I was divorced because I got pregnant during the lean years, so I went back to my parents’ home and

Ma Debiao and Ji Decai were eager to follow, but were stopped by Mrs. Lin.

"One car is enough. One car can carry it. One trip will require an extra basket of fodder..."

Amid the mutterings of Mrs. Lin, they drove Ji Decai out happily.

This left Ma Debiao extremely disappointed.

As soon as a few people went out, they met the man who had just delivered firewood.

"Brother, are you going out?" Ji Xiaobei greeted loudly.

The servant who was walking with his head down was startled. He looked up and gave Ji Xiaobei a silly smile, revealing a row of big white teeth.

"Ok!"

After saying that, he lowered his head and walked away.

Ji Xiaobei asked hurriedly: "Brother, we want to buy some rice, flour, bedding and other things. Where can we buy them around here?"

"I'll show you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he started walking towards the North Lane.

Shitou urged Ji Decai to follow closely, while Ji Xiaobei and a few other boys trotted behind.

When they reached the northern alley entrance, the man stopped and pointed eastward:

"Walk along this road for about a cup of tea, and you will see a crossroads. Turn right, it's called Mingguang Street, there are all kinds of things for sale, this is the closest one.

There is a big grocery market far away in the south city, where things are cheaper.

There is also a rich street in the north city, with many shops and expensive things. "

After the man finished speaking, he went back to the alley without looking back.

Shi Tou and the boys looked at each other: This guy is really strange.

Ji Xiaobei shouted at the man's back: "Thank you, brother!"

When I looked again, the man had disappeared into the alley.

This made Haixia and the others burst out laughing.

Ji Xiaobei said, "Let's go to Guangming Street first to buy some firewood, rice, oil and salt so that we can cook in the evening."

The boys had no objection and were happy to go anywhere as long as they weren't stuck at home.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the street. There was a sign on the side of the road that read Minguang Street.

There are shops on both sides of the street.

Because it was afternoon, there were not many people.

The shop assistants were chatting idly at the door.

They went to the grain, oil and grocery store first.

After parking the car at the door, Ji Xiaobei and Shitou entered the shop.

The waiter opened his sleepy eyes and asked, "What would you two gentlemen like?"

"How much is a pound of white rice?" Ji Xiaobei asked.

"Twenty cents a pound!" The waiter became much more energetic when he heard the man coming in and asking about rice.

"It's so expensive? What about the old brown rice?" Shi Tou blurted out.

Young man: "Brown rice, old rice, from last year?"

Shitou raised his eyebrows and said, "The one from the year before last is also fine!"

The waiter smiled awkwardly and said, "Young man, you are joking. The price of last year's rice and this year's brown rice is the same, both are 15 coins per pound."

Ji Xiaobei: Is food so expensive in Anzhou?

When there was a shortage of food, she bought white rice for only 15 cents per pound. Now it is autumn and the new rice has come in, but the price has gone up instead?

"How much is the flour?" Ji Xiaobei asked.

"Sir, flour is 25 cents a pound!"

"Where is Heimian?" Shitou asked immediately.

"Black flour is 15 cents per pound. Sir, rice and flour are much more expensive this year than in previous years, and it's all because of the floods in the south and the drought in the north."

The young man followed up with the explanation.

The two men he saw were dressed simply and didn't look like rich people. They didn't buy much either. He didn't bother to say anything more and sat down again.

Ji Xiaobei: If you don’t want to sell it, I won’t buy it.

"Shi Tou, let's go look somewhere else!"

As Ji Xiaobei spoke, he turned to look at Shitou, but Shitou had already walked out of the shop.

Ji Xiaobei: …

After coming out, Shitou told Haixia and the others about the high food prices with exaggeration.

Several young men were startled.

I thought secretly in my heart: I must eat less at dinner time, otherwise I will be stabbed to death by Aunt Lin's sharp eyes.

"Sister, let's go to South City. Didn't my eldest brother say that food would be cheaper in South City?"

Stone said.

"Yeah, that's fine, let's just go to the South City Market to buy the oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and bedding!"

Ji Xiaobei said.

She was thinking that if she transported the grain stored at home to Anzhou, she could make a lot of money.

After thinking about it for a while, I gave up. There are many dangers along the way, and it would be better not to make that little money.

Shitou was also feeling anxious: It would be better if they brought some food with them.

The donkey cart went all the way to the south city.

The market is easy to find. It is the largest Nanjiao Department Store in the south city. Just ask anyone and they will know the answer.

This market is obviously much simpler.

A dilapidated wall surrounded an open space filled with dust.

There are shops all around, and the things in the shops are placed outside, covered with a layer of gray dirt.

In the open space in the middle, there were waist-high bricks piled up, with wooden boards on top, and all kinds of miscellaneous items on top.

They drove the donkey cart around, taking in everything from food, drink, toilet, and shelter.

They first went to the grain shop to ask about the price of grain, and found that it was the same price as in Mingguang Street.

Shi Tou was so angry, why is it so expensive here?

Ji Xiaobei glared at him and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Food is expensive here, and it's not just you. Why are you so anxious?"

"You and Haixia take them over there to buy a donkey saddle for Ma Debiao.

The groceries here should be cheap. After you buy them, wait for me at the market entrance."

Ji Xiaobei gave Shitou two taels of silver and took Ji De away.

Several other people pulled the stone to buy a donkey saddle.

Ji Xiaobei drove the donkey to a remote corner, and a foul odor wafted over.

This is a toilet, oh my god!

Fortunately, there were few people here. She went to the back of the toilet and took out five bags of rice and two bags of flour from the refrigerator.

I picked up some dry grass and covered it with it.

She had just checked at the grain store and found that the white rice was all old rice. The store sold it as new rice of the season, and ordinary people really couldn't tell the difference.

The skill of identifying new and old rice that she learned from the master chef in kindergarten is really useful.

Ji Xiaobei clapped his hands and looked around with satisfaction, but there was no one around.

She saw a portrait on the back wall of the toilet.

She leaned over curiously and just took a look when suddenly a dirty hand pulled it off.

"Hey! This is perfect. I have nothing to wipe my face with when I go to the toilet. This is a relief..."

Ji Xiaobei looked over in surprise and saw an old lady with a hunched back, holding up her trousers, holding a piece of yellow paper in her hand and stretching it behind her...

"Wait!" Ji Xiaobei shouted.

The old lady was so frightened that she sat down on the ground with a thud.

"Ahhh...You stinky man, you peeped at my old woman taking a shit..." she howled.

Ji Xiaobei: "I'm a woman..." As he said this, he puffed out his chest.

The old woman stopped cursing and covered her heart with her hands.

Ji Xiaobei took out a few coins from his pocket and put them next to the old lady: "I'm sorry, how about you wipe it with a copper coin..."