Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

Chapter 21: Going to the Market
"Bringing water from the mountains is not easy. Let the team leaders worry about it."

Fang Wei had thought about this before, but then gave up.

In today's era of material scarcity, cement is difficult to obtain, and it is basically unrealistic to carry out such a large project.

After returning to the village, Fang Wei gave each of his friends 2 kilograms of [Swan Mushroom], and then went to his brother and sister-in-law.

"Sister-in-law, here are some [Swan Mushrooms] that Zheng Hu and I picked up on the mountain."

He gave the mushrooms to his sister-in-law. There happened to be some smoked wild boar meat at home. She cut some and stewed it with the mushrooms. It was so delicious.

"It really is Swan Mushroom. I haven't eaten it in a long time."

It was not yet dusk, but Tian Guihua started cooking immediately. Wild boar meat needed to be stewed for a longer time, and if it was not put into the pot early, it would be difficult to chew.

Fang Wei brought back a lot of mushrooms, enough to last for two days.

night.

The whole family had a hearty meal and said that the wild boar meat stewed with swan mushrooms was simply a delicacy.

"I heard that people in the city like to eat this kind of mushroom. If I take it to the county town, I can at least exchange it for some money."

The two brothers sat outside the door to enjoy the cool air. Fang Ping sighed as he picked his teeth.

The village is still a bit far from the county town, otherwise I could find a way to get some wild game to exchange for some money.

Of course, this kind of thing is somewhat risky. If you get caught, not only will your things be confiscated, but you will also be criticized when you return.

Fang Wei knew that this was his elder brother's emotional expression, but in fact the other party did not have the courage to do this.

"Brother, selling this stuff in the city is risky. Let's wait until the next time we go to the market and see if we can exchange it for something useful."

Nowadays, the places where transactions can be made are not limited to underground markets in cities, there are also regular markets in rural areas.

Going to the market is called "going to the market" locally, which means the same thing.

This period is very busy, and coupled with the disasters in the past two years, the number of market openings has been reduced in various places.

In a few days it will be the eighth day of the first lunar month, the day to go to the Jintang market.

Jintang is 12 miles away from the village, and Fang Wei planned to go there that day to check the market conditions.

"Little brother, I'm going to the market soon. Let's go together then."

The eldest sister-in-law came out of the house and heard the conversation between the two brothers, so she smiled and interjected.

"Okay! Remember to call me when you go."

Fang Wei hadn't been to the market for quite a while. He had been very busy recently and wanted to take a break.

The day has come.

Fang Wei carried the load and went to Jintang with his sister-in-law.

My eldest brother has never liked dealing with outsiders, so he stayed to earn work points.

"Third Brother Fang, wait for us."

The two had not walked far when they heard someone shouting behind them.

It turned out that Zheng Hu and two young boys had caught up with them. They were also going to the market to play, and they happened to be going the same way.

"Huzi, you're going to the market empty-handed?"

Generally, people who go to the market will bring some agricultural and sideline products from their own homes, such as peanuts, radishes, sweet potatoes, eggs, etc.

These things can be exchanged for daily necessities, and of course they can also be sold for money.

Take eggs for example. It is more cost-effective to sell them at the market than to the supply and marketing cooperatives, or you can exchange them for the items you need.

Sometimes people in the city would go to the market to buy some agricultural and sideline products. Although there were vegetable stores and other retail outlets in the city, the variety of agricultural and sideline products there was certainly not as rich as that in the market.

There are people like Zheng Hu and his friends who go there purely for fun, but they are not many.

“We’re just going to join in the fun.”

Zheng Hu responded with a smile. This kid is a person who can't sit still. It means that Fang Wei is very convinced now and dares not make trouble in the village.

In the past, there was never a day when he didn't get into trouble.

The other children were very considerate and took turns helping Fang Wei carry the load, which contained some prepared herbs, a few pounds of glutinous rice, dried beans, and even a few eggs.

When they arrived at Jintang Market, Fang Weiyi saw that it was full of people and quite lively.

"Little brother, go play with Hu Zi and the others, I'll just watch from here."

Tian Guihua found a place to put the things out. She knew what the family needed, so she asked Fang Wei and his friends to go around and take a look.

Fang Wei responded and then went into the crowd with Zheng Hu and others.

There are not only a variety of agricultural and sideline products on sale at the market, but also cakes, small commodities, rice cakes, needles and thread, flashlights, etc. He also saw someone selling roasted chestnuts.

After walking around, I hardly saw anyone selling food, let alone rice, not even sweet potatoes or corn.

From this we can see that food rations are a problem for every household. Who would be willing to sell them (exchange them for things)?

Zheng Hu and his friends were just there to watch the fun. None of them had any money and couldn't buy anything.

"Brother Fang, look over there, someone is selling mushrooms."

One of the friends was sharp-eyed and saw someone selling wild mushrooms.

Fang Wei went over to ask and found out that the mushrooms were pretty good and only cost ten cents per pound.

This made him give up the idea of bringing some [Swan Mushrooms] with him when he went to the market in the future. This thing was not easy to pick and was not valuable. It was better to eat it with his family.

After walking around for a long time, Fang Wei went back to find his sister-in-law.

All the things he brought had been sold or exchanged for necessary items, so he said goodbye to Zheng Hu and others and left early.

There was a man in his thirties following behind them, which caught Fang Wei's attention.

"Sister-in-law, put your things away. There are so many people here, be careful of thieves."

He deliberately said it loudly, and at the same time looked back at the man.

The man was not afraid. Instead, he smiled at Fang Wei and said:

"You are quite cunning, kid. I am not a thief. I have something I want to talk to you about."

Fang Wei stared at the other person for a long time and felt that this person didn't seem to have any ill intentions.

So he gestured for the man to follow.

When they reached a less crowded area, Fang Wei asked, "What's going on?"

"Do you have any extra food? Rice, corn, or even sweet potatoes will do."

The man didn't say anything more and directly stated his purpose.

When Tian Guihua heard this, she was puzzled. Why did this man come to her and her younger brother when he wanted to buy food?

"Oh? What makes you think we have extra food?"

Fang Wei was also very puzzled and couldn't help asking.

"I just saw you selling eggs. People are starving these days, so how many people would still raise chickens? Maybe I'm wrong, but it's always a good idea to ask."

The man did not hide it and gave the answer directly.

He is actually a frequent visitor to the underground market in the county, making some money by trading some agricultural and sideline products.

There is no shortage of brave people in any era. No one will be dragged out into the target shooting range for speculation and profiteering, so what is there for him to be afraid of?

But now food is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, so he has set his sights on the market.

"We don't even have enough food for ourselves, so how can we have any extra to sell? Sorry, we really don't have any."

Fang Wei didn't think the other party was being rude. It was about making money, so it was understandable.

But how could he possibly sell food under these circumstances? Not even sweet potatoes.

Therefore, he politely refused the other party and then took his sister-in-law away.

The man didn't say anything and didn't continue to pester her.

After returning home, Tian Guihua hurried to make lunch.

Fang Wei washed his face and thought to himself, when it’s convenient, should he go to the underground market in the city?
(End of this chapter)