Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd suddenly became agitated, with pleas and curses mixed together, but the grain store owner acted as if he didn't hear anything and ignored them.

"Isn't this life-threatening?"

Some people in the crowd shouted angrily, but no matter how angry they were, they still chose to compromise in the face of the pressure of survival.

"Buy it, I'll buy it!"

A middle-aged man gritted his teeth and took out a tattered cloth bag from his arms. Inside was the change he had saved for a long time. His hands were shaking so badly that the money almost fell to the ground when he was counting it.

"Is this money enough to buy two bags of rice?"

The boss took a glance, responded nonchalantly, and then slowly went to serve the rice.

Cheng Yuntao stood under a broken willow tree not far away, watching the chaotic scene before her.

The cold wind whistled past, causing her to unconsciously wrap her cloak tightly around her, but even so, the cold still came from all directions and penetrated deep into her heart.

The middle-aged man, who had finally bought rice, squeezed out of the crowd with great effort. He opened the rice bag with great anticipation, but what caught his eye was not fresh and plump rice, but old rice with dark color and shriveled grains.

There is a big difference between new rice and old rice.

New rice has full grains, a clear white or light yellow color, and a bright appearance, with few impurities, broken grains, and rice bran. Old rice, however, has become dull and yellowish or even grayish, with many broken grains and impurities, and may have fine cracks on its surface. New rice has a natural, fresh aroma, while old rice has a weaker, less fragrant aroma and may even have a stale or moldy smell. The smell is even worse if it gets damp or isn't stored properly.

When cooked, new rice is soft, chewy, and sweet. Old rice, on the other hand, is hard, lacks resilience, and easily becomes undercooked. The grains break easily when bitten, and are loose and lack stickiness, making it far inferior to new rice. When cooking, new rice absorbs water quickly, requires less cooking time, and produces distinct grains. Old rice absorbs water more slowly and requires longer cooking time, otherwise it becomes undercooked, resulting in a dry, hard, and unpalatable rice.

Anyone who is not stupid will know that they have been cheated.

He turned around angrily and strode towards the grain store owner, demanding, "I paid several times the usual price, and how come I only got two bags of this stale rice? Aren't you just ripping me off?"

When everyone heard this, they all looked at him with indignation, and for a while, condemnations were heard everywhere.

"Everyone, look! This is the grain he's selling! If this isn't taking advantage of someone's misfortune, what is?"

"Not only are they selling it at a high price, but they're also trying to trick us with this old rice!"

"How heartless! They choose this time to rip off customers!"

The grain store owner, however, looked nonchalant, crossed his arms, and sneered, "Oh, you're not satisfied? If you're not satisfied, just give me your money back. I don't even want to sell it to you!"

"Don't you see what time it is? We're lucky to have food to sell, yet you're still being picky. If you don't buy, there will be plenty of people lining up behind you!"

The middle-aged man's face flushed red, the curse was stuck in his throat, his face trembled, and thinking of his hungry family at home, he finally chose to swallow his anger and turned away silently.

The people around watched this scene, filled with anger but helpless, and could only sigh in their hearts.

This disaster not only brought about a shortage of supplies, but also exposed the ugliness of human nature.

Cheng Yuntao stood by, witnessing all this, feeling a mixture of emotions. She was secretly thankful for her portable farm, so she didn't have to worry about food for the time being. However, with the raging snowstorm, the charcoal for heating at home was running low, and the most urgent task was to buy some charcoal to keep out the cold.

Thinking of this, she wrapped her cloak tightly around her, quickened her pace, and hurried towards the charcoal shop.

The streets were filled with people hurrying by, their faces filled with anxiety and uneasiness. Soon, Cheng Yuntao arrived outside the charcoal shop. As she expected, it was already crowded with people.

The crowd blocked the door of the charcoal shop tightly, and the sounds of shouting and quarreling were endless.

The owner of the charcoal shop stood on the steps and shouted at the top of his voice: "Everyone, be quiet! Listen to me, these are the only stocks I can sell in my shop right now. I really don't have any left!" As he said that, he waved his hand, and several assistants pulled several carts of charcoal to the front of the store.

"To be fair, we will use the auction format today. Whoever bids the highest will get the charcoal!" As soon as the boss said this, the crowd exploded.

Cheng Yuntao squeezed in with great effort, quickly scanned the carts of charcoal, and briefly checked the types of charcoal.

Charcoal is the most common type, which is made from hard miscellaneous woods such as mulberry, locust, tung, and oak.

Charcoal made from mulberry wood has a firm texture, a stable flame when burning, and strong firepower. It can continuously release high heat and is suitable for long-term heating; charcoal made from locust wood produces very little smoke when burning and will not pollute the indoor environment too much. It is suitable for places with high air quality requirements; charcoal made from paulownia wood is easy to ignite and catches fire quickly, and is most practical in scenarios where heat needs to be obtained quickly; tochigi charcoal has good burning resistance and can maintain a stable burning state for a long time, providing a stable heat source for continuous heating or cooking.

Peat, also known as peat, is formed by the decay and decomposition of marsh plants over a long period of time. It can also be used for heating, but its texture is soft, it burns quickly, and its flame power is relatively weak. Despite its shortcomings, it is still an important heating fuel when resources are scarce, and it can also provide a little warmth during the cold winter.

While Cheng Yuntao was looking around, the people around her had already started bidding, each one higher than the other, and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

"I'll pay thirty cents per pound!" A burly man shouted first, his voice exploding in the crowd like a bell.

"Forty cents!" A middle-aged woman in slightly old clothes was not to be outdone and shouted out the price through gritted teeth.

"Fifty cents!" A shrill voice sounded not far away. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall and thin man standing on tiptoe, waving a purse in his hand with an anxious look on his face.

"Sixty cents!" The big man frowned and raised the price again.

The price soared all the way, and the bidding sounds were endless.

"Eighty cents!" A loud shout suddenly came from the crowd, which instantly made the scene quiet for a moment, and everyone looked at him in surprise.

However, this is not the end.

"One hundred wen!" The big man's face flushed and he almost roared out the price.

As prices continued to rise, even the lowest quality peat was raised to a frightening price. People's sanity seemed to gradually collapse under the pressure of the wind and snow and the lack of supplies, leaving only an extreme desire for warmth.

Cheng Yuntao stood quietly aside and did not participate in the auction.

She knew she had a way out in this difficult time: her farm could provide her with food, and her cotton-padded clothes and bedding at home were enough to barely withstand the cold. But these people didn't have that. In this harsh environment, they had no sense of security and could only desperately grab every resource they could get.

Since she already has a way out, she really doesn't want to deprive others of their way of living.

The auction ended with crazy bidding from the crowd. Even the low-quality charcoal with irregular shapes, sizes, and even covered with fragments and powder were sold out.

The winners held the hard-earned charcoal in their arms, their faces showing both relief at having survived the disaster and confusion about the future.