New ink fragrance in old times

Lin Mo stood aside, feeling an indescribable curiosity and excitement in his heart.

He thought to himself, "The grain collector didn't come yesterday, but he's here today. This is a good opportunity to join in the fun and see how the grain trade was conducted in ancient times."

So, Lin Mo coughed lightly to attract Lin Wenhong's attention, then looked at Lin Wenhong eagerly, his eyes revealing his desire to go together.

Lin Wenhong felt his grandson's gaze, turned to look at Lin Mo, a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Sanlang, do you want to go and have a look too?" Lin Wenhong asked gently.

Hearing this, Lin Mo nodded quickly, his eyes flashing with excitement: "Yes, Grandpa, I want to go and see it."

Lin Wenhong patted Lin Mo's shoulder and said, "Okay, since you want to go, then go."

Lin Mo nodded excitedly, looked at Lin Wenhong gratefully, and his heart was full of anticipation.

At this time, Lin Wenhong turned to the busy Lin family members and said loudly: "The grain collectors are here, everyone work harder. Second and third brothers, you two will come with me later."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuejin and Lin Xuebo replied, "Okay, Dad."

The other family members also quickened their work pace, and the whole yard was filled with a tense and orderly atmosphere.

Lin Wenhong, Lin Xuejin and Lin Xuebao, carrying heavy baskets, set out on the journey to the grain collection point at the village entrance.

Lin Mo followed closely behind, his eyes flashing with curiosity and excitement about the unknown world, looking around from time to time.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they came to an open area at the entrance of the village. They saw that quite a few people had gathered there. Some were standing or sitting, carrying baskets in their hands, backpacks on their backs, and bags of grain, and they were greeting each other.

"Hey, Lao Wang, are you here to sell grain too?" An old man with wrinkles all over his face smiled at a middle-aged man next to him.

"Yes, Uncle Li, the harvest this year is pretty good. I was thinking of selling some food to make some money so that our family can be better off." The middle-aged man responded with a satisfied smile on his face.

Lin Mo looked around and found that the amount of food brought by each family was not much. The most they brought was pushed on a cart. Lin Mo estimated in his mind that it was only about a thousand pounds.

He secretly calculated in his mind, how much money can this food be exchanged for?

At this moment, a villager pushed a cart full of grain towards the grain collection place. After weighing, the villager took a small piece of silver and a few copper coins, bent down to thank the shopkeeper whom Lin Mo had met before, with the joy of harvest on his face, and then pushed the cart away happily.

These trading scenes kept playing out before Lin Mo's eyes, making him look forward to his own upcoming transactions.

However, when it was Lin Wenhong and his friends' turn, the situation was beyond his expectations.

Lin Wenhong, Lin Xuejin and Lin Xuebao handed the food in their backpacks to the inspectors.

After weighing carefully, the inspector said, "Old man, this is seven dou of beans." Then he nodded to the person who was doing the accounting.

The person doing the accounting quickly turned the abacus and soon quoted the price:

"Old man, our price for beans is one dan seven qian and one fen. You have seven dou here, so that's four qian nine fen and five li. That's four hundred and ninety-seven copper coins. Please count them."

After Lin Wenhong took the money, he counted it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, he thanked the person who gave him the money.

He exchanged a glance with the shopkeeper beside him and left with his family.

Lin Mo looked at all this and couldn't help but feel a little confused.

He thought he would see Lin Wenhong killing everyone and bargaining with the caravan, and even imagined that the caravan would send people to his home to transport a large amount of food.

I never expected that this is it?

He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandpa, are we just going to sell these? Don't we still have a lot of food at home?"

Hearing this, Lin Wenhong stopped, turned to look at Lin Mo, and explained, "Sanlang, we do have a lot of food at home, but we need to pay the rent to the Du family first. Only then can we decide what to do with the remaining food."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Lin Mo nodded in sudden realization, and the doubts in his heart also dissipated.

Lin Mo followed the three of them and continued walking back.

"Uncle Lin, are you here to sell grain too?" The man greeted Lin Wenhong warmly when he saw him. His eyes fell on the purse in Lin Wenhong's hand, and a hint of curiosity flashed in his eyes.

Lin Wenhong smiled and replied, "Yes, I just sold a few bushels of beans, which brought me around 400 coins. I need some cash to keep going back home."

The visitor nodded upon hearing this, then changed the subject and asked, "Uncle Lin, you have so much land, why are you only selling so little grain?"

Hearing this, the smile on Lin Wenhong's face gradually faded, replaced by a barely perceptible worry.

He sighed and said slowly, "The harvest this year is not much."

The visitor frowned slightly, as if he was a little puzzled by Lin Wenhong's answer: "Uncle Lin, I don't understand what you are saying."

He continued to ask, "Your family's farmland is one of the best in our village. Add to that the land the Du family rented you, and the harvest should be quite impressive. Why do you sound like the harvest is not good? Uncle Lin, please stop hiding it."

Lin Wenhong gave a wry smile and explained, "The harvest is good, but you know, these days, the hardships farmers endure are not easily understood by outsiders. Taxes are heavy, from the government and the landlords, and as they trickle down, there's not much left for us. Take rice, for example. My family only harvested about thirty dan (approximately 1500 dan) of rice. It sounds like a lot, but after taxes and rent, there's only about ten dan (approximately 1500 dan) left, barely enough to eat."

Hearing this, the visitor's expression became serious and he sighed:

"Uncle Lin, you're right. Farmers like us toil all year round, and in the end, all we get is a few dou of grain and a few taels of silver."

The visitor looked at Lin Wenhong in confusion. "But then again, didn't your family have a good corn harvest this year? I heard that your corn fields are growing exceptionally well this year."

Lin Wenhong nodded, a relieved smile on his face: "Yes, the corn harvest didn't disappoint me. I harvested 60 stone. It makes me feel at ease just looking at it."

Lin Wenhong sighed and continued, "But you know, with more than a dozen people in my family, food is a big problem. Plus, we have a few livestock at home, and they all need to eat. The last thirty stone of corn we have left is barely enough for winter food."

The visitor comforted Lin Wenhong: "Uncle Lin, don't be too sad."

Lin Wenhong seemed to have thought of something and said with relief:

"Fortunately, the bean harvest this year was good, 20 dan. After paying taxes and rent, there's still more than 10 dan left. I plan to take the rest to the town mill to exchange for some silver after the harvest is all done. Add to that what I've saved from my daily frugality, and I'll barely be able to make up for his annual salary."

Chapter 86 High, Really High