Over at the Shanao Village group.
Gao Dashan was telling his wife to start cooking. The children, smelling the rich aroma of meat from the Cheng family's convoy, were extremely hungry and just wanted to eat sooner.
They didn't have much surplus grain and only ate two meals a day, not daring to afford three.
"I saw the Cheng family's children collecting wild vegetables and mushrooms to supplement their meals. Tomorrow, you should also take our village children and look for them together."
It was still quite cold.
Gao Dashan was bare-chested, his body sweating profusely. His muscles bulged. He had just returned from logging, and it was his turn to rest, but his mind was still contemplating how difficult it would be to lead the villagers forward.
"Alright, I understand. Hurry up and put on your clothes. If you catch a cold and fall ill, what will happen to our family? We're still counting on you to hold things together."
He shi said with a frown, as she was spreading out the bedding. She had laid down a layer of dry grass to prevent the stones from causing discomfort. Yesterday, the child had cried about not sleeping well, so today she added another layer so they could sleep soundly at night.
With dry grass as a base, topped with a layer of cloth, the bedding would be much softer. When it was time to sleep, the two quilts were barely enough for their family of six. However, despite how comfortable it might seem, it was still cold when the night wind blew.
It was a pity that it was only temporary. Otherwise, she could have built another shelter.
Thinking about when they would finally settle down, she also felt worried.
Gao Dashan heard her mention putting on her clothes and called out to her several times before she came back to her senses. "What are you thinking about? You're so engrossed. Go cook, the children are starving."
He shi agreed and then started rummaging through the cloth bag that had been tied up nearby. She carefully took out a large bowl and scooped half a bowl of mixed grain flour.
It was grayish-brown.
It was dry and a bit scratchy on the throat. It was easier to eat as flatbread, but there wasn't much grain. Nowadays, they could only cook it into a porridge mixed with some wild vegetables.
He shi had also gone to find some wild vegetables herself, but she didn't dare to go too far.
After getting the grain, she carefully tied the cloth bag shut and then stood up. Unintentionally, she almost felt dizzy and fell. They hadn't been eating or sleeping well lately. Their family's life was already tight, and now with the reduction in food, they naturally weren't getting enough to eat. If they got up abruptly after malnutrition, wouldn't they feel dizzy?
Gao Dashan, startled, quickly supported her. "What's wrong? Look at you. I told you not to skimp on food. You should at least eat something yourself. How can you survive eating so little?"
He shi waved her hand, and only stabilized after regaining her balance. "It's alright, I know what I'm doing."
Her husband needed to exert himself, and the children needed to grow. She could only endure hardship herself.
How could she bear to eat it?
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, Gao Dashan became annoyed and could only sigh. They needed to find more food. If things continued like this, he didn't know how long they could last.
He was also hungry.
As soon as He shi got up from the bed, she saw Su Miaomiao walking over. She knew her as the eldest madam of the Cheng family and immediately called out to her husband. "Dashan, hurry and see. The eldest madam of the Cheng family is here."
Upon hearing this, Gao Dashan also immediately got up. "Okay, you cook, I'll go take a look. I guess something has come up. It's also a good opportunity to find out who these newcomers are. They seem to know each other, I wonder if it's good or bad."
He was also afraid that the other party had too many people, and he felt a bit uneasy.
He shi nodded somewhat nervously and watched her husband leave before calming down slightly. Then, she went to start preparing the first meal of the day.
Su Miaomiao was observing the Shanao Village group. If the Cheng family's convoy was neat and orderly, theirs was somewhat scattered. The handcarts were placed haphazardly, with some belongings tied to them. Their important possessions were likely not there.
The villagers had set up some simple beds themselves for resting.
As Su Miaomiao entered the area, she could smell a faint odor, a hint of urine, mixed with the body odor of the people. Perhaps due to fear, the villagers' sleeping arrangements were quite close together.
No wonder the smell was strong.
She endured it inwardly, feeling a headache. With such hygiene, could the goods really be eaten? She felt that perhaps it wouldn't be so easy to trade.
Gao Dashan quickly approached and stopped about two meters away from her, politely asking, "Young Madam, is there anything you need from this side?"
Su Miaomiao also politely stated her intention. She said somewhat hesitantly, "Um, could you find a family that's a bit cleaner to trade with? I have some medicinal herbs and about ten bird eggs."
She had also managed to get quite a few eggs from bird nests while climbing trees and had kept them in her chest. She only remembered this matter after eating and decided to trade them.
She was reluctant to part with meat, but these bird eggs were something she could offer.
Gao Dashan saw that there was business, and it was even for rare bird eggs, so he readily nodded and said, "What do you want to trade for? My wife is quite clean, and she always keeps things well-preserved. Nothing is dirty."
Su Miaomiao was delighted to hear this and said, "Do you have soy sauce? Or what they call 'qiuyou'? or 'chiyou'? The kind that adds flavor to food?"
Gao Dashan was stunned. Looking at the young lady from a wealthy family, she didn't even know about cooking condiments. But he could understand.
He then smiled and said, "Yes, Young Madam, are you referring to sauce-like products? I have two kinds. One is chiyou, and the other is a sauce made by my wife."
Gao Dashan stated that although his wife's sauce was vegetarian, it tasted amazing. As for the chiyou, it was a gift, and they had been reluctant to eat it. However, it was well-preserved, and there was a small earthenware jar that could be traded.
Su Miaomiao's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. She smiled and said, "That's wonderful. How much are you willing to trade for? I have herbs for reducing inflammation and cooling blood, as well as herbs for repelling mosquitoes and insects. I also have about ten bird eggs."
Gao Dashan naturally wanted the bird eggs. They could be used to nourish his wife and children. As for the sauce, they wouldn't be able to eat much of it anyway, so trading it for bird eggs would be better.
However, he also had his own calculations. He said, "Your dozen or so bird eggs can be traded for my wife's vegetarian sauce. This sauce is truly fragrant. Whether you use it for pastries or cooking, adding a little will make it absolutely aromatic!"
Gao Dashan knew that the Cheng family had more supplies than their village, but they lacked seasonings and salt. Their village had just obtained salt vouchers and had uniformly exchanged them for salt during the stocking period.
There were only three such opportunities a year, and they had just completed the last exchange. They had no shortage of salt.
For this reason.
Gao Dashan thought that it would be good to follow the Cheng family's convoy, at least they could trade for some food to tide them over. However, rice and white flour were too expensive, so they couldn't trade for them all the time.
And precious items like chiyou were unaffordable for ordinary people.
If it hadn't been a gift, he wouldn't have had it, nor would he have been willing to eat it.
So, he planned to save it for trading for grain.
Trading it for rice or white flour would be fine, not for things like bird eggs.
Gao Dashan had his own plans, and so did Su Miaomiao. For small things like bird eggs, they were easy for her to get, so trading them for a jar of sauce to stew meat with was quite worthwhile.
"Alright, let me see your things first, and then I'll give you the bird eggs. By the way, I came to see you for another reason. I want to donate some medicinal herbs to you. Don't you have children in your village with lice?"