Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 154 Grain Shop

Gu Fengyun covered his chest and breathed in deep gulps - the scent of crayfish.

The strange fragrance in the air made the three people's stomachs rumble. Song Chunlin took out a pair of gloves from the bag and handed them to them.

"Come on, the atmosphere is already here, let's eat first."

It was the first time for both of them to eat crayfish. Song Chunlin watched the two brothers clumsily peeling the lobster shells. In the end, before they could even eat the shrimp meat, their clothes were already splashed with oil spots. In order to save their clothes, Song Chunlin had to teach them how to peel shrimps step by step.

After demonstrating three or four times, Song Chunlin's mouth was filled with shrimp meat, and the two men finally learned how to peel the shrimp shells.

Gu Fengyue peeled several shrimps until he finally peeled out a whole piece of shrimp meat. Without thinking, he fed it directly to Song Chunlin's mouth. Song Chunlin was used to being fed by him on a daily basis, so he opened his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

The crayfish takeaway that Song Chunlin ordered is famous for its freshness in the city where he lives. The shrimp meat is chewy and tasty. After taking a bite, Song Chunlin squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

Gu Fengyue looked at him eating with gentle eyes, and her hands became more and more skilled in peeling the shrimps. Most of the peeled shrimp tails went into Song Chunlin's stomach. In the end, Song Chunlin simply stopped peeling, took off his gloves and drank an iced Coke.

When Gu Fengyun looked at the two of them, he suddenly felt that the shrimp in his hand was no longer delicious, and began to doubt why he had to sit with these two people for a midnight snack.

The three of them finished the large portion of crayfish quickly. Song Chunlin then took out the noodles that had been cooked. He poured them into the remaining soup and stirred them evenly. A plate of crayfish noodles with thirteen spices was ready.

After eating and drinking, Song Chunlin sat contentedly in the chair, burping while holding a Coke.

The two brothers of the Gu family standing by also held the cold Coke in awe, took a sip, and then looked at the Coke in the cup with suspicion.

"This water...it tastes a bit weird, but it's also kind of delicious and sweet. After drinking it, I feel full quickly." Gu Fengyun said to his brother, then lowered his head and took another sip.

Song Chunlin told them: "That's carbon dioxide, a type of gas in the air. Using a special method to inject carbon dioxide into beverages can give the beverages a special taste, and this method can also allow the beverages to be preserved for a longer period of time."

Hearing that water can be preserved for longer, Gu Fengyun became interested and asked, "Can the same method be used to preserve other things?"

This touches upon Song Chunlin's blind spot in knowledge. He had just learned about carbon dioxide on the spot. How could he know what else carbon dioxide could be used to preserve?

Song Chunlin couldn't answer this question, but he knew other ways to preserve food: "Vacuum extraction can also extend the shelf life of food. That is, put the food in a bag and extract the air inside to create a completely airless state. The food can be preserved longer without contact with air."

Gu Fengyun and Gu Fengyue didn't know what air was, so Song Chunlin could only explain to them the principles of air and the difference between oxygen and carbon dioxide. The two brothers were stunned. They had never thought that there was so much knowledge when there was nothing around them.

Song Chunlin's mouth was dry from explaining, and he couldn't help but take another big gulp of Coke. After moistening his throat a little, he asked Gu Fengyun whether he was seeking a preservation method for military supplies.

Gu Fengyun looked at him and smiled: "Chun Lin is really smart. What I want to save is the food and grass to be transported to the front line."

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient. The most famous saying was that "food and fodder must go before troops move". Before the Grand Marshal set out, food and fodder had already been shipped out in advance. Not only were the food carts slow, but they were also prone to various accidents along the way. Now the way they preserve food is to cover the food with several layers of oilcloth and wrap it tightly. The oilcloth is very waterproof, but it cannot withstand the long distances and high mountains. When it is sent all the way, some of it will always be damaged to a greater or lesser extent. Although the quantity is small, it can save lives at a critical moment.

However, the methods provided by Song Chunlin all require large modern machines to be implemented, so this topic was temporarily put aside and the three of them began to discuss how to use the food in Song Chunlin's space.

