"Girl, there are not many people who can afford food. I only have these few bags. It will take a long time to sell these. If you are in a hurry, Auntie, I can't send you here. If I want to collect grain, I have to go to the mountain to collect it. It will take several days to go back and forth. Even so, you have to pay the deposit here in advance. Otherwise, the grain I will receive will not sell well. It's hard to go out."
Uh, just four or five sacks of food should be enough for dozens of them to feed for two days. In other words, if the woman didn't receive the food in time, they might really be hungry. Such a scene was beyond Qiuchi's imagination. For a while, he paid the order money silently, and only told him to go shopping quickly.
Mingyue picked at one side, and picked out all the ones that could be used. After a lap, there was nothing in this grocery store.
The proprietress, who was quite dark and fat, looked at her and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.
"Hey, everyone, you are new here. My family in Yicheng is doing this business. It's all the food from the big guys, and there are pots, baskets and so on. You need hoes, and I still have sickles and the like here. But I don’t have much choice. I can buy some of these iron wares only when merchants pass by. These merchants come and go at uncertain times. The food is mainly sold to them. In fact, it is not called a sale, and most of the time it is to exchange goods with them. Fat aunt, I just exchange some food and supplement the family’s expenses. "
"Then the silver and the like here are useless?"
Qiu Chi couldn't believe it, when everyone liked silver, it didn't have much effect in this place. And the fat aunt's answer also satisfactorily told her that in backward areas, money is sometimes really not as good as a bag of grain.
"Hehe, money is useful, but it also gets people. A shop like mine is still somewhat useful. But you are going to the homes of the people around here, and the money is not very useful to them. Here, everyone Most things are still exchanged for things. I use silver because I have contacts with merchants outside. If it weren’t for the people I know who are doing the counterfeiting business, I wouldn’t be able to make a living. Dealing with people, of course You have to use silver, so this is why I can collect your silver. But this ordinary family really doesn’t accept silver, they only need what they exchange.”
The hearts of Qiuchi and Mingyue sank little by little. I can't imagine that in the most backward places, even money doesn't have much effect. What the hell is this place
Mingyue looked at the fat aunt's gleeful eyes, and asked mournfully, "Then how did this aunt manage the yamen and the trading market?"
"Oh, yamen, girls, what do you think the poor man of this yamen can do when he comes here? Collect taxes? I heard that it is collected like this outside. Anyway, you are watching us here, and the tax collection is at most. Collect a few bags of grain. But our place is poor, and we can’t get enough grain. So the yamen’s servants end up wandering the streets and alleys here, fighting fiercely with the merchants, and working together to make a living It happens from time to time. On the other hand, poor men are just bored here, writing for a few years, making a few more children, and then leave again. I have seen several times when they come and go. When the officials come, none of them can do anything. There is no way, and it’s not that the officials don’t want to do something. Is there no way for us to let the officials do something here? Girls, don’t you think so?”
Qiuchi didn't want to inquire any more, the more she listened, the more her heart sank to the bottom.
When it's the bright moon, it still looks persistent.
"What about the market?"
"Oh, every morning, look at the street in front of you. In the morning, people from all over the world come here to trade in various things. If there are people selling cattle and sheep, the messengers will smoke a little. Besides, It’s all a small business, so there’s no time for a commission. Therefore, the servants here are actually really poor. It’s hard to see someone selling cattle and sheep, but they just go to the snack shop in front of them and treat them to a meal. After a pause. Here, the dishes made by that family are still passable. Generally speaking, there are still dried meats, and occasionally game. This is a matter of luck, after all, there is not a business every day. .”
"I want to ask the proprietress, what kind of transcripts are there in this place?"
"Oh, there is a shop that sells fur goods. Their family specializes in selling the fur of wild animals, and then resells them to merchants for food, iron and silverware, etc. There is also my grocery store, which trades everything There is another one in front of the restaurant. In fact, while cooking by myself, some people come to eat, and I cook a little. Usually, there are preserved wild animals in the house. The woman's craftsmanship is good. I have eaten it a few times. I also like it. There is also a blacksmithing shop, but this family is a bit strange. They only hear the sound of collecting stones and ironsmiths, but they don’t sell ironware to us. They are all sold to merchants. People. I don’t know the specifics. If you ask about it, you won’t be able to find out. Other things…”
The woman suddenly looked mysterious, lowered her voice and waved to Qiuchi. "Little girl, come here, come here, Auntie, let me reveal some more news to you."
"Yeah, is there any good news?"
The two hurried over.
The fat aunt also looked excited, "But let me tell you, there is still someone in our city who is opening the door to do business. As for the skin business, tsk tsk, it's not just her doing it. Let me watch, she seems to be doing business." Recruit another widow who is like her to do the job of getting food when you open your legs."
Uh, it turns out that the meat business is also a big event here.
The two ignored each other and exchanged awkward smiles.
"In such a poor place, who can have extra food to sleep in?"
The men have to have food to sleep.
"Shi, you don't understand this. Not only do you need to collect food, but you also need sackcloth clothes. There are also some men in the mountains who don't have a wife. A wild rabbit can sleep with her for several nights. There are a few men on this mountain. As far as I know, they love hunting the most. Once they hunt, they will come to this woman’s house to sleep for several nights. Once, and Two men are looking for her together. Tsk tsk, how do you think this person can deal with two men. That little widow is really amazing. "
…