Chapter 10

Old Zhou decided to let his daughter apprentice under Mr. Zhuang, so of course, he had to prepare well. The next day, even the eldest son didn’t go out to work.

Old Zhou directly sent the eldest to borrow a cart from the village chief and brought out two bags of grain from the warehouse.

The whole family stood at their respective doorways watching. Old Zhou seemed to ignore the anxiety in his daughters-in-law’s eyes, instructing the eldest and the third son to tie up the grain. Then he told the second son, “When you get to the market, sell the grain for money first. Buy three days’ worth of medicine for your mother, and a piece of pork, preferably fatty pork. If you can get cured meat, that would be even better.”

Old Zhou thought for a moment and added, “Check if anyone is selling good cotton fabric at the market. If so, buy some to make a set of clothes for Mr. Zhuang. Oh, and don’t forget to buy fabric for shoes and socks, get the better quality.”

The second son noted everything down.

When the women heard what they needed to buy, their hearts ached. After all, it was two bags of grain.

Old Zhou felt even more pain than they did, but hearing the laughter from outside, he could ignore his pain. After giving all the instructions, Old Zhou waved his hand, telling everyone to go about their business.

Manbao woke up early in the morning and then dragged Wulang and Liulang to pick wildflowers.

By the time the family was ready, they were also ready. They filled the basket woven by the second son with wild grass and wildflowers and happily followed the adults.

Fengshi, who went with them, couldn’t help but ask, “What are you going to do with these things?”

Daya said, “Little Auntie said to sell them.”

Fengshi’s eyes widened slightly, “These things are everywhere in the mountains, who would buy them?”

Manbao, who was being carried by Wulang, loudly said, “Second Sister-in-law, I would buy them. I’m willing to buy anything pretty.”

What a spendthrift.

Fengshi couldn’t help but ask, “Little Auntie, do you have money?”

Manbao shook her head honestly, “Not now, but I will have it in the future.”

She was very confident in herself. Even Keko said she was smart, so she must be very capable. Making money wouldn’t be a problem.

Fengshi didn’t stop them, treating it as a children’s game. After all, they were carrying the things themselves.

When they arrived at the market, everyone started looking for a spot to set up their stall.

The second son had made many baskets and trays to sell. He found a familiar spot, set down the items, and asked his wife to sell them. He then instructed Wulang and Liulang, “Watch over Manbao and Dada, don’t let them run around.”

Before Wulang could speak, Manbao patted her chest and said, “Second Brother, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of the kids. We won’t go anywhere.”

The second son smiled and patted her head.

Then he pushed the cart with the eldest to sell the grain.

This market was held every five days, gathering people from nearby villages in the relatively large village of Dali.

Because there was a mountain with a Taoist temple, every year on the 19th of the first lunar month, there was a grand temple fair, attracting people from the county town to travel far to participate.

That was the grand temple fair. The smaller temple fairs were held on major seasonal festivals, a tradition that had lasted for many years.

According to what Manbao heard from the elders at the village entrance, these customs had been around since they were children.

For this reason, Keko was particularly regretful, saying that as a specialized biological science system, their encyclopedia also had a system for collecting such folk customs. The formation of this temple fair could spawn many sub-tasks, earning a lot of points.

At the time, Manbao felt a bit sad for Keko, so she sweetly said, “But I like Keko, I don’t like other systems.”

In short, this was a large market where villagers exchanged goods.

So, the question is, did everyone use money to trade?

Of course not!

Manbao saw that the second sister-in-law had arranged the baskets and trays, so they immediately put down their baskets filled with wild grass and wildflowers, forming a row with Fengshi’s goods. They then squatted behind, supporting their little faces and watching the passersby.

The second son had been operating in the market for many years, and his reputation was well-established. So, not long after setting up, an old lady with a basket on her back came over, inspecting the trays and asked, “Can I trade with eggs?”

Fengshi thought for a moment and agreed, “Eggs are still two coins for three, right?”

The old lady confirmed.

Fengshi started calculating how many eggs she should give, “Then you give me...”

She calculated, but felt her calculation was wrong, her forehead sweating. Her husband used to handle these things, and she always counted money when selling items.

Fengshi wiped her sweat. Seeing her sister-in-law struggling, Manbao quickly jumped up, “Second Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, I can do it. Are our trays still fifteen coins each?”

Fengshi knew her little sister-in-law was smart and could count. She often played games with her husband, like adding one coin and two coins. So she nodded, “Yes, our prices never change.”

