Chapter 393 Inquire
The so-called single dog is just a literal meaning.

Wu Jin yawned, and finally put his head on his front paw and closed his eyes. Then he felt that it was not enough, so he simply covered his face with his other front paw.

Don’t watch the terrible things!
The ox cart continued to move forward and first arrived near Lijiazhuang as He Shunzi mentioned.

A village is usually very wary of outsiders, especially in such unstable times. Before Lu Qiyan and Xia Mingyue's ox cart approached Lijiazhuang, they were stopped by people working in the fields.

"Where are you from and where are you going?" the question was asked to a middle-aged woman who was selling peanuts.

The peanut harvest this year is pretty good. Using the teeth of the fork to dig hard, the peanuts were picked up with the roots and peanuts together. It was a full handful, and it looked like a white patch in the soil, which was very pleasing to the eye.

"Hello, brother and sister-in-law. My husband and I are from Gu County and we are heading to Chongxin County. We are not familiar with the road here. We have finished our water and food. We saw a village over here, so we wanted to turn here to ask for a bowl of water and see if we can buy two cakes for the journey."

Lu Qiyan half bowed his body, spoke in a gentle tone, and was very humble. Xia Mingyue also got off the ox cart and bowed to the two of them.

"I wonder if my elder brother and sister-in-law could show me the way. Please also ask where the well in the village is so that we can get some water to drink."

Seeing that they were a young couple from an ordinary family and that they spoke politely, the couple's attitude immediately softened a lot.

The man pointed in the direction of the village and said, "The well is a little further inside the village. Go get some water. When you get there, ask if you can buy some bread. As for asking for directions, I don't know much about it. You should ask the village head. He goes out a lot and should know the way."

Most of the villagers have lived in the village for many years. Many of them have never even been to the nearby county town and don’t know how to get around, let alone places they have never heard of.

It was precisely because of this that Lu Qiyan deliberately mentioned a more remote place, so that he could have more reasons to inquire around.

"Thank you, thank you very much."

Lu Qiyan and Xia Mingyue thanked them repeatedly, and then went to the village entrance in the direction indicated by the couple.

The two men quickly found a well, threw the bucket and rope into the well, stirred it repeatedly to fill the bucket with water, and turned the wheel to lift the bucket out.

Each person drank a bowl of water in big gulps, and poured the rest into two earthen jars they carried with them.

The two men moved slowly, just to observe the situation in the village and the villagers passing by.

When Xia Mingyue saw someone washing clothes near a well, she approached them and asked where she could buy some cakes or food.

The reason is that it will be needed on the road.

"If you want to eat on the road, you might as well buy white flour directly." The laundry lady was very enthusiastic and suggested.

"White flour is too expensive, so we can just buy some wheat. We can find a stone mill on the road and grind it into flour together with the dried sweet potatoes we brought. This will give us enough to eat for a while longer." Xia Mingyue said.

"That's right." The old lady nodded, thinking that Xia Mingyue was very good at managing her life. "Then you can go to Li Guide's house. He has a lot of land and surplus grain. He might be willing to sell it. After you buy the wheat, you can go to the ancestral hall. There is a big stone mill there, which is shared by the whole village. You have a cow, so you can grind it in half a day and it will be convenient for you to carry it with you."

"Thank you, Auntie." Xia Mingyue thanked her sweetly, and then went to the family with surplus food to buy half a bag of wheat as the Auntie asked.

Li Guide's price was five cents per pound of wheat. This price was reasonable, but Xia Mingyue frowned and began to bargain for her status, complaining, "My family was in the war, my parents are gone, and we have to go to my uncle's family. We don't have much money, so please give us a discount as a favor."

Xia Mingyue's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke, looking very pitiful. Lu Qiyan, who was standing beside her, also made the request in a low voice.

Li Guide felt a little reluctant, "Okay, okay, seeing that you are having a very hard time, I will give you some extra sweet potato chips. We always charge the same price for takeout wheat, but I'll give you a discount. It won't be good if others know about it."

The world is in turmoil, and many unscrupulous businessmen are trying to take advantage of the situation to make a fortune, so they have set their sights on food and farmers.

Buy at low prices, hoard goods, force purchases and sales, sell at high prices...

Farmers know the seriousness of this, so they have spoken with one voice in private and will never be misled. Food prices must not be lowered to ensure the basic interests of farmers.

"I understand, I understand." Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you, Brother Li, thank you very much."

Seeing that the two people seemed relieved and relaxed, Li Guide also felt relieved and just went to pack food and dried sweet potatoes.

Seeing that there were several sheep, a pig, chickens, ducks and other poultry raised in the yard, Xia Mingyue started to ask questions.

"How much does this egg cost now?"

"During this period, my daughter-in-law is in confinement after giving birth, so I haven't sold any eggs. I heard that one egg costs two cents. It's almost August 15th, so I guess it will go up to three cents a piece."

"Almost. Pork now costs 40 cents per pound, and pork loin may rise to 50 cents." Xia Mingyue said.

Before August 15th, most people go back to their parents’ home.

Eggs, dim sum, and pork tenderloin were all presentable items and could be considered standard, and everyone approved of them.

"Yes." Li Guide nodded.

"I see that Brother Li's family raises sheep. How much does one sheep cost?" Xia Mingyue asked again.

"Do you want to buy a sheep?" Li Guide asked back.

"I do want to buy some. I'm going to my uncle's house to seek refuge. I have to count on my uncle's family for support in the future. I think it's better to get something in my hands, otherwise my aunt might have some complaints."

Xia Mingyue looked bitter, "But this sheep is not cheap, and I don't have that much money on hand, so I can't afford it. I guess I'll buy a lamb and raise it along the way. I guess I can give it to my uncle when I get there, and it'll be worth it."

"Well, you can buy a lamb." Li Guide nodded, "But you probably can't buy one in the nearby villages. You need to go a little further."

"Why can't I buy lambs? Aren't the lambs here sold out?" Lu Qiyan was surprised.

"Yes, there are people in Changzhou who run a restaurant business and need mutton. They often come to us to buy live sheep and offer a good price. We have no trouble selling live sheep here, so naturally we don't sell lambs." Li Guide said with a smile, his words full of pride.

Having a profitable business, especially one that the whole village has, is naturally a matter of pride.