Chapter 266 - Chapter 266: Buying a Cow
Chapter 266: Buying a Cow
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The old women thought to herself, even though they have a cow at home, people are currently starving, where could they find enough grass to feed the cow? The cow had been raised for two months and only produced two bottles of milk.
Her husband was ill at home. If she sold the milk too cheaply, she wouldn’t have money to treat her husband’s illness, nor would they have funds to continue raising the cow. Yet, if she asked for too much, what if the customers refused to buy?
While the old women hesitated, Jiang Chuan approached and struck up a conversation, “Madam, is it easy to raise a milk cow in these times?”
His words hit right where the old madam’s worries were. Her face creased with worry, “Don’t even mention it. In these famine-stricken times, raising livestock is a drain without much return. If it weren’t for my husband needing medical treatment, these two bottles of milk would be reserved for my daughter-in-law, who is pregnant. She mustn’t go hungry.”
Upon hearing the old women’s plight, Jiang Gu couldn’t hold back her tears.
Zhou Lan, who had been pregnant before, knew the hardships of expectant mothers, “Madam, how about we trade two fish for your milk?”
The old women quickly declined, “That won’t do, two fish are too valuable, even more so than my milk!”
Jiang Xia had already summoned the fish using her newfound ability, without having to access her interspace directly. She wondered if this was the evolved skill Zhou Lan had mentioned.
“Granny, how about selling the milk cow to us?” Jiang Xia suggested.
The idea sounded good to the old women. Even though she had a cow at home, it hadn’t produced milk. She couldn’t make money from it, and if she slaughtered it, the meat would only last a few meals. So she kept it all this time, uncertain of what to do with it. Now that this family was willing to buy, it was certainly a good thing.
Looking at their attire, which was clean and without patches, it appeared they were from a decent household. Selling the cow to them wouldn’t burden their livelihood.
It must be said, the people here exhibited a genuine and kind-hearted nature. Perhaps it was a product of the times. Those living in this era were full of love, treating strangers with immense kindness.
In the modern times, Jiang Xia, due to her intelligence, had skipped several grades in school. Being younger than her peers, she had few friends and was indifferent to strangers. However, after arriving here, she distinctly felt the kindness emanating from different groups of people.
Jiang Xia began to think: maybe they were transported to this era by destiny to redeem themselves, to reclaim the lost parts of their souls, and to become more whole as individuals.
The old women, leading Jiang Chuan and his group, walked for over an hour before returning to the village.
Logically speaking, a village so close to the town should be thriving. However, this village was overly quiet. It was even smaller than Pushan Village with very few residents, so few that it was rare to see anyone strolling on the streets.
Yet, the houses in which the villagers lived were quite good, superior to those in Pushan Village.
Jiang Chuan, making conversation, asked, “Madam, why are there so few people in the village?”
The old women sighed, “Originally, our village had a decent population. But then, with the development of Locust Tree Bay, people from surrounding villages were drawn there. The population in nearby villages dwindled, and one village even became deserted. The government has issued an order to abolish that village.”
Jiang Chuan was somewhat familiar with this. He had researched the situation in Locust Tree Bay upon his arrival, a habit formed from years of doing business. The more he knew, the less likely he was to make mistakes.
Moving from one village to another involved many formalities and was quite troublesome. This was also one of the reasons for stable populations in each village.
However, for the development of Locust Tree Bay, the village chief had liaised with the government to waive many unnecessary procedures. A simple change of registration was all it took. That became the primary reason for the population influx to Locust Tree Bay.
With most people relocating, there were surplus houses. The village head organized relocations to better homes, resulting in the current state of the village.
The old women’s house was spacious, comparable to Jiang Chuan’s. There was even an additional cowshed, housing a skinny cow which seemed underdeveloped.
The old women told them, “Given the circumstances, it’s quite challenging for a cow to grow strong.”
Jiang Chuan nodded in understanding. Although the cow looked emaciated with barely any flesh on its bones, it didn’t seem diseased. Being skinny was better than having none at all..