Chapter 383 Help
The villagers who were listening intently were also frightened. After a while, someone shouted, "Oh my goodness! If we buy two cows on credit, the interest in three years will be enough to marry a wife."
Manbao said, "Don't you have to pay five taels of silver to marry a wife? This is only a little over three thousand four hundred coins."
"Oh, do you think any girl can spend five taels of silver? Those from poorer families can give a dowry of one tael of silver and use the rest for the wedding banquet. They can still save a lot of money with more than 3,400 wen. Oh, my goodness, the interest on two cows on credit is more than 3,400 wen. Is the county government trying to rob us?"
Manbao: "...it will be this amount after three years, but why do you have to pay it back after three years? It would be fine if you could just pay it back in half a year?"
"It's not certain whether God will give us food this year, and you dare to spend four taels of silver for nothing?" Old Zhou said slowly: "If God doesn't give us favor, no matter how much land we plant, we won't be able to eat. It's okay, but we still owe such a large sum of money. It's terrible."
"Yes, yes," the villagers echoed Old Zhou, "but we can't take such a risk."
So some people who were originally interested immediately gave up. The village head knew this would happen, and when he received the news yesterday, he told the people in Dali Village first. In the end, no one was willing to buy on credit.
Zhou Hu also became a little hesitant and squeezed out to find Manbao. He saw that Manbao had already heard the announcement and was walking back behind her father with her hands behind her back.
One old and one young, one holding a pipe with his hands behind his back, the other with his neck tilted back and his hands behind his back.
Zhou Hu hurried over, grabbed her and asked in a low voice, "Manbao, are you still buying on credit?"
Manbao nodded, "Of course on credit, I think I can afford it."
Zhou Hu hesitated. He was afraid that, as Uncle Jin said, if God didn't favor him, he would not be able to pay it back this year.
No, even if God is kind, I may not be able to pay it back this year, and I will have to pay it back at least until next year.
But having a cow makes things much more convenient for his family. Needless to say, he can plow the fields by himself without asking the Zhou brothers for help.
Zhou Hu hesitated and hesitated. Seeing him so conflicted, Manbao whispered in his ear, "Let's go to the city tomorrow and take a look. Maybe we can find a way to cancel this year's interest."
Zhou Hu looked at her in surprise, "How do I apply this?"
Manbao smiled like a little fox, "You'll know when the time comes."
After saying that, she ran to chase her father.
Old Zhou was almost home when he saw his daughter rushing back. He asked, "What were you talking to Zhou Hu about? Why did you take so long?"
Manbao remembered that she had not yet told her father that she wanted to buy the cow on credit, so she said, "Dad, I'm going to the county town tomorrow and will bring you a big gift."
Old Zhou asked with a smile, "What gift?"
"I told you it wouldn't be a surprise."
"Okay, go ahead," Old Zhou, who never stopped her from going to the county town, said with a smile, "Your second brother is going to the county to sell tofu and bamboo baskets and winnowing baskets tomorrow. Let your fourth and fifth brothers go with you. It's getting colder now, and they don't have anything to do at home."
Manbao agreed.
Vegetables are scarce in spring. Qian and Little Qian had just planted the seeds and they had only just sprouted. Because of the cold spring weather, they had just gathered some straw and carefully covered the seeds, intending to wait until the cold weather was over before removing the straw.
So now, apart from dried and pickled vegetables, the only things we have at home are wild vegetables from the fields.
Manbao doesn't like eating wild vegetables very much, as he always thinks they are bitter.
Of course, if it is made by Xiao Qian, you can still eat it.
Qian guessed that the people in the city had no vegetables to eat, so she tied several bundles of wild vegetables that Datou and his friends had picked and put them in a bamboo basket, and asked Zhou Erlang to take it to try tomorrow.
"If we can sell it, we sell it. If we can't sell it, we take it back and eat it at home."
Zhou Silang was very disgusted, "You only brought back a few handfuls of wild vegetables to eat? You can just look for more in the fields."
"Do you think it's easy to find wild vegetables now?" Qian hit him and drove him away, saying, "Nowadays, many families in the village have more wild vegetables than steamed buns. They are very hardworking in finding wild vegetables. It's only because we have so many children that we can find more."
Old Zhou also nodded. "That's right. So starting tomorrow, we should eat porridge for three meals a day. We won't be working in the fields anymore, so why should we eat so much?"
Old Zhou looked at Little Qian and warned her, "When cooking noodle soup, add more water and less noodles."
Xiao Qian agreed.
Old Zhou glanced at his grandchildren squatting in the yard, writing, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Let's make some extra tofu tomorrow and save some for home. It's inexpensive and tastes pretty good. Don't we still have plenty of beans?"
"Then I'll soak some more beans tonight."
Old Zhou nodded, satisfied, and squatted aside, touching his old pipe.
The next day, Manbao had tofu pudding, steamed eggs, and half a bowl of noodle soup.
She has grown up now, and with the exercise she has received during this period, she can walk from Qili Village to the county town on her own.
Zhou Hu had been waiting at the village entrance early in the morning. When he saw the Zhou brothers arrive, he followed them and helped Zhou Erlang push the cart.
Zhou Erlang only then realized that Zhou Hu had also gone to the county town, and asked curiously, "Is my sister-in-law's medicine finished?"
"No, I'm going into town to inquire about the cattle on credit."
He felt that Manbao was right and he had to go into the city to take a look. If there was really a way to offset this year's interest, he would like to buy the cattle on credit even more.
Zhou Erlang was surprised and said, "You want to buy cattle on credit?"
Zhou Hu was even more surprised. "Don't you guys also buy on credit?"
Zhou Erlang was pushing the cart and almost fell into the ditch. He widened his eyes and turned to look at Manbao first.
Manbao said proudly, "Yes, this is the great gift I gave to my family. Brother, once we have a cow, we can cultivate so many more acres of land!"
Zhou Erlang hesitated and said, "But this is a huge matter. Have you told your parents?"
Zhou Silang was already excitedly shouting, "What are you talking about? If I tell Dad, I definitely won't be able to buy on credit. I think buying an ox is better. With an ox, we don't have to pull the plow, and most importantly, it's faster. If Dad wasn't the boss at home, I would have wanted to buy on credit too."
Zhou Erlang glared at him, "What if you can't pay it back? This is three or four taels of silver."
Zhou Silang thought for a moment and said to Manbao, "Don't be afraid, Manbao. At worst, when the ginger in my field is sold in autumn and winter, I'll give you some."
Manbao was delighted and nodded quickly, saying, "Okay, Fourth Brother, I'll remember that. But don't worry, I've already told Shanbao that we've also fenced off a piece of land for growing ginger. It's right next to the ditch, the soil is fertile, the drainage is good, and it's easy to water. It's about two acres. When we plant all of it with ginger, we're sure it'll sell for a lot of money."
There's another chapter at 2 p.m.
(End of this chapter)
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