My Stepbrother Is a Little Pitiful (ChatGPT Translated)

☆ Chapter 18. Chapter 17: The gradually deteriorating pitiful and extremely fat

Chapter 17: The gradually deteriorating pitifully super fat chapter. . . (2)

Shopkeeper called out.

Cheng Songer glanced at the prices written on each type of rice. Rice was priced at 10 wen per jin, noodles at 12 wen per jin, millet at 15 wen per jin, brown rice at 17 wen per jin, coarse noodles at 16 wen per jin, and glutinous rice at 15 wen per jin.

"Why have the prices increased so much?" she asked.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "It's almost New Year's, every household is stocking up on provisions, so the prices have naturally gone up."

Cheng Songer frowned. She had the memories of the original owner, and even in ancient times, as long as there wasn't a major upheaval, the government would control the price of rice.

In the past, rice prices wouldn't increase during the New Year, and even if they did, the increase wouldn't be this significant.

Many things have signs before they happen, so it's likely that some wealthy people have already anticipated a major reduction in grain production next year and have started stocking up in advance, causing fluctuations in rice prices.

Even someone like her, who wasn't involved in agriculture, knew about this simple prediction, so others should be even more aware.

The reason there hasn't been a large-scale selling of grain is only one.

The rich have money and resources, so they can stock up in advance, while the poor, even if they know in advance, can't afford to buy grain and can only sigh and hope for good weather next year.

With this thought, Cheng Songer felt a bit scared.

Fortunately, she has money now and can stock up in advance. Otherwise, if there is a major reduction in grain production next year, without savings or land, both she and Cheng Qingzhi would starve to death.

The stimulation of rising grain prices made Cheng Songer even more determined to stock up in advance.

If she doesn't buy now, the prices might be even higher next time.

She said to the shopkeeper, "Give me 300 jin of millet, 300 jin of brown rice, 300 jin of coarse noodles, 200 jin of rice, 200 jin of flour, and 50 jin of glutinous rice."

The shopkeeper widened his eyes slightly and said, "Cheng Songer, are you crazy? Buying so much will cost over ten taels. Where did you get so much money?"

Cheng Songer smiled faintly and said, "It's almost New Year's, people in the village also need to buy grain. They know I'm coming to the county, so I can help them bring it back."

After hearing her words, the companion visibly relaxed: "So that's how it is, I thought you had struck it rich."

"Not at all, I wish I had struck it rich. I'm just doing odd jobs to make a living," she replied casually.

The companion quickly loaded the grain she wanted onto the cart. The total cost of these items was ten taels and five hundred and fifty wens, which made her heart ache.

But fortunately, with these grains, they could live comfortably next year, so it was worth it.

Cheng Songer originally wanted to stock up on a few hundred catties of Chinese cabbage, but looking at the heavy cart, she felt that even buying more oxen to pull it would be exhausting, so she gave up.

Because they had piled up too many things, there was not much space left for the two of them in the shed. Helplessly, they had to squeeze together.

Her arm was tightly pressed against Cheng Qingzhi's, and it felt as if she could feel the other's warm body temperature even through their thick winter clothes.