The concubine escaped and cried when she met the prince again

The butcher hesitated for a moment and said to Shen Ruolan, "Forty cents a pound."

Shen Ruolan frowned and asked, "Why is it so expensive?"

Pork was only about ten cents a pound, so forty cents was enough for her to buy a lot of meat.

The butcher said to Shen Ruolan helplessly, "Brother, everything in this town has become more expensive since the Chinese New Year. Now the price of the worst grain has risen to 25 yuan per catty. In a short time, I'm afraid no one will raise pigs. By then, let alone 40 cents per catty, even 100 cents per catty will make it difficult to buy meat and oil."

Shen Ruolan knew that grain cost 25 cents per pound, but she didn't expect that buying oil would be so outrageously expensive.

You know, for ordinary people, three or five taels of silver are enough to spend for a year. The sudden increase in the price of food, oil and salt means that many people will not be able to afford food and will starve to death.

But then again, what does everyone's life and death have to do with her? Why does Shen Ruolan worry about all this? The life and death of the common people are decided by the court, not for a little woman like her to worry about.

Shen Ruolan shook her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts in her mind, and said to the meat stall owner, "Give me two kilograms."

"Okay." The butcher said, and then he called to the woman in the house, "Mother, bring out two kilograms of cooking oil."

"I understand." The woman in the room responded.

The woman was very quick. In just a few breaths, she came out with a small pottery jar and said to the butcher, "Two pounds of cooked oil, here it is."

The butcher handed the oil to Shen Ruolan, "Young man, eighty cents."

Shen Ruolan responded with a "hmm", counted out eighty copper coins and handed them to the butcher.

After buying the oil, Shen Ruolan picked up the bag on her back and frowned for a moment. She had packed her luggage as simply as possible, but the entire bag weighed about 40 kilograms. Carrying so many things on her back every day was really a big test for her as a pregnant woman.

The butcher saw her like this, so he smiled and reminded her, "If you have extra money, why not go to the butcher shop and buy two coolies? That way you can be more relaxed."

He paused and added, "Food is expensive now, but buying coolies is cheap."

The words of the meat stall owner made Shen Ruolan's eyebrows twitch. Although she was very resistant to the idea of ​​buying people, she had to adapt to the environment and survival rules of wherever she lived. Otherwise, she would not be able to move forward alone.

After figuring it out, she looked up and asked the butcher, "Boss, where is the butcher shop in the town?"

The butcher pointed to the street ahead and introduced it to Shen Ruolan: "Go straight along this street, then turn left twice, and then turn right again. You will arrive in a quarter of an hour.

"Okay, thank you, boss." After Shen Ruolan finished speaking, she followed the path pointed by the meat stall owner.

Two quarters of an hour later, she arrived at the pawnshop. Before she even entered the door, a woman came out and asked her with a smile, "Young man, are you here to sell your body or to buy labor?"

Shen Ruolan raised her eyebrows and glanced at the woman, then told her truthfully, "Buying coolies."

When the boss lady of the dental shop heard that Shen Ruolan was here to buy a coolie, she immediately said to her enthusiastically, "Young man, please come in."

After saying that, she walked to Shen Ruolan and asked, "What kind of coolie do you want to buy?"

Shen Ruolan had never bought anyone before. She was silent for a long time and then asked the woman, "Do you have anyone here who can read and do martial arts?"

Since she was buying someone, she wanted to buy someone who could help her more, so that when she asked them to do something for her in the future, it wouldn't be too much trouble.

After hearing what Shen Ruolan said, the proprietress couldn't help but frown, because in a small place like theirs, it was difficult to buy the kind of person she mentioned.

Shen Ruolan saw her like this, she looked at her and asked: "Why, there is no such person?"

The proprietress shook her head at Shen Ruolan and said, "It's not that there is no possibility, but he is very stubborn and difficult to discipline. Moreover, when the buyer buys him, he must buy his sickly sister, otherwise, he would rather die than obey."

After Shen Ruolan heard what the boss lady of the dental shop said, she hesitated for a moment and said to her, "Can you take me to see it?"

If she could really buy someone who knew martial arts and could read, she would quickly cure the man's illness, ask him for some money, and then let him leave.

Although the man's bodyguards did a good job, she was still a little scared of him. Her intuition told her that he was the same type of person as Jiang Dichen, and she didn't want to stay in contact with him for too long, so as not to enter another wolf's den.

The boss lady of the dental shop said reluctantly, "Okay, come with me."

After she finished speaking, she walked in front to lead the way, and Shen Ruolan followed behind.

Soon, Shen Ruolan followed the boss of the pimp shop to a dark room. The huge room was divided into two, with men and women locked in each side. When she walked through, people on both sides quickly stretched out their hands to her and said, "Boss, buy me. I can do a lot of work."

"Boss, buy me..." One after another, the prisoners kept shouting at Shen Ruolan.

Shen Ruolan was shocked when she saw the people being locked up and sold like animals. She never imagined that this world could have such a cruel side.

Shen Ruolan now fully understood that if she wanted to survive in this world where the strong prey on the weak, she must make herself strong. Otherwise, in the near future, she would be one of the people in the dark room.

The boss lady of the dental shop stopped talking when she saw Shen Ruolan coming in. She thought that the people inside had scared her. She looked at them and shouted, "Shut up, everyone. If you keep making noise, I won't give you any food tomorrow."

After hearing what the dental shop owner said, everyone instantly quieted down, because they only drank a little bit of thin soup a day, and if their income was further deducted, they would really starve to death.

The boss lady of the dental shop brought Shen Ruolan to the innermost room, pointed at the man in the corner, and said to her: "Young man, this is him."

Shen Ruolan looked at the dirty man in the corner and asked the owner of the dental shop, "Can you tell me about his background?"

The proprietress of the pawnbroker told Shen Ruolan the truth: "He was resold from Jinzhou. I heard that he is the third young master of the Ji family in Jinzhou. Because his father offended King Rui, King Rui confiscated his property. His father was sentenced to death on the spot by King Rui, and his mother died with him. He and his sister were forced to be sold by King Rui. Because he was stubborn and difficult to discipline, he could not be sold after several attempts."

When Shen Ruolan heard that it was related to King Rui, she remained silent. It was not because she was afraid of King Rui, but because she was afraid that he would seek revenge on King Rui and cause trouble for herself. After a brief silence, she said to the woman, "I'd better go and see other people."

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, she heard the dirty man on the ground say to her in a hoarse voice: "If you buy my brother and sister out, I, Ji Han, will only work like a slave for you in this life."