Early in the morning.

The cat squatted in front of a simple stove made of three stones, holding a wooden spoon and stirring the pot.

Two steps away, Chen Chu used a knife to sharpen a boiling goat carved from wood and handed it to the tiger head who had been waiting aside.

"How is it? Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

Hutou responded, trotted up to his sister, and showed off his new toy to her sister.

"It's sunflower soup again." Chen Chu also walked over and couldn't help but grimace when he saw the green soup boiling in the pottery pot.

Since the three of them went up the mountain, Chen Chu has been responsible for building shacks, cultivating fields and other physical work, while Mao'er has been responsible for mending, cooking, washing and other daily trivial matters.

This is also the normal division of labor for most farm couples at this time.

"Spring famine is like this." Mao'er heard what Chen Chu didn't like mallow vegetables. Since food and clothing were within her scope, she raised her little face and explained to Chen Chu: "Now that there is no shortage of green and yellow, these mallow vegetables are still the best."

Aunt Yang gave it to me. In autumn, when the wild fruits in the mountains are ripe, we will have more to eat."

Mao'er had already finished the little corn he brought from home. In the past few days, it was all thanks to the villagers' support of a bowl of rice from the east and a handful of vegetables from the west to keep the three of them from going hungry.

However, everyone’s food tank has bottomed out, and continuing like this is not an option.

Chen Chu thought for a while and said: "Tomorrow Yang Dalang is going to the county town to sell leather. Let's go with them and buy some food."

"Well, it's up to you to arrange it."

.......

The next day.

At a quarter past two o'clock, before dawn, Chen Chu and Mao'er got up early.

This time, the cat learned to be smart and blackened his face with pot ashes before setting off.

It seems that she has understood why Chen Chu wanted to dirty her face last time.

At the beginning of the morning, Mao'er entrusted the tiger head to Aunt Yang, and the group slowly went down the mountain.

In addition to Chen Chu and Zhao Maoer, the team in the escape village included Yang Zhen, Yao eldest son and two other young people named Wu Kui and Peng Er respectively.

Two rickshaws were piled with various kinds of skins and dried game. Several people pushing the carts talked excitedly about exchanging money to buy a few feet of cloth for their wives or mothers, and then cutting a few kilograms of oily, fat pork to satisfy their children's cravings.<

/p>

Tongshan County is a county under the rule of Tangzhou. The county seat is thirty miles north of Qifengling.

Along the way, the scattered villages were not very lively, and occasionally the ruins of the buildings could be seen through the morning fog.

However, from time to time on the official road, we encountered one or two caravans composed of capable young and strong men.

According to Yang Zhen, after the Dingwei disaster seven years ago, the Jin people, together with the puppet Qi army, invaded the south again in the second year.

On the border of Tangzhou, the local rebels cooperated with the Zhou Dynasty garrison, and fought back and forth with the Jin-Qi coalition forces.

But just when the two sides were inextricably divided, the frightened Emperor Chai Chong of the Zhou Dynasty took the initiative to propose peace. Not only did he face the north and proclaim himself a vassal, he called the Emperor of Jin his uncle and the Emperor of Qi his brother. He also ceded the Tang Dynasty north of the Huai River.

, the four states of Deng, Cai, Ying and Qi were bounded by the Huai River.

The north of Huai River is Qi, and the south of Huai River is Zhou.

Tongshan County is close to the Huai River, and Qifengling is only 40 miles away from the border between the two countries.

When Yang Zhen, who was smiling all day long, talked about this, there was still a sarcastic smile on his lips.

......

More than an hour later, several people arrived at the county seat of Tongshan County.

The city wall in Tongshan County is neither towering nor spectacular. The city gate is low and narrow, and there are three or five flabby Han soldiers standing outside the doorway.

When we entered the city, we saw flags and flags standing there and pedestrians flowing in. It turned out to be a prosperous place.

"In the past few years, there have been endless wars. Rich people and squires from the countryside have all moved into the city. Now there are at least 1,500 households in the city." Yang Zhen explained this way, and then whispered: "And Tongshan County is Zhou, Qi

The place where the smuggling caravans from the two countries meet and trade is naturally much more lively."

"You know quite a lot," Chen Chu said.

Yang Dalang chuckled.

Later, the group went to the cattle and horse market and sold the skins and game they brought.

"The price of grain has increased again. Rice costs one thousand two hundred yuan per stone, and wheat costs one thousand four hundred yuan per stone." Wu Kui, who was traveling with him, said to Yang Zhen after inquiring about the price from the grain store.

