The Responsibility of the Eldest Brother

Zhou Lurong closely followed his fifth brother's steps, entrusting his money to Manbao for safekeeping.

Zhou Sirlang also considered doing the same, but upon looking at the five coins in his hand, he felt it was unnecessary and decided to keep the money in his pocket. Manbao comforted him, "Fourth Brother, it will be good when your barren land can yield crops next year. You will earn a lot of money during the autumn harvest."

Zhou Sirlang replied, "I appreciate your words." Our father has worked the land his whole life, and I have never seen him with much money. Besides, the small piece of barren land I just opened up, I will be happy if it yields any crops at all.

Manbao was surprised by Fourth Brother's lack of confidence. "Fourth Brother, the reason why father doesn't have much money is because he has a wife and children to support." But you don't, so why wouldn't you be able to earn money?

She added, "If you can't earn money, how will you repay your debts? You owe a lot of money."

Feeling disheartened, Zhou Sirlang looked at his younger sister and said, "Can't you help Fourth Brother?"

Manbao reassured him, "Fourth Brother, you can trust me. I will definitely help you."

The other siblings also expressed their willingness to help. Zhou Wulang and Zhou Lurong, in particular, showed their brotherly affection by offering to help Fourth Brother with his land the next day.

After some contemplation, Manbao felt that she should enrich her leisure time, especially by finding a way to cultivate plants that could contribute to her academic progress. She then said, "I will also help you tomorrow."

Zhou Sirlang thought to himself, "The help I need is not of this kind."

However, as Zhou Sirlang looked into the sincere eyes of his siblings, nieces, and nephews, he sighed sadly.

After thinking that everything had been settled, Manbao recalculated the money and handed it to her mother. She then gave her own coins to Keke.

She felt that she needed a larger purse.

Upon searching for a "money purse" in the marketplace, she was presented with a series of beautiful, golden circles resembling coins. Manbao scratched her head and said, "I wanted a money purse."

The system suggested, "It would be more appropriate to search for handcrafted fabric bags."

Otherwise, even if she searched for "bag," the results would show all sorts of strange items.

Following Keke's advice, Manbao searched and found a variety of colorful and beautiful handcrafted bags. She exclaimed in excitement, realizing that she liked this one and that one, especially because they were large and seemed capable of holding many coins.

However, her smile froze when she saw the high price of 38 points. She was surprised that it was more expensive than paper and sugar.

In Manbao's view, paper and sugar should be considered more valuable items.

The system explained, "In the future, material goods will be abundant, and paper and sugar will not be considered precious." However, craftsmanship and labor will be valuable, hence the high price of handcrafted bags.

Manbao hesitated to make the purchase, but instead of leaving, she took out a piece of paper and began sketching a bag inspired by the design she liked. She intended to have her sister-in-law make it, as they had fabric at home.

Manbao took her drawing to her third sister-in-law and described the bag in detail.

Heshi ignored the colorful embroidery details mentioned by Manbao because she was not skilled in that area. However, making the bag as described by her sister-in-law was not a problem.

The issue was the fabric.

After taking the paper, Heshi said, "Little sister-in-law, let me talk to mother-in-law, and then I will buy the fabric and make it for you."

Manbao nodded happily, "You don't need to talk to her, I will talk to Mother."

She was in a hurry and couldn't wait for Heshi to talk to her mother-in-law.

Manbao went to Qian Shi to ask for money to buy fabric.

Seeing her daughter running around all evening, Qian Shi smiled and said, "Alright, I will buy it for you." Just wait.

She then called over her youngest son and gave him five coins, saying, "Tomorrow, when you go to the county town, visit the fabric shop and ask if they have any fabric scraps. If they do, buy a few pounds, making sure to choose large pieces in bright colors.

Qian Shi had no intention of buying finished fabric for her daughter because it would be too expensive. After seeing her daughter's drawing, she realized that making the bag as described would require a significant amount of fabric, almost as much as needed to make a small jacket. Therefore, buying scraps of fabric was a more practical choice.

It was the first time Zhou Wulang had received money from his mother, and he felt like a grown man. Excitedly, he immediately showed off to Manbao.

Manbao was thrilled to learn that her mother intended to use scraps of fabric to make her a bag. She envied the idea and said, "If only I could go to the county town tomorrow, then I could choose the scraps of fabric myself."

For the first time, Manbao felt that there were downsides to attending school.

Zhou Wulang promised her, "Don't worry, I will make sure to choose the most beautiful floral fabric for you."

He then took out two strings of purple fruits from his basket and handed them to Manbao, saying, "Here, as you requested."

Upon seeing the purple fruits, which Keke called "female privet fruits," Manbao was overjoyed and thanked her brother.

Excitedly, Zhou Wulang said, "If you like them, I will pick some more for you tomorrow." However, please remember that these fruits are not edible.

Manbao agreed and then handed the fruits to Keke.

The system did not take all the fruits, leaving one strand for Manbao and recording the rest. She found the fruits very attractive. As a fruit lover, she couldn't help but salivate at the sight of the purple fruits.

The system explained, "These are medicinal fruits."

Manbao continued to salivate, "Are medicinal fruits tasty?"

The system remained silent.

After wiping her mouth, Manbao looked at the fruits with regret and said, "If only my mother could eat these medicinal fruits, then she wouldn't feel so bitter."

The system explained, "Your mother's medication contains female privet fruits."

Manbao's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment of hesitation, she climbed down from the bed and was about to run out. Hearing the commotion from the adjacent room, Old Zhou and Qian Shi, who were about to go to sleep, couldn't help but remind Manbao, "You have school tomorrow, so please behave yourself."

Manbao ran over in her small shoes and asked, "Mother, where is your medicine?"

"What's the matter?"

"I want to see it."

By this time, it was already dark outside, but Manbao insisted on seeing Qian Shi's medicine. Despite her parents' attempts to persuade her, she seemed determined to throw a tantrum if they didn't agree. Qian Shi couldn't help but feel a headache upon seeing this, so she gestured to her husband to find the medicine pouch for Manbao to use.

Manbao opened the medicine pouch and stared at the contents with wide eyes, unable to locate the female privet fruits.

The system had previously scanned Qian Shi's prescription and recorded the female privet fruits. It quickly pointed out their location to Manbao through technical analysis.

The dried female privet fruits were plump, round, and had a purple color. However, if Keke hadn't insisted that these were female privet fruits, Manbao wouldn't have recognized them at all.