Unable to Save Money

Upon the departure of the young maid, she brought out not just one, but both of the Fu family sisters.

Miss Fu glanced at the entourage following Man Bao. Her gaze briefly fell on Bai Shanbao, but she didn't linger as she was older than them.

"Man Bao, what have you been busy with at home?" Miss Fu found Man Bao very clever, despite her young age, and she enjoyed talking to her.

Without leaving the house, she stood at the door and chatted with Man Bao outside.

Man Bao counted on her fingers to tally how busy she had been during this time.

Miss Fu noticed that Man Bao was studying, and she looked at her intently.

"Will you come before the New Year?" "Miss Fu asked." "We will have many guests at our house for the New Year, and many of my friends will come." "I was thinking of buying some candy before the New Year."

"Of course, I will come to buy New Year goods," Man Bao said. "Do you not eat before the New Year?"

"We do, so please set aside ten packs for us," she said. "My grandmother, along with the others, have all returned to our hometown, and my cousins have also left." "We don't eat much."

Man Bao agreed, but it was still a considerable amount: four hundred and fifty coins.

The young maid glanced at Man Bao, counted out four and a half strings of money for her, and Man Bao gave her a handful of candy before continuing to chat with Miss Fu. "How does your family celebrate the New Year?"

The two of them chatted for a long time, and finally, the two young ladies got tired of standing, and Man Bao also felt that it was time to leave.

The remaining candy was taken to the market to be sold. The young maid and the others had visited the county town many times before to sell flower baskets, so they were quite familiar with the other children.

However, not everyone was willing to spend a coin on a piece of candy, but they still wanted to give it a try.

As for lowering the price, they had never thought about it because if they did, wouldn't Miss Fu incur a loss?

The Fu family's business was long-term and stable, and Man Bao was well aware of this fact. Therefore, she insisted that the young maid and the others must not lower the price, and would rather keep the candy for the next time if they couldn't sell it.

Bai Shanbao was still somewhat interested in doing business. She bought some candy to try it out, and then, around noon, she and Man Bao went to the bookstore. They went inside and strolled around. When they emerged, Bai Shanbao had purchased several items, including two books.

Man Bao couldn't afford to buy books, so she didn't spend a single coin.

As soon as she turned around, she took Bai Shanbao to the cloth shop. "I want to buy fabric and cotton for my mother."

Bai Shanbao touched the purse in her arms and asked, "Should I buy this for my grandmother and them as well?"

"Do your grandmother and mother lack clothes to wear?"

"They don't."

"Then don't buy it." "Buy what they need, and that will make them happy."

Bai Shanbao thought carefully and said, "My grandmother and they don't lack anything."

"That's great," Man Bao said enviously, "Then buy what they like."

Bai Shanbao said seriously, "They like me."

Man Bao laughed heartily. "Then you should devote yourself to your grandmother and mother."

Bai Shanbao felt that this was not good because it seemed as though she hadn't bought anything at all.

She followed Man Bao around, watching her carefully select fabrics. She mentioned that her mother didn't like this color and preferred thicker fabrics. She asked, "What do you think my grandmother and mother would like?"

"If it were me, I would like to eat!"

The shopkeeper's wife, who greeted them, couldn't help but laugh at the children's conversation. "If the young master has enough money, he can buy some jewelry for his elders." "Women always like jewelry."

Man Bao raised her little head and asked, "What is jewelry?"

"It's the pearl flowers, gold hairpins, and silver hairpins worn on the head."

Man Bao reached out and touched her own head. Her hair was fluffy because her father insisted that hair was nourished by blood and only cut it every once in a while. He even said that she didn't need to grow her hair until she was seven.

But now it was winter, and Man Bao hadn't cut her hair for several months. Her hair just covered her neck, and the Zhou family didn't own any gold or silver hairpins. They only used wooden hairpins to secure their hair, so she didn't know that there were jewelry items like that.

Man Bao and the shopkeeper's wife discussed the measurements of her mother. The shopkeeper's wife promptly cut a piece of fabric and purchased two pounds of cotton. She was excited to go and look at the jewelry with Bai Shanbao.

The older maid followed behind them, putting the fabric and cotton in the basket, and then accompanied them to the neighboring silver shop.

But they hesitated to enter upon seeing the items inside.

However, Man Bao was oblivious and pulled the older maid inside. They all crowded around to look at the jewelry displayed inside.

Man Bao was still young and couldn't appreciate the beauty of jewelry, so she was just as clueless as Bai Shanbao. In the end, the older maid offered some advice, and Da Ji also made a few points. Bai Shanbao then bought gifts for her grandmother and mother, successfully spending all of her saved pocket money.

She sighed to Man Bao, "This is all the money I've saved over the past few months, and now it's all gone."

Man Bao comforted her, "It's okay, I've also spent all my money." "We can earn more."

"But you can sell candy, what can I sell?"

"Then you can grow ginger and sweet potatoes with me," Man Bao expressed her interest in cultivating these two crops. She also felt that selling candy was too slow to make money and not enough to buy meat to eat. So, she thought that growing crops was a more reliable option. "Your family is so capable that you can ask them to find some sweet potato seeds." If you can find them, you can plant some in your yard. By next winter, you will have a good harvest. Otherwise, you can grow ginger. "I have some seeds, and I can give you some."

"Can I grow them in my yard?"

"Yes, your family only has three people living in such a big yard." It's such a waste to leave it empty. Raising chickens and ducks is too smelly, and I don't like it at all. It's better to grow ginger.

Bai Shanbao thought her suggestion was good and nodded, "You have to help me. I don't know how to grow them."

Man Bao, who had already grown ginger once, nodded confidently, "No problem, and ginger is quite expensive." "Most importantly, it can be harvested in the summer, and it grows very fast."

They exchanged ideas about cultivating ginger for an extended period. Finally, as they walked, they realized that they were a little hungry because they had arrived at the county town, and the Bai family had not prepared any food for Bai Shanbao.

The Zhou family was aware that Man Bao had money with her, but they didn't want her to eat cold and hard bread in the chilly weather, so they didn't make any preparations for her.

In the end, Man Bao sought the opinions of the older maid and the others and decided to use the money she had given them to buy buns to eat.

Man Bao spent nearly three hundred coins on fabric and cotton, and the remaining money was to be divided equally among the four of them.

The older maid and the others reluctantly agreed. They couldn't let the young lady go hungry, could they?

To prevent the young lady from spending money recklessly again, the older maid instructed Man Bao to hand over the money on the spot after buying the buns, and then entrusted it to her for safekeeping.

The older maid and the younger maid knew that even though the money was still in the young lady's hands, as long as the money was divided and given to her for safekeeping, it wasn't considered her money in the young lady's mind.

At that moment, Man Bao truly had not a single coin left.