Going to the Market

Mr. Lao Zhou decided to have his daughter study under Mr. Zhuang as her teacher, and, of course, he wanted to make sure everything was well-prepared. So, the next day, not even the eldest son went to work.

Mr. Lao Zhou directly asked the village chief for a cart and moved two bags of grain from the warehouse.

The whole family stood at their respective doorways, and Mr. Lao Zhou seemed oblivious to the anxiety in the eyes of his daughters-in-law. He instructed the eldest and the third son to tie up the grain. Then, he instructed Zhou Erlang, "Go to the market, exchange the grain for money, buy your mother three days' worth of medicine, and then buy some meat." "Preferably pork belly, and if you can find some cured meat, even better."

Mr. Lao Zhou thought for a moment and added, "See if there's anyone selling better quality cotton cloth at the market." If there is, buy it and have a set of clothes made for Mr. Zhuang. Oh, and don't forget to buy fabric for shoes and socks; opt for the higher quality ones.

Zhou Erlang noted everything down.

Upon hearing the list of items to purchase, the women felt a pang in their hearts - it was two bags of grain.

Mr. Lao Zhou felt even more distressed than them, but upon hearing the laughter coming from outside, he was able to dismiss this feeling of distress. After giving all the instructions, Mr. Lao Zhou waved his hand, allowing everyone to go about their business.

Manbao woke up early and took Wulang and Liulang to pick wildflowers.

When the family was ready, they were also prepared. They carried baskets filled with wild grass and flowers, happily following behind the adults.

Accompanying them, Mrs. Feng looked at the contents of their baskets and couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do with these items?"

The eldest daughter-in-law said, "Little aunt suggested that we should take them to sell."

Mrs. Feng widened her eyes slightly and said, "These things are everywhere." "Who would buy them?"

At this point, Manbao, who was being carried by Wulang, loudly declared, "Second sister-in-law, I will buy them." "I'm willing to buy anything that looks good."

This was truly a wasteful expenditure.

Mrs. Feng couldn't help but ask, "Little aunt, do you have money?"

Manbao honestly shook her head, "Not now, but I will in the future."

She had great confidence in herself; even Keke said she was very smart, so she must be very capable. Making money would certainly not be a problem.

Mrs. Feng didn't stop them, treating it as a game for the children, since the items were their own.

When they arrived at the market, everyone began to find a place to set up their stalls.

Zhou Erlang brought many baskets and winnowing baskets to sell. He was familiar with the area, secured a spot, placed the items down, and instructed his wife to sell them. He also instructed Wulang and Liulang, "You two keep an eye on Manbao and Datou, don't run around."

Wulang hadn't spoken yet, but Manbao reassured him, "Second brother, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of the nephews." "We won't go anywhere."

Zhou Erlang smiled and reached out to pat her head.

Then he pushed the cart and went to sell the grain with Zhou Dalang.

This market was held every five days, with several villages gathering in the relatively large Dali Village.

Because there was a mountain here, and on the mountain, there was a temple with two monks. Every year on the 19th day of the first lunar month, a particularly grand temple fair takes place here, attracting people from the county town who come from afar to participate.

This was the grand temple fair, while the other smaller temple fairs were set up during major festivals. These traditions have been around for many years.

According to what Manbao had heard from the elders at the village entrance, these customs had been around since their childhood.

Keke expressed particular regret, stating that it was a specialized system for gathering biological knowledge. There was also a system in their encyclopedia museum specifically designed for collecting these folk customs. The organization of this temple fair could involve various sub-tasks, and it would undoubtedly yield a substantial number of benefits.

At that moment, Manbao noticed that Keke was feeling a bit low, so she offered some comforting words without hesitation, "But I prefer Keke; I don't like other systems."

In short, this was a bustling market where villagers exchanged goods and services.

So, does everyone trade with money?

Of course not!

Manbao noticed that her sister-in-law had arranged the baskets and winnowing baskets. They promptly set down their baskets filled with wild grass and flowers, aligning them with Mrs. Feng's merchandise. They then squatted behind the goods, observing the passersby.

Zhou Erlang had been in the market for many years, and his reputation had long been established. Not long after he set up, an old lady with a basket on her back came over and inspected the winnowing baskets, asking, "Can I exchange these for eggs?"

Mrs. Feng agreed after a moment's thought, saying, "Eggs are still two wen for three, right?"

The old lady agreed.

Mrs. Feng began to calculate how many eggs she should give her. "Then you give me..."

She calculated but realized she had made a mistake, causing her forehead to sweat. In the past, these tasks were always carried out by her husband, and she had never been involved in selling items or managing finances.

Mrs. Feng wiped her sweat, and Manbao, who saw her sister-in-law in trouble, quickly jumped up, "Second sister-in-law, I can do it." Are our winnowing baskets still fifteen wen each?

