Space Farming: Traveling through Ancient Times to Do Business

"It's almost time." Jiang Feng urged.

At the entrance of Jiangjia Village, Old Man Jiang, who was driving a bullock cart, had been waiting for a long time. There were already three people sitting on the bullock cart. They began to get impatient and kept urging Old Man Jiang.

Old man Jiang also felt helpless. The village head came to him yesterday and asked him to keep two seats. If he left now, it would be hard to explain. But he was also a little anxious. If he was any later, it would be too late.

At this time, Jiang Feng led Jiang Xue and trotted all the way to the village entrance.

"Can't you get up earlier? You've made everyone wait for you for so long." A woman in the car complained dissatisfiedly. She was in a hurry to get her embroidery work.

The old man Jiang who was driving the cart ignored the woman's complaints and quickly called Jiang Feng and others to get on the ox cart.

As soon as Jiang Xue and Jiang Feng sat down, they heard the old man Jiang, who was driving the ox cart, shout, "Sit tight! We're leaving right away!"

Following the old man Jiang's shout, the ox cart slowly started and bumped towards the road into the city. Jiang Xue and Jiang Feng sat in the cart, their hearts full of anticipation and nervousness.

The oxcart was bumping along the rough road. For Jiang Xue, who was riding it for the first time, this experience made her feel a little difficult to adapt to. Her body was shaking with the shaking of the oxcart, and her waist and back ached, making her miss the comfortable modern vehicles.

The woman sitting next to her noticed that Jiang Xue was uncomfortable. She wanted to find some topics to talk to Jiang Xue and share some village gossip, but when she saw that Jiang Xue had been leaning on Jiang Feng's shoulder with her eyes closed, she had to give up.

As the ox cart moved forward, the trees around them gradually decreased and the view became wider. They passed through fields, where farmers were busy digging or clearing land in preparation for the upcoming planting season.

After more than an hour, the oxcart finally arrived at the parking spot outside Yunwu Town. As soon as it stopped, Old Man Jiang shouted loudly, "We're here, we're here!" His voice was full of joy and satisfaction.

Jiang Feng gently pushed Jiang Xue to remind her that they had reached their destination. Jiang Xue stretched and moved her body, then took out six copper coins from her purse and handed them to the old man Jiang, the driver, as fare.

"We have to return at 5 p.m., remember not to miss the time." Old Man Jiang reminded him. He took the copper coin and showed a satisfied smile on his face.

Cloud Town

There was a medium-sized market in the town today, and it was bustling with people coming to the market in an endless stream.

Today is the small market day, and the atmosphere in the town is particularly lively. In this town, there is a large market every ten days, and a small market every three days, providing villagers with opportunities to exchange and trade.

Jiang Xue and Jiang Feng came to the town with a clear plan in mind.

While working in the fields yesterday, she overheard villagers talking about the food market and learned that the entire country was in a state of food shortage around the New Year.

The price of food has skyrocketed, especially rice, which is in short supply. However, this expensive rice is mainly available to wealthy families. Ordinary poor families will buy a few kilograms of rice when they have a baby, but rarely buy it on other days.

Considering this situation, Jiang Xue decided to sell some of the food to help her family get through this difficult time. She looked at the time and asked the vendors around for information, and learned that this was the time when the stewards or maids of the various mansions went out to purchase.

Jiang Xue was overwhelmed by the bustling scene in the city. People were coming and going, and the hawkers' cries, women's bargaining, and children's fighting were all mixed together.

Although Jiang Xue has seen more prosperous and lively scenes in modern society, she still feels that the small town life of this era has a unique flavor.

In order to understand the price level of that era, Jiang Xue decided to inquire about the market first.

She stopped a passing auntie and asked her some questions about food prices. The auntie answered her questions very enthusiastically and pointed to the end of the street, saying that there were many merchants buying food there.

After Jiang Xue thanked the aunt gratefully, she took Jiang Feng and walked towards the end of the street.

Jiang Xue and Jiang Feng stood in front of Feng's Grain Store at the end of the street. The store was wide and full of goods, from pots and pans to all kinds of grains. The scale of the store reflected the prosperity of the town. Although the classification was not detailed, the richness of the goods was still amazing.

Seeing two people stop, the waiter stuck his head out of the door and looked them up and down. Seeing that they were dressed simply, he secretly judged that these two people probably couldn't afford to buy any expensive items.

Therefore, he was too lazy to even come out to the counter. He stood at the door and said to the two of them with disdain: "Rice bran is six cents a pound, brown rice is fifteen cents a pound, beans are eight cents..." His tone revealed his contempt for the two of them.

Jiang Xue couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when she heard what the waiter said. However, she quickly calmed down and thought that the purpose of her visit was to inquire about the price of grain. She took a deep breath, walked into the store, and asked, "What's the price of rice?"

