While Zhao Luoyang was thinking about it, he heard Zhao Xueli's voice coming from outside.

Zhao Xueli stayed in the city all day. After buying blue bricks and adobe bricks, Zhao Xueli was not in a hurry to come back. Instead, he walked around the city to see what the prices were in the city.

Such a turn of events made Zhao Xueli feel cold. Coarse grains here cost sixty or seventy cents per dou, and new rice cost more than one hundred cents, which was more expensive than buying it on the road.

Zhao Xueli walked into the house and took the big bowl handed over by Luo Zhenniang. He drank the entire bowl of water.

Then he looked at Zhao Luoyang in the room.

"Thanks to Sister Luo for telling me to buy more things in Min County," Zhao Xueli wiped the water droplets from his mouth, "You don't know how expensive things are in the city."

Luo Zhenniang said: "How expensive is it?"

Zhao Xueli sighed: "We bought coarse grains at thirty-five cents a dou when they were cheapest, but the price has doubled here. The same goes for new rice. You may not even be able to buy it for a hundred cents."

Luo Zhenniang took a breath of cold air.

Old Mrs. Yang also frowned.

When Ge and Tao entered the room, their expressions darkened.

Who can afford such expensive food?

Ge Shi said: "Isn't Mr. Zhao back? Doesn't he care about these things?"

"Master Zhao is the county magistrate, and he can't produce food out of thin air," Zhao Xueli said. "I heard that when the Taozhou military camp was in chaos, Sun Ji's people burned several granaries, and the price of rice in the city also rose.

.”

"I thought this was a rumor at first, but when I left the city, I saw that there were real signs of burning in the north city."

Luo Zhenniang said: "Why did these people burn the granary?"

Ge Shi next to him guessed: "It's just that he doesn't want us to get better, and he won't give us a way to survive when we see that he's going to die."

"That's not entirely true," Zhao Xueli sighed, "I heard they said that there were many women hidden in those granaries, and they were all those who were planned to be sold to the Fan people by Sun Ji's army. Later, when they found out what was going on, they simply killed and silenced them."

Zhao Luoyang heard a few words in Min County, but he didn't expect that the truth was more terrifying than they knew.

If they kill someone and then set him on fire, if the court investigates him in the future, they can also make up excuses to excuse him.

"How bad is this person's heart?" Old Mrs. Yang asked, "Even if you arrest such a person, even if you take out his heart and liver, you won't be able to relieve his anger."

Mrs. Tao was a little worried: "I don't know if it can be released again."

"Don't worry," Zhao Luoyang said, "Master Nie and Mr. Nie both said that buying and selling war horses is a capital crime. Coupled with the war, even if someone supports Sun Ji, he will not survive this time."

Zhao Luoyang asked Zhao Xueli: "Dad, have you seen the price of cloth?" She got up late and could not follow Zhao Xueli. She wanted to go to the city by herself, but was stopped by her mother.

Anyway, it was only a day or two later, so Zhao Luoyang didn't care and simply stayed in the village to help today.

Zhao Xueli shook his head: "A piece of linen cloth costs 500 yuan."

Everyone thinks the price is a bit too expensive.

"You just went to a cloth store?" Luo Zhenniang said, "You didn't go around much?" She was becoming less and less convinced of Zhao Xueli. Now that she thought about it, it would be better to wake up Luo Yang earlier and ask Luo Yang to follow him to the market.

city.

This father is far less reliable than his daughter.

"They're all gone," Zhao Xueli said, "I've asked more than 20 cloth shops, large and small, and this is the price for linen, and other cloths are more expensive."

"Let's not say we don't have money to buy cloth now. Even if we have money, we can't buy it right now."

Old Mrs. Yang said: "How to say?"

Zhao Xueli said: "Many people died in this incident. Those who can afford linen want to get a piece of cloth to wrap the body and bury it. We can't afford a coffin. Using linen is at least better than using straw. Some people ask for help."

The shopkeeper is cheaper, the dead are all their relatives, and they cannot be buried without clothes."

Everyone was silent for a long time. They didn't see the tragedy with their own eyes, but they could imagine it. Who were the naked people? Those women who were killed?

It is estimated that there are only a few people who can identify the faces of those who were buried, and some of them don’t even know what they looked like.

Zhao Xueli didn't want to continue this topic because it sounded too serious: "When there was a military turmoil, the bandits nearby took the opportunity to do evil. On the way back, I met a long-term worker on the village. The long-term worker said that the bandits stole the rice grains from their village.

They robbed them all and set a fire before leaving. Many houses in the village were damaged. They also went to the city to buy blue bricks."