Manbao curiously looked at the old lady, “Where are your eggs?”

The old lady couldn’t count either, but her family had calculated the number of eggs she needed before she left. She still hoped the Zhou family would make a mistake.

She had approached as soon as she saw the second son wasn’t there.

She put down her basket and opened it to show Manbao her eggs, “They’re all from our chickens, very good.”

Manbao said, “Let me count them.”

The old lady was a bit unhappy, “You haven’t told me how many eggs you need yet.”

Manbao stared at her, “I haven’t counted, how do I know how many eggs I need? I need to count them.”

The old lady laughed, not stopping her, “Be careful, don’t break the eggs.”

Manbao promised, “Don’t worry, if I break them, it’s on me.”

She took out the eggs, making piles of three, and made eight piles. The old lady counted the eggs, her heart racing, and was about to take them back.

Manbao clapped her hands happily, “I counted them, I counted them. Second Sister-in-law, look, this is two coins, this is two coins, two coins, two coins... a total of sixteen coins.”

The stall owner next to them watched the whole process and said, “This little girl is really smart.”

Fengshi was proud, “This is my little sister-in-law, the smartest in our family.”

Wulang and Liulang were also proud, puffing out their chests, “My sister!”

The old lady looked at the two big, strong boys and swallowed her words, then said, “Your trays are fifteen coins, but you’re asking for one more coin. I’ll take this pile back.”

Manbao thought it was reasonable and took two of the smallest eggs from the pile, “Fifteen coins, you should get one and a half eggs back, but we can’t split half an egg, so we’ll take a small loss. You can take these two back.”

The old lady was speechless.

Fengshi also saw the old lady’s actions and smiled, quickly putting the eggs into their basket. She smiled and let the old lady choose a tray, “We won’t pick the size of the eggs, just trade like this.”

Although she didn’t lose, the old lady was still a bit unhappy, looking at Manbao, “This child is so plump and fair, she doesn’t look like she’s from a farming family.”

Fengshi laughed, “She’s the youngest in the family, her grandparents and brothers dote on her, so she’s well taken care of. I’m not boasting, but there’s no girl in the surrounding villages as beautiful as our little sister-in-law.”

Everyone looked closely, and it was true.

The child not only had cute features but was also fair and plump, with a round, rosy face, clearly a person of good fortune.

The old lady’s resentment disappeared, and she nodded with a smile, “She is beautiful.”

Manbao, being praised, immediately became happy and enthusiastically introduced her goods to the old lady, “Auntie, look at my flowers, they’re so beautiful. Put them on your windowsill, and they’ll make you feel good.”

The old lady, called auntie, felt younger and laughed, “You’re giving them to me? You’re so polite.”

She reached out to take them.

Manbao’s eyes sparkled, “I’m not giving them away, one coin for a bunch, it’s not expensive at all.”

The old lady’s hand quickly retracted, her eyes wide, “What, these wildflowers cost money? Aren’t they all over the mountain?”

“Yes,” Manbao said confidently, “But I picked them.”

Fengshi quickly said, “Auntie, don’t mind, the children are just playing. They’ve been talking about doing business at home, so we brought them out to see the market.”

The old lady felt better but didn’t reach for the flowers again, afraid Manbao would ask for money.

She chose a tray and quickly left.

Manbao watched her leave with a wistful look and sighed to her friends, “Why didn’t she buy them? Our flowers are so beautiful.”

The friends: ...We expected this, so we’re not disappointed at all.

The friends were excitedly watching the people coming and going on the street. They were happy just to be at the market.

People came and went, buying baskets and trays. Manbao always helped the second sister-in-law count the money and then recommended her flowers and grass. Each adult initially reached out happily to take them but quickly withdrew their hands when they learned they cost money.

As the market day passed halfway, the eldest and second brother hadn’t returned, and not a single flower or grass had been sold. The flowers were starting to wilt.

Manbao sighed worriedly, seeing that the trays in front of the second sister-in-law were almost gone, but there were still many baskets left. She arranged her flowers and grass in the baskets.

Fengshi was alarmed, “Little sister-in-law, you’re not going to make customers buy your flowers and grass with the baskets, are you?”

Manbao, who simply thought the flowers and grass would go to waste if unsold, had a bright idea, “Oh, Second Sister-in-law, you’re so smart. Why didn’t I think of this?”