Chapter 45: Small Grocery Store
Li Laoer nodded repeatedly, saying that reading books makes one different, and what the younger brother said makes a lot of sense.
Li Yulan swallowed subconsciously when she heard the word meat buns. She had never eaten the meat buns in the county town, but they sounded delicious.
Seeing Li Yulan hesitate, Li Laoer immediately took her away without giving her any chance to regret.
To be honest, he was worried that she would let the cat out of the bag if he asked her to go back.
"Little brother, things in the county town are cheaper than in the town. I know all the grocery store owners, and I can definitely save the three cents for riding a ox cart." Li Laoer smiled at Li Baisong ingratiatingly.
"Second brother is right. I'll see you bargaining for me later. When we go to the bookstore to buy paper, you can also help me bargain."
"Little brother, did mom give you money?"
"No." Li Baisong said confidently.
"But the money my mother gave me was for buying meat, seasonings, and pigs."
"Keep one ounce of silver from the pig, and use the remaining ounce to buy the things mother asked you to do, and then buy me some paper. If mother gets angry, I'll take the blame and won't bring trouble to my second brother."
"That's good."
Li Laoer prepared three cents in advance. When the old man driving the ox cart came, he handed the money to him and took Li Baisong and Li Yulan to find a seat.
At this time, Li Laoer still acted like an older brother. He asked his younger siblings to sit aside, and he stood outside and sat next to the others.
"You guys move over there, my little brother is injured, don't crowd him."
The person next to him took a look at the scar on Li Baisong's head and said, "Oh, such a big scar. Are you going to the city to see a doctor?"
Li Laoer took advantage of the scar on Li Baisong's head to chat with the man and asked him if there were any piglets for sale in the village.
Li Baisong glanced at Li Laoer and smiled. The second brother was indeed a little smart.
Li Baisong gently closed his eyes and began to recite the text in his mind.
In addition to buying paper today, he also wanted to go to the bookstore to see if there were any copybooks. Neat handwriting is necessary no matter where the exam is taken.
In his previous life, before he fell ill, he had practiced calligraphy, but it was hard pen calligraphy. The original Li Baisong had just started learning when he was in school, and his handwriting was still a bunch of ink spots. The best handwriting he had ever seen was that of Mr. Liao.
Mr. Liao treasured his handwriting very much and would not easily show it to a weak student like his original self.
The teacher who taught calligraphy was only the great master Liao Yongnian. Liao Yongnian's calligraphy was neat and regular but lacked style.
Li Baisong wanted to find out if there was a master, but if he couldn't find any, he could only figure it out on his own.
Li Yulan had a lot to say to someone, and after thinking about it, it seemed that her younger brother was the most suitable person to talk to. But when she looked up, she found that her younger brother had fallen asleep.
Can you sleep even when the ox cart is shaking like this?
Feeling someone was looking at him, Li Baisong slowly opened his eyes.
Li Yulan was startled, "Hey, you're not asleep."
"No, I'm just reciting the text. Fourth sister, do you have anything to say to me?"
Li Yulan opened her mouth, but found that she didn't know where to start to express what was in her heart.
"Is Fourth Sister feeling confused?"
Li Yulan paused and then nodded.
"This is not the place to talk, Fourth Sister, please stop talking. Let me teach you how to count."
Li Baisong held up ten fingers and said, "I'll teach you addition and subtraction within ten. Once you're proficient, I'll teach you within twenty."
Li Yulan had no doubt that her younger brother, who had only been in school for more than a month, could learn so much.
"Okay, but I think the math you're talking about is difficult. I only have ten fingers. Do I have to count twenty by my toes?"
"No need. I can lend you my fingers first. If they are not enough, we can count our fingers like this." Li Baisong took Li Yulan's hand and taught her to count her knuckles. She could count fourteen numbers with one hand and twenty-eight with two hands.
Li Yulan was stunned, her thoughts slowly following Li Baisong, and she temporarily put aside the things about Xu Jiahuai.
When the ox cart stopped at the gate of the county town, Li Yulan's arithmetic had made considerable progress, and Li Laoer also asked the villagers from other villages on the ox cart.
A villager said that someone in their village wanted to sell piglets. There were eight piglets in total, which were born just after the Chinese New Year and were almost two months old. The family planned to sell five of them and asked for six hundred coins each. The price was too high. Half a month had passed since the news was released, but none of them had been sold yet.
Li Laoer deleted this store directly. It cost more than 500 coins. He decided to take a closer look in the city later.
"Wow, this is the county town. This is my first time here. It's really bigger and better than our village."
Li Yulan stared at the house and the people, completely forgetting her fear.
Li Baisong was afraid that she would get lost, so he pulled her sleeve all the way.
Li Laoer walked ahead with a large backpack on his back, "Little brother, let's go to the grocery store first."
"Brother, please lead the way, we will follow you." Li Baisong said.
"Little brother, which stall sells buns? Ah, I saw it, the white one on top of the steamer. I think I can smell the fragrance of buns. Little brother, can you smell it?"
"Then let's go buy some buns first."
Li Yulan pretended to be coy, "Are you serious, little brother? I thought you were joking."
"I never joke." Li Baisong pulled people to the bun stall and grabbed Li Laoer who was walking in front.
Li Laoer also became greedy when he saw the big, plump, white and soft buns.
"Brother, can you buy me one too?"
"Boss, how much are the buns?"
"A vegetarian bun is one cent, and a meat bun is two cents. What kind of bun would you like, sir?"
"Three vegetarian buns." Li Baisong handed over three cents and took a bun. Li Laoer and Li Yulan had already taken the other two.
The two took a big bite.
"It's not delicious. I've eaten too much meat these past two days, and I just want to eat some vegetarian food."
Li Yulan also nodded repeatedly while eating. It was soft, fluffy and fragrant. She was very satisfied even though it was not a meat bun. "You are so kind, little brother. I will come to the county town with you next time."
Li Bosong: "But I have no money."
"How could that be? Don't you have four cents, little brother?" Li Laoer said enviously. Little brother is still good. He can hold the money by himself and spend it however he wants.
Before Li Baisong could say anything, Li Yulan rushed in and said, "Hey, second brother, I'm broke. I've spent three cents, what's the point of spending one cent?"
"What do you mean by a penny? A penny is still money! I, your second brother, need to save money to compensate mother, so I can't treat money lightly." Li Laoer said angrily.
"I know. I want you to talk more."
The three siblings ate buns and talked all the way to the grocery store.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Li Er? It's been a while since I last saw you. Is it hard to sell goods these days? It shouldn't be like that. It's spring plowing season, and wouldn't every household buy something?"
"It's a long story, boss. Let's not talk about that anymore. Just pack some seasoning for me. Don't you have a stone mill and a pestle here? Grind them all for me later..."
"If you want to crush it, that's another price!"
The bargaining between Li Laoer and the shopkeeper.
Li Bosong and Li Yulan looked at the small grocery store as if they were watching something strange.
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