Chapter 385: Borrowing on Credit
Manbao and his friends were not the first to come over. In fact, there were many people watching the cows outside the straw shed.
But most of them were people who came from nearby to join in the fun, and no one wanted to go into the straw hut to take a look, for fear that the county government would hold them responsible and ask them to take the cows they had seen back on credit.
So when Zhou Silang and his companions took out their household registration and were about to go in, the official who had moved a table and sat at the entrance of the thatched hut took a look at them and asked, "Are you all from the same family?"
Zhou Hu quickly took out his household registration and said, "No, I'm from another family."
The officer registered the registration and said with a wave of his hand, "Okay, go in."
Everyone go in immediately.
There were only cows in the straw shed, and a cowherd who took care of them.
Seeing these four people walking and looking around, and obviously being amateurs, he leaned against a cow and asked, "Do you know how to look at a cow?"
Manbao nodded slightly, while Zhou Hu and the two Zhou brothers all shook their heads.
The cowherd looked at Manbao curiously as he nodded and asked, "Do you know?"
After Manbao decided to buy cattle on credit, he went to look at the cattle on the farm and also consulted Bai Zhuangtou, who had bought the cattle at that time. Now he has a lot of goods in his stomach.
So Manbao raised his little chin proudly and said, "Of course I know. To judge a cow, you have to look at its teeth first. Cows around four years old are best, so you have to see if it has grown permanent teeth."
The cowherd nodded to indicate that it was correct.
Manbao became even more proud and continued, "It also depends on the hooves. The ones with big and straight hooves and dense and solid hooves are good."
"Not bad, not bad," the cowherd said with a smile, "then come and take a look, young lady, and see if there is anything you like."
Manbao blinked and looked at the cows standing in two rows on both sides. She was a little confused. Well, that's what Bai Zhuangtou said, and she remembered it. She also took a look at the teeth in the cows' mouths at that time, but what kind of teeth were considered deciduous teeth, and what kind of teeth were considered permanent teeth that grew out after falling off?
The cowherd understood as soon as he saw it. He burst into laughter and said, "How can a kid who looks only seven or eight years old look after cows?"
"Okay, I'll help you choose. You want some bullocks, right? These are pretty good."
Manbao looked in the direction of his hand and found that the cows he was pointing at had shiny hair and their eyes looked energetic when they looked at him.
Manbao saw the bamboo plaques hanging around their necks and couldn't help but go over to take a look. She found the word "One" written on it, so she asked, "What is this plaque for?"
"The quality of the cattle is determined by price. If you like one, just turn over the number on the back and ask for the price. This is the first-class bullock, and the price is the most expensive."
Manbao turned it over and saw a string of numbers at the back.
Each cow has a number. If you want to sell it, you must first report to the county government. If the cow is old and needs to be slaughtered, you must also report to the government office. If a cow accidentally dies of illness, you must notify the county government even more.
Manbao wrote down its serial number and asked, "Do you know how much this cow costs?"
The cowherd laughed and said, "Of course I know. I've written down the price of every cow here. This one costs four ounces and five hundred coins."
Of course Zhou Hu was startled and took a step back.
Manbao hadn't expected it to be so expensive. After touching it, he asked, "Is there a cheaper but better cow?"
"That's a second-rate steer. It's impossible for you to buy a four-year-old one. Buy one that's about three years old." Because they were the first group of people to come in, the cowherd was quite enthusiastic towards them.
The main reason was that the officials sitting at the door of the straw hut didn't want to talk to him, and there was only the cow in the hut besides him. Maybe he was used to being lonely, so when he opened his mouth, he talked about what he was best, and he talked nonstop.
He led the four people to look over all the inferior bullocks, listed their pros and cons, and then suggested a few that they could buy...
Manbao, Zhou Silang and Wu Wulang huddled together and after discussing, they unanimously decided to choose the second-rate bull numbered "Luo 398".
Manbao looked up again and confirmed with the cowherd, "This one only costs three taels and five hundred coins, right?"
"good."
After some hesitation, Zhou Hu also chose a second-rate bull, which was slightly inferior to the one chosen by the old Zhou family and was priced at only three taels and two hundred coins.
He asked Manbao to help him look at the number, wrote it down, and then went to ask the official for the price.
When they asked for the price, the official's expression brightened considerably. He flipped through the booklet, quoted the same price as the cowherd, and then asked, "Do you want to buy on credit?"
Manbao nodded repeatedly and asked, "Should we go to the county government office to buy some money on credit before we come back to get the cow?"
The officer nodded, "That's right."
"Then take another look and see if my cow is worth three thousand five hundred coins."
The official rolled his eyes and said, "It's three thousand five hundred coins. Go get some credit quickly. It's almost time for lunch..."
Manbao immediately took Zhou Silang to the county government office to buy money on credit.
Yang Heshu was standing in the county government office with a worried look on his face. Obviously, today's situation was very different from what he had imagined, and he was a little frustrated.
He turned around and saw Manbao and the others coming in. His eyes immediately lit up and he waved and asked with a smile, "Are you here to buy cattle on credit?"
"Yes," Manbao rushed forward and said, "I just selected an ox. It costs 3,500 coins. I brought some copper coins with me, so I just want to borrow 3 taels on credit. County Magistrate, is that okay?"
"Of course." Yang Heshu said with a smile, "You can even buy it on credit for one or two taels."
After saying that, Yang Heshu looked at Zhou Hu expectantly.
Zhou Hu's face flushed red, and he lowered his head and said, "I, too, chose an ox, which cost 3,200 coins, so I only borrowed 3 taels."
Yang Heshu was very happy after selling two cows on credit. He smiled and personally led them to the accounting office next door to borrow money on credit.
Zhang Zhubu was well prepared. He first stood up and bowed to Yang County Magistrate, then checked the household registration information of the two families, and then quickly filled out the loan documents and asked them to sign and seal them.
Manbao picked up the pen and was about to write. Zhang Zhubu frowned and pressed his palm against it, saying, "Don't you have a male member of your family here? It should be a male who signs."
Upon hearing this, Manbao handed the pen to Zhou Silang without thinking.
Zhou Silang grumbled, disliking Zhang Zhubu's trouble, but he still held the pen, tremblingly, and carefully wrote his name on it.
Zhang Zhubu took a look at the crooked handwriting, but he didn't seem to be disgusted. He just frowned and pushed the red seal forward, asking him to sign it.
Zhou Hu was much simpler. He picked up a pen and carefully drew a circle at the signature place, then pressed his fingerprint on it.
Zhang Zhubu took another careful look at it, then gave them the cut silver ingots and instructed them, "When you receive the cows, bring the license plates to me for registration. In the future, if the cows get sick or have an accident, you must bring the license plates to the county government office to report it."
Zhou Silang and Zhou Hu responded and happily went out with the silver bars.
(End of this chapter)
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