Chapter 102 Borrow
Qian was unwilling to take too much risk, but she was not unwilling to take no risk at all. After weighing the pros and cons, she finally decided to take out the money to buy a cart.
Because the family lacks this, and since Manbao went to school, she has more and more opportunities to go out, so it is more convenient to have a cart at home. Even if this business can no longer be done, the cart can still be used, so it is not a loss.
But she wasn't very willing to buy a large cauldron. She said, "We have a large cauldron at home for boiling water, and a smaller one for stewing dishes and cooking. Wouldn't it be a waste to buy another one that we won't need later?"
She said, "A large cauldron costs over three hundred yuan. If business is as good as it is today, it's fine. But what if it isn't?"
Zhou Erlang asked anxiously, "Then what do you say we should do? Erya's mother and I can't do this with nothing, right?"
Qian thought for a moment and said, "This business can't be started in a day. You have to first check out the area and greet the officials there. So, tomorrow morning, go to your eldest uncle's house and ask him to borrow a large cauldron and two pounds of meat for a month. Then ask your second uncle to take care of the hot water for your eldest uncle's family during that month."
Qian calculated carefully, "We have quite a few pots and pans at home. If you bring more, we can put them on the fire."
Zhou Erlang happily agreed. As long as there was a way for him to make this business work, he would be fine. He didn't really want to spend any money.
Manbao thought this was too much trouble and even discussed it with his fifth brother, "It's such a hassle, why don't we give the money to our second brother to buy some? It would be best if we could buy two cauldrons, one large and one small. The small one can be used to stew vegetables, and the large one can be used to make soup."
Zhou Wulang looked at her, turned his back silently and ignored her.
Manbao insisted on sitting in front of him. Zhou Wulang covered the bag and said, "Don't even think about it. Mom said it's a waste. If we don't do this business anymore, won't the stuff be useless?"
"Just sell it if you don't use it anymore." Manbao said as a matter of course: "Clean it and it's as good as new."
Zhou Wulang looked at her as if she was a fool. "Every family's cauldron is used for a lifetime. Some people use it carefully, passing it down from their ancestors to their fathers, and from their fathers to their sons. Who would sell their cauldron? Even if you do, no one will buy it."
Manbao didn't believe it. "If that's the case, how do the people who make cauldrons live?"
Zhou Wulang choked, then said arrogantly: "I don't care, I won't pay anyway."
"Fifth brother, what do you want so much money for?"
Zhou Wulang blushed, looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he whispered to Manbao, "I want to save money to get married."
Manbao looked at Zhou Wulang in astonishment, scratched his head and asked, "Fifth Brother, do you want to get married?"
"That's not the case. But didn't you say that people should think long-term? I thought about it, and my long-term goal is to get married, and even longer-term goal is to have children. My eldest and second brothers both said that our family is very poor now. Although fourth brother made a mistake and our parents want to punish him, it's impossible not to find him a wife." Zhou Wulang took his brothers' words to heart and whispered to Manbao, "Fourth brother wants to find a wife, but it's impossible for him to offer less than five taels of silver. His reputation is not good now. I heard my second and eldest sisters-in-law say that without eight taels of silver, I'm afraid fourth brother won't be able to find a good girl."
Zhou Wulang counted on his fingers and said, "With so much money and so many people in our family, it will take at least two or three years to save it, assuming no illness or disaster. And you see, I live with my fourth and sixth brothers, so if I want to get married, I have to build a house."
He said, "I reckon if they build a house, they'll definitely build it together with my share and Lao Liu's share, which will cost a lot of money. If I'm counting on my family to find me a wife, I reckon it'll take seven or eight years."
Manbao also counted on his fingers and agreed with it.
Zhou Wulang continued, "And seven or eight years from now, I'll be over twenty. Oh, by that age, the kids I hang out with will be jealous, and it'll be hard for me to get married. The bride price will have to be high."
Manbao's face was full of surprise.
"If I'm delayed, then Sixth Brother will be delayed too. Our family is stuck like this, one child and two children, two children and three children. How many years will it take for us to finally get through this?" Zhou Wulang said with a worried look on his face. "I estimate that if no one in the family gets seriously ill or suffers a disaster, and Fourth Brother stops gambling, it will take twelve years. But after twelve years, Datou will be twenty-one and Daya will be twenty. Will they get married?"
Manbao widened his eyes in horror and couldn't help shouting, "Oh my God!!!" Koko, what Fifth Brother said must not be true.
The system calculated and said, "Your fifth brother's calculations are quite good. If we rely on the average income of the host's family in the past three years, his calculations are correct."
"Is this what you call the butterfly effect? Just because my fourth brother lost a bet once, my family will never be able to rise again in this lifetime?"
"Host, don't forget that you are the second smartest person within a hundred miles. Now that your child is learning knowledge, you still have me. Your future is immeasurable, and at the same time, your family is limitless."
Manbao's focus was different. She said dissatisfiedly, "Isn't he the smartest person within a hundred miles? How come he's only the second smartest?"
Koko coughed softly and said, "Because Bai Shan is here."
Manbao pouted, feeling a little unhappy. So when Zhou Silang happily returned from work at the Bai family's, Manbao started ordering him around. Sometimes she said the yard was dirty and asked him to sweep it, sometimes she said she wanted to take a bath and asked him to fetch water for her, and sometimes she said she wanted to ride on his neck...
Zhou Silang was quite obedient at first, after all, he didn't notice it, but he soon realized something was wrong. He put down the wooden barrel unhappily and said, "Manbao, are you deliberately torturing your fourth brother? Don't you know how tired I am after a day's work?"
Manbao snorted at him and said, "I work too, I'm tired too, and I earn more money than you. When will you be able to pay back the money you owe your family?"
Zhou Silang choked, picked her up and put her on his neck, and yelled: "Alright, little ancestor, where are you going, point!"
Manbao looked down at the yard and the road outside, and immediately became happy. He grabbed his hand with one hand, pointed forward with the other, and said proudly: "Out front, I want to go out and play, go!"
Old Zhou glanced at his daughter and asked Zhou Wulang, "Will Manbao go with you tomorrow?"
Zhou Wulang still really hoped that Manbao would go. Even if she didn't dare to do anything there, he would feel much more at ease squatting there, so he nodded repeatedly.
Old Zhou asked, "Has she finished her article?"
Zhou Wulang had no idea. Anyway, he hadn't seen the three children pick up pens today. He said with a guilty conscience, "It should be soon."
Old Zhou said, "Then go for another day tomorrow, and stay home the day after tomorrow to write articles. Why do scholars always run away?
(End of this chapter)
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