217 Shortage of Resources

This was because the people were worried about their families and were in a hurry to go back and check on them.

Qin Xiaoyao arranged for Wang Xiaomei and Song Yun to make dry biscuits in the kitchen.

Then, she arranged for Song Que and Madam Liu to handle the water sales while she prepared herself to go to the thatched sheds and check on the situation there.

In the courtyard, there were still many locusts crawling on the thatched sheds.

When Qin Xiaoyao got closer, she could even hear the sound of the locusts gnawing on the straw.

Qin Xiaoyao wasn’t in the mood to clean up, so she opened the door and entered the shed.

Fortunately, her thatched shed was well-covered, and very few locusts got in.

After briefly cleaning up the interior and making sure that her bean sprouts were fine, Qin Xiaoyao left.

Following that, she checked on the other thatched sheds sequentially.

After making sure that all the bean sprouts were undamaged, Qin Xiaoyao finally felt relieved.

Over the next few days, she wouldn’t need to grow a new batch of bean sprouts.

She only needed to take care of the existing bean sprouts that had been planted and sell them off successfully.

After leaving the thatched sheds, Qin Xiaoyao went to get some water to water the bean sprouts.

Suddenly, she realized that Eldest Sister-in-law Qin had arrived.

“Eldest Sister-in-law, why are you here? Are Father and the others alright?” Qin Xiaoyao dropped what she was doing and quickly went up to inquire.

“They’re all fine.” Eldest Sister-in-law Qin grabbed Qin Xiaoyao’s hand.

When she saw the wound on Qin Xiaoyao’s forehead, she asked worriedly,” “Are you alright?”

Qin Xiaoyao smiled. “I’m fine. It’s just a small injury.”

“I don’t think the locust plague is over yet. Who knows when they’ll start a locust swarm again.”

“Don’t come over for the next few days.”

“Mm-hmm,” Eldest Sister-in-law Qin replied.

“I came over precisely to talk to you about this.”

“I’ll leave after informing you. Your big brother has already helped me pack my things and sent Xiaohu to the Liu family’s place.”

“Until the locust plague is over, I will stay with the Liu family.”

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

“Mm-hmm! This is a good arrangement!”

“Then you should take good care of yourself and Xiaohu. When the locust plague is over, I’ll go back to the Qin family’s place to visit Xiaohu,” Qin Xiaoyao immediately said.

“Alright!” Eldest Sister-in-law Qin answered.

“In addition, Father asked me to bring you a message. He told you not to go out for the next few days.”

“If the locust plague starts, Fortune Mansion will definitely not open. He wants you to stop your deliveries.”

“Also, regarding the matter of selling grain, Father wants to remind you not to be anxious for the time being.”

“He says that once the locust plague breaks out, our Mountain Spring Town will experience a famine. The price of grain will rise by a large margin.”

Qin Xiaoyao nodded as she listened.

“Alright. I already know,” she responded.

Sister-in-law Qin gave Qin Xiaoyao a few more reminders before leaving in a hurry.

Qin Xiaoyao watched her eldest sister-in-law leave and sighed.

After that, she carried on with her own tasks.

Not long after, many people suddenly came to the Song family’s courtyard.

They brought their whole families, almost all of them carrying water buckets.

Some were even carrying bamboo baskets or carrying bamboo backpacks on their backs.

Those carrying the water buckets were here to buy water.

Those carrying bamboo baskets and hauling bamboo backpacks on their backs were naturally here to buy bean sprouts.

Since the Song family was now selling water and bean sprouts without restrictions, every family who came bought a lot.

Soon, they could see the bottom of the Song family’s well.

At the same time, all the bean sprouts on sale were snapped up.

Qin Xiaoyao came forward to announce that all the bean sprouts had been sold out today.

However, for the next four days, there would be large amounts of bean sprouts being sold every day.

They would be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. There would be discounts if customers bought in large quantities.

As for selling water, Qin Xiaoyao also encouraged everyone not to come at the same time to buy water. After all, there was a limit to how much water the well could produce. If they took too much water, the well’s water production rate wouldn’t be able to keep up.

After learning of this situation, the long queue of people dispersed substantially.

Only a small number of people at the front of the queue were willing to wait.

They were prepared to wait until there was water in the well before filling their buckets.

The Song family members could understand everyone’s feelings.

After all, the locust plague had frightened everyone.

Moreover, no one was sure when the next round of locusts would start swarming.

They thought it would be better to stock up on more water and food at home before the flying locusts came again.

However, it was no big deal. Anyway, the Song family members were not going out for the next few days.

They had time to keep watch on the well and the sheds.

On the other side, after Liu Daniu and Liu Erniu heard Uncle Liu’s words, they took the money from Aunt Liu and hurriedly pushed the handcart to the grain store.

When they arrived, they found that the grain store was already crowded with people, and those people were all ready to buy grain, just like the Liu brothers.

The shop assistant called out to the people outside the shop to queue up.

At the same time, he informed them that there would be a limited supply of brown rice and coarse flour today, and they would only sell 2,000 catties of each type.

The sale would also be apportioned according to the number of people queuing up to buy food. Each customer would only be sold five catties.

The price was also adjusted to 18 copper coins per catty.

When this news came out, the commoners started to complain.

However, only a small number of people left. The bulk of the people stayed behind and formed a long queue.

“Big Brother, what… should we do?” Liu Erniu and Liu Daniu joined the queue as well. However, Liu Erniu was so anxious that he was on the verge of tears.

Their mother had given them all the remaining money in the family when their father asked them to use all the money to buy grain.

However, now when he and his big brother queued up this time, they could only buy 10 catties.

How long could 10 catties of grain last?

Liu Daniu’s face was grim as well.

After thinking for a while, he looked at his younger brother.

“You push the handcart back and tell Father the news now. After that, call Father and the others to come and queue up!” he said.

Earlier, the shop assistant had specifically said that they were not allowed to queue on behalf of others.

As a result, the sale would be conducted according to the actual number of people in the queue.

There were a total of 4,000 catties of brown rice and coarse flour, and each person was only allowed to buy five catties. That meant the store could serve 800 people.

If Erniu went back home to call for help now, their family members might still be able to make it in line.

At the moment, this was the only way to help his family to buy more food.

A look of hesitation flashed across Liu Erniu’s face as he looked at the long queue behind him. He was somewhat reluctant to leave.

If he left, his position in the queue would be lost.

What if his family came later, and they couldn’t get in line again? Then wouldn’t the five catties of food that he could have bought be lost too?

“Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and go!” Seeing this, Liu Daniu urged his younger brother.

At the same time, he took out some copper coins from his money pouch and gave the rest of the money to Liu Erniu.

Liu Erniu’s face became determined.

“Alright!” he finally responded.

Thereafter, he took the money pouch, pushed the handcart, and ran off.

Yes, Liu Erniu ran.

When he reached home, Liu Erniu quickly explained the situation.

Aunt Liu was still hesitating when she heard that the price of the grain had risen to 18 copper coins.

It was only when Uncle Liu yelled at her and hurriedly asked everyone to follow him that she snapped back to her senses and quickly ran after him.

When the family returned to the grain store, the people queuing outside the store had already formed a big massive sea.

Aunt Liu didn’t dare to say anything at this point anymore. She simply followed her family members and went to the back of the line.

As soon as they got in line, more people came and queued up behind them.

When they saw this situation, the faces of the Liu family members became grim, and their hearts were filled with worry.

“Master, this… When it’s our turn, they won’t stop selling grain, right?” Aunt Liu tugged at Uncle Liu’s sleeve and asked worriedly.

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