During times of famine: I have a spiritual spring space

Chapter 15 You Guessed Right

Seeing that Zhuang Lihui was generous, Master Zhou guessed that he still had a lot of corn on hand. He also knew that Master Wang's family had been short of food for a long time, since a half-grown boy was eating his father out of house and home. Moreover, Master Wang's family had more than one, a total of three.

Zhuang Lihui hurriedly asked, "Master Zhou, where does Master Wang live?"

The house is really too dilapidated. Before, we were willing but unable to afford it, but now that we have the means, we definitely want to renovate it. After the renovation, it will be much easier for Liming to find a wife.

If your home is too shabby, girls will shake their heads when they see it and won't be interested in dating.

Fearing that Zhuang Lihui wouldn't remember, Master Zhou simply took out paper and a pen and wrote it down on the paper.

Zhuang Lihui took the paper, folded it, put it in his pocket, and then left.

.......

Zhuang Lihui followed the address on the paper, but he wasn't very familiar with the area and couldn't find it. He had no choice but to ask for help, so he stopped a young man: "Comrade, do you know where this place is?"

When the young man saw the address on the paper, he was shocked. Wasn't this the address of his neighbor, Mr. Wang?

He asked calmly, "Comrade, what brings you here?"

Zhuang Lihui doesn't seem like a bad person, but you can't judge a book by its cover. It's always better to be careful.

Zhuang Lihui saw through the young man's thoughts: "Comrade, I'm not a bad person. I was introduced by Master Zhou and I want to exchange some things with Master Wang."

He doesn't know the young man, so he definitely won't tell him everything.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, I see. Don't blame me for being nosy, comrade. Master Wang is my neighbor."

Zhuang Lihui waved his hand: "Comrade, you did the right thing."

After some conversation, it was learned that the young man's name was Li Hongbing.

With Li Hongbing leading the way, Zhuang Lihui didn't have to wander around like a headless fly, asking for directions everywhere. They arrived at their destination in just over ten minutes.

"Comrade, you go in by yourself! I have other things to attend to."

After saying that, he left without giving Zhuang Lihui a chance to speak.

Zhuang Lihui knocked on the door.

A moment later, a child opened the door, saw Zhuang Lihui, and asked warily, "Who are you looking for?"

It seemed like they were about to close the door if you couldn't give them a clear answer.

Zhuang Lihui: "I came here to look for Master Wang, but I don't know if he's home?"

When a child hears that someone has come to see their father, they immediately open the door. This kind of thing happens often, so it's not surprising.

Master Wang is a well-known craftsman in the neighborhood, and many people come to him for help.

Once inside, a middle-aged man looked at Zhuang Lihui with a scrutinizing gaze: "Comrade, what's the matter?"

Zhuang Lihui said in a low voice, "Master Wang, could we find a quiet place to talk?"

There were a few other people around, and I wasn't sure if they could be trusted. To avoid trouble, I decided to talk to them alone.

Master Wang looked around, nodded, and led Zhuang Lihui to a quiet room.

"Comrade, can you speak now?"

Zhuang Lihui got straight to the point: "Master Wang, I was introduced by Master Zhou. I heard you have cement and lime?"

Master Wang initially wanted to deny it, but upon hearing that Old Zhou had introduced him, he said, "That's right, comrade, how many do you want?"

Cement is a controlled resource and is not available to the general public.

If it weren't for his connections, he really wouldn't have been able to get his hands on it. He works in construction, and the cement is leftover material that they usually use to barter for things they need. As long as no one reports it, there's nothing wrong with it.

They had already reached a tacit understanding.

"Five or six bags, do you have any?"

"Yes, I do have some, but I don't want money. Do you have any food?"

Zhuang Lihui smiled and said, "Master Wang, what a coincidence! I was just planning to trade corn, with the cobs on. You should be interested, right? Just tell me how much you want in exchange for five or six bags of cement!"

Master Wang almost thought he had misheard and quickly asked, "Comrade, what did you just say you were using to replace the cement?"

Zhuang Lihui stopped teasing Master Wang: "Corn! But with the cob intact."

Master Wang immediately smiled and said, "Comrade, you guessed right. I'm really interested in corn."

He wakes up every day with a headache over food, and having many sons is also a source of distress.

Food is scarce everywhere. Luckily, I had saved a lot of money before, so I went to the black market to buy food. The price was high, and I wasn't sure if I could buy any. Thinking of my three sons at home who were crying for food, I had no choice but to find a way.

As for whether it has a core or not, that doesn't matter; you can replace more if it has a core.

Zhuang Lihui sat down: "Master Wang, how much corn do you need in exchange?"

Instead of answering Zhuang Lihui's question, Master Wang countered, "I can get over a ton here, can you take it all?"

It wasn't entirely his; it belonged to their construction team. These days, when people aren't getting enough to eat, exchanging materials for food isn't unreasonable, is it?

Zhuang Lihui was surprised and glanced at Master Wang: "Is this batch of cement okay?"

Master Wang shook his head: "Don't worry! Everything's been dealt with cleanly, there's no way to trace it. Of course, you can't be too high-profile, otherwise you won't be able to withstand a thorough investigation."

Hearing this, Zhuang Lihui was tempted.

He could store any unused cement in his spatial dimension, where no one could find it, so there was no need to worry.

"Okay, give it all to me! How much corn do you want?"

Afterwards, Master Wang calculated the black market prices for cement, lime, and corn for Zhuang Lihui, ultimately exchanging them for 160 jin (80 catties) of corn cobs. Previously, 160 jin of corn cobs wouldn't have been enough to buy so much cement. But now, there was no other way; food was far more precious.

Although cement is a controlled commodity, in the eyes of ordinary people, its value is far less than that of grain.

Food can fill your stomach; no one can live without it. Cement is different; I can do without it.

"I'll take some cement and lime back with an oxcart first. As for the rest, I'll give you a spot to deliver it to me, and I'll give you an extra 5 jin of corn cobs," Zhuang Lihui said.

Mr. Wang, who was initially about to refuse, changed his mind when he heard that there was still a 5-pound delivery fee for the corn: "No problem!"

Let alone 5 jin of corn ears, they would do it even if you gave them 2 jin.

"By the way, it can't be too far, right?"

"Don't worry! It's within the boundaries of our Baishi Commune."

"Okay!"

After saying that, Master Wang took Zhuang Lihui to see the "stock" they had accumulated. The cement and lime together amounted to more than a ton, with cement accounting for 70-80%.

Afterwards, Zhuang Lihui took Master Wang and the others to get the corn.

Zhuang Lihui had already made preparations, piling the corn in a secluded spot where no one could find it, weighing a full two hundred jin.

After deducting the 165 jin of Wang's and his family's weight, there are still 35 jin left.

Mr. Wang and his team certainly wouldn't give up on this. They discussed with Zhuang Lihui and asked him to give them the 35 jin of corn cobs as well. They would then bring out some cement to make up the difference later, ensuring that Zhuang Lihui would not suffer any loss.

"Alright!"