1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Upon hearing the order, the kitchen helper immediately brought over the large steelyard scale used in the kitchen. Chen Gaoshan and the helper together lifted the wild boar and hung it on the scale hook.

The kitchen helper squinted at Libra.

"Shopkeeper, the whole pig weighs 142 jin (approximately 66 kg)!"

Manager Zhao nodded, picked up his abacus, and began to work on it.

"It's a mess outside right now. There's this kind of currency and that kind of currency. You can use it today, but it's worthless tomorrow. I heard that Black City just abolished the old currency and issued new Northeast Bank notes."

"We've known each other for a long time, so let's not play the money game. We'll settle this in cash! One silver dollar for five catties of wild boar meat, and this boiled wild boar stomach is the best cut; I'll give you twenty silver dollars for it separately. Is that acceptable?"

Although the Yuan Shikai silver dollar isn't as valuable as it used to be, it's still a hard currency, better than those worthless pieces of paper.

Besides, his father and Manager Zhao had been trading wild goods for over ten years, so they knew each other well and the prices were fair. Without hesitation, he immediately nodded in agreement.

"middle!"

Manager Zhao counted the silver dollars one by one; there were exactly forty-eight dollars, no more and no less.

"Count them and see if they're correct."

Chen Gaoshan's eyes followed Manager Zhao's hand as he counted again.

"That's exactly forty-eight yuan. Thank you, Manager Zhao."

"No need to thank me. You take the money, I take the meat. It's a fair and reasonable transaction; neither of us loses out."

Manager Zhao waved his hand, a smile on his face, and gave a special instruction.

"Gaoshan, next time you hunt wild boar, be sure to save the boiled belly for me."

Chen Gaoshan nodded in agreement without hesitation. "Don't worry, next time I have any, I'll definitely send it to you first."

With his silver dollars tucked away, Chen Gaoshan drove his horse-drawn carriage around the town, inquiring about the prices of grain, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar at every grain shop and general store.

Prices really do change every day.

First, I bought fifty meat buns and thirty sesame cakes, wrapped them in paper bags, and put them in the carriage to eat on the way.

Passing by a roadside grocery stall, I saw rows of clam oil on display. It was moisturizing and said to cure dry, cracked hands and feet in winter. The stall owner was shouting that it cost 1,000 yuan a piece.

He suddenly remembered that he still had a lot of change left from the last time he came to town, so he simply bought ten and put them in his pocket.

After finishing these preparations, he drove the carriage out of town, found a place with nice grass, let the old horse graze on the grass, drink some water by the river, and rest to recover its strength.

The old horse slowly swished its tail, chewed on the grass, and rested for about an hour before Chen Gaoshan hurried back to the village.

The return journey was quite peaceful; we didn't encounter any bearded men, and the trip was smooth.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was on the road, he put all the steamed buns and sesame cakes he had just bought into his spatial storage.

By the time the carriage was almost at the entrance to the village, it was already getting dark, and smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household in the village.

Chen Gaoshan looked around to make sure no one was around, then took out the supplies from his spatial storage and appeared out of thin air on the carriage.

Fifty catties of wheat flour and twenty catties of cornmeal were packed in cloth bags, along with twenty cans of pork.

Two pairs of rubber shoes, ten pairs of socks, five bars of soap, ten boxes of matches, tooth powder and toothbrush, white sugar and fine salt, and a tin box of candy balls with candy wrappers.

Two bolts of cloth, one with a dark floral pattern and the other with a dark blue coarse cloth, plus two packs of Lao Dao brand cigarettes.

The cart was half full of miscellaneous items.

He casually pulled over the cloth that had been used to cover the pork, covered the items up, and stored the silver dollars into his spatial storage.

When a man goes out, he needs to have some money in his pocket so he can have confidence no matter what he does.

Just as he was about to enter the village, most of the villagers who were working in the fields were rushing home to prepare to start a fire and cook. He was thinking of sneaking his things home under the cover of darkness, but he still ran into the villagers.

"Shanzi, where are you going with that carriage?"

Uncle Caizi was carrying a hoe and walking on the dirt road when he saw the horse-drawn carriage and casually called out to it.

"Uncle Cai, I just hunted a wild boar, took it to town and traded it for some cornmeal, and also bought some needles, thread and other household items."

"Brother Shanzi!"

It was Xiao Kouzi and his sister Zhou Shuanghong, carrying hoes and rakes as they walked into the village.

Chen Gaoshan let out a sigh, and Old Ma obediently stopped.

"Hey Kouzi, get in the car with your sister. We're going the same way, we'll give you a ride."

Xiao Kouzi didn't stand on ceremony. Knowing that Brother Shanzi was an honest man, he plopped down and sat in the carriage.

Chen Gaoshan turned to the side, reached into the iron box on the carriage, took out a small handful of candy balls, and handed them to Zhou Shuanghong.

Zhou Shuanghong was a shy little girl. Looking at the precious candy balls in front of her, her eyes widened, and she hesitated, unsure whether she should reach out to take them. She lowered her head and dared not move.

"Shuanghong, have some candy. Look at you, you little rascal. Here, take it. There's no need to be polite." With that, he stuffed the candy ball directly into her little arms.

Little Kouzi watched her younger sister struggling to speak and not responding, and anxiously urged her on.

"You silly child, quickly thank Brother Shanzi!"

Zhou Shuanghong secretly raised her head and glanced at Chen Gaoshan, who was sitting in front driving the carriage. She didn't understand why Brother Shan would give her such precious candy.

He was stunned for a long while before he spoke.

"Thank you, Brother Shanzi."

After saying that, she quickly lowered her head, her little face turning bright red, and she gripped the candy ball even tighter.

The carriage had only moved forward a few steps when Xiao Kouzi sat on the carriage floor.

"Brother Shanzi, once I've finished tending to my fields, I'll bring my sister to help out at yours. I can do everything—cutting grass, carrying water, weeding!"

Chen Gaoshan looked up and pointed to the fenced courtyard not far away.

"Okay, I got it. Is that yard over there your house?"

"Yes!" Xiao Kouzi nimbly jumped off the carriage, landed firmly, and instinctively protected the girl beside him.

Chen Gaoshan noticed that Xiao Kouzi's sister had been secretly staring at him several times. The little girl must love sweets.

On the roadside, Zhou Shuanghong followed behind her brother, looking down at the candy ball in her hand.

She stood there stunned for a long time, her little head a jumble of thoughts, repeatedly recalling the way Chen Gaoshan had stuffed the candy ball into her arms.

She only snapped out of her daze when Xiao Kouzi turned around and called her, and quickly followed after her.

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