North and South groceries

Looking at the pitiful looks of the five pairs of Qiqi Ai, Luo Yong was still reluctant to make a move after all.

In the end, I still had to go to the pigsty, and cut some relatively soft hair from the belly of a pig. Before that, he cut the hair from the back of the pig, where the hair was the hardest, and there were softer hairs in other places.

Luo used to make a pig hair toothbrush for himself and Erniang, but Erniang said that the pig hair was too hard, and she also wanted a wool one.

Luo Yong thought about it. Most people at this time did not have the habit of brushing their teeth. Like their family, they used to use a piece of linen cloth to scrub their teeth while washing their face.

Unlike in the 21st century, everyone is used to toothbrushes. Luo uses the cheap toothbrush he used when he was a child. The bristles are as hard as a scrub brush.In fact, that's not good, it wears too much, especially for children's tender teeth, the enamel will be worn away.

So Luo Yong made another wool toothbrush for Er Niang, and the old lady and his wife also made one for them.

Now, every morning, Luo Yong can see his children squatting in rows by the ditch outside the yard brushing their teeth.

This morning, the younger ones at home all went out to play.

Those few are still growing up, so it is not enough to detain them at home all day long. Every morning and evening when the sun is not very bright, Luo Yong will release them and tell them to run around the village.

The four little ones had finished walking, and even the donkey and the two dogs followed.

The chickens are also released, and let them go outside to find food by themselves. Most chickens and geese in the village are raised in this way. They are fed in the morning and released, and they will come back by themselves before dark at night, and then they will be fed with chaff and wheat husks. and so on, they were driven to the hen shed to sleep, and some laying hens would come back to lay eggs by themselves.

The poultry here is mainly chickens and geese. I have never seen ducks. I don’t know if there are more of them in the south. Anyway, they are rare here in Lishi County.

The Luo family's small roosters and hens were all hatched on the kang, and nineteen of them hatched one after another. When they first hatched, two of them died after being reared, and now there are seventeen more. But there are more hens, eleven in total, and only six roosters.

Recently, some young hens have started to lay eggs. Luo Erniang filled two wicker baskets with hay and put them in the chicken shed to serve as egg nests for the little hens. Then she covered them with the egg shells she had eaten. Make a hollow egg shape and put it in the chicken coop to make the little hens look like it. When the little hens see it, they will lay eggs there.

The children at home often go to see it. If they see one or two real eggs protruding from the side of the egg shell, they will immediately take it out like a treasure, shouting: "Brothers and sisters, look, there is another egg." Eggs." Then the brothers and sisters had to do the math, how many eggs they had today, and how many more they collected yesterday.

Now those little ones have gone out to play, only Luo Yong and Luo Erniang are left at home.Luo used to look at his grocery store in the front, and made some toothbrushes by the way, while Erniang was knitting woolen socks in the back yard.

In the backyard, the light is better than in the house, and it is also more breathable. Sitting under the eaves and doing some work is more comfortable than in the house.

Luo Yong also thought in his heart that it would not be a long-term solution for Erniang Luo to do the work of woolen socks alone. Sooner or later, he would have to find someone else to do it. In that case, this technology will soon be popularized. Although it wasn't a bad thing, for him, it was still a bit of a waste of money.

However, as long as Zhao Chen is trustworthy and can supply him with wool for another two years, he can still earn some money. After all, cashmere is not easy to come by. Even if other people can learn the craft, they will not receive enough materials. , It is also difficult to compete with him.

Luo Yong fixed the bristles on the wooden handle while thinking about these things in his heart.

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside the yard, and then someone shouted loudly: "Is Luo Sanlang at home?"

"I'm here." Luo Yong replied.

"This courtyard is empty, I think you've all gone out." Two burden-carrying men walked in outside, one old and one strong, a father and son, people from a small village on a nearby mountain, and they often come from the mountain recently. Cut some carnations and take them to Lishi County to sell.

"I thought they were too noisy in the yard, so I kicked them out." Luo Yong laughed.

"The two of us are going to sell bamboo in the county, and I need to borrow your donkey cart." The old man put down the burden, untied a few bundled yams from one end of the shoulder pole, and handed them to Luo Sanlang.

