Chapter 9: The Famine 1

Grandpa Liu first went to the purchasing station to inquire about the prices for mountain goods and wild delicacies. Upon discovering that the prices were relatively good, he sold all the mountain gods he had brought to the purchasing station while keeping the wild delicacies for bartering.

He let Dad Liu and Uncle Liu wait in a discreet place, and then grandpa took Shuxin to the black market to exchange for food. Their first step was to find a few well-off individuals to trade the wild delicacies for cash, then they would look for those selling grain.

Life in the city was still stable and happy for the residents; they didn’t farm or depend on the weather for their meals, and they weren’t particularly concerned about the lack of rain for several months.

They were unaware that the harvest in the countryside was poor and that the water in the fields was slowly diminishing, although some farmers might have had their suspicions.

As a result, there were still plenty of grain sellers in the black market; Grandpa Liu didn’t bother with the fine grains and only looked for coarse grains like sorghum, corn, and sweet potatoes. Shuxin noticed that they weren’t the only family doing this; every now and then, she saw a few old men from the villages also buying grain, although in lesser quantities. It seemed there were quite a few wise people around.

After they sorted their silver payments, Grandpa Liu had Dad Liu and Uncle Liu carry the grain to the station to wait for them. He then took Shuxin to the supply and marketing cooperative, as they also needed to stock up on sugar, cooking oil, salt, and seasonings for the household.

By the time they returned home, it was already nighttime. They had deliberately chosen to return at night, after all, buying so many things meant they had to be discreet about it.

Grandma Liu, having weathered many storms in her life, was very anxious about the current weather situation. Thankfully, her