Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 134 Uneasy Environment

"Uncle, if it doesn't work, please give us some food! Winter is coming soon, and the villagers don't earn much food. Repairing the wall will take more than a day or two. It will take at least half a month to build a wall of hundreds of meters.

Our families are earning money now and have no shortage of food. This time, there are twelve of us in total, including your family who have to contribute, and we have to contribute 64 cents a day.

During this period, I made a friend in Qin Province. His family is a grain merchant and can sell me some old grain at a low price.

You may not be able to buy much flour with 6.4 cents, but you can still buy a lot of corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc. ” Hou Xiaoge suggested.

"Okay, I'll make the decision on this. The price of food has been rising recently. Buy as much as you can. If it doesn't work, you can use your family's money to cover the cost first.

But you should be careful too. It's better to meet more people when buying food. After all, there are too many refugees and it's not safe outside." Hou Yangmin was delighted to hear that he could buy cheap food, but he still reminded Hou Xiaoge to be careful.

"I got it, uncle. Now I carry a gun when I go out. I will shoot that blind bastard to death." Hou Xiaoge said disdainfully.

"Be careful. When the refugees are hungry, they are no longer human and can do anything." Hou Yangmin kept reminding them.

"Okay, got it!"

By November, the number of refugees from the Central Plains in the vast area of Daobei increased. Even in the formerly remote Nanjiagou Village, many people built shacks and dug earthen kilns around the slopes.

Originally, Nanjia Village wanted to buy land to build a village on this slope, but after the refugees poured in like a tide, the landlords did not dare to stop them and only protected the arable land. The slope has been completely abandoned.

There are so many refugees coming in recently that there is no room for them outside. They all want to live in the village. How could the village allow them to do so? If these people come in, there will be chaos.

So these refugees from the same hometown fought with the villagers every day. Today one person’s head was broken, and tomorrow another family’s chicken was lost, which made the villagers of Nanjiagou very angry.

There were even some hooligans who would rob people on the road at night, causing the villagers in Nanjiagou to be afraid to leave the yard at night for fear of being robbed.

As for these refugees, since they are all from the same hometown, Hou Xiaoge will not deal with them as long as they don't provoke him. After all, these people are all pitiful.

So now Hou Xiaoge’s family closes their stall while it’s still daybreak and goes home, after all, it’s too dangerous after dark.

Moreover, when they went out to set up stalls, they all carried muskets, so that some refugees who wanted to take advantage of the situation would be scared and not come to rob them.

.........

When seeing off his uncle and his friends, Hou Xiaoge saw four or five refugees wandering around the doorstep of his uncle and uncle's house, trying to find a place to climb in.

"What do you want to do, you bastards?" My uncle-in-law Zhou Xinmin took off the Hanyang-made backpack he was carrying and held it in his hand.

Under the dim moonlight, several young refugees saw their uncle holding a musket in his hand and ran away.

Only when the refugees ran away did everyone sigh, feeling sad for the refugees but also lucky that they were also refugees.

"Uncle, uncle, do you want a gun?

I can get two cheap speed machine guns, about 50% new, each for only 70 yuan." Hou Xiaoge looked at the refugees running away with their necks shrunk, and decided to take out some guns to arm his family.

"Are you kidding me? You can really get a gun, and it's so cheap." Ever since Hou Yangmin sold his gun, he didn't speak with a straight face when he went out. Now that he heard that he could buy a gun at such a cheap price, he was naturally willing to do so.

"This gun is made in China, not Germany. The official price of a new one was only 60 dollars, and it came with 100 rounds of ammunition.

And this gun was not bought on the black market. It was somewhat of a favor, so my friend didn’t lose out on 70 dollars. But there are only two of them, no more.” Hou Xiaoge said.

"want!"

"Leave some for me too!"

Hou Xiaoge was very wild all day long and could talk to anyone he met, so his uncle-in-law and eldest uncle did not doubt whether the people Hou Xiaoge knew were real or fake, so they were naturally willing to take the cheap guns.