"But they spend a lot of money to buy more, so we can only make do with those first."

When Zhao Luoyang heard this, he thought: "Dad, where is the Zhuangzi you mentioned?"

"It's not far from our place," Zhao Xueli said, "just ten miles away!"

Zhao Luoyang said: "They bought so many blue bricks to build a new wall? The burned wall should be unusable."

Zhao Xueli didn't know why her daughter said this.

Zhao Luoyang nodded: "Dad, you and your third uncle will go to Zhuangzi tomorrow to find out if they have any unwanted broken bricks. If it is a big Zhuangzi and buys so many green bricks, the broken bricks after the fire should not be used.

Yes, as long as those bricks are not burned too badly, we can use them, as long as they can survive the winter."

Zhao Xueli's eyes lit up. This was a good idea. He thought it would be more or less useful, and it wouldn't be too much trouble. He could get there in a short time after he hitched the donkey cart.

Zhao Xueli said with a smile: "Luo Yang's mind just works so fast. I didn't expect it when I heard it, or else I would have asked him right then."

Luo Zhenniang nodded repeatedly. She was right. A father is not as good as his daughter.

But Luo Zhenniang would only think about it in her heart, and she must save some face for her father.

But when she arrived at Mrs. Yang's place, she didn't care about it: "You have been busy all day, so these two sentences from Sister Luo are not as useful."

Zhao Xueli was not angry and praised his daughter. Isn't that a good thing?

His daughter is good at everything, but it would be better if she was less courageous.

Zhao Xueli said: "My third brother and I will go over there early tomorrow morning." Even if you can't buy anything, it's just a matter of putting in some effort. If you really buy something, you'll get a huge bargain.

Broken green bricks are easier to use than stones, which have to be picked up in similar sizes, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Zhao Luoyang said: "I will go with dad tomorrow." It is also important for them to quickly understand the surrounding situation. As for the East Village, there is no rush to walk with them.

To put it bluntly, Dongcun was afraid that their arrival would drag down the people in the village. To guard against them, they also thought that they had no money or food in their hands and would be extremely evil if they got involved.

If they have food and drink, and can repair their houses and build walls, those people will naturally be less prepared when they see it.

Zhao Xueli nodded: "Okay, then let Sister Luo come with me."

"Dad, I want to go too," Zhao Yuanrang leaned his head forward, "I can also help. When the donkey cart pulls things, I will run behind it. I can run."

There is really nothing wrong with having one more child. Zhao Xueli agreed after thinking about it.

Zhao Yuanrang was so happy that he could finally go out with his sister.

Zhao Xueli went out to help clean up the house.

Of course, Zhao Xueyi mainly relied on Zhao Xueyi to build the wall, but Zhao Xueli was responsible for allocating the work, and Zhao Xuejing was walking around outside. The three brothers and the sixteen households were busy.

At least all the weeds in the village were pulled out today, and the ground in West Village is almost cleared.

I also tidied up a few rooms so that I could sleep more comfortably at night.

However, the room is spacious and the luggage is not enough.

Old Mrs. Yang was worried about who should give her precious mattress to her. After much deliberation, she decided to leave it to her granddaughter.

Zhao Luoyang said: "I, Yuan Rang, Yuan Ji, and Yuan Bao also sleep with Nai in the inner room, and my father and mother sleep in the outer room." In this way, all the little ones can use Mrs. Yang's mattress.

By freeing up an extra room, Tao and Zhao Xuejing slept in the inner room, and Zhao Xueyi and Ge slept in the outer room, which also took care of Tao's twins.

Everyone was busy all day long, but they were very happy to watch.

The yard is almost clean and the house is livable. Don't think about the troubles in the future. Anyway, there is still enough food to last for a while.

After everyone sat together and finished eating, they talked about what happened today.

Zhao Yuanji said: "Those people from the East Village came to see us again during the day."

Mr. Song and Song Er do not cook alone, but eat with the Zhao family.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Song said: "Let them see it. After seeing it too much, you will know that no one cares about their things."

Zhao Xueyi said: "The wall on the south side is almost finished, but the stones and bricks are still not enough. I'm wondering if I should find a few more people to look for stones."

Zhao Xueli smiled and said: "Tomorrow morning, Sister Luo and I will go to the village in front to have a look. Maybe there will be something we can use there."

Zhao Xueyi couldn't help but feel happy: "Really? That's good."

Everyone is eating.

Zhao Luoyang wondered if he could still find some work to do in Zhuangzi.

After arriving here, that village was the first place she went.
Chapter completed!