The two finally decided to buy both the water tank and the wooden bucket.
Water tanks are easy to clean and maintain, but they are too heavy and easily broken if bumped, so wooden buckets are used for the round trip.
When the two of them and the five children announced that they would make rice wine to sell, Yan Qiuxing was worried that they would not do it well, and Fan Jiang and Fan Hu were worried that they would lose money.
Only Fan He was beaming with excitement, saying, "Then let's bring more bamboo tubes; each bamboo tube costs two coins!"
He realized that the people buying the wine were all people with extra money.
Unlike the villagers in tattered clothes, they wore fine clothes and were willing to buy wine that cost more than twenty coins a pound, even if it didn't fill their stomachs, and they didn't care that a bamboo tube cost two coins.
Hearing that bamboo tubes could be sold for money, the other four children were tempted.
"This year's harvest is good, and the winter is cold, so the wine will sell better than in previous years," Yan Qiu said hesitantly.
Wine is made from grain. In years of famine, when there wasn’t enough grain to eat, even the imperial court had to issue proclamations to reduce the amount of wine brewed.
During famine years, grain prices were astronomical, and even wealthy families in the prefectural city prioritized buying grain.
Fan He excitedly added, "A good harvest means more people will buy. Didn't Grandpa Village Chief say that there's a high chance of a major flood next year?"
If there's a major flood, food will be scarce, and no one will want to buy our wine. So we need to hurry up and sell wine this winter to earn money, so we can stockpile more food and won't have to worry about floods next year.
The other four nodded emphatically in agreement.
My parents earned some money from harvesting water chestnuts and mushrooms, but they need to spend it to build a house. They need to earn money quickly so that the family won't go hungry!
The five children reached a consensus and couldn't wait to go home and make rice wine to sell.
Shui Qing could tell that the one with the strongest desire to make money was her second son, Fan He, who was quick-witted and had a keen business sense.
Yes, he's a promising talent; we should focus on nurturing him in the future.
As for the other four, it's not yet clear what their areas of expertise are; we'll have to observe them further.
Having decided to make money by making rice wine, the family first went to the place where the oxcart was parked, paid the fee, took the oxcart, and headed straight to the place that sold water tanks and wooden barrels.
On the way, I saw a rabbit seller with six little rabbits squatting in a bamboo cage, so I bought them as well.
The oxcart needs to carry water tanks and wooden buckets. We can't buy lambs today. We'll ask Mr. Hu to buy piglets later, since he's a butcher and often deals with pig farmers.
He knows best which pigs have given birth and which piglets are cheap.
With something to look forward to, the whole family was in high spirits and bought nice things.
The cart was loaded with two water tanks, one large and one small, five wooden buckets, a basket of odds and ends, and six small rabbits in a bamboo basket. The remaining space was only enough for one person to sit on.
The family unanimously decided to keep it for the youngest son, Fan Hu.
The others walked alongside the oxcart on either side.
Just as I stepped out of the city gate and turned onto the main road to go home, I saw a woman in simple clothes and a simple hairpin standing there, carrying a basket in her hand.
She craned her neck, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to see Shui Qing and her group. She then timidly called out to Fan Jin, "Senior Brother?"
Shui Qing was stunned. Oh my god, this is an old acquaintance?
She quickly winked at Fan Jin to signal him.
Fan Jin first explained to her, "She is my mentor's daughter, and her father has taken good care of me in the past."
Shui Qing waved her hand and urged, "Go ahead and see what's going on. They've come all this way to wait here. Go and see what's wrong."
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