Stepmom's Farm Life

Chapter 229: The Gap

Qin Yao broke out three coins and handed them to Liu Ji, "Go and get eight bowls of noodles, and ask the waiter to put more vegetables in them, and add six fried eggs."

Normally, an fried egg costs two cents at most, but now the price has probably increased four or five times, and three cents of silver may not be enough.

The journey is already halfway through. I feel tired and hungry today. I need to eat well so that I can be in the mood to continue tomorrow's journey.

In the past, Liu Ji didn't feel any remorse at all as long as he didn't pay for it himself.

But when Qin Yao handed him the money, he hesitated for a moment with a painful feeling before calling Dalang, Erlang and Sanlang to go to the front hall to order food together.

How can one person carry eight bowls of noodles with two hands? Of course, we need to call three more people.

Liu Ji spent all the three coins of silver and brought back eight bowls of vegetarian noodles and six fried eggs.

We didn't add more vegetables even though we asked for more. The food shortage wasn't just about rice and flour. We ate anything edible, including wild vegetables, except for the unripe rice that was still planted in the fields.

The price of eggs had indeed gone up dramatically. It was only ten cents each and Liu Ji had to bargain for it and go into the kitchen to fry them himself.

I usually pour a little more oil at home, and accidentally used a little more oil. It was really just a little bit more! I almost got scolded to death by the kitchen lady.

However, the family of six were all very satisfied with the dinner. Qin Yao, the head of the family, also expressed his sincere affirmation with a clean plate, so it was worth it.

At night, the family squeezed into a small guest room. Liu Ji snored loudly because he was too tired from traveling during the day.

In the middle of the night, Qin Yao kicked him with a shadowless kick, and he turned over and stopped snoring.

But overall, Qin Yao slept well that night.

But the next morning when I went to the lobby of the inn to buy some food for the journey, I found that the prices of all the dishes on the menu had increased by another five cents.

Liu Ji stretched out his hand, but immediately retracted it in fear, holding the money tightly.

They were even a little glad that Qin Yao generously ordered noodles and fried eggs for them last night, otherwise they wouldn't be able to eat noodles and eggs at that price today.

"Give me ten pounds of wet noodles." Qin Yao still bought it. One pound of wet noodles cost thirty cents, and ten pounds cost a total of three hundred cents.

Ten kilograms of wet noodles plus the dry food bought yesterday are enough for them to eat for two days, and they will almost reach the capital. When the time comes, use the small stove to boil the noodles with hot water, and the whole family can have hot soup.

Liu Ji's eyes widened in disbelief, "Are you really buying it?"

They also brought 50 kilograms of noodles in the car, so at worst they could just move them.

Qin Yao shook her head, not allowing him to think about the 50 kilograms of noodles now. She had prepared it specially for the return journey. In case of famine when she returned, this would be life-saving food.

If she moved, would she be hungry when she got back?

Of course she could buy it, but the price of food had risen so much that by the time she got back, she would probably be so expensive that she wouldn't even be willing to pay.

The government said that there was sufficient surplus grain, but no one knows why they haven't opened the warehouses to release grain to alleviate the situation.

No matter what happens, there will definitely be chaos once the provincial examination is over.

Unfortunately, ordinary people like them have no right to know about such things and can only hope that God will prevail.

Perhaps the government has their own considerations, but Qin Yao can't care about them so much. All she can do is figure out how to get to the city and how to return to Liujia Village.

"Buy!" Qin Yao's tone left no room for doubt. She signaled Liu Ji to give the money and settle the bill at the same time.

After buying noodles, the family of four had the dry biscuits bought yesterday at noon for breakfast. They asked the kitchen for a bowl of egg soup to go with it. Both adults and children were very satisfied with the meal.

Liu Li followed suit. Seeing Qin Yao buy noodles, he also endured the high price and asked Da Zhuang to buy noodles for two days. He planned to cook for himself during those two days.

They eat two meals a day, and just eat something to fill their stomachs when they are hungry at noon. Unlike Qin Yao's family who have three meals a day, the food loss is low, so buying three kilograms is enough.

Before he went out, Liu Dafu prepared 20 kilograms of fine noodles just in case, so he was not in a hurry.

As we left the inn, the sun was rising.

Dalang and Erlang took out the clothes that they had washed last night but had not yet completely dried and hung them on the bamboo pole in front of the car door where lanterns were hung.

Liu Li was walking in front today. When he looked back and saw this, he couldn't help but shook his head. In this tense atmosphere, this family seemed to be out for fun. He couldn't help but envy their mentality.

Liu Ji, needless to say, was the kind of man who could lie on the ground even if the sky fell. What Liu Li really envied were the four brothers and sisters of Dalang.

Being able to have such a memorable journey at such a young age, I think it will be wonderful when you think about it in the future.

And this was the first time in more than 20 years that he had stepped out of Kaiyang County.

There were gradually more and more carriages and horses on the road, all heading in the same direction. It was obvious at a glance that they were scholars going to the provincial capital to take the exam.

They were of different ages, and one of them looked only about ten years old. Liu Li and Liu Ji were shocked when they saw him.

"Is this a child prodigy?" Liu Ji murmured in surprise.

The other party's carriage was very luxurious, and it had many guards and servants, so they had to retreat to the side of the road and let them pass first.

Liu Ji's surprised murmur was heard by the other party.

The child was riding on horseback with the guard. He turned his head and looked at him. The brocade he wore reflected colorful light under the sunlight, almost blinding Liu Ji's eyes.

Unfortunately, the other party turned around too quickly. By the time he recovered and wanted to see what this child prodigy from a powerful family looked like, he had already ridden away.

But just this one glance made Liu Ji feel uncomfortable for a long time, like a burning heart.

This kid was a complete blow to him. Even Liu Li's mentality was a little broken. He couldn't even concentrate on reading while sitting in the car.

With such an opponent, how could they have any chance?

In the past, they were only in the small Kaiyang County Academy, and they felt that they were the best of the best when the teacher praised them.

Now that they have gone out and looked around, compared to those true geniuses, what are they?

Nothing!

At noon, while taking a break and eating lunch under a roadside shed, Liu Ji and Liu Li looked at each other and sighed in unison.

Unfortunately, reality did not give them much time to adjust. Liu Ji looked enviously at Da Zhuang who was taking a nap leaning against the car door. He took the firewood that Qin Yao Niang and her five companions brought, made a fire, heated water and cooked noodles.

He was absent-minded and almost dropped his hand and the noodles into the boiling water. If Qin Yao hadn't discovered it in time and grabbed his hand, he would have missed the provincial examination this year.

"What's wrong with you? You seem absent-minded?" Qin Yao asked unhappily.

Liu Ji realized it belatedly and finally reacted. Looking at the noodles being cooked in boiling water, he felt a little scared.

But he had some emotions that needed to be vented, so he sighed and muttered, "These candidates who are taking the exam have BMWs, guards, and servants. Anyway, I can't pass the exam. Why don't we just forget it? The food prices here are still so high, why don't we just go home?"

He spoke more and more quietly, and looking at the boundless sky, Liu Ji felt that he was even smaller than a speck of dust.

(End of this chapter)