Due to the sharp rise in prices, Xiao Qiongzhi spent nearly 30 taels of silver to buy only 200 catties of glutinous rice, 100 catties of potatoes, and 120 catties of sweet potatoes.

She hired an ox cart, loaded them, and returned to the village with Zheng Bang.

Passing by the only pawnshop along the street, Zheng Bang suddenly stopped the ox cart.

He jumped out of the car alone, made a grim look with an awe-inspiring expression, entered the pawnshop, and took out more than 20 large and small objects, such as jade pendants, silver bracelets, gilded hairpins, gilded collars, and gold melon seeds, that he had obtained from Zhou Lili and their money bags yesterday, and handed them to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked at all the objects carefully, and asked politely: "How many taels of silver do you plan to make these things?" ”

"Forty taels." Zheng Bang replied indifferently.

"Okay." The shopkeeper behaved very cheerfully and immediately took out the silver.

It is estimated that he suspected that these things were snatched by Zheng Bang, and he did not dare to offend a "hero" like him who was cold-eyed and intimidating.

Xiao Qiongzhi was on the ox cart and watched it with relish.

Last time, she found a jade pendant, a pair of gold earrings, a jade finger, a jade pendant and a few gold and silver melon seeds from Mrs. Liu's wife. Obviously, everything is worth more than Zheng Bangdang's.

However, according to Zhou Dazhi, he and the patriarch took these to this pawnshop, and only made them forty-three taels of silver.

It can be seen that the pawnshop shopkeeper simply looks at people to discuss prices.

She planned to let Zheng Bang come if she wanted to be something in the future, so that she could get a good price.

"Zhi'er, you put these away, you can spend them as much as you want, you don't need your mother to know." Zheng Bang soon returned to the ox cart.

He handed over forty taels of silver to Xiao Qiongzhi.

Xiao Qiongzhi was a little surprised, and hurriedly asked, "Uncle, can't you trust my mother?" ”

"No, I just don't look down on her ability to manage money." Zheng Bang said very seriously.

To tell the truth, Chu Yunniang is in charge of the house, except for saving, there are no other advantages, for Zheng Bang, who has obviously seen the world, it is normal to look down on her ability in this regard.

Xiao Qiongzhi could understand his feelings and didn't ask.

Soon after the ox cart entered the dirt road from the village back to the village, the noise could be faintly heard from the direction of the village.

Xiao Qiongzhi couldn't help but ask Zheng Bang with some worry: "Uncle, I seem to hear a lot of people in the village yelling and making trouble, you have good hearing, can you hear who those people are, what are they yelling at, what are they making trouble?" ”

Zheng Bang heard movement as early as when the ox cart entered the path back to the village.

He frowned and replied: "Those people should be villagers from Wangjia Village, Xujia Village, and Liujia Village next door to Zhoujia Village, there are nearly a thousand. They entered the village to grab grain, and now, many villagers in Zhoujia Village are fighting with them in order to protect food. ”

"In this way, it must be the secret of the city brick cake, which has been leaked. Otherwise, the villagers in our village have made the grain into city brick cakes, and as long as no one touches their city brick cakes, they can hide in the tunnels and not come out. Xiao Qiongzhi couldn't help frowning.

"That's how it should be." Zheng Bang nodded.

It seems that the use of making the clansmen swear was limited before.

Not everyone is true to their oath and is full of reverence and love for their ancestors, gods, and fellow people.

Xiao Qiongzhi felt a little disappointed.

She thought for a while, pointed to the glutinous rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes in the car, and said to Zheng Bang: "Uncle, we brought so much grain back to the village, and those villagers in Wangjia Village, Xujia Village, and Liujia Village will definitely not let it go when they see it. ”

"Zhi'er, it was someone in Zhoujia Village who did not keep his promise that caused all the villagers to fall into trouble. We were already out of the way, not to mention that you are not from Zhoujia Village, but you have already helped them a lot before, and you have already done your duty. ”

"Today's mixed water, my opinion, it's better not to go again." Zheng Bang politely refused.

The person he wants to protect, from beginning to end, is only Xiao Qiongzhi, and the others are not within his scope of protection.

Xiao Qiongzhi didn't think so: "Uncle, Zhou Dazhi is my current father, he is from Zhoujia Village, and I, as his stepdaughter, live in Zhoujia Village, so I should also be from Zhoujia Village." ”

"Besides, the patriarch also gave me the land last month, including Aunt Liu and Grandpa Yuan Geng, all of whom were very good to me. Even if I don't have the surname Zhou, my family is not here, but, in my heart, I have already regarded myself as a member of Zhoujia Village. ”

"Therefore, when Zhoujia Village is in trouble, since I know it, I shouldn't put myself out of it!"

"This ......" Zheng Bang couldn't refute Xiao Qiongzhi, after all, what she said was very reasonable, but he still had some concerns.

Xiao Qiongzhi had no choice but to persuade again: "Uncle, there must be only a few people in our Zhoujia village who don't keep their promises, and the other villagers are all innocent. Didn't you help kill so many robbers in the village last time? This time, you can show kindness again and help everyone. ”

"Last time, those robbers in the bare village killed people and set fires, did all kinds of evil, were extremely vicious, they all deserved to die, I killed them to eliminate harm for the people, and it is my duty to do it."

"This time, the situation is different, because the villagers of Wangjia Village, Xujia Village, and Liujia Village are all forced to grab food because they have nothing to eat at home, and they don't have too much malice in their hearts."

"The most important point, have you ever thought that if we protect the food of the villagers of Zhoujia Village, it means that the villagers of Wangjia Village, Xujia Village, and Liujia Village will all face the situation of starving to death immediately?" Zheng Bang asked helplessly.

That's right, too.

In fact, the villagers of Wangjia Village, Xujia Village, and Liujia Village are also very innocent and pitiful.

If there is a way to find other food to satisfy their stomachs so that they don't have to go hungry anymore, the problem will be solved.

Xiao Qiongzhi lowered his head and thought about it for a while, and suddenly had an idea, and said to Zheng Bang: "I have thought of a way to make everyone hungry for a while!" Uncle, let's go back to Zhoujia Village immediately, I believe that everyone will be very happy to listen to my methods! ”

"What's the solution?" Zheng Bang asked curiously.

He was a little worried, worried about Xiao Qiongzhi, because he still wanted to protect the villagers of Zhoujia Village in the end, so he said so.

"That's the case, as far as I know......" Xiao Qiongzhi needed Zheng Bang's support, and immediately told Zheng Bang the method he had just come up with.

After Zheng Bang heard this, he was very surprised, and asked with wide eyes: "Zhi'er, where did you hear all these methods?" ”

"When I used to dream, I heard a white-bearded grandfather say it in my dreams. However, I saw the things in the first method two months ago, and I haven't seen the things in the other two methods, so I have to go to the mountains to find out about it. Xiao Qiongzhi said seriously.

In fact, she didn't have any dreams, and the three methods she told Zheng Bang were all told by her relatives in her grandmother's hometown when she was in modern times.

However, she was curious when she was a child and liked to try, and once deliberately checked these things from her grandmother's hometown relatives in the book, and found that the things in those three methods can indeed be used to make food.

"Your father used to dream of a white-bearded old man, and that should be your wife, wife, grandfather. He was born in a farming family in the mountains, and what he can say to you in your dreams shows that these methods must be true. Zheng Bang's eyes immediately lit up, and he was convinced of Xiao Qiongzhi's words.

Xiao Qiongzhi was pleasantly surprised.

She was secretly proud of her crooked beating, and at the same time, in her heart, she was a little more curious about what kind of powerful existence her family was.