When the waiter heard the word "rice", a look of surprise appeared on his face, as if he had heard a joke from an Arabian Nights.

He glanced at Jiang Xue and said impatiently: "What? Rice? Did I hear you right? People of your status are worthy of eating rice? Why don't you buy it? Stop making trouble, go away, go away quickly, don't delay my business." He obviously didn't take Jiang Xue seriously and thought she couldn't afford rice.

Jiang Xue was indeed angry. She felt that the waiter's attitude was very rude and that he looked down on people. In her opinion, everyone has the right to ask about prices and should not be discriminated against because of their clothes or appearance.

Seeing Jiang Xue arguing with the waiter, Jiang Feng was a little worried. He was afraid that this would cause more trouble, so he gently pulled Jiang Xue's sleeve, signaling her to forget it and leave.

Jiang Feng knew that their family had enough rice reserves, and he came out this time just to understand the market price, so there was no need to argue over such a small matter. Adhering to the principle of "less trouble is worse than more trouble", he tried to calm the dispute.

However, Jiang Xue did not give up. She slapped Jiang Feng's hand away and questioned the waiter in a firm tone: "How do you know I can't afford it? If you open a door to do business, are you afraid of people asking about the price?" In Jiang Xue's view, this is a matter of principle. She cannot tolerate others looking down on her because of her clothes.

At this time, Shopkeeper Wang in the inner room was walking around anxiously. He learned that the rice purchased this time was robbed by bandits. If he repurchased and sent it to Yunwu Town, it would take at least half a month. This gave Shopkeeper Wang a headache. He didn't know how to explain and respond to the people in the various mansions.

Just when Shopkeeper Wang was upset, he heard a quarrel outside. He pushed the door open angrily and walked out, looking sharply at the waiter and Jiang Xue who were arguing.

"What are you arguing about! Er Gouzi, if you don't want to do this, get out of here. This is not a place for you to make a scene." Shopkeeper Wang's words frightened the waiter Liu Er Gouzi. He knew that this job was hard-earned and he couldn't lose it because of a momentary impulse. So he quickly lowered his head and dared not say anything.

Liu Xiaoer quickly put on a flattering smile, turned around and pointed at Jiang Xue and Jiang Feng, and said to Shopkeeper Wang: "Shopkeeper, these two are unruly people from the countryside. They are making trouble here and they don't buy anything."

Shopkeeper Wang glared at Liu Xiaoer and said sternly, "Troublemaker? What did I teach you? Your duty is to serve the guests well! What are you making a fuss about? Go and serve the guests. If you can't do it well, get out!"

After hearing what Shopkeeper Wang said, Liu Xiaoer was so scared that he dared not say another word.

After hearing what Wang said, Jiang Xue's impression of him instantly improved. She believed that the service industry should really serve with the standard of "customers are God". Only in this way can the business last long and the customer flow increase.

At this time, Liu Xiaoer came over with a big smile on his face and asked, "Sir, what do you need?"

Jiang Xue didn't look at Liu Xiaoer, but cast her eyes on Wang the shopkeeper and asked, "How much is a pound of rice?"

Shopkeeper Wang was about to go back to his room when he heard Jiang Xue's words. He paused, frowned, and said, "Little girl, my last name is Wang, you can call me Shopkeeper Wang. The current price of rice in our store is 60 wen per pound, but I'm sorry, all the rice in the store has been reserved. You may have to wait until next month to buy it."

Jiang Xue was shocked to hear the price of rice. She thought to herself, "One tael is equal to one thousand coins, and one coin is equal to one yuan, so one pound of rice is sixty yuan. No wonder people in this world can't afford rice. Even in modern times, this price would make people hungry."

She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Shopkeeper Wang, it's only the beginning of the month, why are the rice selling so fast? Are there many people buying rice?"

Shopkeeper Wang hesitated for a moment and explained, "It was just after the Chinese New Year and it was still snowing in many places. It was not easy to transport food. As a result, when we were in Chuanzhou, all the food was robbed by robbers. I am very worried now and don't know what to do."

At this point, Shopkeeper Wang felt even more depressed. He thought it was pointless to talk to a little girl about this, so he shook his head and prepared to go back to the house.

However, Jiang Xue's eyes suddenly lit up. She felt that she had just arrived and needed to make some connections. Shopkeeper Wang seemed to be a nice person. Although his price was a little high, it was not certain that anyone would buy it. So, she decided to go with the flow and do a favor.

She quickly called over Shopkeeper Wang, strode up to him, and said, "Shopkeeper, how much rice do you need? I can sell it to you."

Hearing Jiang Xue's words, Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment. He felt that this little girl seemed a little whimsical and didn't look like someone who could afford rice. So he shook his head and said, "Little girl, I appreciate your kindness. But you need to understand that this is not a small amount of food. Do you really have a way to get it?"