After all, if you go out with a rifle, people will think you are a bandit, so you have to be cautious even if nothing happens.

"Okay, I'll bring the guns back to you tomorrow. You don't have to pay for now. I'll deduct it from the dividends later!" Hou Xiaoge also knew that the two of them didn't have much money now.

"Okay, just wait and see! We won't let you suffer any loss." The two patted Hou Xiaoge on the shoulders and went back home.

After sending a few people back, Hou Xiaoge also bolted the door and propped it up with two wooden planks.

"It seems like I have to get a few dogs out to guard the door tomorrow. At least they can answer any questions at night." Looking at the sturdy wooden door, Hou Xiaoge shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Early the next morning, the village was bustling with people, and everyone gathered at both ends of the village to build the village wall.

Hou Xiaoge accepted the wages given by his uncle and aunt's families, and came to several village elders carrying a bag of 40 kilograms of sweet potatoes that he had prepared in advance.

"Uncle Wu, Uncle Qi, these are forty kilograms of sweet potatoes. They are enough to cover the labor of our three families. Thirty-five kilograms in total, and I took five kilograms more as a support to the village." Hou Xiaoge poured half a sack of sweet potatoes directly into a basket.

Forty kilograms of sweet potatoes are already a lot, enough for the normal daily food supply for forty people. Even if they have to do heavy work, it is enough for twenty people.

So after seeing the sweet potatoes, both the elders and the villagers nearby showed happy smiles.

"You are a kind-hearted boy. So Uncle Wu will accept it on behalf of the villagers." The old man stroked his beard which was more than ten centimeters long and said with a smile.

Since settling in Chang'an, the old man's weak body has been supplemented with fine food and he has recovered quickly.

During this period, the clan leader Hou Yangmin was busy with his own business, and the two old men were busy taking care of all the affairs of the village.

"You're welcome. You can't write two Hou characters with one stroke. We are all family." Over time, Hou Xiaoge developed feelings for the village. After all, he had witnessed its construction with his own hands.

"Heiwa, your uncle said you know a grain merchant's son who can buy cheap old grain, right?

Can you buy some for the villagers? We are not picky. We can buy bran, wheat bran, corn husk, sorghum husk, anything edible is fine." After Fifth Master finished speaking, several elders looked at Hou Xiaoge expectantly.

Hou Xiaoge hated the look of elders begging for help the most. It was too stressful.

“We have corn husks, bran, and sorghum husks, but what do grain merchants need wheat bran for? They are not food for human consumption.

Bran costs one dollar and three dollars per stone, corn husk costs one dollar and one dollar per stone, sorghum husk costs one dollar and one dollar per stone, corn flour costs one dollar and five dollars per stone, and pure corn flour costs one dollar and four dollars per stone.

Forget about wheat flour, it's too expensive, and we Zhuang Han people can't afford it." Hou Xiaoge quoted a price that was 20% off the market price.

(In the Republic of China, one stone was calculated as 120 jin)

This is also Hou Xiaoge’s bottom line. He cannot help others for free, otherwise he will easily raise a hungry wolf that he can never tame.

"Okay, this price is right. You decide when you can get it. We will raise the money today at noon." The elders calculated and realized that it was 20% lower than the market price! They were so excited.

"The grain business is now under strict official scrutiny, so you have to be careful. I'll come and inform you tomorrow night. The quantity will definitely be enough, but we'll have to trade multiple times.

But I'll tell you in advance that the elders only need to know about my help in getting food. Please don't spread it out. I'm just a kid and don't want to be the first to do something. Otherwise, there will be no benefits for the village in the future. "After Hou Xiaoge finished speaking, he said with a warning tone.

"We know this. In order to support the war of resistance and our hometown, Qin Province has been very strict in controlling food in the past few months. We will definitely keep our mouths shut." Old man Wu Ye patted his skinny chest and promised.

"Okay, I won't disturb you guys. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." Hou Xiaoge threw the sack to his younger brother who followed him and asked the boy to take it back.