"Mom, when the spring famine comes, these unscrupulous grain merchants will increase prices randomly!" Yang Zhen cursed and squatted in front of the grain store to count the money.

I got more than 7,000 yuan in total from selling skins and game.

This money could buy more than 900 kilograms of grain last autumn, but now it can only be exchanged for 600 kilograms. The eight households in Jiehu Village, plus Chen Chu's family, have a total of more than 40 people, old and young.

Even if you cook porridge with wild vegetables, each person still needs at least three taels of food per day to satisfy his hunger.

During the two most difficult months of the spring famine, eight hundred kilograms of grain was the bottom line.

"Brother Kui, Brother Peng, let's not make clothes for our family this time. All the money will be exchanged for food rations. We'll take care of our stomachs first."

Yang Zhen thought about it and made arrangements.

Although Wu Kui and Peng Er were a little disappointed, they both nodded and agreed. Yang Dalang was right, it is important to wrap your belly.

Chen Chu stood aside silently.

After so many days of getting along, he had already discovered something unusual about Fugong Village.

For example, there is a lame old man named Xu in the village, and his 12-year-old grandson.

There is only one old man and one young man in the family, and there is no production capacity at all.

But Chen Chu saw more than once that the villagers gave half a liter of food to your family and three liters to his family.

Including Chen Chu and Mao'er, if it hadn't been for everyone's help, they would have been hungry a few days ago.

The saying that people often say, "I am old, I am as old as others; I am young, I am as young as others", this is probably how it is reflected.

"Is there a pawnshop in the city?" Chen Chu suddenly asked.

......

"Boss, be a thing."

At Caiji Pawn Shop, Wang Chaofeng, who was standing in the closet, glanced outside through the fence after hearing the sound, and saw one, no, a group of bumpkins standing outside the closet.

Wang Chaofeng lightly twirled his goatee, but his good professionalism still allowed him to greet him in a programmed manner: "What do you want to be, these guest officials?"

Chen Chu reached out to take out something from the waistband of his trousers, and there was a soft clatter.

"This is what you want!" Chen Chu slapped a piece of rag on the counter domineeringly.

Wang Chaofeng frowned, thinking that this poor boy who came from nowhere was trying to make himself happy. Just when he was about to call the waiter to drive them out, his eyes swept across the piece of 'cloth' and he couldn't help but be stunned...

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This 'cloth' is neither brocade nor silk, it looks like jade but not jade. It is so light and transparent that you can even see the wood grain on the counter through the 'cloth'.

Wang Chaofeng had never seen such light and thin fabric. He couldn't help but reach out and wanted to take a closer look, but Chen Chu pulled it back.

"Boss, do you want to take it or not?" Chen Chu stuffed the things back into his waistband.

"May I ask, little brother, what is this?" Wang Chaofeng has been working as a pawnbroker for half his life, but he doesn't recognize this thing.

"What?"

Chen Chu lightly touched the table with his fingers and said, "Here is a bowl of water."

"Hey, I was so busy that I neglected my little brother." Wang Chaofeng quickly apologized and turned to the waiter and said: "Serve tea. Quickly serve tea to the guests."

"It's not tea, it's water, cold water!" Chen Chu corrected.

Although Wang Chaofeng didn't know why, he still did as Chen Chu said.

Stop pouring and bring me a bowl of water.

Chen Chu took out the rag from his waist again, held both ends of the 'rag' with both hands, and shook it hard, and the 'rag' swelled up.

The ‘rag’ turned out to be a ‘cloth bag’.

"Did you see it? This thing can trap the wind."

Chen Chu immediately picked up the bowl of water, turned his wrist and poured it into the transparent 'cloth bag'.

The cloth bag was stretched into a round ball, and the clear crystal contained inside was not leaking at all!

"Ouch!" Wang Chaofeng exclaimed subconsciously.

Chen Chu walked up to Wang Chaofeng with the 'cloth bag' and said solemnly: "This is a treasure passed down from my family, unique in the world. It can be filled with water and is not soaked by water; it can be held by wind and cannot be broken by wind. It is as light as nothing and tough.

Like leather, it’s called - water-proof and wind-wrapped Qiankun bag..."

There is a big red word "Fa" written in the middle of this water-proof and wind-wrapped Qiankun bag!

There was a line of small characters written under the word "Fa". Wang Chaofeng hurriedly came forward, read it carefully and read out softly: "Dafa convenience plastic bag..."
Chapter completed!