"I can harvest a batch of food in my space every three days. This batch is about 200,000 kilograms, which is just enough for the capital's daily consumption, and there is even some surplus. If I open up all the other land for planting, the people in the city can eat as much as they want for three days. After one batch is eaten, the next batch can be harvested."

Gu Fengyun took a deep breath after hearing this. You know, the permanent population of the capital is about 400,000. That's the food rations for 400,000 people. And Song Chunlin said he could grow it in three days?

Why did he feel a little bit unbelievable? Could so much food really be grown in just three days?

Song Chunlin knew that they could not accept it for the time being, so he added: "What we lack now is a way out and an extremely strong golden thigh."

"Golden Thigh" sneezed loudly in the palace, and was still a little confused after that, because the weather was not that cold.

Gu Fengyun went to the palace overnight and came out at dawn. When he got home, the palace had already sent out hundreds of death warriors to surround several grain stores in the city.

The order these death soldiers received was not to ask any questions, but to let the person holding the badge pass. The death soldiers trained by the royal family were absolutely loyal. They didn't care at all why a child like Song Chunlin could hold a royal badge. After confirming that the badge was correct, they let him in.

Song Chunlin came out quickly. The assassins didn't know what he had done in there. Not long after Song Chunlin left, the new manager and employees of the grain shop came over. These were the sons of the Marquis's family, who were carefully selected by the housekeeper. They were all honest and didn't talk much. The lives of their whole family were in the hands of the Marquis's family, and the housekeeper was not afraid of their rebellion.

These people were told before they came that they should not ask questions that they should not ask. They only needed to go to the warehouse every day to get grain to sell. The money from selling the grain could be put back into the warehouse when they came to get it the next day. They didn't need to do anything else.

When these people saw the death warrior standing at the door like a door god, their legs began to tremble. After finding out that they only recognized the badges and not the people, they became even more scared. Everyone guarded his badge very tightly and did not dare to put it down even when taking a bath, sleeping, or going to the toilet.

They moved the grain out of the overflowing warehouse, arranged it in the store, marked the price of the grain, and then the owner and his employees opened the shop.

A man with a worried face waited for a long time until the grain shop opened. He originally planned to take a look as a routine matter, but now the grain prices have gone through the roof. He dared not spend the money carelessly, but he also dared not not buy grain. His family had been out of food for several days. What would the whole family eat if he didn't buy some?

With the intention of buying just a handful of rice, the man casually walked into the grain shop. Soon he discovered that this grain shop was different from the previous ones. Due to the increase in grain prices, all grain shops in the capital had implemented purchase limits, and the grain in the shops was pitifully small. However, the grain shop at this time was filled with white rice and fine flour, and the quality was very good.

The man looked at the price in shock. He asked the shopkeeper uncertainly, "Shopkeeper, is this really the price of rice and flour?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Of course it's this price. I won't cheat you. How much do you want, sir?"

The man took out his purse and looked at it, then asked nervously, "Is there a purchase limit?"

The shopkeeper still smiled and said, "No purchase limit. I will sell as much as you can. But I can't deliver to your door. There will be too many people here later."

The man nodded in understanding. If he knew that the grain prices in this grain shop were so cheap and there was no purchase limit, he would definitely want to empty the grain shop.

So the man considered it and asked for 50 kilograms of rice and 50 kilograms of flour. He paid the money, carried a bag of rice home first, and came back to get the remaining flour later.

Because he was in a hurry, the man ran very fast all the way. When he arrived at the intersection of his brother-in-law's house, he did not forget to notify the other party.

His brother-in-law couldn't believe it when he heard it, but the rice on his shoulders couldn't be fake, so he decided to give it a try and took his eldest son to the grain store.

When the two men arrived at the grain store, it was already packed with people. Everyone was scrambling to buy rice and noodles. The shopkeeper and his employees were almost overwhelmed.

