North and South groceries

After several spring rains, the weather began to become warm and humid, and Luo Yong's disciples began to help their master sow seeds again, driving the cattle and supporting the columbine cart, sowing the seeds into the soil row by row.

The Luo family's original fields, plus the newly acquired five hectares of fertile land, add up to about [-] mu of land, and this spring they cultivated this [-] mu of land.

After turning over and over again, over and over again, the Luo family's [-] mu of land was rehabilitated very meticulously. With such intensive cultivation, these fields should have a good harvest this year.

Most of the [-] mu of land is planted with beans, and a small part is planted with corn.

The tofu used by the Luo family to make fermented bean curd is not made by themselves, but the beans are processed by the villagers. Because his business has a long-term volume and is close at hand, the villagers only accept the leftover bean dregs from making tofu as compensation. .

This bean dregs is also very useful nowadays. Not only can those Dinghu people help clean the pigsty with bean dregs, but it can also be used to hire people to do farm work in the fields. This spring, many people in Xipo Village can use bean dregs to hire helpers. People earn bean dregs and go back, some keep them for their own rations, some take them to some pig farmers in other villages and exchange them for grain, and some take them to the Luo family to exchange them for fermented bean curd and other things. They kept what they ate, and some sold it.

The Luo family doesn't make tofu themselves, so they don't produce bean dregs. The bean dregs used by the family's pigs are basically exchanged with fermented bean curd and miso.

Luo Siniang sits at the canteen every day, and from time to time, adults and children from the village come to her with bean dregs to exchange for things. Although it is a small and inconspicuous business, both sides benefit a lot from it.

Villagers don’t eat all these things when they go back home. It’s inevitable for relatives to go back and forth. This time I brought two jars of fermented bean curd to this relative, and this relative returned some twine. When a liter of soy sauce passed, the relatives over there gave them some grains that were not available at home.

In the past, these were things that could only be obtained by spending money and food, but now you only need to exchange them with bean dregs.

After a while of busy spring plowing, every household can stop to take a breather.

Luo Yong's disciples also went home to reunite with their families. They waited for a few days, and then slowly considered their future livelihood.

From the autumn and winter of last year to the spring of this year, whether they went to Chang'an City or stayed in Lishi County, they all earned a lot of money and food, so there was no pressure at this time, just relax and rest for a while.

Luo Yong has no rest here, and more and more people come to him to buy soap. Nowadays, most of the people living in Xu's guest house are waiting for Luo Yong to issue an order.

The Xu brothers didn't have time to rest, and Heng Yu and his son probably didn't have time to rest either. I heard that the city has been very lively recently.

"Hemp thread! Is there anyone who still needs hemp thread?" Wang Dang and the others, after digging the [-] tree pits earlier, repaired and expanded the yard of Luo Yong's grandfather's house, and then Started a small business around here again.

They first bought some fermented bean curd paste and soy sauce from Luoyong, and then took these things by car to each village to find someone to exchange hemp thread, and then returned to Xipo Village and exchanged the hemp thread with the villagers for bean dregs, and finally used Bean dregs and Luo are replaced with fermented bean curd and miso.

"Is the hemp thread good this time? The hemp thread you recycled last time is not good." The villagers gathered here one after another listening to the yelling.Villagers in Xipo Village have less and less time to spin hemp since they started making tofu, so many people want to hoard some hemp thread at home.

"Last time I missed it. This time, Ahe and I went out to collect it. It must be thin and even." Wang Dang patted his chest to assure, and then picked up a small bundle of twine from the car and gave it to everyone. Take a closer look.

"But half a stone of bean dregs for a catty of hemp?" The villagers looked at the hemp thread this time and were quite satisfied. There are not many such good craftsmanship in their village.

"Exactly." Wang Dang said with a smile.

"You wait, I'll go back and get the bean dregs." Immediately someone decided to change it.

"I'll change some too." The adults in the village are busy making tofu, and the girls are busy knitting sweaters. There is really no one spinning hemp. If you don't use the bean dregs to stock up at home now, maybe in the future there will be more. It takes a lot of money to get food.

This cart of hemp thread was divided up by the villagers without much effort, and in exchange for a lot of bean dregs, the cart would not be able to hold it at all, so Wang Dang asked Ahe to stay here and watch, and he pushed the cart by himself. A cart transported these bean dregs to Luo's yard.

Most of the bean dregs exchanged today went into the Luo family’s yard, and the other half were transported back to their own yard by them. I don’t know if this small business will last long. According to Ahe’s intention, they will also raise a few of them themselves. pig.

"If anyone has wheat, you can also exchange some, and I will buy it with you at the market price." On this day, after finishing the transaction of fermented bean curd for bean dregs, Luo Yong said to Wang Dang.

The wheat that his family brought back from Xiahui has already been eaten, and they have exchanged some with the villagers, but it is still not enough. If they go to the city to buy it, it will take a long way, and it will take a lot of work. It would be appropriate to leave the business to Wang Dang and the others.

