My best friend is living a famine-stricken life; you're going crazy, I'm farming.

Chapter 159 Disaster Victims Gather Outside the City

At first, Yang Fenglan and Xu Yingying frequently went into the mountains to deliver grain.

Later, after Xu Dazhu recovered from his "illness," he went up the mountain every day.

Those things to be taken up the mountain, let Zhou Jingyi and Xu Dazhu take them.

Xiao Yuanshan wasn't idle either. Several men went to Nanshan almost every day to build the houses on the mountain before things got chaotic.

Xu Dazhu would go out to work during the off-season, helping people build houses, so he knew how to build houses.

While working on the mountaintop, Xiao Yuanshan asked, "Do you also believe what they say about the famine causing chaos?"

Xu Dazhu chuckled, "If you don't believe me, why are you here hoarding grain too?"

Xiao Yuanshan fell silent.

His reason for stockpiling grain wasn't entirely because Yang Fenglan said the drought would continue.

It also stemmed from my own judgment.

He experienced famine and hunger in his youth, and he never wanted to go through it again.

Moreover, he had two children to raise, and he didn't want to end up like his parents, wandering aimlessly with his children during famine.

In addition to building the wooden house, we also need to stockpile firewood.

You can gather some dry firewood in the woods, but it's not enough to burn. You have to cut down trees and stack them in one place to dry.

To prevent Zhou Jingyi from hearing gossip while wandering around the village, Yang Fenglan sent him to chop firewood in Nanshan every day after the house was built.

The drought will continue until next spring, and people will need to burn firewood for warmth in winter, so it's best to stock up on plenty of firewood.

At the end of June, Yang Fenglan and Xu Yingying went to the market again.

The vegetables are all stocked up, but we haven't stocked up enough meat yet.

Next, I need to stock up on some dried meat.

Yang Fenglan bought a lot of lean meat, and then set her sights on the large, unwanted pork bones. "Brother, I bought so much meat, can you give me these pork bones?"

The butcher was very generous and gave me both pork bones for free.

"Even a dog wouldn't eat this, what are you going to do with it?" Xu Yingying complained, following behind Yang Fenglan.

"You said even dogs wouldn't eat the broth used to make hot pot, so don't come to my house later if you smell it."

"...Speaking of hot pot, you can't miss it."

Since we're having hot pot, we should definitely buy a couple of pieces of tofu and some bean sprouts as well.

Upon seeing the bean sprouts, Yang Fenglan had a sudden thought. Lately, she had been so focused on stockpiling dried vegetables that she had forgotten she could sprout bean sprouts herself and eat fresh vegetables.

"Let's go to the grain store." Yang Fenglan pulled Xu Yingying and headed to the grain store they frequented.

I bought a sack of soybeans and half a sack of mung beans.

The two of them couldn't carry all the things, so Yang Fenglan spent two extra coins to ask the waiter to help deliver them out of the city.

"Why did you buy so many beans?" Xu Yingying asked curiously.

"Soybeans can be used to make tofu and soy milk, and can be sprouted. Mung beans can also be sprouted and can be used to make mung bean soup to cool off in the summer. It's good to be prepared."

Furthermore, soybeans are very resilient. You can plant some in the mountains, harvest a little in the fall, and even eat edamame.

When Yang Fenglan thought of farming, she thought of growing sweet potatoes. Besides eating the sweet potatoes, she could also eat the sweet potato leaves.

Yang Fenglan wanted to turn back into the city, but she saw that a large group of ragged, unkempt people had gathered outside the city.

My heart skipped a beat. "So, there are already refugees fleeing from other places?"

It's only been half a year since the drought started, and people who rely on the weather for their livelihood are already struggling to survive.

"Let's go, we won't buy anything, let's go home."

Yang Fenglan put the basket on Gu Laosan's oxcart, and Gu Laosan offered to help by carrying the two bags of beans up as well.

Why did you buy so many beans?

“Be prepared.”

"Then we might as well buy more grain," Gu Laosan said with a smile.

"Who can afford to buy food these days?"

"Too."

After waiting for the few people who had agreed to ride in the cart, Gu Laosan drove off in the oxcart.

Yang Fenglan saw that the refugees, who had come from who-knows-where begging, were staring at their oxcart with fierce eyes.

Fortunately, there were quite a few people on the bus; otherwise, Yang Fenglan was worried that they would pounce on her.