Buying Chickens

The eldest maid, who was diligently practicing her calligraphy, took a moment to glance up and asked, "Little miss, where are you going?"

Mǎn Bǎo waved her hand and replied, "You all continue; I'm going outside for a walk."

The eldest maid instinctively wanted to follow, but Mǎn Bǎo glared at her and said, "Hurry up and write your characters. If you can't remember, you'll have to write them a hundred times as punishment."

Although not very imposing, the eldest maid instinctively crouched down, but she wasn't afraid. The woman noticed the young girl lingering at the door, muttering to herself, and then casually lowered her head to resume writing.

Mǎn Bǎo muttered to herself, "Should I go to Tiger Brother's house at the end of the village, or to the village chief's house in the middle of the village?"

The system silently watched, not making a decision for her.

In the end, Mǎn Bǎo went to the village chief's house. She felt that if the village chief's family did not want to sell chickens, she would go to Tiger Brother's house.

Why did she choose these two families to buy chickens from? Apart from their family, these were the two households in the village with the most chickens.

It was time to start preparing dinner, and most households had someone present. When Mǎn Bǎo appeared in the courtyard, the three daughters-in-law spotted her.

She pursed her lips, not very pleased. Her feelings toward Mǎn Bǎo were not very positive. The last time she spoke by the river, her words had struck a chord, and she was reprimanded by her in-laws afterward.

What surprised them even more was that the next day, Mǎn Bǎo's family did indeed go to the county town, and on the third day, they did indeed bring back the money.

There were murmurs in the village suggesting that Mǎn Bǎo's family had been pressured by their family to repay the money and that they had brought grain to the county to exchange for money.

This was not a good rumor. On the spot, her father went to Old Zhou's house with the money. Although Mǎn Bǎo's father explained, the two families cleared things up.

But she still got scolded by her mother-in-law. These days, she was the one doing heavy chores like feeding the pigs, while her sisters-in-law had all become idle.

The three daughters-in-law felt that all of this was Man Bao's fault.

The three daughters-in-law did not have a good impression of Mǎn Bǎo. Mǎn Bǎo wasn't a fool. She bypassed them and called out directly to the eldest daughter-in-law inside, "Eldest daughter-in-law, are you home?"

The eldest daughter-in-law, who was cooking in the kitchen, came out and looked coldly at Mǎn Bǎo, who was not much older than her daughter.

Mǎn Bǎo smiled at her with a childish voice but an air of authority, "Eldest daughter-in-law, where is your mother-in-law?"

The eldest daughter-in-law found the other person cute and managed to suppress her laughter as she said, "It's Mǎn Bǎo; my mother-in-law went to the vegetable garden." "What do you need from her?"

"No, I just want to buy a chicken from your family to eat."

The eldest daughter-in-law was taken aback, "Buy a chicken?" "Doesn't your family have chickens?"

Mǎn Bǎo confidently replied, "My family's chickens still need to lay eggs, and I can't bear to eat them."

The third daughter-in-law couldn't help but ask, "If your family's chickens aren't laying eggs, would they be willing to sell them?"

She gave the third daughter-in-law a strange look and said, "If you don't want to sell, just say so. I'm not forcing you to sell."

"You!" The third daughter-in-law hadn't had a chance to speak yet, and the eldest daughter-in-law looked at Mǎn Bǎo with suspicion, "Did your family send you to make the purchase?"

Mǎn Bǎo nodded, "My mother needs to nourish her body, so she needs to eat chicken." "Eldest daughter-in-law, do you have any chickens that do not lay eggs for sale?"

The eldest daughter-in-law hesitated and shook her head. She was still very suspicious. Why would Old Zhou's family allow Mǎn Bǎo to come out to buy chickens? There were brothers, sisters-in-law, and many young children at home. Even if they were to buy chickens, it should have been them who came, right?

But before she could say anything, the third daughter-in-law jumped in and said, "Yes, we have a big rooster." Do you want it?

Mǎn Bǎo's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, third daughter-in-law, please go and catch the big rooster for me to see." "I'll pay you according to the market price."

The third daughter-in-law was suspicious and asked, "Do you really want it?" "Do you have money?"

Mǎn Bǎo reached into her pocket and took out a handful of copper coins, smiling, "Here, I have money."

The third daughter-in-law's eyes widened, and the eldest daughter-in-law was also stunned. They both thought that Old Zhou's family was very generous for giving so much money to a little girl, and not being afraid of being robbed.

However, this incident occurred in the village, and it is likely that no one dared to rob her.

Since Mǎn Bǎo had brought money, the third daughter-in-law's eyes lit up. She went to the chicken coop and brought out a rooster for Mǎn Bǎo to see. She said, "Here, this one." Our family has two roosters in total. One is kept for ancestral worship during the New Year, so I'll sell you this one according to the market price. "Let me weigh it for you."

The eldest daughter-in-law furrowed her brow, and the third daughter-in-law whispered to her, "Eldest sister-in-law, mother has been wanting your brother to take this rooster to the market to sell and repay the debt." But in our rural family, who would be willing to spend a few dozen coins to buy a chicken for consumption? We would definitely have to take it to the county, and that would require a significant amount of effort. If you don't want to sell it, we can have your brother take it. Our youngest brother-in-law refuses to go.

Upon hearing this, the eldest daughter-in-law closed her mouth.

But she didn't let the youngest sister-in-law act recklessly. She took the initiative and said to Mǎn Bǎo, "We are all villagers here, how can we charge you according to the market price? We'll give you a discount of one coin per pound.

After quickly weighing it, the eldest daughter-in-law clumsily calculated and said, "It's a total of fifty-three coins."

Mǎn Bǎo happily handed her the copper coins from his pocket. If that wasn't enough, she had Keke put more money into her pocket. After two or three times back and forth, she finally counted out fifty-three coins.

The eldest daughter-in-law carefully tied the rooster's legs and wings, and then had Mǎn Bǎo carry it back.

Seeing her struggle to carry the rooster, she asked, "Should I take it back for you?"

Mǎn Bǎo shook her head confidently and said, "It's okay, I can carry it."

Mǎn Bǎo carried the rooster halfway but couldn't hold it any longer. She simply threw the rooster on the ground, located the rope on its wings, and dragged it along.

The rooster clucked and flapped its wings stubbornly, or kicked its legs.

But with its legs and wings bound, the bird was dragged back home by Mǎn Bǎo.

Just as the eldest maid, who had just noticed that the little miss was missing and was about to go out to look for her, and the others were gaping at the little miss running towards them with a chicken in tow...

The second maid was the first to come to her senses and ran up to ask, "Little miss, where did you get the chicken?"

The others also ran up and each took turns holding the poor rooster, feeling sorry for it. Although they were very tempted, they still said, "Little miss, stealing is not right."

Zhou Sìláng and the others also ran out.

Mǎn Bǎo was not happy and said, "Who said I stole it?" I bought it!

Mǎn Bǎo proudly patted her pocket and said, "I used money to buy it!"

Zhou Wǔláng, who had just returned from the county town, couldn't help but exclaim, "Who did you buy it from, and how much did you pay?" "Wasn't cheated, were you?"

The entire Zhou family was in a state of shock when Mǎn Bǎo brought back a rooster. After hearing her story, Old Zhou couldn't help but pat his waist and found it empty. He then remembered that he had given all his tobacco to Old Wu early in the morning to sell in the county town, and what was left had been put away by him to be smoked during the New Year.

Old Zhou looked at his wife.