"It's easy to say, five pairs are outside right now, wait for me to shout." Luo Yong took the yam, then went outside the yard and shouted twice: "Five pairs! Five pairs!"

Five pairs have two long ears, and their hearing power is much stronger than that of Siniang Wulang and the others. Every time they go out to play together, Luo Yong calls out five pairs at the gate of his courtyard, and the group will come back soon.

"Did someone hunt any wild game in your village today?" Luo Yong returned to the courtyard, poured two bowls of cold boiled water for the two of them, and asked.

Last time someone in their village hunted a few pheasants and carried them down the mountain on a pole. When they passed by Xipo Village, one of Luo Yong's disciples happened to meet him and led him to the Luo's yard.

When Luo Yong asked the price, he immediately bought all the pheasants. Originally, he planned to keep them in cages and eat them slowly one by one. Later, he found that these pheasants were not easy to raise, so he killed them all. , I made smoked chicken if I couldn't finish it, and there are still two hanging in the kitchen.

From then on, if the people in their village had pheasants and hares to sell, they would first come to Luo's yard to ask. If Luo Sanlang wanted to buy them, they would not have to travel so far to get them to Lishi County. to sell.

"But it's hard to catch. One will be killed by accident. Now that the weather is hot, it can't be kept. Most of them are eaten at home, or pickled with salt." The old man's son said.

"That's right." Luo Yong nodded. Although there are many wild animals on the mountain these days, they are not so easy to catch. There are wild animals in the deep mountains and old forests, and no one dares to enter them. Most of the animals near the village are pheasants and hares. They are also very alert.

"Please pay attention to me, both of you. If there are live rabbits, I would like to buy a few. Small rabbits that have not grown up are better." Luo Yong said to the two of them.

"Since Saburo wants to buy it, I'll help you pay attention." The man replied.

After the two had finished drinking the cold water, the five couples also came back from the outside, together with Siniang Wulang and the two dogs.

Luo used to harness the five couples to the cart, and the father and son piled the bamboo they had brought from the mountain into the donkey cart, but he didn't sit in it. After all, the donkey is no better than a healthy ox, and it is good enough to pull these bamboos. .

The two had already borrowed a few cars from Luo Yong before. After all, there was still thirty miles to go from Xipo Village to the county seat. The two of them had exhausted their energy carrying bamboos from the mountain, and they carried them all the way to the city. It is really too much.

In the past, people in their village would borrow wheelbarrows from the villagers at the foot of the mountain. It must be much easier to have a wheelbarrow. Only the wheelbarrow is loaded with goods. If you want to walk on the dirt road in this country, you need two people, one person pushing It takes some effort to pull the cart alone.

A few days ago, they tentatively asked Luo Yong, saying that they wanted to borrow his donkey cart. Luo Yong happened to not use a donkey cart that day, so they agreed.The father and son wanted to give some money and food, but Luo Yong refused to accept it. After all, he didn't intend to make money by renting a car.

A few days later, someone from their village went down the mountain again, and the father and son asked the other party to bring some yams to Luo’s house. Luo Yong saw that this was yam, and it seemed to be a pure natural wild yam, so he was also very happy. He also asked his disciples to help him buy some white rice and meat from the city, and cooked a pot of porridge with yam and lean meat for the children in the family.

After that, they asked Luo Yong to borrow it twice, and each time they came, they had to bring Luo Yong a small bundle of yams as fare.They gave them a lot, and sometimes they couldn't finish them, so Luo Yong dried them into yam slices and planned to save them for eating after winter.

Even after five pairs of hard work, every time he came back, Luo Yong had to feed him some good food, a handful of wheat and a spoonful of miso. As a donkey, he ate extravagantly.

After they loaded the car, Luo raised his hand and patted the neck of the fifth pair. The fifth pair made two high-pitched voices, stepped forward, pulled the car, and walked out of the yard with their heads held high. The father and son also followed. .

The weather was fine that day, and the sun was a little too high. When we were tired from walking, we found a shaded place to rest. The father and son each ate some dry food and drank some water, and also fed some water to the donkey, and a few The donkey also ate very deliciously.

