Chapter 55: Gold-Eating Beast
The sun is shining brightly.
At noon, Jiang Miaomiao felt a cool breeze blowing.
Shivered.
They deliberately took a detour and did not pass by Aunt Wang's house.
Don't be unlucky so early in the morning.
I followed my mother and aunt to the town to buy an ox cart.
That's strange!
In such a big town like Qingshi, why are there only two or three people selling cattle?
Each person was leading one or two cows, and there was no room for selection.
"Father-in-law, how much do you want to sell this cow for?" Liu Yu Niang asked.
The old man sat on the ox cart with one leg raised and glanced at the two of them.
"The ox and the cart together cost twenty-five ounces of silver."
He replied, lowered his head and continued smoking his hookah.
The number of people in Qingshi Town who can afford ox carts can be counted on one's fingers, and these two women don't look alike at all.
"What? Twenty-five taels of silver!" Liu Yu Niang exclaimed.
Attracting the attention of passers-by.
The old man was startled. "You little woman, why are you making such a fuss? Just ask me. I've been selling cattle in Qingshi Town for over 20 years. Everyone knows that my cattle are good and cheap!"
Liu Yu Niang smacked her lips, what a bargain.
He winked at Lu Qingyao and said, "Don't buy it..."
"Old Man Liu just told me that he bought his ox cart for fifteen taels. How did it become twenty-five?"
The old man selling the cow looked at me like I was stupid. "Fifteen taels. He bought it four or five years ago, right?"
Liu Yu Niang opened her mouth to say no, but the ox cart of Old Man Liu had indeed been bought many years ago and was worth less than fifteen taels.
Jiang Miaomiao poked her little head out and took a look.
This cow... looks like it has a good skeleton, but is a little thin. If I buy it and raise it, it should grow strong.
I guess because the cattle they are selling are not slaughtered, they are reluctant to feed them with grass.
It seems that fodder is quite expensive at this time.
I vaguely remember reading in a book that there is a saying from the ancients: The cost of one ox or horse is equivalent to the food for five people.
It is said that cows are money-eating beasts. Not only are they expensive, they also eat a lot.
No wonder the common people can’t afford it. There are only four cows in the entire Taoxi Village.
I vaguely remember that the emperor issued an edict prohibiting the princes from killing cattle without reason. If ordinary people killed a cow in its prime for no reason, they might even lose their lives.
Come to think of it, in ancient times, agriculture was emphasized, and oxen became the main labor force. Not only did they do the farming, they also had to pull goods and people. With such a heavy workload, eating grass alone would not be enough. Throughout the year, the oxen had to be given some nutritional supplements.
Otherwise, farming and harvesting will become a problem next year.
It is true that cows are more valuable than people!
Remember that Liu the landlord's concubine, Sister Qiao'er's plastic sister, was bought for twenty taels.
It’s even cheaper than cattle!
Jiang Miaomiao's little heart was shocked again.
The old man glanced at them and continued smoking his water pipe.
With an impatient look on his face, he asked, "Are you going to buy it or not?"
"Buy it, of course." Lu Qingyao said with a smile.
She used to spend money lavishly, but when she first came to Qingshi Town, she thought everything was cheap.
But when he touched his pocket, it was empty.
Seeing the villagers around him earning money bit by bit, he also went up the mountain to hunt and went into the water to fish for money.
Only then did I understand how difficult life was for the lower-class people.
Now, she would never secretly laugh at Liu Yu Niang's stinginess again.
Smiling warmly, he said, "Old man, can you speak a little less? I see you've been here for several days..."
She had observed from across the road before that this old man had been selling cows for a long time and was the one who received the most questions.
Some people even bargained with him for a long time but to no avail.
This is enough to show that this cow is of good quality.
Maybe because they refused to give in, the cattle were never sold and became thinner!
The old man looked a little unhappy.
Lu Qingyao quickly explained, "I passed by a few days ago and saw you selling a cow here, but... this cow seems to be thinner... much thinner than the ones I saw before."
The old man was speechless.
If she hadn't said this, I would never give in.
But now...
He didn't even have the confidence to ask for a higher price.
Every day of raising it, a lot of grass is consumed, and the value is reduced.
I can't continue to raise it...
He sighed deeply, "Alright! Twenty-four taels of silver for you."
"make a deal!"
Lu Qingyao happily took out the silver from under the basket and gave it to him.
But Liu Yu Niang was heartbroken.
Although it wasn't her money that was spent, it was still hard-earned money!
When I went back, I still went through the village entrance.
Lu Qingyao drove the horse-drawn carriage, and Liu Yuniang followed in an ox-drawn cart.
Although it was sad, it was also a glorious moment.
Jiang Miaomiao rolled her little head in her mother's arms and walked through the villagers' gazes.
I hadn't walked far when I heard a heated discussion behind me.
"Look! He must have used all the money he earned from selling bamboo shoots to buy an oxcart."
"That's not necessarily true. Maybe he's already rich. After all, he came from the capital. How could he not have some gold and silver jewelry on him?"
"Let's dig some bamboo shoots tomorrow and sell them in Jiangzhou. Maybe we can even buy a cow..."
......
Getting further and further away.
Jiang Miaomiao couldn't hear clearly.
I just feel that farmers seem to have a craze for cattle.
It’s like modern people’s desire for luxury cars.
evening.
The sun sets in the west.
Those who had been working away from home returned.
Jiang Miaomiao's family ate meat again, and the aroma of meat drifted throughout the village, covering up the stench lingering at the door of Aunt Wang's house.
This caused the children in the village to scream and the dogs to bark.
From time to time, someone would hang around her door, pretending to be passing by.
There are three carts in the yard, all filled with winter bamboo shoots.
The medium-sized yard was packed with people.
"Sister-in-law, these bamboo shoots only weigh about 700 kilograms. What should we do?" Jiang Yunhu weighed the bamboo shoots with a beam scale, looking worried.
There are too many people going up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots today, and most of the bamboo shoots nearby have been dug up.
It's still not enough.
He really couldn't understand why his sister-in-law told the villagers that bamboo shoots in Jiangzhou were expensive.
At this moment, the mountains and fields are full of people digging bamboo shoots.
They could only dig further away.
Ox carts couldn't go up the mountain, so people had to carry things out by hand.
It's time-consuming, labor-intensive and also wears out your shoes.
Lu Qingyao looked at his worried face and said a few words to comfort him, "It's okay! Big brother, go and rest first, I'll take care of the rest."
Jiang Yunhu hesitated to speak, frowning as he looked at the newly bought ox cart.
Although he knew that buying an ox cart was a good idea, he was hesitant to think about spending all the money he had just earned and even having to pay out of pocket.
Worry suddenly came to my mind.
Lu Qingyao didn't know how to explain it, so she could only use delicious food to divert his attention.
"Brother, my sister-in-law has prepared the meal and poured some wine. Let's go and have dinner."
"good."
Jiang Yunhu touched his stomach and found that he was indeed hungry, so he walked towards the men's banquet.
Only half of the meal was eaten.
"Dong Dong Dong~~~"
There was a knock on Jiang Miaomiao's door.
Mother hurried to open the door. Jiang Miaomiao had a feeling that her mother seemed to have been waiting for the knock on the door.
When I opened the door, I saw several villagers coming in.
Several people peeked inside and couldn't help licking their lips.
Someone spoke up, "Aunt, we're here to discuss something with you. Can we go in and talk?"
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