Parents are busy farming

Then he gestured with his hands while speaking, and when he stopped talking, the master translated what he said.

"He said that they harvested rice twice after we left, so they have a lot of food. In addition, other places also know about our last visit, and they also want to exchange food with us for some other things!"

Ye Zifen heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this. She thought: That's good, if she's here, this trip won't be in vain.

Then the officer began to ask Ye Zifen what other things had been brought this time and what those things were used for.

Ye Zifen picked out a few and answered them one by one.

When the officer heard Ye Zifen's words, his eyes lit up, as if he had seen a pile of gold, and he nodded repeatedly.

Although Ye Zifen and the officer did not speak the same language, through gestures and expressions, as well as the translation by the master, both sides were able to understand each other's goodwill.

Finally, the adult clapped his hands and asked someone to bring a plate of fruit and a bowl of rice.

He pointed at the food and said to Ye Zifen, "Please try the delicacies of our country!"

Ye Zifen smiled politely, picked up a piece of fruit and tasted it. It tasted very good.

But when he saw the bowl of rice, he frowned.

It turns out that people here don't use chopsticks to eat, but eat directly with their hands.

Ye Zifen looked at her dusty hands and really didn't want to dirty these delicious foods.

So she politely declined, saying that she was full.

After everyone had finished their meal, the officer sent one of his men to lead Ye Zifen and others to check the amount of food and calculate how much it could be converted into the supplies they brought.

Last time, Zhang Gaoyi and his men exchanged for silver, but that silver was insignificant compared to the goods they brought.

The officer wanted to know if he could exchange the silver for some of the items on their ship.

Ye Zifen smiled and replied, "Of course, after we check the food, I will take you to see the items we brought this time."

After Ye Zifen's words were conveyed to the officer through the translator, he quickly nodded in agreement and urged his men to take Ye Zifen to check the food as soon as possible.

Ye Zifen and several caravan masters followed the servant to the place where the grain was stored.

On the way, Ye Zifen couldn't help but sigh to Mu Hongzhou: "The people here are so simple, they say whatever they think."

She found these people interesting and not as complicated as people in other places.

Mu Hongzhou shook his head, disagreeing: "But this is only the chief of this island. People on other islands may not be like him."

After all, every place has its own characteristics and situations.

Ye Zifen looked at Mu Hongzhou and thought that what he said made sense.

She later explained: "Last time, we didn't go anywhere else because this place was able to meet the needs of our fishing boats."

However, if they needed more food supplies, they might have to look to other islands.

Mu Hongzhou looked at everyone and reminded them, "If they don't have enough food here, we still have to be extremely careful when we go to other places."

After all, in an unfamiliar place, safety always comes first.

Ye Zifen nodded to show that she understood, and reassured Mu Hongzhou: "I know what to do. Don't worry."

They continued on their way and finally came to the place where the food was stored.

There are small wooden houses there, they are built on the water, but the bottom is about one meter away from the water surface.

Ye Zifen couldn't help but feel a little confused: "Is this the barn? If we store the grain like this, won't the grain get damp?"

Ye Zifen frowned, she really couldn't understand why so much food was piled together without any measures to prevent moisture.

She turned to look at her master, hoping to get some answers from him.

The master was also confused, but he decided to help Ye Zifen ask the person who came with them.

After some communication, the master finally understood the reason.

It turned out that the people here did not have enough warehouses to store large amounts of food, so they could only store them in wooden houses.

Before putting it into the barn, they will carefully dry the grain to ensure it is dry.

In addition, their millet is stored together with the husk and then pounded when it is needed for consumption.

However, Ye Zifen was still not satisfied with this explanation. She was worried that such storage method might cause the grain to get damp, moldy or even infested with insects.

So she decided to go and check out the situation in the barn herself.

The man who brought them here seemed very nervous, fearing that Ye Zifen would refuse to buy their food because of this incident.

He quickly opened a barn and signaled to Ye Zifen that she could go in and take a look.

Ye Zifen stepped carefully on the wood between the path and the barn and looked inside the barn.

There seemed to be a lot of leaves spread around the barn. The surface of those leaves was shiny and looked like they had a certain waterproof effect.

Ye Zifen asked curiously, "Are the leaves around here waterproof?"

The servant nodded repeatedly, and then muttered a lot.

The master translated, "He said there are many layers of leaves at the bottom of the barn, and they turn the grain regularly to ensure it doesn't get damp."

After hearing this explanation, Ye Zifen felt a little relieved. As long as the quality of the food could be guaranteed, it would be fine.

But she was still a little worried, so she reached out and grabbed a handful of millet and felt it in her hand. She was relieved only after making sure it was dry.

Ye Zifen looked around and asked the man, "How long can you keep this food?"

After the master finished translating for him, the man stared at Ye Zifen and kept talking incoherently.

The master said, "He said they can keep the grain for two quarters. If they can't finish it after two quarters, they have to give all the old rice to people like them, because the rice is not as delicious as before."

This is reasonable, as Daxia's tax grain is usually stored for one year, and new grain will be stored in the second year. The old grain will be sold to grain merchants or shipped to various places that need grain.

This was also a way for the imperial court to collect taxes.

The situation here is similar to that of Daxia, but due to the humid climate here, the grain can be stored for a shorter period of time.

Afterwards, Ye Zifen and his team carefully checked four or five barns, and after confirming that all the food was in good condition, they went to meet the local chief.

"Are you satisfied with our food?" the officer asked impatiently as soon as they met.

Ye Zifen smiled and nodded, expressing satisfaction, and told the other party: "Next we will start loading the ship and see how much food we can load. In addition, the price of food this time is still the same as the last batch. I wonder if you are satisfied?"

Hearing this, the officer quickly nodded in agreement.