Natural disasters in books: I stockpiled goods to escape famine in ancient times

Zhou Huai agreed with a smile. He said that he had found them specially for Song Shiwei, so it would be fine even if she took them all away.

Song Shiwei lowered the curtain, Zhang Wu waved the whip, and the carriage slowly drove away.

Zhou Huai stood tall, his eyes fixed on the carriage.

When the carriage disappeared, Li An turned his head to look at Zhou Huai and said softly, "Sir, Miss Song and the others have left."

Zhou Huai lowered his eyes: "Go back."

The two of them returned to Zhou's house one after the other. When they entered the study, Zhou Huai instructed, "I remember that father still has a lot of good tea. Go back and bring some back."

Li An raised his eyebrows: "But send it to Miss Song?"

Zhou Huai smiled but said nothing.

Li An lowered his head and twitched the corners of his mouth when Zhou Huai wasn't noticing.

If the general knew that the young master gave away the good tea that he was reluctant to drink, I wonder if he would beat him up.

Song Shiwei, who was completely unaware of the situation, was sitting in the carriage, listening to Feng Ru chattering about making clothes.

Especially being stared at by those watery, sparkling eyes, Song Shiwei was not used to it. He thought for a moment and said, "It's good that you like it. Zhang Wu and I both have clothes made of leather. Now that you are a member of the family, you will always be included."

"Yes, Ruer will definitely take good care of it. Thank you, Sister Song and Brother Zhangwu."

"Why cherish them? Clothes are meant to be worn. If they get worn out, you can just make new ones. The master is not such a stingy person."

Zhang Wu's voice came from outside the car.

Song Shiwei agreed: "He is right."

Feng Ru smiled brightly at Song Shiwei: "Ruru knows, Sister Song, Brother Zhangwu calls you master, should Ruer change his words in the future?"

Song Shiwei straightened his cuffs, his expression calm: "Call me whatever you like."

"Then I'll still call you Sister Song. Sister Song sounds more intimate."

"what ever."

Today is the happiest day in Feng Ru's life. She has a new home and new clothes to wear. She had such fine furs that she had only seen in rich families before, but now she has them too. She also has brothers and sisters who are so kind to her.

Feng Ru felt that she was so happy.

Zhang Wu was driving a carriage outside. When he heard the conversation between the two people in the carriage, his solemn expression disappeared in an instant and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

"Master, I see the grain shop is open. Do you want to buy some more grain?" Zhang Wu was about to go to the grain shop when he saw people coming and going at the door of the shop from afar. He thought that Feng Ru didn't know the master's ability yet, and he also had to do some face-saving work to show off to the villagers, so he asked this question.

Song Shiwei and Zhang Wu thought of the same thing, glanced at the little girl sitting opposite them, and said yes softly.

The grain shop had not been open for a long time. When I passed by here on my way to Zhou's house, it was still closed. Now it suddenly opened, and those who came to buy grain were all people who lived nearby. Many people who had received the news had not arrived yet.

Zhang Wu quickly parked the carriage to the side, fixed the horse reins, and strode to the grain shop to queue up.

Feng Ru received instructions from Song Shiwei and took the cloth bag to Zhang Wu.

After about a cup of tea, Zhang Wu knew the reason why the grain shop was open.

It turned out that the grain shop was originally run by the Li family. After the Li Qimeng incident some time ago, the Li family was ridiculed by the aristocratic families in the city, and then they were inexplicably besieged by the aristocratic families and their industries were hit. During this period of time, the head of the Li family was exhausted and had to protect the losses of other industries.

The noble families who had received news of the extreme cold had stockpiled large amounts of supplies, and the Li family, who ran a grain store, had stockpiled even more grain. This time, as their other businesses did not have enough funds, they had no choice but to sell the stockpiled grain in order to safely get through the crisis.

It just so happens that natural disasters continue to occur right now, and the price of food has risen a lot compared to the past. At least I won’t lose money from this sale, and I might even make a lot of money.

Feng Ru imitated the adults outside and told Song Shiwei everything.

"Sister Song, when do you think the snow will stop? If it keeps falling like this, we won't be able to grow crops in the fields."

Song Shiwei smiled when he heard this: "It will be soon."

Feng Ru's eyes were full of confusion: "Will there be other disasters after the snow passes? I heard from the adults outside that there was a drought before. If there is another disaster, what should we do?"

Feng Ru's words suddenly reminded Song Shiwei of the flood after the extreme cold. Months of continuous rain caused rivers to burst their banks, washing over all parts of the Dali Dynasty like a flood. Thinking of this, Song Shiwei frowned.

Feng Ru felt that Song Shiwei was thinking about something at the moment, so she tactfully did not say anything but lifted the curtain and looked outside.

Zhang Wu carried the grain onto the cart and said as he placed it down, "The grain shop still has a fixed amount. No one can buy more than 10 kilograms of fine grain and 30 kilograms of coarse grain. However, there are no restrictions on household registration this time. The fixed amount is based on the number of people."

Song Shiwei's eyes moved slightly: "It seems that the Li family is now unable to take care of itself."

"I think so too, but I don't know if this noble family in the prefecture will leave a way out for the Li family. Master, sit tight, I'm going to drive."

"Let's go to the grocery store first and ask someone to order some buckets."

Zhang Wu smiled and agreed: "I just don't know if the grocery store is open."

"If it's not open, go ask. Anyway, buy some buckets as soon as possible. If you don't have money, use grain to buy them. At least a thousand buckets are needed."

This time, Zhang Wu showed surprise on his face, but he decided not to ask. After answering, he drove the carriage towards the grocery store.

The grocery store was still open, but most of the items in the store were useless, and the daily revenue was just from selling tinderboxes, candles and the like.

As soon as Zhang Wu entered, he went straight to the shopkeeper and ordered a thousand buckets from him.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to do business with you, it's just that it's freezing cold right now, and it's hard to go up the mountain to cut wood. I think you know how difficult it is. You want a thousand, which is too much."

Although Zhang Wu didn't know what his master wanted so many buckets for, he knew they had their uses. After a moment of silence, he said, "We can pay with grain. One pound of grain for ten buckets. Does the shopkeeper think that's feasible?"

As soon as Zhang Wu finished speaking, the shopkeeper's eyes suddenly brightened up, and he no longer had the sad look on his face.

"If we really pay with grain, the workers will definitely be willing. I just don't know what you want. If we have enough time, I'm afraid we won't be able to make so many buckets."

Zhang Wu asked back, "How long do you think it will take to be done, boss?"

"It will take at least a month. Even though the bucket may look simple, to ensure it does not leak, the wooden boards must be placed tightly together. Slow work makes fine work. I guess you don't want to buy something that is not of good quality."

"Wait a moment," Zhang Wu went out to talk to Song Shiwei about the time, and returned to the shop after she agreed: "One month is enough, if you can make more, I will buy them all."

The shopkeeper immediately smiled and made many promises. He enthusiastically sent Zhang Wu out of the shop, watched the carriage leave, and then hurriedly closed the shop.

With such a large order, paid with grain, the shopkeeper felt that he would break even even if he closed for two or three months.