SFS Chapter 24: Yun the Butcher Buys Grain
Chapter 24: Yun the Butcher Buys Grain
"My fellow countryman, I can give you 35 wen per pound of corn flour, 95 wen per pound of millet, 18 wen per pound of mung beans, 18 wen per pound of sweet potatoes, and 28 wen per pound of potatoes." The shopkeeper fiddled with the abacus for a while and gave Yun the butcher a quote.
Yun the butcher thought to himself, this is indeed the capital city. The price quoted before is lower than the price bought at the grain store in the town before fleeing the famine. The discount offered by the shopkeeper makes the price more suitable. Before coming, the villagers were worried that the price of grain would rise too much. Now they can rest assured. Everyone can buy a few more kilograms of grain with their money, and they have a little more hope of survival.
The price of grain in the city has not risen too much. There are probably several reasons for this. The first is that the grain shops have a lot of grain in stock and are not afraid of running out of stock. The second reason is that the government should have restricted them from raising prices too much. The third reason is that the government restricted refugees from entering the city and increased the entry fee. Yun the butcher carefully analyzed the reasons. However, this is a good thing. The villagers of Yunjia Village can buy more grain.
"Okay, that's it, shopkeeper. In addition, please prepare another 100 kilograms of corn flour, 200 kilograms of potatoes, and 100 kilograms of sweet potatoes for me. These are what my family needs, and they will be loaded onto the truck at the end. Shopkeeper, do you have any old grain? The price of buying only new grain is too high. It's not easy for people like us in the village to save money, so I thought of preparing more food so that we can save more elderly people and children." Yun the butcher asked.
"Oh, fellow villager. It's really not easy for villagers to save money. Some of my relatives in the village depend on the weather for food, which is too difficult. Let me tell you quietly, there are still 2,000 kilograms of corn flour in the warehouse behind me that I bought two years ago. It was placed in the warehouse and some of it got moldy without my attention.
I was thinking of sharing some of the cornmeal with my relatives in the village when they come. Since you said so, you can take the cornmeal first, and I will prepare other food for them later. "The shopkeeper said as he asked the boy to go to the warehouse to bring a bag of cornmeal over for them to see.
"That's great, thank you so much, boss. You are such a kind person. Good people will be rewarded." Yun the butcher said gratefully.
"What price do you want to give us for the corn flour? Let me calculate the money." asked Yun the butcher.
"You're welcome. It's not easy to live these days. I'll help in any way I can. The corn flour was imported two years ago, and it became moldy not long after. In the capital city, no one wants moldy grain. Even in this year, people living in the capital city won't buy moldy grain. The refugees want to buy it, but can't come into the city, so I thought of distributing it to my relatives in the village after a while. How about this, I'll charge you ten cents per pound for the moldy corn flour." The shopkeeper explained.
"Oh, boss, thank you so much. You really helped us a lot." Yun the butcher said excitedly. With these two thousand kilograms of corn flour, every family in the village can get a lot, even the poorest family can get a lot. They can survive a little longer on the road to escape famine.
Besides, it doesn't matter if it's moldy. As long as it's edible, the villagers won't mind it. Corn flour is a real food. If you put a little bit of it in each meal, it can last a long time. This is really good news. Yun the butcher thought happily.
At this time, the waiter brought the moldy corn flour over. The shopkeeper opened a bag. Yun the butcher looked over and saw that the color of the corn flour had changed a little, and it was indeed moldy. He took it in his hand and smelled it. There was no strong smell of mold, so it was definitely not a problem to eat. Moreover, it was not more delicious than tree bark, grass roots, and wild vegetables.
"This is one of the most moldy bags. The others are stacked on top and their condition is not serious. They are definitely much better than this one. There is no problem eating them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of leaving them for my relatives." said the shopkeeper.
Upon hearing this, Yun the Butcher was very happy. He thought he had come to the right place and met kind-hearted people.
"Thank you so much, shopkeeper. You have really helped our Yunjia Village a lot." Yun the Butcher said excitedly.
"My fellow countryman, you are too polite. You are also taking care of our business." The shopkeeper waved his hand and said. After a while, the young men prepared all the food that Yun the butcher bought. The shopkeeper calculated the bill and Yun the butcher paid. The young men helped to load the food on the donkey cart, covered it with waterproof oilcloth, and tied it with ropes.
"Boss, it's my honor to meet you today. See you later." Yun the butcher bid farewell to the boss and took Yun Yiyi to find a grocery store.
"Dad, we are so lucky this time. The shopkeeper we met is very kind. With these foods, the people in our village can hold on for a long time." Yun Yiyi said happily.
"Yes, the shopkeeper is very kind-hearted. I guess the owner of this grain shop must also be a kind-hearted person. Otherwise, the shopkeeper would not have directly decided to sell the old grain to us." Yun the butcher replied.
Yun the Butcher and Yun Yiyi drove their donkey cart to the end of the street. The grain store owner recommended a grocery store at the end of the street. The prices in that grocery store were very fair and they would not deliberately charge a high price just because you were a foreigner.
Yun the butcher and his companions came to the end of the street and saw a store called Wang's Grocery Store. Yun the butcher parked the donkey cart in the open space in front of the store. A young man came to feed hay and water to the donkey. The service attitude was very good. After seeing this, Yun the butcher took Yun Yiyi to the store with confidence.
When she came to the store, Yun Yiyi found that the store was very large. It was estimated to be about 50 square meters. On the east side of the store was a row of long shelves, on which were placed bowls, chopsticks, basins and other kitchen utensils. In the open space in the middle were large vats. The vats should contain oil, salt, soy sauce and other seasonings. On the west side of the store, against the wall, there was a shorter shelf, on which were placed small cloth bags. I wonder what is in the bags, Yun Yiyi thought.
There was a table near the door, and behind it sat a fat middle-aged man who looked very friendly. There were also four young men in the store sorting the shelves.
"Shopkeeper, I'm the owner of the grain shop in front. They recommended me to come here. They said that your prices are fair and you don't cheat anyone." Yun the butcher bowed to the shopkeeper and said.
"Are you talking about the grain shop in the middle of the street? The owner is my good friend. We have a very good relationship." The shopkeeper stood up and replied.
"Yes, shopkeeper. It's that grain store. I'm here to buy grain on behalf of our villagers. The shopkeeper of that grain store is very fair and a very kind person. He told me that you are just as fair as he is. That's why we came to you."