Chapter 246

In the mountain and river village, only a few households have sufficient food, while most families are still not well-off in terms of grain supplies.

Thinking about it, it still boils down to the poor foundation of the household.

Although last year they picked mushrooms and harvested gorgon fruit to trade with the Shuiqing family for rice, some of the rice was used for building a house and buying gray tiles, with part of it coming from their savings and part from exchanging the rice.

However, without exchanging for rice, it would have been impossible to build a tile-roofed house and avoid the heavy rain this year.

The remaining rice was entirely exchanged for black flour.

Fortunately, one pound of rice could be exchanged for three to four pounds of black flour. Two to three pounds of black flour mixed with vegetables could make a big pot of porridge, enough to give each person in a large family of twenty a big bowl.

The black flour was supposed to last until the new grain was harvested this year. However, a flood destroyed the new grain, and the stored cornmeal was all used to trade for potato seeds, leaving most families to tighten their belts and live frugally.

The families with the most food were the six or seven households that planted potatoes in the first half of the year and the Zhang Tuzi family.

Unlike others who became wealthy through hard work, the Zhang Tuzi family relied on trading land.

Moreover, what they got in return was cornmeal, which tasted better than black flour, making their life even better than before the flood.

The family with the least amount of potato acreage was Wang Guifen’s family, with only five acres of the poorest land. They still harvested six to seven thousand pounds of potatoes, which made the Wang family rejoice and repeatedly say they were glad they followed their daughter’s advice to plant potatoes!

They also regretted not fully listening to her; otherwise, they would have harvested more than six to seven thousand pounds.

From then on, Wang Guifen’s family firmly followed Shuiqing’s family, and they decided to follow anyone who knew better.

In the courtyard, Grandpa Wang, smiling broadly, made a decision: “In-law, whatever you say goes!”

The house was spacious, and food was plentiful. Last month, helping Old Bai transport potatoes, his two sons earned three to four taels of silver, so he wasn’t particularly anxious about selling rabbits.

While Grandpa Wang was not in a hurry, other families with insufficient food were not so calm.

“Our rabbits are fat and ready for market. Village head, shall we sell them first?”

“We won’t sell the females, but we don’t need so many males. Now that food is expensive in the provincial capital, rabbits are also food, and they’re meat. We should try selling them and see if we can trade for some grain.”

“Yes, last time my husband went to the provincial capital, he found the grain expensive and didn’t buy much. This time, no matter how expensive, we need to buy some.”

A big family needs to eat, and with little food at home, I’m anxious.

The noisy voices rose, urging in a hurry.

After the wall was built, safety was temporarily assured, and everyone was more concerned about whether they would have enough to eat.

Fortunately, the rabbits at home were almost fully grown, like the potatoes; they were also a source of hope!

With hope, life became easier.

Wang Guifen laughed heartily and said, “We have no experience in business. We don’t know how to sell the rabbits, to whom, or at what price.”

“Last month, my father-in-law asked Shuiqing for advice. Her family once sold rice wine very successfully. Shuiqing said her brother would accompany us when the time comes, so don’t worry.”

In the past, even if villagers knew Hu Shuiqing had a brother, they wouldn’t know who he was.

But after the delivery trip, every household in the village knew about him!

They heard all about him from their own men, and it was all praise.

They said that despite his young age, he was mature and steady. No matter what he saw or encountered on the road, he remained calm, even more composed than the older men.

They said he looked rough and had a strong build, but his thinking was meticulous, considering everything along the way.

They kept praising him, saying he couldn’t be praised enough!

Now, upon hearing that Hu Wenhua would be joining them, everyone immediately felt at ease.

The old village head addressed the crowd, explaining the purpose of the gathering: “The main reason for gathering everyone here today is to get your opinions. Since we’ve invited Hu Wenhua to lead, we must follow his instructions. No matter where he decides to sell or at what price, we must have no objections. If you’re not satisfied, just wait until the trip is over and don’t join next time. But we can’t cause any trouble or disrespect him while we’re out there.”

Using the word “invite” indicated respect.

Everyone understood that if they agreed, they would have to follow his way of doing things and listen to his guidance. If they disagreed, they should say so now to avoid agreeing now and then causing trouble in the provincial city.

Even if things didn’t go well, they would have to endure it and discuss any issues once they returned.

“No problem for us!” After all, they didn’t know how to sell in the provincial city themselves.

“Same for us!” They had only been to the provincial city a few times, and once inside, they couldn’t even tell east from west, let alone know where to sell or what to do if they couldn’t sell the rabbits.

“Having someone to lead is good; I’ll definitely listen.” They wouldn’t be running around like headless chickens; this was a good thing.

Besides, if it were someone like Dazhu or Erzhu, it wouldn’t work! But Hu Wenhua could be trusted to lead the team well.

Seeing that everyone had basically expressed their agreement, the old village head continued, “Alright then, go home and count the number of rabbits you want to sell and the people going. We’ll set off early tomorrow morning.”

Those with rabbits to sell were excited and hurried home to prepare.

In the crowd, Zhang Tuzi didn’t care; his family had plenty of cornmeal to eat. He didn’t have to work himself to death like the others and didn’t see the point in it. Besides, he didn’t raise rabbits. He was just there to watch the excitement—lying around all day made his back hurt.

Fan Qian stood at the back of the crowd. His family didn’t raise rabbits either, and they were short on food. His mother worked herself to death and refused to sell their land, so he had to think of other ways.

What other ways could he think of?

He could only go to the provincial city to ask Fan Damu for advice. Dazhu and Erzhu said it was chaotic outside, so traveling with the villagers was the safest option.

As he arrived home, he heard arguing inside. Fan Qian frowned, not wanting to go in, but eventually did.

“Grandma, look at Zhang Tuzi. He sold dozens of acres of land and eats well! Why can’t we sell our land?”

While they were working, they heard Zhang Chunhua say that her family always had enough to eat, and their days were even better than before the flood.

Fan’s mother glared with her triangular eyes, “No! If we sell more land, how will you four get wives?”

Hearing about arranging marriages for the sons, Sun Jinhua fell silent.

The four brothers all pouted. They couldn’t even fill their stomachs, so what was the point of getting wives?

Bringing in wives just to starve together?

“Grandma, you used to sell land whenever there was a problem, and life was good. Now our big family can’t get enough to eat, and you won’t let us sell it.” Fan Sanzhu muttered quietly.

Fan Erzhu was also unhappy, “If we don’t sell the land, how will we get through the coming days? How long will we have to starve?”