Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Lifu was carrying his tools to the fields and was about to walk out of the yard when Tang Susu called out to him, "Lifu, don't go to the fields yet, come with me to town."

Tang Lifu was taken aback: "Sister, what are you going to town for? You still need to check on the crops in the fields."

"Changing the grain is the priority; we can talk about the crops later." Tang Susu turned to Miao Yulan and carefully instructed her, "You stay home, cook the remaining rice and wild vegetables, and eat with Liqiang and Gousheng. Remember, you're not allowed to go up the mountain; just stay near home."

Miao Yulan was pregnant, and the mountain path was slippery, so she was really worried about an accident.

Miao Yulan frowned, somewhat worried: "Big sister, all the wild vegetables in the fields have been dug up long ago. If we don't go up the mountain, I'm afraid we won't be able to find any wild vegetables."

"No need to go deep into the mountains," Tang Susu suggested after thinking for a moment. "You take Xiaobao and go to our field to dig up some shepherd's purse. Let Liqiang and Gousheng go into the mountains to find some ferns, dandelions, and the mushrooms we picked before. They're quick on their feet, just be careful. Your older brother and I will try to come back as soon as possible."

Miao Yulan was relieved and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I understand."

After settling things at home, Tang Susu led Tang Lifu toward the village entrance.

Yang Defu was already waiting at the village entrance in his oxcart, waiting to take him to town to ask for a copper coin.

Tang Susu handed over two coins and pulled Tang Lifu into the car.

Several villagers were already sitting in the car, and they all gave Tang Susu and her brother strange looks.

Although their clothes were tattered, they were clean and fresh, standing out from the dusty passengers on the bus.

Especially Tang Susu, whose fair skin made the wound on her forehead stand out even more.

"Hey, isn't this Sister Yang? Why didn't you come to Xihe Village today?" A sharp voice rang out; it was Houcai's sister-in-law, who usually argued with the original owner of this body.

Tang Susu smiled faintly, her eyes sweeping over her coolly: "Sister-in-law Houcai, where I go is none of your business, right? You and Yang Houcai are family, so just mind your own business. It's a bit too much of a waste of your time to keep an eye on where this widow goes all day."

Her words were pointed. The original owner of this body was beautiful and a widow, so many old men in the village were eyeing her, among whom Yang Houcai was the most persistent in pursuing her.

She wanted to use Hou Cai's wife to keep an eye on her husband, so she wouldn't have to spend so much effort disciplining him later.

Houcai's wife blushed and paled by the retort, her emotions instantly spiraling out of control. She raised her voice, "What nonsense are you spouting! I was just asking casually!"

"There's no need to ask casually." Tang Susu's tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable air of authority. "Where I go and what I do are my own business, so there's no need for Houcai's wife to worry about it."

Houcai's wife wanted to argue, but she was intimidated by Tang Susu's cold gaze. She could only stubbornly argue back for a few minutes, but when no one agreed with her, she had no choice but to shut up.

The sun had just risen when the oxcart arrived in Dongtai Town. The streets were already bustling; around 5 a.m., many stalls had been set up, mostly selling food, and the aroma of steamed buns and fried dough sticks filled the air.

"Lifu, take a few copper coins and go buy a couple of meat pies to fill your stomach." Tang Susu took out a few copper coins from her pocket and handed them to Tang Lifu. "I'll go to the pawnshop first, then come back to me when you're done."

Tang Lifu took the coin, responded, and walked towards the street food stall. Tang Susu, on the other hand, went straight into the pawnshop not far away.

She took out the silver hairpin and handed it to the shop assistant: "Excuse me, how much can I pawn this?"

The shop assistant took the silver hairpin, examined it from all angles, and slowly quoted a price: "120 coins."

"What?" Tang Susu frowned, feeling quite displeased.

This silver hairpin was bought by the original owner's man for 1 tael of silver, which is 1000 coins. It is not only valuable, but also an important keepsake. It should not be worth only this little.

"Miss, please don't think it's too little," the shop assistant explained. "This hairpin is quite old, and the style is outdated. Besides, many people are pawning their silver jewelry these days, so the price is already low. The price I quoted is already fair."

Tang Susu gripped the silver hairpin tightly, thought for a moment, and then put it back.

The price was too low, and she couldn't bear to sell her hopes for the pawnshop at such a low price, so she had to give up on the idea.

As soon as she stepped out of the pawnshop, she saw Tang Lifu running over with two steaming meat pies: "Sister, I bought some meat pies, have one quickly."

Tang Susu took the meat pie, took a bite, and said indistinctly, "I didn't pawn the hairpin; the shopkeeper offered too low a price. Let me tell you, I just pawned 200 coins; let's go buy some grain first."

She didn't tell the truth, only lying that she had pawned 200 coins—in reality, she had 208 coins left yesterday, and after deducting expenses such as buying soap, she still had 208 coins left.