After resting enough, he put on the car and continued walking, stopping and stopping along the way, and when the two of them reached the county town together, it was past noon.

After entering the city gate, I went to Heng's carriage building. Along the way, I could often see horse-drawn carriages shuttling through the city. When passing some wine shops and restaurants, I could often see one or two horse-drawn carriages parked on the road. side.

This was rare in the past, Lishi County is not a rich place, never had so many carriages.That is, recently, in some places not very far from them, some well-informed people learned that there was a strange thing called Yanerfei in Lishi County, so many people gathered from all over the place. Come.

Most of these people are businessmen, there are also servants of the big family, and a few craftsmen.Merchants seek profit, servants come here to obey the orders of the lords of various families, and those craftsmen, naturally, come here to learn.

Most of the artisans at this time had low social status and did not earn much. Many people even had to depend on the government or some big families to survive. There were not many independent families. Well, under such circumstances, those who can travel long distances to Lishi County for such news are also courageous and adventurous.

Walking to the door of Heng's car manufacturing shop, I saw people coming in and out of the shop, it was very lively.

……

"I can't make it for a while, and I, Aunt, said that I won't take orders now."

"Then you write a name for me in the notebook, and when you are willing to start taking orders again, you will pick up my family first. My name is... now I live in..."

……

……

"Job, get me a mold."

"Why is it you again?"

"The one I bought yesterday was dropped by my son, so I'll buy another one."

"Then you have to be more careful this time, there are not many models in the shop."

……

……

"Dare to ask this little gentleman, how much does it cost to buy your Yan Erfei?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid there will be no stock these days."

"How long will it be?"

"This……"

……

There were a lot of people in the shop, and the father and son driving the cart didn't bother to go in. The old man was watching the donkey cart outside, and his son squeezed in through the crowd.

"Old man, how do you sell this bamboo?" Some people saw that his bamboo was good, so they wanted to buy it.The bamboo on the cart is old enough, thick and thick, and long enough, not like some bamboos brought into the city to sell recently, the bamboo they get is getting thinner and shorter.

"Will you sell it or not? I've already told people that I can't sell it to others." The old man quickly waved his hand.

"That's all." The person who asked the question left with some regret.

Just now he also saw the old man deliberately parked the car in front of Heng's car manufacturing shop, thinking that it must be for sale, so he came to ask, after all, many people who come in and out of this car manufacturing shop use Now many country people have cut carnations and shipped them here to sell them. I saw a lot of them this morning.

"Hey! Swallows are flying! Someone made that swallows fly again!"

At this time, there was only a noise in the store, and then there was a burst of crowding. After a while, I saw a young man whose clothes and hair were messed up, pushing a Yanerfei, and walked away with a happy face. Na Heng built a cart and walked out.

"Young gentleman, you can sell this car for five hundred yuan, would you like to sell it?" After leaving the shop, after a few steps, several people surrounded him.

"Five hundred Wen? Yesterday someone offered me two pennies." The young man laughed.

"Two strings of money are two strings of money." The other party said immediately.

"I'll pay you three pennies, and you can buy this car from me, okay?" Someone raised the price right away.

"My car is not for sale, you should find someone else." The young man said, he rode on the Yan'er Fei, and traveled a long distance in a few strokes.

If it was an ordinary person, how could he make ten bamboo chains in such a short period of time? He mobilized all the servants in the family and hired some people to work at home, so he made these ten bamboo chains. I got a Yanerfei, how could I sell it to others so easily.

Those people saw how smooth he was riding the bicycle, and knew that the other party's family must not be short of two or three pennies, so they all dispersed.

But recently, there are indeed some people who exchange bamboo chains for Yan Erfei, and then use Yan Erfei to sell them for money. It is often heard that the price is two pennies and three pennies. It's enough, how much money can be sold at that time, how many people will divide it.

Some out-of-towners bought a Yan'erfei, and when they went back, they went back with them, and there was news that Yan'erfei in Lishi County only cost [-] yuan a car.

Many people in the local area got the news, even some small merchants with little wealth were very moved.

The old man waited outside the door for a while before his son finally came out, also being crowded into a mess.

