Chapter 280 The abacus beads are about to fall on her face
When Mrs. Cao heard Pinggu say that she wanted to exchange it for some gold and silver, it was within her expectations. After all, a girl in her teens could already do a lot of work, and Pinggu's new family would definitely agree.
As for Xiaotie and Xiaotong, they would be more than happy to take her away!
Are you afraid that I won't agree, so you bring the small iron and copper items along?
Now it’s all about fighting for small amounts of money. She wants to gain more benefits for the Cao family!
She looked at the sacks and asked, "What did you bring here?"
Pinggu came back within two hours of leaving. Except for the Lei family, the people who came to move things were all men from the village below. It was obvious that the new owner was from the village, just some farmers. What good things could they bring out if they wanted to buy people?
Shen Qing walked through the crowd with a warm smile on his face as he explained, “The sacks contain rice, top-quality refined rice, not broken rice, totaling four hundred kilograms;
The bag contained white flour, without a speck of cornmeal mixed in, and it also weighed four hundred jin.
We also have two sheep, which are fat and strong. Eating mutton in winter is very nourishing."
Mrs. Cao's narrowed triangular eyes gradually widened, and she looked at Shen Qing in disbelief.
She was just a peasant woman, yet she could produce so much fine grain and two sheep!
People who have experienced floods are different. They regard food as their life and are afraid of going hungry.
It was just 800 kilograms of grain and two sheep, which would have been worth a little over ten taels of silver in the past. She wanted to exchange them for her four servants...
Shen Qing glanced at Mrs. Cao's expression and knew that she was ready to bargain. She added with embarrassment, "These things were not very valuable in the past. I feel bad about exchanging them for your four servants all at once. I can't take advantage of you, right?
How about this, I'll exchange the small gold and silver coins, and you can keep the remaining two small coins and continue to use them!"
Mrs. Cao was furious. What kind of work could an eight or nine-year-old child do? What good would it do to keep him around except for causing mischief and wasting food?
What she lacks most now is food, and it would be best if there were two fewer people to feed.
However, Shen Qing was also a shrewd and calculating person. He knew that Xiao Jin and Xiao Yin would be useful as soon as they got back, but the two younger ones had to be kept. He was kicking the younger ones out and only wanted the older ones.
Ping Gu immediately understood what Shen Qing meant. She pinched her thigh secretly, her eyes red and tearful, and begged: "Master, please take Xiao Tie and Xiao Tong with you. They can't eat much food.
Besides, the four of them have a good relationship. Without the two younger ones, the two older ones wouldn’t be able to work as hard as they should.”
Seeing Pinggu persuading Shen Qing, Mrs. Cao's wrinkled face was very satisfied, and she continued: "Fu Ping is right, the two little ones can't eat much food, you won't suffer any loss by raising them;
As for exchanging these things you brought here for two larger ones, we still need to discuss it carefully. After all, the small gold and silver can be sold for fifteen taels of silver in Jincheng without any problem."
"Oh, how can we sell it for fifteen taels? Go ask around and see how many disaster victims are selling themselves. Are you thinking we don't know the market?" Liu Cuihua pointed out mercilessly.
Mrs. Cao's expression changed.
Of course she knew the market conditions outside, because she knew that she couldn't sell it, otherwise she wouldn't have given the indenture contract to Pinggu for free.
"And even if you have fifteen taels of silver now, can you buy so much fine grain and sheep? Tell me where to buy them and how to buy them back!" Liu Cuihua asked again.
Mrs. Cao's face became even gloomier.
Indeed, that’s why she was extremely attracted to these foods.
If she had enough food in previous years, she would never agree even if the price of these things increased several times!
But now, 800 kilograms of food is enough for a family to eat for at least half a year, and maybe even enough to get through the period when the disaster victims are causing trouble. How can one not be tempted?
Especially since it was rice and flour, not to mention two sheep.
Although game is meat, it has less fat and is firm in texture. How can it be as tender and plump as domesticated livestock?
If there is no pork, fresh lamb is also good in winter.
She looked at the two processed sheep. Both weighed at least 150 kilograms, and it would be no problem to feed them for two or three months if they were kept frugally.
But it would be even better if I could have some more!
Hmm, how much is the right amount? Two hundred kilograms of rice and flour, the same as for white flour, and one more sheep...
Shen Qing's eyes shifted from the hesitant Mrs. Cao to Pinggu, and she sighed before comforting him, "Pinggu, I told you that you worry too much, don't you?
You said that the Cao family was short of food and insisted on begging me to use food to exchange for your daughter. I had worked so hard to gather all this food, which was already the limit. But in the eyes of Old Madam Cao, it was nothing. This means that there was no shortage of food.
"Just work peacefully at my house. When these fine grains and mutton are shipped back, if I have something to eat, you will have something to eat too. Isn't it comfortable to have food and drink in winter? Don't worry about anything else~"
After saying that, he turned and was about to leave.
After hearing this, Mrs. Cao quickly came back to her senses and stretched out her hand to stop him, saying, "Wait!"
Shen Qing stopped, blinked, and asked blankly: "Madam Cao, just say what you want to say. Whether we can succeed or not is just a matter of one sentence.
Honestly, with the limited work we do at home, how many servants can we possibly need? Pinggu is enough, and adding four more children would cost a lot of rice and food every day...
I'll provide the food and you'll provide the people. If it works, it works. If not, I'll just take the things back. Anyway, I've already explained to Pinggu."
If the men who followed had not heard Shen Qing instruct Jiang Yu to cook five more meals in the evening before setting off, they would have believed this!
Do you really think that Auntie thinks Pinggu's four daughters are a burden and doesn't want them?
Pinggu lowered her head, sighed deeply, and drooped her shoulders as if she had accepted her fate, looking depressed as if she was about to return with Shen Qing.
Mrs. Cao no longer cared about what she was thinking and hurriedly replied, "Okay!"
Shen Qing's heart finally settled down. She didn't dare to relax and took the opportunity to quickly ask, "Is it four? Or just Xiao Jin and Xiao Yin?"
He looked as if he was expecting Mrs. Cao to answer that there were only two people, Xiao Jin and Xiao Yin.
Mrs. Cao said unhappily, "Of course it's four!"
This Shen Qing is really greedy! I didn't know that Pinggu could find her to be the new master, otherwise the indenture would not be given away for free anyway.
At least I have to exchange it for 500 kilograms of food and a sheep.
Now she only wants Xiao Jin and Xiao Yin to go back, and leave the two useless little ones in the Cao family. The abacus beads are about to fall on her face!
Pinggu lowered her head and did not dare to raise it even a little, for she was afraid that if she raised it, Mrs. Cao would see her smile.
Liu Cuihua on the side was still trying to persuade him: "Shen Qing, you should think carefully. Food is so precious. We don't know what the market will be like next year.
Especially since you're feeding four mouths, how much food has been wasted over and over again? Is it really worth it?"
A few men in the crowd also echoed and followed suit.
Mrs. Cao opposite was afraid that Shen Qing would go back on her word, so she turned around and went into the house to quickly find the contract for the four people.
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