The next day

early morning

Before dawn was clear, Jiang Xiaochuan was awakened by the sound of pinging outside the house.

In this era, people's daily routines are to go to bed early and get up early, so they have to get up very early to make breakfast. Needless to say, the ones who cook must be their mother and Grandma Jiang.

Sure enough, when he walked into the kitchen, he saw his mother burning firewood at the bottom of the pot, while Grandma Jiang was packing food by the stove.

Corn flour and sweet potatoes again.

It’s good to have coarse grains at this time. I guess we have to eat wild vegetable dumplings at this time next year. That’s not to eat. The inexplicable wild vegetables, corn flour and sorghum flour are made of. The taste is basically the same as pig food.

Don’t think about fine grains like rice and white flour. They are similar to pork and can’t be eaten several times a year.

Yang Yuemei, who was burning fire, looked at Jiang Xiaochuan at the door and asked quickly, "Why are you getting up now? Why don't you sleep for a while?"

When the old lady who was cooking heard this, she curled her lips and said, "The chickens are crowing, it's still early. Look, other children have gotten up to cook at this order."

Hearing this, his mother Yang Yuemei lowered her head and continued to burn the stove.

Indeed, these days, especially those who are half-aged, will wake up in the morning to help their family do housework.

My two brothers have never been called to cook. As for the reason, I am afraid that they will eat secretly.

Seeing Grandma Jiang’s face unhappy, he hurriedly said, “Grandma, I’m going to dig some river clams later. There are many people during the day, and I’m afraid it’s not good to be seen by others.”

When Grandma Jiang heard that he was going to dig river clams, she said better, and said, "Okay, remember not to forget to beat pig grass. I'll leave you some food."

"Well, I know grandma. Then I'll leave first." After saying that, seeing the other party nodding, he turned around and went back to the room.

I have to go to the market to change the pot and seasonings so that I can make food in the space secretly.

Today, I can’t take Jiang Xiaohe, the little tail when I go out. But I will take Jiang Xiaohe with me wherever I go, unless it is special.

I have to think of a better reason.

When I arrived at the bed, I gently pushed Jiang Xiaohe on the bed. I pushed it several times before I was woken up.

"Brother, what's wrong? It's not dawn yet, why are you getting up?" He said in a daze at his brother beside the bed.

"Xiaohe, I'm going out to fight pig grass now. Do you want to go?" The child likes to sleep in. If he wants to stop making noise, he can only say he can't go.

Sure enough, when he heard his words, his younger brother Jiang Xiaohe said reluctantly, "Brother, it's not dawn yet, can't you wait until dawn before doing it?"

"There are more people at dawn. Why don't you go to bed at home first? I'll go first and wait until you get to bed before going to find me? Or where I dug the river clams yesterday." Jiang Xiaochuan smiled secretly in his heart.

"Oh, okay, then I'll go find you when I wake up. I'll sleep for a while." After that, he fell asleep.

Once you get this follower, you can do your own thing.

He picked up two large bamboo baskets and walked out of the yard, the other one was prepared for his younger brother.

It still has to be done.

While walking on the road, Jiang Xiaochuan complained in his heart that he would not cook pig food, so he should eat less meat and not beat pig grass if he had the ability.

Follow the small path in the village and walk all the way to the river. Cross the river and get the commune.

I remember that I could cross the river and arrive, but it hurt him. I walked almost half an hour before I arrived.

When I came to the commune, I observed the surroundings, and found that there was no one, so I put one of the baskets into the space. Then I took out the river clams in the space and put them into the remaining basket, covering them with some weeds to cover them.

Not to mention, it's really heavy.

When I came to the market town, there were already some people setting up stalls one after another.

At this time, private transactions are not allowed, only those sold to supply and marketing cooperatives, otherwise it would be speculative.

However, farmers will be allowed to replace the endless things at home with others. Moreover, the amount is not allowed to be too large, so they can barter.

As for what is happening privately, it's another matter.

Fortunately, this place is a rural area, so the control is not that strict, as long as it is not excessive.

Carrying the basket, Jiang Xiaochuan was not familiar with the situation, so he would like to observe it first. The merchants who made breakfast were scattered on the street, and these merchants were not private.

There are also some private stalls, and it may be dawn, and these people are busy putting things on the ground.

Jiang Xiaochuan looked at it and found that it was basically fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish, etc., and the amount was not very large. It was divided into small handfuls and placed on the ground.

Looking at the things placed on the street, Jiang Xiaochuan was confused. Didn’t he say that there were shortage of supplies? There were still many stalls here! Can you sell these little river clams?

In fact, he can't blame him for thinking wrong. You must know that this commune is a gathering place with a radius of more than ten miles nearby. There are more or less people coming from each village, so there are more people.

There are only more than twenty people when it comes to people. It’s just that the distance between the stalls is relatively far, so it feels like there are many people.

When I walked to the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, I found that the supply and marketing cooperative had already opened the door. There was a stall on the left of the door with half a fan of pork on it. The butcher was decomposing the pork.

