After dressing up as a stepmother, I transformed the whole family into working in the fields

As soon as the government examination was over, the atmosphere in the city was obviously different.

Candidates gathering together can be seen everywhere in restaurants and tea shops. Some have a pair of answers, some are happy and some are sad.

Liu Li thought about it again and again, but couldn't help it. He came to Liu Ji and wanted to ask him to go to other candidates to estimate his scores.

Unfortunately, he found the wrong person.

Qin Yao went out to do business early in the morning. There were no tigers in the mountains, and the monkey was called the king.

Liu Ji slept until he woke up naturally. The four brothers and sisters of Dalang finished their morning reading and asked him to have breakfast, and then he got up.

At this moment, a disheveled man came to open the door for Liu Li. Before Liu Li could speak, he grabbed him in and arranged:

"You haven't been to the Dragon King Temple, right? Let's go there together later. You can ask Da Zhuang to come with you."

After saying that, he waved to Sanlang and Siniang, and pushed Liu Li towards the two brothers and sisters, "You will follow Uncle Li and Uncle Da Zhuang in a moment. There are many people in the temple, so don't get separated."

I told you to go here and ask Dalang Erlang to prepare the gourd and kettle that you will take with you on your trip. The whole thing will be arranged clearly for you.

Liu Li spoke several times but never found an opportunity.

"Uncle Li, do you know who the Dragon King is? Have you seen the Dragon King?" Sanlang came up, his little mouth buzzing, as if he had ten thousand questions to ask.

Siniang followed closely behind and kept asking him why the Dragon King Temple was called the Dragon King Temple and whether there was a real Dragon King in the Dragon King Temple. She kept chattering in her ears.

Liu Li studied in the county academy all year round and rarely stayed in the village. He had never taken care of any children at home. He had never experienced such a scene before and was stunned for a moment.

Liu Ji gave him a wry smile as usual. Seeing that Dalang Erlang had packed up, he waved for them to go out first and go directly to the Dragon King Temple to find delicious food for breakfast.

Before leaving, Liu Ji got into the guest room again and searched for a while beside the bed. It was strange that he clearly saw Qin Yao putting the money box on the bed, but why couldn't he find it?

Of course he won't find it. The inn is not safe. How could Qin Yao put the cash box in such an obvious place?

But if Liu Ji looked up at the roof carefully, he should be able to see a little bit of the edge of the cash box.

However, the height of this beam was beyond his reach, and even if he could see it, he couldn't reach it.

In the end, Liu Ji didn't find anything, so he had to lock the door with regret, and with Liu Li and Da Zhuang, two young men with children, they embarked on a one-day trip to Fucheng.

At the same time, Qin Yao had already met two timber merchants this morning.

Thinking of Jiang Wen's face, he was very polite to her, but when it came to money, he wanted to treat her like a soft persimmon.

When Qin Yao saw it, she was not in the mood to negotiate the price and went directly to the next one.

It’s also the last one today.

There are only three lumber shops in Fucheng. Due to the unpleasant experience of the first two, Qin Yao does not dare to have high hopes for this third one.

Fortunately, this family didn't want to treat her like a soft persimmon. The price was negotiated very well, and they could guarantee that the wood she needed would be delivered to Liujiacun within a month.

But the full advance payment condition proposed by the other party really gave Qin Yao a headache.

"Shopkeeper Fang, in this business, how can you collect all the money before the goods arrive?" Qin Yao looked into the other person's eyes and asked in displeasure.

Shopkeeper Fang knew she would be annoyed, but he also had his own difficulties.

"Zijing Mansion is now full of people begging for food. The neighboring province to the north has just been hit by a locust plague. The road is not easy to travel this year. If I don't give more money to my brothers, who is willing to risk going out?"

"The neighboring province was plagued by locusts?" Qin Yao was surprised, "When did it happen? Why didn't the city hear any news?"

Shopkeeper Fang showed a helpless expression as if you were still too young, "What happened just two days ago, my brothers only told me when they came back yesterday. I'm afraid it will take a day or two for the people here in Fucheng to know."

However, the government must have known about it for a long time. However, the imperial examination is a major national event, so it is natural that the imperial examination should be given priority first.

The adults above are probably having a headache at the moment. The lack of wheat harvest in the spring at home is no longer optimistic and they have too much time to take care of themselves.

Now there is such a big incident happening in the neighboring province. The two provinces are so close and it is impossible not to be affected.

Even the government offices are like this, let alone a small commoner like him?

The road was not smooth, transportation costs increased, and the risks were high. If he didn't collect the full payment, he wouldn't be able to manage it.

It is difficult for Qin Yao to believe him, but is it really that difficult?

"It's only more than three hundred miles from Fucheng to Kaiyang County, so why is there a shopkeeper in such a difficult situation as you say?"

Qin Yao glanced at Shopkeeper Fang helplessly, "Don't exaggerate, our Zijin Mansion has enough food surplus. Although food prices are high now, they have not continued to soar. It can be seen that the government has taken action behind the scenes to release food."

"Besides, the green rice has grown outside the city wall, and the autumn harvest will definitely not be delayed. The food shortage for just one month will be overcome quickly, and everything will be fine by July."

"As for the affairs of neighboring provinces, the imperial court is naturally concerned. Not all of the many provinces in Shengguo have suffered from locust plagues. Last year, I heard that there were three rice harvests in the south. There has been no war recently, and there are sufficient reserves. The disaster will soon be over. It will pass."

In Qin Yao's eyes, as long as normal plants can grow in the ground, there won't be any problems.

Shopkeeper Fang was a little surprised when he heard Qin Yao's analysis.

He has been doing business for so many years, and he has naturally experienced troubled times in the past, but when he heard about the locust plague in neighboring provinces, he still subconsciously felt panicked and uneasy.

But they have forgotten that today's Shengguo is a unified and complete country, no longer fragmented by local warlords in the past.

"Alas~" Shopkeeper Fang sighed, "After hearing what you said, Mrs. Qin, my hanging heart finally dropped."

"Okay, how about 70%?" Shopkeeper Fang took the initiative to give up part of the advance payment.

Qin Yao shook her head, "50%!"

Originally she only wanted to pay 30% in advance, but considering that the situation outside is really not peaceful now, in order not to affect production, she only increased it to 50%.

"Not even 50%." The smile disappeared from Shopkeeper Fang's face, "Since Madam Qin is so worried about us, why not find someone to transport the wood yourself? We will pay the money and deliver the goods at the same time, which will save trouble!"

This was obviously an angry comment, but when Qin Yao actually stopped and started thinking, Shopkeeper Fang suddenly felt a headache.

"You don't really want to transport the wood back by yourself, do you?" Shopkeeper Fang kindly reminded, "This wood is heavy."

"I'm not afraid of sinking the most." Qin Yao suddenly laughed, "Shopkeeper Fang, you are right. This method is very good and can save a lot of transportation costs."

Shopkeeper Fang: "Ah?"

Qin Yao continued: "In this way, you will transport the first batch of wood. The advance payment will be 30% according to the rules on the road. After that, I will go back to the village to organize the manpower to transport the remaining batches."

There are five horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts in the village, and five more are hired from Xiahe Village. When the time comes, we can organize our own fleet to take care of transportation. It would be great.