Chapter 2561 Enlightenment
The small road leading out of the east of the city has been completed and was officially put into use two days ago, but this is the first time that Manbao and his friends have walked on it.
After exiting the east city gate, head north, which is exactly the opposite of the imperial farm. After walking for a while, there is a small road extending in front of you. It is where people and livestock walk between the ridges of the fields. There is a row of green grass in the middle, and on both sides are bumpy mud fields, and on the side are ridges of fields.
Unless walking, riding a horse or a donkey, few people take this road. Manbao and his friends have only walked this road three times, and each time they tried not to sit in a car, otherwise it would shake you to death.
But now this road has been leveled and expanded a lot. The ridges on both sides have been flattened and filled with stones and then pounded with soil.
The two lanes on the left and right are smaller than the official road, but they look flat and very pleasing to the eye.
Manbao was riding on his horse, feeling the wind blowing on him. He felt more and more comfortable and satisfied with the road. "Building the road is the right thing to do."
Bai Shan nodded and motioned her to look forward. She saw farmers on both sides of the road carrying loads of vegetables. When they saw the convoy, they were a little timid and did not dare to move forward. Instead, they stood sideways on the side of the road and waited for them to pass by.
Today is the third day since the road was opened. Before the road was built, people and livestock were not allowed to walk on the road.
But they had walked through it yesterday. They heard that the East Gate to the capital city from here was very fast. Once you entered and passed two blocks, you would reach the East Market. You could get a seat in the East Market by paying two cents, and a load of vegetables could be sold for eighty or ninety cents.
If they were lucky, they wouldn't have to go to the East Market. They could just wander through the two blocks, buying some from the east and some from the west, and they could sell all the vegetables without having to pay the two cents.
The main thing is that there is no tax on vegetables imported through the East City Gate.
Of course, there is no tax on vegetables brought in through the East City Gate. Not only are there no taxes on vegetables, but chickens, ducks, fish, and eggs are also not taxed through the East City Gate. This is an order issued recently by County Magistrate Guo in order to attract more people to go through the East City Gate.
At least the people in Wannian County have to go through the East Gate.
As the magistrate of Wannian County, he still has some power.
There is no way. Chang'an County is too hateful. Wannian County and Chang'an County are both counties in the capital, but because the imperial city was assigned to Chang'an County, they are obviously at the same level, but Tang He is always superior to him.
The most hateful thing is that the West Gate belongs to Chang'an County, and the South Gate also belongs to Chang'an County. The land in the city is obviously divided almost in half, so why should the piece of Chang'an County at the city gate be a whole piece larger than their Wannian County?
Business travelers prefer to go through the South City Gate.
Few people walk through the East City Gate.
Now that he had added another road, he had to attract more people no matter what. Therefore, County Magistrate Guo had the village heads publicize it in the village early on, encouraging everyone to send chickens, ducks, fish, meat, vegetables, fruits and greens to the capital.
He wanted the people under his jurisdiction to be more motivated, but they rarely saw such a noble person and such a convoy. Suddenly they met them on an empty road, which had just been opened. They were a little timid for a moment.
After stopping, he hesitated whether to kneel down or not.
Manbao looked at them curiously. When he got there, he stared at their loads and asked, "Are these cherries grown here or wild? Are they sweet?"
The farmer was stunned for a moment, then forgot about whether to kneel or not, and replied, "My dear, this is a fruit tree in my backyard. I can't say it's sweet, but it's definitely not particularly sour."
He didn't dare say it was sweet.
When Manbao heard this, he immediately asked, "How much is one pound?"
When asked about the price, the farmer was no longer nervous and grinned, saying, "Fifteen cents a pound."
It’s more expensive than meat.
Manbao took a look and still thought they looked good, so he said, "Give it to me... Can I try one first? If it tastes good, I'll buy them all."
When the farmer heard this, he immediately picked a big red one for her and looked at her expectantly.
Manbao took a bite and found it a little sour, but much better than the wild cherries on the hills of his village. So he waved his hand and said, "I'll buy them all."
Anyway, there are many people here today, so they don’t have to worry about not being able to finish the food.
When the farmer heard this, he immediately became happy. He put down his burden and borrowed a weight from someone nearby to weigh her.
Yes, they shared a scale, and the scale was not theirs. They borrowed it from the village chief, and they gave him two eggs every time they lent it to him.
He calculated the weight and quickly gave the number, "Three pounds and nine ounces..."
He smiled at Man Bao and said, "My lady, we will give you one and a half catties, so it's fine if you give us three and a half catties."
This is how they buy vegetables. It is easier to calculate if it is half full, but it is difficult to calculate if it is more or less. So they just erase the excess and add some if it is less.
Then he took out a large leaf, wrapped the cherries in it and gave it to Manbao, then squatted on the ground and counted on his fingers how much three and a half pounds was.
Manbao stood there waiting.
After waiting for a long time, I found that he got stuck after counting the third kilogram. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to count with his fingers, and even asked the people next to him.
It's difficult for them too.
They seldom sell things. If the village head had not kept saying that it was spring, the vegetables in the fields were growing fast, and the people in the city had no vegetables to eat, and now there was a drought and the fields could not be planted for the time being, and the East City Gate was not charging money for vegetables brought into the city, they would not have had the courage to send vegetables into the city.
But a pound of vegetables only costs two or three cents, and no one spends more than ten cents on vegetables. People buy cherries by the ounce, and suddenly someone comes to buy them all, and the farmer is very anxious.
Seeing that he couldn't figure it out, Manbao squatted on the ground and helped him count, "One catty is fifteen cents, then two catties is thirty cents, and three catties is forty-five cents..."
The farmer looked confused.
Manbao took out a string of copper coins, unpacked it, counted out fifteen coins and placed them in his hand, "This is one catty."
She counted out another fifteen coins and placed them in his hand. "This is one jin..."
Everyone gathered around to watch the fun, and even Changyu and Mingda couldn't help but get out of the car and watch together.
Manbao counted out another fifteen coins and placed them in his palm, "This is one jin."
The farmer said, "That's three pounds."
Manbao nodded.
Then he counted out another fifteen coins and placed them in his other palm, then said, "This is the fourth catty, but you only have half a catty, so we have to split the money in half, one for you and one for me..."
Put a full treasure in the palm of the person next to you, and then put one in your own palm. By the eighth piece, it's all over and it's right in the other person's hand.
She smiled and said, "That's half of it."
But the other party narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why doesn't my wife have the eighth cent?"
Manbao laughed and said, "Half of fifteen wen is seven and a half wen. If you give me one liang, I will give you half a wen. In the end, you give me more."
The farmer was stunned for a moment, put the money away, bowed respectfully to Zhou Man, and stepped aside with the others to wait for them to leave before picking up his load and leaving.
Manbao handed the cherries to Mingda and said with a smile: "This thing is sour and sweet and it's appetizing. You can have some."
Mingda smiled and nodded, then handed it to Changyu. Changyu hugged it and happily got into the carriage with her.
Manbao mounted his horse and said to Bai Shan, "Maybe County Magistrate Guo can ask the village head to teach the villagers to count."
Bai Shan also nodded, "Education should not be limited to morality."
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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