Jiang Xiaochuan thought for a while, couldn't help but temptation, and ran to ask about the price.

The butcher answered "60 cents per pound" without raising his head

When Jiang Xiaochuan heard this price, he couldn't help but sigh that the price was really cheap, but now he has no money, so he can only wait for the rich to buy it.

But he forgot one thing, that is, in this era, he needed tickets for buying things. He bought as much meat as he wanted. He bought food and cloth, and other various bills.

"Thank you." He thanked me casually and turned around and left.

The butcher who was dividing his flesh was stunned when he heard his thank you, because when he was not asking for help in the countryside, no one would say thank you to you.

But he didn't think much about it and continued to divide the pork in his hand.

When he came out, he wandered around the street for a while and saw a man selling pots, a water tank and several pots of large and small sizes.

He hurriedly walked towards the other party, and the stall was an uncle in his forties wearing a gray labor cloth.

"Uncle, how do you sell this pot?" He asked, pointing to a casserole with a diameter of about 30 cm.

The uncle seemed to him at a glance and spit out a few words in a short glance. "One piece of five."

Jiang Xiaochuan muttered in his heart, "Well, it's not expensive. If this were in future generations, it would be worth dozens of times."

"What about the pottery bowl?" Then he asked, pointing to the pottery bowl that was about the size of a big sea bowl.

"One or two", the uncle is still so proud of his words.

"Uncle, look, can I exchange this river clam with you?" After saying that, he took out a large river clam from the basket and looked at the other party and said.

The other party frowned. River clams are really not considered serious meat dishes in the countryside, but they can't stand it. Now they eat too little. Even fish are getting less and less due to drought, so the same is true for river clams.

Seeing that the other party was still thinking, Jiang Xiaochuan was anxious, but he couldn't urge him.

The uncle considered that the child at home hadn’t had meat for a long time, so he could barely make up for the river clams. So he said, “Okay, then I’ll collect it. How many do you have? By the way, the price is three cents per pound.”

He was happy when he heard that the other party was willing to accept it, and then he was shocked by the other party's price. "How much...? So cheap?" He thought he didn't hear it clearly, so he asked again.

The big man said dissatisfied when he heard his words, "Three cents per pound! Why? I thought I was cheaper? If you don't believe me, please ask yourself. When did I, Hu Laosan, cheat others?"

"No, no, uncle, I'm here for the first time, and I don't know what the price is." Seeing that the other party misunderstood, Jiang Xiaochuan quickly explained.

The other party looked at his expression and didn't look like he was lying, so he extinguished his anger and explained, "Did you see that the meat is sold at 60 cents per pound? Why is this river clam so cheap?"

Jiang Xiaochuan nodded quickly, "Yes."

"Can this fish be the same as meat? The fish are only about 30 cents per pound now. If the river clams were not as cheap as the food, no one would want a penny or a pound. This thing used to be fed to sows, and how much meat would be left after the shell was removed?"

After hearing this explanation, Jiang Xiaochuan immediately realized that he still looked at the world with the perspective of future generations.

After reacting, he hurriedly said to the third son Hu, "Sorry, Uncle, I don't know anything, please bear with me. Do you think you should give me a thumbs up."

Seeing that the other party didn't seem to be intentional, Hu Laosan waved his hand and didn't care.

"Okay, then I'll weigh it." After saying that, he took the basket from Jiang Xiaochuan.

"Yeah, it's not light, it's about thirty pounds." Feeling the weight in his hand, Hu Laosan was surprised.

"Yeah, it's almost the same," Jiang Xiaochuan responded repeatedly. In fact, he didn't know very well how much pounds he had.

"Remove the basket 38 pounds and 6 ounces" and said casually

"A total of one piece of money, one cent, five cents, eight cents, you can calculate it, right?"

Jiang Xiaochuan calculated silently in his heart, and said, "That's right." He thought to himself that this person is so powerful, and he settles the score so quickly.

"You are exactly one piece and two, and I'll give you this pottery pot." Hu Laosan was very happy to get so many river clams.

Hearing Hu Laosan's words, he didn't respond. He felt that he should sell all the river clams in his hand. Don't be so troublesome, he ran several times.

"Uncle, do you want it? I still have a basket and put it there. If you want it, I'll take it over." While saying, pointing to the path when I came.

Hu Laosan was surprised, "Ah, and, how come you got so many?"

Then he immediately said, "I have no other intentions, just ask casually. Then you go and give it to me. I want it all."

Jiang Xiaochuan didn't get any money either. He ran to the small road where he came and found a corner that no one could see, and took out some river clams. At this point, all the river clams in the space were taken out.

"22 pounds, how do you change your 60 cents or 6 cents?" After weighing, Hu Laosan said to him.

"Give me a pot and three more pottery bowls." Thinking that he had his younger brother and mother at home, he planned to buy three pairs of bowls.

"Okay, then you put away the things. Remember to find me if you have good things next time." Hu Laosan was polite.

"Okay, uncle, then I'll go back first." With the remaining 30 cents, Jiang Xiaochuan was polite and left.
To be continued...