Although the folk customs in Qingshan Village are simple and simple, they are always wary of the arrival of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps.
When they heard that the people from the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps had arrived, people in Qingshan Village were talking a lot, wondering whether they were asked to hand over food.
After all, when Black Wolf Village was still there, they would come to the village regularly to collect grain, and would also take away some of the pigs and sheep raised by the villagers.
Fortunately, the people in Heilang Village did not kill chickens to obtain eggs. They always left some rations for the village. Although it was not much, it would not starve the villagers to death.
Compared with the days of war and chaos outside the mountains, the people of Qingshan Village would rather suffer the exploitation of Black Wolf Village than leave here and take risks outside the mountains.
After all, even if you stay in the mountains and live in dire straits, you still have a way to survive. If you go outside the mountains, your life may be lost.
However, in such turbulent years, as the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps was defeated in Huaiyin and retreated into the mountains, the mountains became unstable, and Qingshan Village could no longer stay aloof.
When the village elder heard that the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps had come to the village, he thought they were here to collect grain, so while welcoming them out, he sent people to notify each household to prepare grain.
The villagers had previously delivered food to Heilang Village, and there was very little left. But now, in order to save their lives, they had to take out the remaining food, although they were extremely reluctant, and prepared to hand it over to the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps in exchange for a share.
Stable.
"I didn't know that this distinguished guest was coming to visit me, so I apologize for not being able to welcome you from afar."
The old village elder is a highly respected person in the village. In this village without a village chief, he is regarded as the daily manager. At the moment, he is wearing a washed white robe. Surrounded by several wealthy households in the village, he soon becomes
Welcomed out of the village.
Quartermaster Sun Chong only brought two guards with him. They came to the village to exchange seeds, so they behaved very politely and did not forcefully break into the village, but waited at the entrance of the village.
"I am Sun Chong, the quartermaster of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps. I came uninvited this time. Please don't take offense at my presumptuousness." Sun Chong also tried his best to remain as kind as possible.
When they heard that Sun Zhong announced that he was a quartermaster, everyone who came out of the village to greet them felt their hearts skip a beat. They felt that they had guessed correctly. Sun Zhong had come to the village to collect grain.
"Sir, what did you say? Please call the village -"
The village elder glanced behind Sun Zhong and the others and found that there were no hidden officers and soldiers, so he invited Sun Zhong and the others into the village with suspicion.
Sun Chong came here because he had something to do, so he didn't refuse and followed the village elder and others directly into the village.
Along the way, many villagers with sallow faces and skinny muscles were standing under their own roofs, looking at Sun Zhong and the others from a distance. Many of them had indifference on their faces, as if they did not welcome them.
Sun Chongbian chatted with the village elders and others, and also secretly observed the situation in the village. He saw that the villagers were wearing tattered clothes, with sallow complexions and obvious malnutrition. It seemed that they were still living in poverty.
"Old man, how has the harvest in the mountains been in the past two years?" Sun Chong asked the village elder about the situation.
"The weather is good, so we can barely get by." The village elder answered truthfully.
"But when I came here, I saw that all the folks in the village were sallow and thin. What's going on?" Sun Zhong asked doubtfully.
After hearing what Sun Zhong said, the village elder was also stunned. He thought that Sun Zhong knew what he was asking, but when he saw the confused look on Sun Zhong's face, he sighed and explained.
"Although there are no natural disasters, there are **."
"**?"
"Sir, what you don't know is that our village is close to Heilang Village. At least 70% of the grain grown every year must be handed over to Heilang Village. If not, the people from Heilang Village will send people to snatch it.
Food is enough to make a living..."
After hearing what the village elder said, Sun Chong was also full of anger. He thought that the bandits were just robbing big households, but who knew that these bandits were so ruthless that they didn't even spare ordinary people.
The little devils invaded China and bullied the people. Instead of killing the enemy and serving the country, these bandits also imitated the little devils and bullied the people. This undoubtedly increased the suffering of the people.
"Old man, the bandits in Black Wolf Village have been eliminated by us. From now on, you don't have to hand over food to the bandits. You can keep the food you grow, and you can have enough to eat." Sun Zhong looked at the suffering.
The people comforted him.
"Alas, who can tell what will happen from now on..."
The village elder glanced at Sun Zhong and the others and shook his head, his tone full of helplessness.
Sun Zhong and the others soon arrived at the village's home and sat down. The village elder hurriedly prepared to kill chickens and cook them to entertain Sun Zhong and the others.
"Old man, please stop being busy, we have already had dinner." Sun Zhong said hurriedly.
"How can that be done? We don't have any delicacies in Qingshan Village. Sir, please don't dislike it."
The village elder also wanted to pay less when delivering food, so he wanted to improve his relationship with Sun Chong.
But he knew that although Sun Chong's purpose of coming here was food, it was not to collect food from the village, but to exchange grain seeds.
The village elder insisted on boiling water for cooking and entertained Sun Zhong and the others warmly, but Sun Zhong and the others were busy farming for grain and had no time to think about eating.
After Sun Zhong's repeated insistence, the village elder gave up the idea of boiling water for cooking.
"Sir, sit down for a moment. I have already informed each household to prepare food, which will be delivered later. However, there is really no food left in our village, so the quantity is not very large."
Seeing that Sun Zhong and the others refused to eat, he could only pour them tea and talk with them.
After hearing what the village elder said, Sun Zhong was also stunned. Did the village know that they were coming to exchange for food?
But then I thought about it, and it turned out that it was wrong. Their plan to bring grain that was not suitable for dryland farming to the village in exchange for growing grain had just been discussed, and Qingshan Village should not know about it.
When Sun Zhong looked at the village elder and the rich man sitting with him, who were respectful but frightened, he soon realized that the village regarded their Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps as the same people as the Black Wolf Village.
Seeing that there was a misunderstanding, Sun Chong also smiled bitterly and hurriedly stated his purpose of coming straight to the point.
"Sir, aren't you here to collect food?"
After hearing Sun Chong's words, the village elders and wealthy households were also stunned, with disbelief on their faces.
"Of course I'm not here to collect food, otherwise how could I bring two guards?" Sun Chong said with a smile.
"The rice seeds we brought into the mountains cannot be planted in the mountains. Seeing that the spring plowing is about to pass, we went to the village hoping to exchange for some grain..."
"Sir, you told me earlier that since you want to grow grain, just give me your order and I will send someone to send you a few loads."
The village elder's expression seemed much more relaxed. Since it was not a food requisition, they could still get some grain from them.
"Old man, to be honest, a few loads of grain is too little."
"Then I wonder how much the chief needs?" the village elder asked.
"Of course, the more, the better. We will use the same amount of rice in exchange to ensure that the fellow villagers will not suffer." Sun Zhong promised.
Sun Chong added: "Of course, if you don't want rice, we can exchange it for other things."
"Sir, whatever you say, I will inform you immediately and ask every household to prepare. They will be ready early tomorrow morning." The village elder agreed immediately without any hesitation.
Compared to being requisitioned for food, this trade in exchange for food is undoubtedly the best outcome for them.
"Thank you very much, fellow villagers. I will go back to prepare food and transport it here tomorrow morning."
Sun Chong was also a resolute person. When he learned that the exchange could be made, he left immediately and prepared to go back and prepare food overnight. After all, farming waits for no one. If it is late, it will affect the harvest.