Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Zhou Guo looked at the old lady, who smiled and said, "Yes, I am not as smart as you. I am not as good as you in everything. Hasn't it always been like this?"

She looked at the old man again, and saw that his mouth was almost stretched to his ears due to his laughter, which made her laugh.

This old man Chen really can't help but praise it.

The old couple lost their son in middle age, but they can still laugh every day at this age, which is inseparable from the company they give each other.

During the meal, she restrained herself again and again and ate four steamed buns and some beans and sauerkraut. The sauerkraut was really well pickled, crispy and refreshing, and very delicious with rice.

She picked up the bowl of stewed egg with her chopsticks.

The two elders put eggs in her bowl, and she said, "Grandpa Chen, Grandma Chen, that's enough, I don't like eggs very much, you guys eat them."

It was unknown how long it took the old couple to eat eggs, so she didn't fight with them for them.

Besides, there are so many pots of eggs at home, and she is almost tired of eating stewed eggs, boiled eggs and scrambled eggs.

After eating four steamed buns and drinking two bowls of soup, she put down her chopsticks. The two elders had already finished eating.

The old lady advised, "You have only eaten so little. Eat more. You are a young man, and it is the time for you to grow up. You run outside all day long. How can you not eat enough? Eat more."

Zhou Guo waved his hands and smiled, "No, no, Grandma Chen, I'm full. I've already eaten so much. I usually only eat three steamed buns at most at home. Today, the food in your house is very delicious. I couldn't resist and ate one more. My stomach is bloated."

He also patted his belly.

The old couple was very happy. "It's good to be full. Your uncle and I usually only eat one steamed bun. Today, I saw you eating so happily that you ate two steamed buns in one go."

Zhou Guo laughed, "Isn't it? Grandpa Chen's cooking skills are really amazing. He can even host a banquet."

A few people talked and laughed.

She helped to clear the table, took the dishes and chopsticks to the kitchen, and put the remaining dishes there. She wanted to roll up her sleeves to wash the dishes, but the old lady pulled her away and said, "This is your first time at our house, so you are a guest. It doesn't make sense to let a guest wash the dishes. I will wash them slowly later. Don't worry about it. You don't know how to wash dishes, and I guess you have never washed dishes at home."

Knowing that she was busy, the two did not try to keep her. The old man said, "We know you are busy and have to go to the village to collect duck eggs. We will not keep you here. We also have to work in the fields."

Zhou Guo said: "Yes, I will leave first. You guys take good care of yourselves at home and don't worry about work. I will come to your house to collect duck eggs next time."

After saying goodbye to the old couple, she went straight to the village.

The old couple had already told her which families in the village raised ducks, which families raised more ducks, and which families raised fewer ducks, so she could go straight to the destination.

Everything went smoothly. We are all at home now.

When they heard that someone was here to collect duck eggs, they were very happy. They were worried that they wouldn't be able to sell the duck eggs, so they planned to stop raising ducks next year and just raise a few more chickens.

Zhou Guo told them that if he did not come often in the future, or if he was not free one day, and they had too many duck eggs, they could take them to Feizhuang in Cangshan Village and someone would collect them.

When people hear the word "Fei Zhuang", they ask, "What is Fei Zhuang?"

Zhou Guo took the opportunity to promote his products and attract more customers. "The first batch has been sold out, and many families in the surrounding area have also reserved the second batch. I estimate that more than half of them have been reserved, and there are not many left."

It was true, she didn't frame them.

At the beginning, there were not many people coming to ask and not many orders were placed, but later on, people came every day, and no matter how many there were, at least a few stones could be sold every day.

The fat was also taken out bit by bit.

Maybe too many people placed orders and the news leaked out. In recent days, more and more people have placed orders for fertilizer. If this continues, this batch of fertilizer will be sold out before it is fermented.

It was the first time that everyone heard such news. The fertilizer had been sold for so long, but the news had not yet reached them.

"Then I have to go and take a look. Our family doesn't have enough fertilizer. We don't have much land to begin with, and without enough fertilizer, we can't produce much food per acre. After paying the tax, we can only eat bran and vegetables."

"Everyone has it. It would be even better if we could buy fertilizer. It doesn't cost money, and we can use grain and beans as collateral. It's a great thing!"

……

Zhou Guo was carrying a basket full of duck eggs up the mountain. On the way, he saw Old Man Chen and Old Lady Chen working in the fields. He wanted to say hello, but then he remembered the big food box that she brought with her, so he went up with the basket.

The ox cart was still in the same place. She took out the food box from the bushes nearby, picked out eight or nine steamed buns, took out all the pastries and put them in a basket. She also took out the chicken at the bottom, thought about it, and divided it in half. She was not full, so her stomach was still empty.

Carrying half a basket of food, I went down the mountain.

When the old couple saw her, they smiled and asked, "Are you leaving? Did you receive the duck eggs?"

Zhou Guo said: "I got it. There are quite a lot of them. They take up most of the frame."

Putting the basket on a stone nearby, he said, "Grandpa Chen, Grandma Chen, take a rest. I brought you some things."

"what?"

The two put down their work, walked over and looked into the basket, and exclaimed, "Oh, so many good things, keep them for yourself!"

Especially when they saw the half chicken, it was even more amazing. A big chicken cost about 100 cents, and a smaller one cost 40 or 50 cents. There were also these beautiful-looking snacks. They had never eaten such things, let alone even seen them, so how could they dare to eat them?

Zhou Guo picked up a piece of snack each and stuffed it into their hands. "No matter if it's good or not, it's for eating and for filling your stomach. Try it."

The old lady looked at the snacks in her hand. Her hands were covered with mud and she couldn't put them in the basket. She took out a piece of coarse cloth to wrap them up and put them in her arms. She smiled and said to her, "You are not hungry since you just had a meal. I will share some with your Grandpa Chen."

Mr. Chen carefully divided the snack in his hand into two halves, gave the larger half to the old lady, and ate the smaller half himself.

Seeing this, Zhou Guo said, "Why share one piece? There's so much in there!"

The old lady took the dessert in one hand and put it into her mouth, while she carefully caught it with the other hand, fearing that it would drop. She took a small bite, smiled and exclaimed, "It's delicious, really delicious. I have never eaten such delicious desserts. Child, you should have one too."

Zhou Guo also took one.

She said to the two of them, "Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen, take your time. The things in this basket need to be eaten as soon as possible, especially these snacks. They can't be kept for long. It would be a pity if they go bad. I'm leaving now."

The old couple couldn't accept her things, especially such precious food. Normally, it would be a big deal for the villagers to give her a steamed bun.

"Take these back. We are two old men. We have lived to such an old age and are buried up to our necks in the earth. We don't care about these things anymore. As long as we have something to eat and can be full, that's enough. Don't spend money. We have spent so much money today!"

The old man nodded and said, "You're right. Our teeth are not very good."