the two saw Lu Qingqing bought it, they also reported the quantity they wanted to buy.
The shopkeeper saw that a big customer had come. He went back to the counter to get the abacus and said to the four men behind him:
"Second brother, lead your brothers to bring the food here."
As he said this, he smiled and invited the three of them to sit on the benches nearby.
The shopkeeper stood by the counter, picked up the abacus, turned it upright, and began to calculate the bill.
He was very good at using an abacus. After a few clacking sounds of the abacus beads, he calculated the amount of money for each person.
Lu Qingqing silently calculated and found that the amount of money matched.
He took out his purse from his bosom, counted out the silver ingots, and placed them beside him.
Seeing this, Old Man Zhuang and Sun Yue followed suit.
When the shopkeeper saw the silver and money, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the three people looking exhausted, he asked:
"Where did you come from? Why did you travel such a long distance in such heavy snow?"
Lu Qingqing continued, "There's a fight going on in the north. We have no choice but to flee south!"
The shopkeeper also sighed.
“Since a few months ago, people have been passing through our Fushan town.
We heard that a fight had broken out locally.
Under the circumstances of forced conscription, the whole family had no choice but to flee in order to survive.
But since the heavy snowfall, no one has come to this town for several days.
By the way, when you came here, did you go to Fei County? How was the situation there? "
Lu Qingqing shook her head. "We came from Min County, not Fei County."
The shopkeeper felt a little sorry when he heard this.
"My sixth brother is studying in Fei County in the north, and I haven't heard from him for several months.
Oh, I hope he's OK!"
Lu Qingqing saw the shopkeeper looking out the door with a worried look on his face, and did not respond for a while.
After a while, the shopkeeper took the initiative to change the subject.
As the two were chatting, the four men came in pushing a cart.
The cart was loaded with bundles of grain.
The shopkeeper brought Lu Qingqing and the other two forward and opened the cloth bags one by one.
Using a grain testing tool, some grain was pulled out from the bottom.
After checking every bag, Lu Qingqing and the other two paid happily.
Four men helped carry the food out.
When they were about to move the things into the car, Old Man Zhuang and Sun Yue remembered it.
When they were cleaning up the battlefield, the two of them had packed the carriage full.
Right now, there's really no room for food.
They were so excited about seeing the grain store just now that they forgot about this matter.
I just remembered it now.
Seeing that the four men were about to unload the grain, he hurriedly spread a piece of oilcloth on the ground and asked the men to put the cloth bags of grain on it.
Then, they covered it with an oilcloth.
After making sure the food wouldn't get wet, the two climbed onto the carriage and began packing.
At this time, the four men had already returned to the shop.
When they saw the eldest brother waving his hand, they went straight back to the second floor with the money they had just received.
The shopkeeper looked outside and saw that they had not left yet, so he came out and started chatting with Lu Qingqing.
"Little brother, are you going to continue walking, or are you planning to stay in this town for one night?"
Lu Qingqing rubbed her hands and replied, "It's too cold today. We're thinking of staying in town for a few days."
The shopkeeper shook his head.
"No one has come to town for quite some time. The innkeeper, Mr. Li, went back to his hometown a few days ago."
Lu Qingqing didn't expect that even the inn in the town was closed.
He glanced at the chimney that was still smoking not far away and asked the shopkeeper.
"I don't know. Do you know anyone here who has a vacant house? The price is negotiable."
The shopkeeper looked at the four people, thought for a while, and said:
"I know there are two uninhabited courtyards. I'll go ask them for you later."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingqing hurriedly thanked him.
The shopkeeper waved his hand and went back to the shop to shout.
He asked his younger brother to come down and look after the shop, and he went out with his hands in his pockets.