Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 218 Making a Living

"Hmph! It's not what you said." Looking at the people around him laughing at him, the ten-year-old Niu Wa ran away with a look of grievance on his face.

He strode to a cave outside the town. This was where Niu Wa's family lived after their dilapidated thatched house collapsed.

"Niu Wa, come back!"

"Brother Niu Wa, did you get anything to eat? I'm hungry."

"Niu Wa, why are you crying? Who has offended you? Let's go to his house and block him."

……

The cave is very large and has groundwater inside. It does not freeze even in winter and is a great place to live. Thirty or forty half-grown children live in it all year round.

As for adults, of course there were none. They were either conscripted or joined gangs and never came back.

However, there were a few older people who did not go, but stayed free in the caves.

"Brother Dong, a boss asked me to take everyone to live in another place. What do you think we should do?" Niu Wa came to the eldest boy and reported.

"Live in another place? That's just something to fool around with. They will definitely sell us out. No, no." With messy hair, the 18-year-old Ma Wendong waved his hands impatiently.

"Which boss is so rich? He wears foreign clothes and rides a horse as tall as you. He also treats me to pig trotters, fat meat and rice." Niu Wa said stubbornly with tears on his face.

"You mean the claws? Hoof flower, big fat meat, and rice. You must have hit your head, you idiot, so you are talking nonsense." When Ma Wendong mentioned food, his sleepy eyes immediately widened.

It wasn't just Ma Wendong. The cave that was noisy just now suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of swallowing saliva.

"The boss gave me some money and told me whoever wants to go can buy him some steamed buns." Niu Wa showed a silver dollar in his hand.

As for why it was only one dollar, it was naturally because the kid was a bit "cunning" and stuffed a dollar up his butt.

As for why you don't hide it outside, who would be willing to part with such a large amount of money? What would you do if it disappeared?

"Oh, a dollar. My eyes are dazzled." Ma Wendong rubbed his eyes and snatched the dollar.

"Really? This is the real Ocean Plug." The cave was in an uproar.

"Niu Wa, is there anything else?"

"No more, just one piece." Niu Wa shook his head like a rattle.

"Curly, go search." Ma Wendong winked at his younger brother beside him.

"Brother Dong, Brother Curly, they're really gone." Niu Wa opened his hands wide, but just clenched his buttocks tightly.

He was wearing tattered clothes, straw sandals, and clothes without pockets. There was nothing to search for, except a small piece of silver.

"Brother Dong, there is a small dollar." The younger brother Curly nodded to Ma Wendong.

"Brother Dong, that's the money I pay to show the boss around." Niu Wa said aggrievedly.

"Hmph! I'll save it for you and use it to buy food. You're such a stubborn kid that you don't even bother asking for more money when you meet a big boss." Ma Wendong put the money in his pocket and kicked Gou Wa's butt in annoyance.

"Oh woo!"

The force was not strong, but the big dollar stuck in Niu Wa's butt was almost kicked off. Niu Wa had to cover his butt and cry out in pain.

"Fuck, did I put in any effort?" Ma Wendong cursed.

Although Ma Wendong took the boss's money, Niu Wa was a little angry.

But in the past few years in the cave, Ma Wendong has protected them and prevented him from being taken away by human traffickers, so in Niu Wa's heart, Ma Wendong is still his good brother.

However, this money is a task given to him by his boss, and Niu Wa still wants to win over the boss.

"Brother Dong, are you guys going? The boss said that as long as we go to Lu County, he will provide food and accommodation." After a pause, Niu Wa looked at Ma Wendong with anticipation.

"No, whoever wants to go can go. I am free in this cave. What if I get tricked if I run such a long way?" Ma Wendong said with disdain.

"Brother Dong, the boss is really rich. He spent one and a half dollars on a meal." Niu Wa still wanted to fight for it.

"Everyone is gone, and you're just saying it now. People gave you a dollar out of pity for you, a little kid." Ma Wendong looked at Niu Wa as if he were a fool.

"Brother Dong, we only eat once every two days. Xiaoyue and Huzi starved to death last month. Let's go to Lu County and give it a try!" Niu Wa thought of his friends who had died in the past two years and looked at his elder brother with longing.

"They died of illness, not starvation. If you don't have money to buy medicine, I have another way." Ma Wendong's voice got louder.

"Then I want to talk to the boss. The boss is a very nice person."

Niu Wa had never seen so much money when his mother was alive. The boss trusted him, and Niu Wa felt that he could not let him down.

"Then go ahead. It's more than twenty miles away. You'll be exhausted to death running to the county town." Ma Wendong cursed.

"Let's go! Who's going to go with me to make a living somewhere else?" Niu Wa rolled up the bedding his mother left for him, his face filled with tears.

"Brother Niu Wa, I'll go with you!"

"Let's go too!"

"I want to have a full meal, too."

After a while, nine little kids aged between six and twelve were moved by the good days that Niu Wa talked about and followed him out of the cave.

"Are you guys going to die? You haven't even seen anyone yet, and you're following Niu Wa to Lu County?" Ma Wendong was so angry that he ran out and cursed the people who followed him.

"Brother Dong, nine of us have died between last year and this year. We can't stay in our hometown any longer. We will just starve to death if we stay.

The boss sold us to mine, so we can have a living, which is better than starving to death." said one of the oldest children.

"Alas! It's all because I, as your elder brother, am incompetent and can't support you."

Ma Wendong was also the son of a soldier who fought in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. He felt sorry for these kids and didn't join any gangs. He just took a group of kids and ran up and down the mountains all day begging for food.

"Brother Dong, come with us. The boss won't want us to come back together." Niu Wa said to us with anticipation.

"You go first! Curly and I will follow you. If any boss really wants to arrest you, we can save you." Ma Wendong thought for a while and said to Niu Wa.

"Great!"

After Niu Wa and his companions left, Ma Wendong and five half-grown children over the age of fifteen were left far behind.

When they arrived outside the town, Niu Wa took out the money from his butt.

"Oh my God, Niu Wa, how come you still have a dollar? Where did you hide it? Are you able to perform magic tricks?" Several people were shocked.

"hey-hey!"

"I have a dollar hidden in my ass. This money is a task assigned by the boss. I can't give it all to Brother Dong. I'll take you to buy some steamed bread."

Niu Wa washed his hands and money in the pool outside the town, then led everyone towards the shop selling steamed buns with a proud look on his face.

"Oh! It's time to eat steamed bread." The three skinny girls in the team clapped their hands with excitement.

"Uncle boss, buy me a cornmeal steamed bun for a dollar." Niu Wa came to the front of the shop and shouted loudly.

"You idiot, you're so proud of yourself and are bragging in front of me. Get out of here." The boss scolded with a smile.

"Uncle boss, I have money. It was given to me by the boss." Niu Wa showed the silver dollar in his hand.

When the boss saw the silver dollar, his eyes lit up. This was really a big business!

"You idiot, you've made a fortune. Come on, show it where to go." The boss immediately smiled happily.

A 200-ounce cornmeal steamed bun costs one cent, and one dollar is enough for 100 steamed buns, which have to be packed in a basket.

There was no shortage of backpacks in Sichuan Province. Every child had one, so they freed up one and filled a basket with 100 steamed buns. In the end, the boss even gave them two as gifts.

During the Republic of China, the system was 16 liang (two ounces) per pound of cornmeal, and one dollar was worth 26 kilograms of it. The boss earned nearly half of it, so it was a good profit.

"Come, eat. Brother Dong, you guys come and eat too." Niu Wa lifted the basket with difficulty and let everyone take it themselves, then shouted to Brother Dong and his group who were following in the distance.