"Can I get money in exchange?" the old man asked him hastily.

"I didn't change the money, I asked Mr. Heng Xiaolang to write it down for me, and when I saved up to ten, I will exchange them for a Yan'erfei." His son said.

"How long will it take to save?" The old man was also a little moved when he heard those people shouting at the door for a Yan'erfei two money and three money.

"You can ask other people in the village to make it together." His son said, raising his hand and raising the three extra pottery molds in his hand.

"I didn't earn a penny, but spent a few more." The old man smiled wryly.

"Aye, don't worry, I see the market of Yan'erfei. In the past three or two months, no matter what, it should not be less than three hundred yuan a car." His son said, putting those pottery molds into the bosom.

After leaving the Heng's car shop, the two drove the car to a familiar alley, sold all the bamboo to a few families in that alley, and then went out of the city to Xipo Village without stopping. Walk.

Tired from walking on the road, I still stopped to drink a few mouthfuls of water and eat a few mouthfuls of dry food.

"Aye, if you are tired, get in the car and go for a ride." The young man said to the old man.

"If you don't want to sit or sit, Luo Sanlang kindly lent us a donkey cart, so don't tire his donkey out." The old man waved his hand.

The two of them wanted to sell more bamboo to earn more money. There were quite a few loads of bamboo picked from the mountain. It was a bit hard for the five couples to pull on the way there. On the way back, the father and son refused to take the car , it's easy.

It was getting late, and the two of them went from dawn to dusk, one donkey, and the other until the moon came out, and the sky was full of stars, but they had not yet reached Xipo Village.

"Aye, when I earn some money and food, I will send all the young men in the family to study in private schools in the county." As he walked, the young man said to his old father.

"How can there be so much money and food?" The old man replied sullenly.

"If you can get into the county school and become an official in the future, you won't have to work as hard as you and I." The young man said.

"Hey... how easy is it? Look at this Lishi County, how many people can pass the exam every year, even if he is lucky enough to become a small official, what is it like to be an official?" What kind of background are these young men from our family..." The old man sighed and said slowly.

At this time, the officialdom is full of lords of gentry origin. Even if there are one or two children from poor families who rely on the imperial examination to embark on an official career, how can the official career be so easy?

"After reading a few books, it's better to be illiterate." After a long while, the young man said again in a muffled voice.

"Well, if you can earn the money and food, you can send them there." Does the old man really refuse to let his grandson go to school, but it's just that people like them want to pay for a scholar, so what is the point? For such an easy matter, his son has a big heart, and he wants to confess several times at the same time. I'm afraid that in the end, his body will be exhausted for life.

It was late at night when the two of them arrived outside Luo's courtyard in Xipo Village.

Luo Yong was still still awake at this time, so he lit an oil lamp at the canteen and read a book in his hand.Hearing the deep knock on the door, he got up and opened the courtyard door.

"Come in and have a rest." Seeing the tired looks of the two, Luo Yong hurriedly greeted them.

"No, the two of us have to go back now." It was so late, and they didn't want to disturb others: "I told this donkey to work hard."

"It doesn't matter, let it rest tonight, and it will be fine tomorrow." Luo Yong stroked Wu Pair's big hairy head, feeling a little distressed.

When the two left, Luo Yong led the five couples to the yard, unloaded the car for him, and fed it with a ladle of water.

"Ang...Ang...Ang...咴咴咴!" After drinking a few sips of water, the five couples began to beg for bean paste.

"Shh, don't make any noise, they are all asleep." Luo Yong shush it.

"Ang um...Ang um..." The five couples seemed to understand, and they lowered their voices a lot.

Luo Yong first fed him a little bean paste, and then put wheat in his palm to feed him.

The five couples were tired and hungry after a day's journey, and they couldn't usually eat such a good thing as wheat, but now they ate it with Luo's palm, and it was very sweet.

Under the moonlight, a young man in coarse white clothes sat on a wooden bench in the courtyard, feeding the donkey with grains of wheat in his hand.

His donkey was tall and strong, with a tuft of white hair on its head. At this time, reflecting the moonlight, it looked more and more white like jade. Among the donkeys, it should be regarded as a peerless beautiful donkey.