Uncle Xu heard what Qibao said and thought it made sense. Borrowing once or twice was fine, but if he borrowed too many times, even the best people would complain. He immediately decided, "Okay, let's listen to Qibao. Let's go to the horse market first."
When the children heard that their family was going to buy an ox cart, they were extremely happy and followed their father and uncle to the horse market.
As they entered the horse market, they saw a constant stream of vendors selling cattle and horses, all shouting their wares. Uncle Xu wandered around and finally stopped in front of a vendor. Seeing someone stop at his stall, the vendor immediately and politely greeted, "Brother, are you here to buy a horse or a cow? Look at my horses and cows, they're all strong and sturdy, each one standing out from the other! Which one do you like?"
Uncle Xu looked around at the cows in the shed, pointed at a large black cow and asked, "How much is this cow?"
The vendor immediately said, "Oh my! You have a really good eye, old man! This cow is the best one I have. Look at those four big hooves. It's a great farm hand. It's not expensive, just twelve taels of silver!"
After hearing the clerk's offer, Uncle Xu thought the cow was worth the price and asked, "Then can you give me an ox cart?"
When the vendor heard this, he quickly said, "Oh! Brother, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, but an ox cart costs one or two taels of silver. I won't make much money if I give it to you anymore. How about you increase the price? I'll charge you eight hundred coins for the ox cart. What do you think?"
Uncle Xu replied, "Thank you, I'd better go look somewhere else!" After that, he was about to leave with the children!
Seeing the customer was about to leave, the vendor hurriedly grabbed Uncle Xu and said, "No, brother, the price is negotiable. Okay! Just think of it as me teaching a friend! This ox cart is for you. But next time you want to buy an animal, you must come to me!" As he said that, he led the cow he liked out of the shed, put the cart frame on the cow, tied it up, and handed the rope to Uncle Xu, saying, "Brother, I've already assembled the ox cart for you. Don't worry, it's very secure!"
Uncle Xu thanked the vendor, took out twelve taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to the vendor, then prepared to say goodbye and leave!
The vendor took the silver with a smile and put it in his pocket, saying, "Have a nice day, big brother. Come back to me next time if you need anything. I'll definitely give you a discount!"
As they were about to go back the way they had come, Qibao suddenly saw a man in patched clothes squatting in a corner. In front of him was a small white puppy in a broken bamboo basket. Qibao liked the puppy very much and said to his uncle, "Uncle, I want to buy that puppy. Is that okay?"
Several people followed Qibao's gaze, and the eyes of the little ones lit up. The youngest, Xiaoliu, said, "Uncle, just buy it. Xiaoliu likes it too." The others nodded.
Seeing that the children liked the puppy so much, Uncle Xu agreed and walked towards the man. The children walked to the basket, squatted down and touched the puppy's head, and their faces were full of joy!
The man's eyes lit up when he saw someone wanted to buy a dog. He had been squatting there for an hour, but no one wanted to buy his dog. When he saw someone finally come over, he said, "Hey, bro, do you want to buy a dog?"
Uncle Xu asked, "This dog should still be drinking milk, right? Why are you selling it when it's so young?"
The man sighed and said, "This little white puppy was born to my pet Xiong Xiong half a month ago. Yesterday, my Xiong Xiong was beaten to death at the door of our house by some cruel person. This little puppy has no milk to drink. There is no one at home to take care of it, so I want to find a good family for it. It is better than starving to death at home!"
Qibao asked, "Uncle, how much do you plan to sell it for?"
The man said, "It's just a farm dog, not worth much. If you want it, give it ten copper coins! Just feed it some leftover soup!"
Uncle Xu wanted to know which dog in the village had puppies. If he wanted one, he could just throw two copper coins to it. Although this dog was a bit expensive, the children liked it so much that they said, "Okay, I want this puppy!"
The man said happily, "Then take this basket as well!"
After Uncle Xu paid the copper coins, Xu Zhiyong picked up the basket and put it on the ox cart. Xiaowu and Xiaoliu also climbed onto the ox cart and held the puppy lovingly. The puppy might be hungry, lying in Xiaoliu's arms as if looking for food. Qibao felt sorry for the puppy, so he came to the ox cart, picked up the puppy, put his index finger into the puppy's mouth, and fed it some spiritual spring water. The puppy might be very hungry, sucking it voraciously.
When the puppy was full, Qibao felt that the dog looked different. Its eyes became brighter and it looked more energetic. It looked very smart as it looked around. Qibao put the puppy in Xiaoliu's arms and let it play with Xiaoliu.
After leaving the horse market, they walked for about a quarter of an hour before arriving at a shop called Mobaoxuan, a shop specializing in brushes, inkstones, and paper. They stopped at the door, and a shop assistant came out and greeted them, "Excuse me, are you here to buy brushes and ink? Please go inside and choose. I'll watch over the ox cart for you!"
After Uncle Xu thanked them, he walked in with the children. The shopkeeper at the counter asked, "What can I buy?"
Uncle Xu said, "Boss, I want to buy some writing brushes, inkstones, and paper for my children who have just started school."
The boss said, "Sure, but you don't need to buy something too good for a child who has just started school. A medium-quality one will do. How many do you need?"
Uncle Xu said, "Give each of the children behind me a set!"
After the shopkeeper took out the required amount and packed it as instructed, he asked, "Do you need anything else?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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