Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 120 Buying Land

"Heiwa, what are you daydreaming about?" Hou Yangmin asked when he saw Hou Xiaoge in a daze.

"Nothing! I was wondering if I could go back to my hometown. Uncle, when do you think these Jap devils can be driven back to their hometown?" Hou Xiaoge came back to his senses and asked.

Hou Yangmin and others didn't expect Hou Xiaoge to ask this question, and they were a little confused for a moment.

"Alas! These Japanese devils only have foreign guns and cannons, as well as planes and tanks. I think it will be difficult to drive them out!" sighed a villager in the team.

They are all ordinary people, how could they possibly know about these national affairs? After listening to this, the other villagers nodded in agreement with what the villager had just said.

Hou Xiaoge could understand why ordinary people had such an awareness. The Xiao Rizu was so powerful that it had almost occupied most of the good places in China in recent years.

There is not much land left in the hands of the Chinese people. Coupled with the continuous defeat in the war, it is normal for ordinary people to have no confidence.

However, Hou Xiaoge did not raise this issue to rub salt into the villagers' wounds, nor did he say anything to motivate them. Instead, he was using the issue of daily life to determine where to live.

"Everyone has the same idea, so what do you think about the land in the Central Plains?" Hou Xiaoge asked back.

"Needless to say, except for some areas in western Henan, most places are flat and good for growing crops," the villagers said proudly.

"The land is flat and we can grow anything. We love it. So do you think the Japanese, that tiny country, like the land in the Central Plains?" Hou Xiaoge continued.

"That's for sure!"

"I definitely like it!"

"like!"

But as soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces gradually turned ugly.

Yes! They all like it, so how could the Japanese not like it?

Everyone was thinking that many cities in northern Henan, eastern Henan, and southern Henan have been occupied by the Japanese, so how far are they in western Henan!

"Heiwa, you said the Japanese might attack our hometown?" Hou Yangmin said with a look of disbelief.

"That's for sure. Our Central Plains is flat and the Japanese will definitely not let us go if they come." Hou Xiaoge nodded and said.

As Hou Xiaoge finished speaking, the eyes of everyone present turned red.

"Uncle, you don't have to worry too much. Our country is so big and there are so many people. We can definitely drive the Japanese back to their hometown.

But this will take at least several years, so we have to find a stable place to settle down temporarily.

Chang'an is further north than us, and the winter is much colder than in the Central Plains, with snow up to half a meter thick. Living in a shack in winter is definitely not an option, we still need a stable place to live, so that the winter will be easier." Hou Xiaoge said, looking at the barren slope in the distance.

"Heiwa, let's take a look again. We can't be careless about where we live." Hou Yangmin looked at the yellow slope covered with rocks in front of him but still couldn't make up his mind.

"Uncle, you are right. Let's look around a bit more. It would be great if we can find a better place than this one." Hou Xiaoge also understood that one must not be careless about the place where they take root.

After searching for an entire afternoon, there were refugees everywhere, and the villagers returned to the temporary camp on the roadside with heavy hearts.

"Heiwa, I've already sold the pheasant. It's over there where the railway workers live. A man who looks like an official sold it for three dollars.

You are the head of our family now, so you can keep the money." As soon as we returned to the camp, Wang Maimiao came over excitedly and whispered.

Looking at Wang Maimiao's mysterious look, Hou Xiaoge was already sweating from the few dollars in his hands, and he also felt a sense of emotion.

"Mom, although we have arrived in Chang'an, we haven't separated yet, so we can't take all the money privately.

You keep one dollar for yourself, and give the remaining two dollars to your uncle! Let him exchange them all for food when he has time. "Hou Xiaoge said as she looked at her aunt and cousin who were looking at her.

"That's okay!"

Wang Maimiao was actually reluctant to give the money. These three dollars could buy more than 70 kilograms of cornmeal, which would provide enough food for his family for a long time after they settled down.

But now her husband is gone, and she is left with only a bunch of women and children.

Although the eldest son was capable, he was still too young, and the family would have to rely on his uncle and sister-in-law for care in the future, so he had to agree with a stern face.

But then he thought again, thinking about what his son had just said about leaving a dollar for himself as a safekeeping, Wang Maimiao smiled again.

"Mom, social interactions, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are too troublesome. After we settle down, you should be in charge of the family's money!

But I have agreed in advance that I will manage my own money, but I will hand over a portion of the money to my family every month, which is enough for the family expenses. "Hou Xiaoge said to his adopted mother.

"Hey! You are my eldest son. Since your father is not around, I will naturally listen to you.

But mother is a woman with no ability, so you should take care of your brother more in the future, he is still too young. "Wang Maimiao agreed with a smile, but still took the opportunity to play the emotional card.

"Of course. Shuanniu is my own brother. If I don't take care of him, who will?" Hou Xiaoge still cares a lot about the little guy who saved his life.

"That's good, that's good!" Wang Maimiao said, then put a dollar into his cotton-padded jacket, and handed the other two dollars to his uncle as if showing off.

Finding a place to live is not something that can be decided in a short time. After dinner, the men started to go out to look for work in the afternoon, and the women and children began to search for wild vegetables and firewood nearby.

Three or four days passed like this, and there were more and more refugees around, and the villagers of Nanjiagou began to get anxious.

"Brother Yangmin, there are more and more people gathering near Yuxiang Gate. We have to find a place to camp quickly!

It rained a little yesterday, and many children caught a cold. If they continue to sleep on the roadside, it will be easy for something to happen. "At night, the elders in the village were discussing, and many people in the village came over to ask.

Hou Yangmin was also anxious. After asking around over the past few days, he found out that many people in the village were only willing to build shacks and most of them were unwilling to go through the trouble of digging caves.

Moreover, the earth slope that Hou Xiaoge referred to belonged to a landlord in a nearby village. If one wanted to dig a kiln there, one would have to buy or rent the land.

Although the land was barren and could not be used to grow crops, the landlord still wanted it for a lot of money. Thirty acres of rocky slopes could not even be used to grow crops, but the selling price was actually five hundred dollars.

After hearing this price, the villagers all opposed it and said they couldn't afford it even if they sold it.

But to be honest, the village can really afford this price. Although the clan now only has more than 3,000 French francs and fifty or sixty dollars left, don't forget that the village still has seven public assets, muskets.

It is now the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the price of muskets has skyrocketed as major domestic arsenals have stopped production.

In the private sector, a Hanyang rifle that is 60% to 70% new can be sold for up to 130 silver dollars, while a Zhongzheng rifle that is 60% to 70% new can be sold for over 200 silver dollars.

Of course, the official market price was still dozens of dollars, but good guns were rarely sold in the official market during the War of Resistance. Only after 1943 and 1944, when the United States began to provide substantial support to China, did the price of muskets fall.

"Okay, you guys go back! The clan has already reached a decision, and everyone will have a place to live the day after tomorrow." Hou Yangmin stood up and sent away all the clan members.

The next day, Hou Yangmin took three relatively good quality muskets and the only Mauser pistol in the village to the Ximen market and exchanged them for 530 silver dollars, and bought 30 acres of rocky slope from the landlord.