The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

As soon as the two said this, the other brothers echoed their sentiments.

Looking at his resentful brothers, Master Wang suppressed his displeasure and cleared his throat.

I know how anxious everyone is.

We've come all the way from the north, and our friendship is built on life and death!

You all know my abilities, Wang Fugui's abilities.

Don't worry, everyone. I guarantee that we brothers won't go hungry or cold this winter.

Alright, everyone, let's all disperse now.

Third brother, sixth brother, you two stay here!

After Wang Fugui finished speaking, the others were dissatisfied.

However, due to his previous imposing manner, they dared not say anything more.

Sun Laolai looked around and saw Wang Fugui waving at him. He quickly nodded and bowed and pulled his son out the door.

After everyone left, Wang Fugui discussed things with his two brothers.

Finally, the three of them drove a horse-drawn carriage to Toyama Town behind the town.

Before the carriage even reached Sun Choujiu's house, it was spotted by the villagers on watch at the lookout point.

In a panic, the villager took out a gong and started banging it.

As the gong sounded, a group of villagers rushed over with their tools.

Wang Fugui and his two companions were stopped at the village entrance and were taken aback by the scene.

The third and fifth brothers exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that their eldest brother was indeed the eldest brother.

They were right not to rush in and rob us!

Seeing that more and more people were gathering, Wang Fugui feared that these villagers might get carried away and start hitting people, so he immediately shouted:

"Fellow villagers, please listen to me."

The three of us brothers came here for no other reason than this.

It's so cold outside, I wanted to come to the village to buy some firewood, coal, and grain.

As he spoke, seemingly afraid that the crowd would not believe him, he picked up a bundle from the carriage shaft, opened it to reveal the silver ingots inside.

"Look, this is the money for our purchases. We really meant no harm!"

The villagers calmed down a bit after seeing the money.

At this moment, the two elders, supported by their juniors, also came over.

Upon seeing the three merchants, he sized them up and said:

"Young men, you are all aware of the situation this year."

No one in our village cut firewood in advance, and we don't have enough firewood at home.

As for the grain you mentioned, there is none at all.

This year's grain, before it even formed ears, froze to death in the fields!

If you want to buy grain, look elsewhere!

Seeing the two elders say this, Wang Fugui smiled and said:

"Uncle, it's impossible to travel in this weather!"

We lack everything where we're from!

I heard that the grocery store that used to be on the main street has now moved to the village.

There should still be quite a few things in that shop; we'd like to buy some.

Upon hearing this, all the villagers turned to look at Manager Wu at the back of the crowd.

When Manager Wu saw that Wang Fugui and the other two were also looking over, he waved his hands in a panic.

"I don't have much left at home, you should look elsewhere!"

As he spoke, he tried to dodge to the side.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Fugui smiled and turned his gaze to Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang beside Manager Wu.

He made up his mind almost at first glance.

These two have definitely seen blood!

Moreover, judging from their clothing and build, they are different from the villagers.

These two people must be the ones Sun Laolai was referring to.

The outsiders who lived to their west had grain and coal.

Wang Fugui's gaze lingered on them for only a few seconds before shifting away, and he smiled as he addressed the crowd:

"Don't rush to refuse, everyone. Let me make an offer and you can all take a look."

If anyone is willing to buy, I guarantee I'll settle the payment on the spot, without owing a single penny!

We're really short of firewood right now; I'm willing to pay one tael of silver for a load of it!

The villagers were terrified when they heard that a load of firewood cost one or two taels of silver.

You should know that a load of firewood usually costs only ten coins.

Even in the colder winter months, the price never exceeded twenty coins.

These merchants in front of me are actually willing to pay one or two taels of silver for a load of firewood?

You know, one tael of silver is equivalent to a thousand copper coins!

After the costs and benefits were calculated, almost all the villagers were tempted.

Although we don't have much firewood at home, we can still gather a load or two by tidying up the house.

As for their home, there were some dried wild grasses and straw from the ground.

The temperature dropped so suddenly that all the grain froze to death, so everyone cut the straw and took it home.

Although the straw doesn't burn very well, it can still be considered firewood.

In the villagers' eyes, this was the coldest day they could imagine.

The whole family huddled together on a kang (a heated brick bed), saving money and enduring the winter until it passed.

That's a tael of silver!

Many families, after working hard all year round, still can't save a single tael of silver!

The two elders, seeing the villagers' thoughts and fearing they might actually sell, spoke first:

"Everyone should think this through: the weather is exceptionally cold this year!"

If you want to sell firewood, think about your family first.

Without firewood, we won't survive this harsh winter!

The elder's aged voice echoed at the village entrance, actually waking up many villagers who had been blinded by money.

Of course, there were still some villagers who were attracted by that one or two taels of silver.

An old bachelor, penniless and destitute, shouted at Wang Fugui:

"My esteemed sir, I'll go home and fetch some firewood right away. Please wait here!"

With that, he turned and ran back into the village.

Among the villagers, several families looked and looked again, but couldn't resist and went home to fetch firewood.

Upon seeing this, the two elders couldn't help but sigh deeply.

When he looked at the younger generation of those families, his eyes were filled with sorrow.

These children I've watched grow up probably won't survive this harsh winter!

Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang stood at the back of the crowd and pulled back the restless old man Zhuang.

Fortunately, this old man was only greedy.

They wouldn't actually trade their life-saving coal for a few taels of silver.

The families who wanted to sell firewood soon returned carrying bundles of firewood on their backs.

Wang Fugui glanced at them briefly, and since the quantity wasn't too small, he accepted them all.

Those families were so excited when they received the silver that their hands were trembling.

Seeing this, many of the remaining families began to regret their actions.

But by then, Wang Fugui and the other two had already loaded the firewood and were driving the cart back.

The villagers didn't start walking back until the villagers had completely left.

On the way, Old Zhuang was still filled with regret.

"Wow, what a great money-making opportunity!"

If only we knew when winter would end!