Mrs. Feng knew that her young niece was intelligent and could now do math. She often played games with her husband, adding one wen and two wen to see how many wen it was, so she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, the price of our items has never changed."

Manbao curiously looked at the old lady and asked, "Where are your eggs?"

Before the old lady left, her family calculated how many eggs she would need to spend, as she couldn't do math herself. However, she still hoped that the Zhou family would make a mistake in their calculations.

She had only come up when she saw that Zhou Erlang wasn't there.

She put down her basket and showed Manbao her eggs. "They were laid by the chickens at home." "They're good."

Manbao said, "Let me count them."

The old lady wasn't too happy. "You haven't told me how many eggs you need."

Manbao stared and asked, "I haven't counted them. How am I supposed to know how many eggs you need?" "I have to count them."

It was clear that she didn't know how to count, so the old lady laughed and didn't correct her, saying, "Then you have to be careful not to break the eggs."

Manbao promised, "Don't worry, if I break them, it's on me."

She took the eggs out, three in a pile, three in a pile; there were eight piles like this. The old lady counted the eggs, her heart skipped a beat, and she was about to take the eggs back.

Manbao clapped her hands joyfully, "I've counted them, I've counted them, second sister-in-law. Look, this is two, this is two, two, two... It's a total of sixteen."

The vendor across from them watched the whole process and said with a smile, "This little girl is really smart."

Mrs. Feng proudly introduced, "This is my younger aunt; she is the most intelligent member of our family."

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang were also very proud, puffing out their chests and saying, "She's our sister!"

The old lady looked at the two big and strong boys, but the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down. Instead, she said, "Your winnowing baskets are fifteen wen, but you've asked for one more wen from me." "I'll just take this pile back."

Manbao thought it made sense, so she took the two smallest eggs from one pile and gave them to her, saying, "Fifteen wen, I should still owe you half an egg, but I can't split half an egg, so we'll take a small loss. You can take these two back.

The old lady was taken aback.

Mrs. Feng also noticed the old lady's reaction and agreed with a smile. She quickly placed the eggs into their family's basket and said, "We won't pick and choose the size of the eggs." Let's just make the exchange like this.

Although she hadn't been at a loss, the old lady was still a little unhappy. She looked at Manbao and said, "This child is so plump and fair; she doesn't look like she's from a poor family."

Mrs. Feng smiled and said, "The youngest in our family is the baby, and her in-laws and brothers adore her, so they have taken good care of her." I'm not bragging, but there's no girl within a ten-mile radius who looks better than our little aunt.

Upon closer inspection, everyone confirmed that it was indeed true.

The child not only had lovely features but was also fair and plump, with a round, rosy face. She looked like a fortunate person.

The old lady's lingering concerns disappeared, and she nodded with a smile, "She's good-looking."

Manbao was happy to be praised and then enthusiastically introduced her flowers to the old lady, saying, "Grandma, take a look at my flowers." "They're so beautiful." Take them back and place them on your windowsill; they will brighten your mood.

Being called "grandma" made the old lady feel much younger. She said with a smile, "Are you giving them to me?" Look at you; you're still so polite.

She reached out to take them.

Manbao's eyes lit up, "No, they're not a gift, they're one yuan each, not expensive at all."

The old lady's hand retracted with a swish, and she widened her eyes, "What, do you still want money for these wildflowers?" "Aren't they all over the mountain?"

"Yes," Manbao said confidently, "but I picked them."

Mrs. Feng quickly said, "Grandma, please don't mind, the children are just playing." "They often prefer to conduct business from home, so we decided to take them out to explore the world."

The old lady felt better, but she refrained from reaching out to take the flowers again, fearing that Manbao would ask her for money.

She chose a winnowing basket and quickly left.

Manbao looked at her with a longing gaze and sighed with her little friends, "Why didn't she buy them?" "Our flowers are so beautiful."

Her little friends said, "We knew it would happen, so we're not disappointed at all."

Her young friends eagerly watched the passersby on the street, and they were delighted to be at the market.

One after another, people came to buy baskets and winnowing baskets, and every time, Manbao helped her sister-in-law with the calculations. After the calculations were done, she would recommend her flowers and grass. Every adult would reach out to take them at first, but then immediately retract their hands when they realized they had to pay.

As the market day passed the halfway mark and her older second brother hadn't returned, they hadn't sold a single one of their flowers and grass, and the flowers were starting to wilt.

Manbao looked at them with concern and sighed. Seeing that her sister-in-law's winnowing baskets were almost empty, but there were still many baskets available, she arranged her flowers and grass into the baskets.

Mrs. Feng, watching with trepidation, said, "Little aunt, you're not going to demand that customers who buy baskets also buy your flowers and grass, are you?"

Manbao, who had only thought of not wasting the flowers and grass and had planned to give them away, brightened up and said, "Oh, second sister-in-law, you're so smart." "Why didn't I think of that?"

Mrs. Feng wanted to sew her own mouth shut.