The news of the price reduction of grain in the grain shops spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital in just one morning, but people soon discovered that there were only a few grain shops that reduced prices, which were distributed in various areas of the city. Their prices were even one or two cents cheaper than before, and there was no purchase limit. Most people in the city did not have land, and they bought grain once a month. Some families even bought grain when they were almost out of food. This time, the price of grain had risen due to the war, and many families were facing the crisis of running out of food.

After eating high-priced grain for more than half a month, the people felt the pain in their flesh, but they had to eat it, and they cursed those black-hearted grain merchants behind their backs.

They thought that the release of grain this time meant that the unscrupulous merchants had a change of heart. As a result, many people ran to the grain shops of the wealthy families and saw that the price of grain in those shops had doubled compared to yesterday. Everyone went in with joy and came out cursing, and when they went back they cursed those who gave them the false information.

The person who bought the grain was also confused. When he heard which grain store he went to, he realized that the news had been misreported.

After this misunderstanding, many people realized that they had gone to the wrong shop. When they went to the grain shops that had actually reduced their prices, they saw that they were sold out.

They were so angry that they beat their chests and stamped their feet. Before leaving, they shamelessly asked the shopkeeper if there would be any tomorrow. The shopkeeper couldn't say for sure and could only laugh it off and tell them to come in early tomorrow. Maybe there would be.

The next morning, when it was still dark, long queues had already formed in front of the grain shops. When the shopkeepers opened the doors, the people in the front of the line stretched their necks to look inside. Wow, the shops were full of rice and flour. They asked the price, and just like yesterday, everyone smiled happily and started scrambling to buy grain.

Because they were afraid that food prices would rise again, they bought a lot this time. Seeing that the shopkeeper was too busy, they refused the store's delivery service and carried large and small bags of rice and flour home with their families.

With the influence of these people, soon there was no customer in the grain shops of those wealthy families. Although the price was high before, they could still sell a little every day. Now no one wants to buy a grain of rice.

People from the major families sent people to inquire and found out that the people in the shops selling low-priced grain had all been replaced, from the shopkeeper to the waiter. The shops were full of grain almost every day, but no one had ever seen them transporting grain in from outside.

People from several major families speculated whether these people who suddenly appeared were related to the royal family, but this theory was quickly overturned.

Some of them also have descendants working in the imperial court, so they can still guess a little about the money in the national treasury. It would have been fine if the weather was good, but the drought in the past few years was so severe that the national treasury has been in a state of deficit. It had just gotten better in the past two years, but then the war broke out again. How could the imperial court compare with these aristocratic families?

As the leader, the head of the Li family decided to hold back for the time being.

"We have already transferred all the grain from the grain stores in the capital. I don't believe that there is anyone in this world who has more grain than our several great families."

However, he was destined to miscalculate this time. Song Chunlin, who had been against them all the way, not only had tens of thousands of tons of grain reserves, he also owned a magical piece of land that could be harvested in three days.

At this time, he was in the space with Dabao, working hard and sweating, turning over all the arable land in the space, planting rice and wheat in rotation, and even planting some millet and sorghum, which were the staple foods of ancient people.

Dabao is still unable to transform, and can only use spiritual power to operate various devices in the space. It must be said that spiritual power is really useful. Dabao only needs to attach a trace of spiritual power to the machine, and those machines will operate by themselves without wasting the gasoline in his hands.

Song Chunlin watched Dabao work with envy. His efficiency was much higher than his own. Fortunately, his space was full of various small agricultural machinery, and some of them ran on electricity. When they ran out of power, they were charged with solar energy. So Song Chunlin's work was relatively easy.

He worked with Dabao, one person turned the soil while the other one sowed seeds. Planting in space was not as complicated as outside. Basically, as long as the seeds were not inactivated, they would germinate directly after being planted, and the speed was three times faster than real time.

Now Song Chunlin spent most of his time in the space. Only in the middle of the night would he go to the warehouse one by one to collect money and refill the warehouse with grain. He repeated this for three days. The first batch of grain in his space was harvested. However, at this time, less than half of his inventory was gone.

In fact, on the third day, those families who were short of food had bought food. After experiencing this food crisis, everyone tacitly bought a lot more food and kept it at home, for fear that the price of food would rise again one day.