Upon hearing that he had pawned the item for 200 coins, Tang Lifu's face lit up with joy: "200 coins can buy a lot of grain!"

Tang Susu took out 18 copper coins from her pocket and handed them to Tang Lifu: "Go to the grain and oil shop across the street and buy some oil. I'll go to the grain shop next door to check the prices. Let's split up and meet up quickly."

Tang Lifu responded and left.

Tang Susu walked into the grain shop, inquired about the prices, and her heart sank: white rice was 13 wen per jin, millet was 4 wen per jin, and wheat flour was 9 wen per jin.

The price of grain has skyrocketed compared to the original owner's memory. Millet used to cost only 1 wen per jin, but now it has quadrupled in price.

She walked out of the grain shop, looked around, found a deserted dark alley, and quickly brought up the system's LCD screen.

The grain prices above relieved her: white rice was only 2 wen per jin in the mall, and wheat flour was 3 wen per jin, much cheaper than in town.

Without further hesitation, Tang Susu bought 25 jin of white rice and 15 jin of white flour directly from the mall—there was still some leftover grain at home, which would be just right for them to eat together.

She remembered the broken pot at home and decided to spend 38 coins to buy a large iron pot.

In total, I spent 153 coins, and I still had 57 coins left in my pocket.

The grain and the iron pot were too heavy for her to carry, so she had to give up the idea of ​​buying more.

Tang Susu carried the grain on her back and held the iron pot as she walked out of the dark alley, and soon saw Tang Lifu.

He held a small bamboo tube in his hand, his face full of heartache: "Sister, the price of oil has gone up too, and I only managed to buy this little bit for 18 coins."

"It's okay, as long as I have one." Tang Susu smiled and shook the iron pot in her hand. "I bought a new pot; the one at home was too broken."

After packing their things, the two headed towards the oxcart parking spot at the street corner.

Before they even reached their destination, they heard a commotion ahead, with many people gathered together, discussing the situation with tense expressions.

"Have you heard? Last night, robbers broke into Master Liu's house and stole over a thousand catties of grain!"

"My God, these robbers are incredibly audacious! Have we reported them to the authorities?"

"We've reported it, but we haven't caught anyone yet! From now on, we'd better make sure to lock the doors and windows at night, or we might get watched!"

Tang Susu glanced back at the grain shop behind her and saw that the shopkeeper was updating the price list; the price of white rice had risen to 16 wen per jin.

"The price went up so quickly?" Tang Lifu was shocked and couldn't help but click his tongue. "It's too expensive!"

Tang Susu sighed.

The grain supply in Dongtai Town was already insufficient, and the robbery by bandits made things even worse.

She speculated that grain prices might rise to 20 or 30 cents per kilogram.

Fortunately, I have a system to rely on, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to get by.

She felt secretly relieved, but at the same time, she felt sorry for the local people. In this year of severe drought, coupled with soaring grain prices, she wondered how many families would not be able to survive.

The two walked to the oxcart, and Yang Defu noticed a large iron pot covering Tang Susu's basket. Curious, he asked, "Little Tang, where did you buy this pot? It's not from Luo the blacksmith's shop, is it?"

"No, I just bought it randomly," Tang Susu replied dismissively.

Yang Defu didn't ask any more questions, but he secretly thought to himself: This Tang Susu is such a spendthrift! In a year of severe drought, it's good enough to have food to eat, and she still spends money on buying pots. She really doesn't know what's good for her.

The atmosphere on the oxcart returning home was particularly oppressive. Everyone looked grim, lamenting the pressure of soaring grain prices.

"Corn has gone up to 6 cents a pound! We can't live like this anymore!"

"I can only buy some corn bran and buckwheat flour, mix them with wild vegetables and cook them, just enough to fill my stomach."

"The crops in the fields are almost withered and dying. If it doesn't rain soon, we won't even be able to dig up wild vegetables; we'll only be able to eat tree bark and grass roots!"

Some people also mentioned that in the past two years, when there was a famine, the government provided subsidies. However, this year, many parts of the country have been affected by disasters, and Yangjiang City has been hit by floods. Houses have collapsed, crops have been submerged, and there are a lot of refugees. Everyone is worried that the government is unable to provide relief and can only pray for their own good fortune.

Just then, an insect suddenly flew onto Tang Susu.

She was startled and quickly patted it, saying, "Lifu, shoo it away!"

Tang Lifu reacted quickly, grabbing the insect and bringing it close to his eyes for a closer look. His expression changed instantly.

He looked up at Yang Defu, his voice trembling, "Uncle Fa, look at this... aren't these locusts?"

Everyone gathered around.

The insect had a long, cylindrical body, a shimmering emerald-green carapace, transparent wings, thick hind legs, and bulging compound eyes—it was a locust!

Upon seeing this, the woman in the car immediately cried out in surprise.