Chapter 77: Ma Cuilan
Chapter 77 Ma Cuilan
The shopkeeper was afraid that they would lower the price, so he added: "This price is already very cheap. Our Jianghuai provinces are close to Jiangnan and have not been affected by disasters, so we can have this price. If it were in Zhongzhou and other places, the price of cotton cloth would be exorbitant. I heard that in Zhongzhou , old cotton has been sold for 300 cash per catty, tsk tsk, three times more expensive than new cotton. Further east, you can’t buy cotton even if you have money.”
“There is also the price of food. I heard that a pound of rice and noodles in Zhongzhou has been sold for 100 yuan, and there is still a rush to buy it. If it is slow, I can’t buy it.”
Third Grandpa hurriedly asked: "Hasn't the government already provided disaster relief? Why are prices in Zhongzhou still so expensive? Prices in He'an Prefecture won't rise as outrageously as in Zhongzhou, right?"
"The government is providing disaster relief, but it can only stabilize the Jianghuai Prefecture before the year. Zhongzhou wants to stabilize after the new year." The shopkeeper said, and then smiled and said: "Don't worry, our He'an Prefecture It is close to Jiangnan. In order to protect Jiangnan, the government must protect our He'an Prefecture and Linhe Prefecture. If prices in other places increase, prices in these two prefectures are not allowed to rise further. The government is in charge."
If the government hadn't given them an order, he would have raised the price of cotton cloth.
Grandpa San breathed a sigh of relief. They had been running around for more than half a year and had just settled down. They could no longer withstand the trouble.
“Old man, how much cotton and cotton cloth do you want?” the shopkeeper asked with a smile. These people have no clothes to keep out the cold, so they probably need to buy a lot of cloth.
The third grandfather said: "I need ten feet of cotton cloth, one piece of coarse kudzu cloth, and six pounds of new cotton."
The smile on the shopkeeper's face was almost unsustainable. The coarse kudzu cloth was not very warm, and it was cheap. A piece of kudzu cloth cost only three hundred cents.
Gu Jinli didn’t want Third Grandpa to be looked down upon, so he continued: “My family needs two bolts of cotton cloth, three bolts of coarse kudzu cloth, and twenty kilograms of new cotton.”
When the shopkeeper heard what Gu Jinli said, he smiled from ear to ear and shouted to the waiter: "Hurry up and get the cloth!"
When Gu Dashan heard what Gu Jinli said, he was startled and hurriedly whispered to Gu Jinli: "Xiaoyu, is this too much? You don't need to buy cotton cloth. Our family can just buy coarse kudzu cloth. We don't need new cotton or miscellaneous cotton." That’s good.”
“Dad, new cotton has been dried and can be used for several years. Miscellaneous cotton cannot keep warm. Old cotton is damp yellow cotton and will not last two years. We might as well buy good ones and continue to use them in the future.”
This thing is not much at all. There are six people in their family. It takes ten kilograms of cotton to make a cotton coat and trousers for each person. They also need to make at least three quilts. One bed cannot carry three kilograms of cotton. It's freezing, so these twenty pounds of cotton may seem like a lot, but actually they're not enough.
Third Grandpa said: "Xiaoyu is right, you have to buy good cotton. If you buy it twice, you won't be able to use it next winter."
Doctor Du also said: "It's still cold now, and it will be cold until March next year. You can't catch the cold. If you get sick, it will be more expensive to buy medicine."
After hearing this, Gu Dashan made a calculation and agreed.
Doctor Du also bought half a piece of cotton cloth, half a piece of coarse kudzu cloth, and ten pounds of new cotton.
Qin Sanlang bought a lot. He asked for two bolts of cotton cloth, two bolts of coarse kudzu cloth, and fifteen pounds of new cotton.
The shopkeeper was very happy and soon asked the clerk to bring all their things.
Gu Jinli asked the shopkeeper: "Uncle shopkeeper, do you have any rags here? We bought so many things, you have to add some to them. This addition is meant to bring some sweetness and blessing to our family."
"Hey, you little girl, you can talk. Okay, there are still three packages of rags. I'll give you one package. It will be a sweetener for our family during the New Year."
When Gu Jinli heard this, he quickly asked: "Uncle shopkeeper, how much does a pack of rags cost at your house?"
The miscellaneous cotton consists of rags mixed with wool and cotton. Others will not give you all the rags for free.
The shopkeeper said: "It's not expensive, a bag is ten pounds. If you want it, I can give you twenty cents per bag." It works out to two cents per pound, which is very cheap.
Gu Jinli said: "We all want it, thank you, uncle shopkeeper."
These rags can be stuffed to make pillows or even quilts to keep out the cold. If they are large, they can also be spliced together to make cloth bags or shoe uppers. They have many uses.
The shopkeeper asked the clerk to bring her three bags of rags, and also gave her two clean sacks so that she could use them to carry her things.
Gu Jinli thanked the shopkeeper and gave him another forty coins. He and Gu Dashan arranged the things together. They put the cloth into the basket and the cotton. After loading it, they tied it to the hook of the pole, picked up the basket and left.
When leaving the gate of Buzhuang, two playful men and a woman rushed towards me and almost bumped into them.
The man complained to them first, scolding them: "Why are you walking? You almost bumped into my sister Lan, please apologize quickly!"
Gu Jinli frowned, raised his head to see the faces of the two of them, and immediately pointed at the man and said: "Grandpa Third, Dad, look, this is Uncle Jun Wang of Zhong Xiucai's family who is fleeing with us, and his god-sister Ma Cuilan.”
She said, her eyes falling on the hands held by Zhong Junwang and Ma Cuilan, tsk tsk, is this going to be bloody?
This Zhong Junwang has a wife and children. What's going on with Ma Cuilan holding hands?
As soon as Zhong Junwang heard their words and knew that they were people fleeing the desert, he suddenly became silent.
Ma Cuilan quickly withdrew her hand, lowered her head, took two steps back, and kept a distance from Zhong Junwang.
Because Gu Jinli and the others bought a lot of things, the shopkeeper immediately helped him: "Hey, you were so angry that those who didn't know better thought he was a young man from the town. He turned out to be a refugee fleeing the famine."
The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "Our cloth store does not accept credit. If you want to come in, you need money."
Although the shopkeeper doesn’t like the victims who are fleeing the famine, he also looks down upon those who are also victims of the disaster but still bully them. That kind of person is the most undesirable.
The women nearby who were watching the excitement and didn't take it too seriously said, "Sister, I'm sorry, this is not a kiss, so why are you holding hands? It's immoral!"
Zhong Junwang's face turned livid when he heard this. Ma Cuilan secretly glared at Gu Jinli with an evil look, turned around and ran away. Zhong Junwang hurriedly chased after him.
Grandpa Third looked at the backs of Zhong Junwang and Ma Cuilan running away, and felt very happy. Fortunately, their family did not adopt Ma Cuilan. Otherwise, this family tradition will be corrupted to an unknown extent.
This old Zhong family may not have a good life in the future.
After the brief farce, several people left the village.
After leaving Buzhuang, Doctor Du said goodbye to them: "Brother Gu, Chenjiacun is a bit far from the town. It takes three hours to walk. There are two children at home. I have to go back first. You can come to the town later. , remember to go to Xuanhufang to find me, we are all fellow villagers in the same town, but we have to come and go often."
"Okay, you go back first. If our family comes to town in the future, we will definitely go to Xuanhufang to see you." Third Grandpa said with a smile.
(End of this chapter)