This year's wheat is about to come down. At this time, someone should be willing to sell the old wheat. After the wheat is harvested, Luo Yong will buy more new wheat. His family didn't plant it last year, so naturally there will be no wheat to harvest this year. , have to rely on buying.

"You don't need to take money, just change some soap for me." Wang Dang said with a smile.After digging those [-] tree pits, he looked much more relaxed, with no debts.

"If you want soap, you have to collect lard and exchange it with me, not wheat." Luo Yong laughed.

"Where can I collect lard, and now those merchants are collecting lard in the city, and they carry all the lard from our Lishi County up, and they can't buy it anywhere."

Wang Dang doesn't want to collect oil, isn't he unable to grab those people? In the past, three liters of corn can be exchanged for a catty of suet. Now those people can exchange for a bucket of corn. How can Wang Dang have the wealth to mix with them? .

Speaking of which, people who raised pigs last year really made a lot of money this time.

I sold pork to Luo Yong earlier, and then immediately used the money to buy piglets to raise. It shouldn’t be a loss. I hid the money at home when I got the money. I’m probably going to regret it by now. .

Recently, the price of piglets in their place is also very expensive. It is not cost-effective to start buying piglets at this time. If the price of meat and oil drops next year, they may have to lose money after working hard to raise pigs.

"If there is no lard, there is nothing I can do. There are so many eyes watching at the entrance of the village." The reason why those merchants bought lard everywhere was naturally to exchange it with Luo for soap: "I'll take a look at the pot of soap at the back."

"Okay, that's what I said." Naturally, Wang Dang also knew that this matter was useless.

The two were talking, before Luo Yong got up and went back to the backyard, he saw a few men in shabby clothes enter the yard: "But Luo Sanlang's house?"

"That's right, I am Luo Sanlang." Luo Yong walked out of the grocery store, listening to the other person's accent, he also had a faint guess in his heart.

"We are from Pingyi County. Last winter you had an appointment with Shen Weng. Today we are here to deliver pear seedlings for him." One of the older men said.

"Shen Weng?" Luo Yong noticed that the other party used "for" instead of "help".

"Shen Weng passed away years ago." People here are used to saying that death is gone.

"It's gone." Luo Yong said sadly.

"Sanlang doesn't need to worry about it. The old man sold those pears last year and earned some money. His family's children and grandchildren are filial, so he gave him away after a few days of good life." The other party said.

"Is Shen Weng's family all right? I remember that he came to sell pears with him years ago, and there was a young man who was about the same age as me." Luo Yong asked Shen Yi.

"Shen Yi is right behind, if you can't drive a few pigs fast, I'll come here first." A young man next to him said.

"You drove the pigs here?" Luo Yong was surprised.

"I heard that the price of pigs in Lishi County was high recently, so I traded some of my family's food for some pigs, and came here to sell them. Many villagers came together, and it was safe for more people to walk on mountain roads." Pingyi County and Lishi County It is closer to the border, from Shen Yuan's village to Xipo Village, it is not necessary to go through the county, it is closer to take the dirt road between the villages. They passed through several villages along the way, and it took them two days to get there. .

The pear saplings were just outside the courtyard. Luo Yong went out to see them. These people did not use a car because they had to go up the mountain road. Walk.

Luo Yong counted the number of saplings, a total of 53, including 21 large seedlings and 32 small seedlings.Earlier, Luo Yong and Shen Weng made an appointment for twenty large seedlings and thirty small seedlings. Obviously, the other party gave three more.

"These pear seedlings are not bad, but these big seedlings will bear fruit this year?" Luo Yong asked.

"As long as there are no injuries, we can bear fruit this year." One of the young men said: "At the beginning of spring, Shen Yi said that he would send the saplings here, but I was afraid of delaying the spring plowing. Before the pear tree blooms."

"It's nothing, the spring plowing is of course the most important thing." Luo Yongyan said.

For farmers at this time, nothing is as important as the crops in the field, and they can make money from the tofu business in Xipo Village, but when it comes to spring plowing, every household has to stop their business and go to work on the field work.

"It's getting late at this time, why don't you guys chat first, I planted these saplings for you." Wang Dang interrupted, scratching his neck.

"Do you know where to plant it?" Luo Yong asked him.

"Don't worry, I'm more familiar with your land than you. I've helped people plant pear trees before, so I'll choose a good place for them."

From Wang Dang's point of view, although Luo Yong is a smart and capable man, he is still a scholar. If he is talking about farming skills, he is really inferior to him and his brothers. Having helped others, planting a few fruit trees is no problem at all.

"That's all right, thank you for your hard work." Luo Yong didn't want to leave these pear saplings overnight, and he didn't want to leave these Pingyi people who came from afar to the side.

"What's the trouble?" Wang Dang squatted down to tidy up the saplings, still tied them up, and went up the slope after carrying them. Not long after, several people ran down from the slope, and they followed Luo Yong and the others with smiles. I said hello, and then moved all the saplings away with one load per person.

