She picked up the young prime minister while fleeing famine

However, given what happened before, Yao Daniu was speechless this time.

Although when they arrived, Yao Lizheng had the villagers pool together some money, saying that they would buy some grain if they could.

Of course, what Yao Lizheng wanted most was to see if he could settle down in Qingyang County; buying grain was secondary.

Given the current situation, even if they had some money, they couldn't afford such expensive grain. It was all saved up by the villagers through frugality.

Where would these unscrupulous merchants get away with this?

Even if they did buy some, the entire village combined couldn't buy many kilograms of grain.

After finding out the prices of various grains at the grain shop, Lian Chengmo had a plan in mind about what grains to buy. Just then, Yao Dahe returned.

He leaned close to Lian Chengmo's ear and whispered a few words.

After Yao Dahe went out, he not only asked about the price at another grain shop diagonally across the street, but also asked about the grain price from several locals who were setting up stalls on the road.

The shopkeeper wasn't wrong to say that the price was one or two coins cheaper, because the price of grain in Qingyang County changed every day.

Sometimes the price is one or two coins lower, sometimes three or five coins higher; it all depends on the grain store's decision, and the common people have no choice but to accept it.

Since the collapse of the Great Xia Dynasty last year, grain prices across the entire Great Xia Kingdom have been rising intermittently.

King Cheng had no choice but to rely on these grain merchants to get grain. In order for the grain merchants to transport grain to him, he could only let them exploit the people.

Few people know that the scheme of letting grain merchants profit from the price difference with ordinary people was the work of the Yunzhou family head.

That said, with grain prices so high, Yao Dahe felt that the young master's earlier suggestion to buy 200 jin of grain was really unnecessary, and he himself decided that Yao Li Village would not buy grain for the time being.

Lian Chengmo knew what the future held for the next year. Not to mention the distant future, he was going to continue south, and he didn't know if 200 catties of grain would be enough for him to reach Yongzhou.

But if we could take the entire population of Yaoli Village with us, that certainly wouldn't be enough.

So Lian Chengmo didn't hesitate much and bought two hundred catties of grain according to his calculations, which included everything from coarse grains to fine grains.

The yamen runner and the shopkeeper were overjoyed and immediately weighed and packed it for him. Lian Chengmo agreed with the yamen runner on the time to leave the city in the evening, and then left with Yao Dahe and Yao Daniu.

After they left, the shopkeeper settled the kickback with the constable, and both of them were very happy.

Although it is said that there is no worry about selling grain, there are not many sellers who can buy so much at once. If it cannot be sold and sent to King Cheng's army, it will not fetch such a high price.

So the shopkeeper was quite happy. He not only gave the constable a kickback, but also gave Lian Chengmo some coarse grains. Of course, it was impossible for him to round down the price.

After leaving the grain shop, Lian Chengmo bought some oil, salt, and seasonings, went to the cloth shop to pick out three bolts of fine cotton cloth, bought two sets of clothes for the little girl according to her figure, and then bought a set of clothes for himself as well.

It's not that we're unwilling to buy things for the younger ones, but rather that they can travel by oxcart later on, and they won't be running around like little girls when they're resting, so their clothes and shoes won't wear out much.

When the time comes, we can spend some money to have the aunt from Yaoli Village make some new clothes for the children using those few bolts of cloth.

Although Lian Chengmo found some silver notes on his parents and a bag of silver coins where they hid things, he knew the hardships of life. He should spend what he could, but he also had to save where he could.

After a shopping spree, Lian Chengmo found an inn and rented a room to stay temporarily, leaving Yao Daniu to watch over their purchases at the inn.

He changed into new clothes and took Yao Dahe to the county government office.

After presenting his visiting card and the certificate of a student to identify himself, Lian Chengmo only met the county clerk, not the county magistrate.

Qingyang County is now beset by internal and external troubles. The county magistrate is very busy and is not even in the county office.

The county magistrate agreed to see him because Lian Chengmo's grandfather had met this county magistrate a few times and they had some connection.

Sure enough, Lian Chengmo and his companion were led into the county magistrate's office. After exchanging greetings, the magistrate began to ask them questions.

The county magistrate was a middle-aged man, neither fat nor thin, with a square face, a short beard, and a somewhat capable appearance.

He was seven or eight years older than Lian Chengmo's father, making him a junior to Lian Chengmo's grandfather.

Upon seeing that the other party had a past with his grandfather, Lian Chengmo readily tried to establish a connection.

"Uncle, you may not know this, but the northern border has fallen, and the county my grandfather governed has also suffered from the ravages of war."

"If my grandfather hadn't risked his life to send us incompetent descendants away and led the county officials and soldiers to defend that city to the death, I'm afraid my uncle wouldn't be here to see me now."

"As for my grandfather, he has probably already died a martyr." When he said this, Lian Chengmo's voice was unusually heavy, and his face was full of grief.

Even though so much time has passed, he still remembers that night when his grandfather asked his parents, uncles, and aunts to pack their bags and sent out most of the guards in the mansion to protect them during their retreat.

Unfortunately, most of the guards were killed during the retreat, and later they were almost all killed when they encountered rebel troops.

Although he did not witness his grandfather's death, Lian Chengmo in his previous life received a last letter from his grandfather's attendant, which was entrusted to someone to be brought out before his death.

He led the county government troops in a tenacious resistance, doing his best to evacuate the people in the county town. In the end, he died tragically under the city gate. He died a worthy death and deserved to be called a "parent official"!

It was precisely for this reason that the people who were asked to deliver the letter to him traveled a great distance and overcame numerous difficulties.

Lian Chengmo's fingers twitched slightly; he seemed to see that blood-stained letter again, and his expression became even more sorrowful.

Standing behind him, Yao Dahe clearly felt it; Yao Dahe's already stern face became even more serious.

Previously, he had only heard his father say that the young master was of noble status. Now that he saw with his own eyes that the constable and the county magistrate treated him with courtesy, Yao Dahe respected Lian Chengmo even more.

In addition, I had indeed developed some feelings for him during this time, and seeing him sad now made me feel down as well.

“Uncle shouldn’t have asked. Your grandfather is a good man. Young master, is there some difficulty you’ve encountered this time? Don’t worry, Uncle will definitely help if there’s anything I can.” The county magistrate looked embarrassed, then boasted.

He knew about Lian Chengmo's collateral branch. Although his grandfather was somewhat mediocre, his descendants were capable. He heard that both of his sons passed the imperial examinations, but he didn't know why they didn't take the exams again.

The young master in front of me has passed the imperial examination at a very young age, and I heard that he was the top scorer. It is not uncommon for young people to pass the imperial examination, but it is rare to be the top scorer.

It should be noted that all the children of the Liancheng family are required to participate in the imperial examinations in Yunzhou. In other words, this young master completely outclasses all the Liancheng family members of his age, including the direct descendants.

Otherwise, the county magistrate wouldn't have made time to see Lian Chengmo despite his busy schedule.

The county magistrate is aware of the legend that the Liancheng family produces a prodigy every hundred years. Now that the hundredth anniversary has arrived, and in this chaotic era, the Liancheng family is poised for great achievements.

At this point, it's necessary to build connections, which is why the county magistrate made such a boastful promise.

"There is indeed something I would like to ask Uncle for help with, but I don't know if it's feasible," Lian Chengmo replied naturally.