There are two roads from Luo Yong’s grandfather’s yard, one is from the outside of the village, and the other is from the inside of the village. It’s on the small slope in front of Luo’s house, and a few small trees can be seen from a distance. Trees, Luo Yong's grandfather's yard is behind those little trees.

These Dinghu people are very grateful for the fact that Luo Yong lent them the yard to live in.After repairing the yard and moving here to live, they also feel as if they have taken root in this village.

Recently, some people went back to Dinghu County to pick up their family members. I believe that it won't be long before the dilapidated small courtyard will become a bustling large courtyard.

At this time, Siniang Wulang and the others also carried pig grass, and led Liulang Qiniang and their own donkeys, donkeys and dogs back.

This afternoon, Wulang came back from school, and after dinner, he and Siniang did homework for half an hour. After that, the siblings drove five pairs to grind two buckets of wheat.

Later, Peng Er went to the backyard to replace Luo Yong. Luo Yong looked at the grocery store by himself and told them to go out to play. Not only did Si Niang and Wu Lang need to play, but his family Liu Lang and Qin Niang also had to go out to let the wind go. Children cannot be raised at home all day.

"Wu Lang, look at the shop, Si Niang, go to Xu's guest house and ask them to prepare some meals." Luo Yong then asked the Pingyi people: "How many people did you come this time?"

"No, no, no, we brought our own dry food." The older man heard that Luo Yong wanted to invite them to dinner, and quickly declined.

"It's nothing, it's a guest house opened by my disciple, and the price is not expensive." Luo Yong said with a smile: "Si Niang, let them prepare meals for ten people, plus a few of our family. Eat there."

"Stop cooking tonight?" Si Niang's eyes lit up.

"I won't cook anymore, I'll eat over there." Occasionally, I have to give the chef a break, right?

"Okay, I'll go right away." Hearing that I don't have to cook tonight, and I can go to the restaurant, Si Niang was very happy, and went out of the village in a hurry.

"What should I do?" Those Pingyi people were still somewhat cautious.

"It doesn't matter." Luo Yong waved his hand and said, "If you know that you are here with pigs, the people living in the guesthouse might have to fight over to pay you, but I have made an agreement with you. Recently, the price of pigs here, if it is live pigs, they have to be sold for three pennies per catty, and if it is lower than this price, you must not sell it."

"Really?" Live pigs can be sold for three Wen a catty, so what is the price of pork?

In their Pingyi side, if one catty of pork can be exchanged for three liters of corn, that would be considered a relatively good price. With the current grain price, three liters of corn is less than two cents, and it must be clean pork, one head After the head and tail of the pig were cut off, the blood was bled, the internal organs were removed, and the bones were removed, there was not much clean pork in total.

A catty of live pigs costs three Wen, and a sixty to seventy catty live pig can be sold for around two hundred Wen. This is simply...

"Stay here and rest for one night. Tomorrow you can also go to Lishi County to have a look. Today's Lishi County is no longer what it used to be." Luo Yong stretched out his hand to signal several people to follow him to the entrance of the village.

"Shen Weng came to Lishi County last year, and he always said that this place is lively after returning."

"Who were those people just now?"

"They are from Dinghu County."

"I heard that Dinghu County is also very rich."

"Dinghu County is in our Shizhou, and it was originally a big county."

"There is a Mengmen pass over there."

Several people were talking at the entrance of the village while waiting for those who drove the pigs from behind. During the conversation, Luo Yong learned that Shen Yuan's father had a leg problem, and his mother was weak and could not do heavy work.

There is another elder sister above Shen Yi, who got married last autumn, and her husband's house is in the village next to them, this time her brother-in-law also came here with her.

After waiting for a long time, I finally saw a few people driving a group of pigs from afar.

Whether it is a human or a pig, they both look like dusty people. If it wasn't for remembering Shen Yu's age, Luo Yong wouldn't be able to recognize which one was him. After the two parties greeted each other, they drove the pig to Xu's guest house together. up.

Now there are many merchants living in the Xujia guest house. When these merchants saw them driving a group of dirty pigs, not only did they not show any disgust, but they came out happily one by one, just like seeing their relatives. The Pingyi people were so at a loss that they almost thought they had entered a black shop.

These many merchants, together with nine old and young people from Pingyi County, after a while, Wang Dang and the others came to join in the fun, and the room full of young and old people from all over the world almost filled up the huge hall of Xu's guest house. .

Aunt Luo finished her work and didn't eat with them. She took some food from here and went back to eat with Erniang and Peng Er. Both of them didn't come, but they sent the younger ones over. It's lively, and when there are many people here, they start chatting all over the place, and they really enjoy hearing it.

Na Yang Dalang also gave advice to these Pingyi people: "...Your place is close to here. In the future, you can grow beans, plant beans to extract soybean oil, sell soybean oil to Luo Sanlang, and use soybean meal to raise pigs , when the pig grows up, the fat meat will be sold to Luo Sanlang, and the lean meat will be kept for himself.”

When it’s over, I have to sigh again: “Oh, it’s nice to have land.”

Wang Dang listened on the sidelines, and patted his brother's skinny little shoulders with his big palms.