The adults in each family taught their children not to talk nonsense outside, because Manbao was originally a child of the Zhou family. As for why such rumors appeared, it was of course because Goudan's grandmother and Manbao's mother did not get along, so she made up a lie to deceive Goudan.
The children all believed it because adults often said things without evidence. For example, if the vegetables of the aunt from the east family were pulled out and she didn't see it, she would definitely scold the aunt from the west family and believe that the aunt from the west family stole them.
The atmosphere in Zhou Dayuan's home was very depressing. The family ate dinner in silence. After finishing the meal, Zhang shook her face and said to her grandson in a disappointed tone, "From now on, you are not allowed to spread anything about the family. Do you understand?"
Zhou Dayuan put down his bowl and chopsticks and snapped, "Why are you yelling at the child? If you hadn't said something nonsense at home, would the child have spread it outside ?"
Then what I said is also true. Zhang opened her mouth to speak, but Zhou Dayuan stared at her with wide eyes and said in a low voice: "If you want to die, don't bring trouble to the whole village."
Zhang couldn't help but grumble, "The government doesn't believe in collective punishment..."
Zhou Dayuan slapped her in the face. The donkey stood up in shock and couldn't help but let out a cry.
"father!"
Zhou Dayuan turned around and glared at him, saying, "Don't forget who gave us the food that kept us alive. The elders said that people should never forget their gratitude!"
The donkey lowered his head.
Zhang covered her face, feeling embarrassed and annoyed. She pushed the table away and went back to the house.
Zhou Dayuan also took out his pipe to smoke, feeling equally irritated.
The Zhou family was also in unrest. Everyone was particularly silent tonight, except Manbao, who knew nothing. As usual, she settled today's accounts, and what should be handed over to the public was handed over to the public, and what should be kept by her was kept.
Zhou Wulang sat cross-legged on the bed, thinking.
Manbao looked at him for a long while, then turned around and asked Sixth Brother in a low voice, "What happened to Fifth Brother?"
Zhou Liulang also sighed and whispered, "When we went to the county town today, many people were selling flower baskets. The more expensive ones were three cents each, and the cheaper ones were two cents each. In the end, we lowered the price to three cents before we could sell them."
Zhou Liulang said, "Fifth Brother said that we will not sell flower baskets tomorrow, but candy instead, and Daya doesn't have to go with us."
Manbao savored the chicken he had eaten tonight, swallowed his saliva and said, "No, we have to find a business that cannot be replaced by others, or that is not easy for others to replace."
Wu Lang said: "Sell candy!"
Manbao said: "Our candy is unique on the market, so Manbao, let's sell more candy."
Manbao disagreed, "I bought the candy from someone else."
Zhou Wulang thought so too. What if their business becomes good in the future and people stop selling candy to them and they have to take over?
It would be better to sell 100 pills a day now. Although the business is smaller, it is unique and can last for a long time.
Zhou Wulang sighed and asked, "So what do you think is a good business?"
Manbao said honestly: "I don't know."
She was very open-minded. "I can earn at least 100 coins a day anyway. 100 coins can buy two small chickens."
That is, not only can they eat a chicken every day, but they can also throw one out.
Thinking of this, Manbao became happy again and said, " Fifth brother , since we can't sell the flower baskets, let's go pick Centella asiatica. We can save up some sugar for two days and then go to the county town. You also have to work hard to learn to read. Now you don't even know as many words as Datou."
Zhou Wulang felt that learning to read was so difficult that he would rather follow his fourth brother to open up wasteland than learn to read.
He was unwilling to admit defeat, so he did not listen to Manbao and still took the flower baskets to the county town the next day. This time he really couldn't sell any of them. Except for two children who bought two of the candies in the baskets because they liked them, he was unable to sell the other twenty or so flower baskets.
Seeing that the time was almost up and it would be dark if he didn't go back, Zhou Wulang simply stopped selling the flowers with candy and just delivered them out at one penny per basket.
Zhou Wulang thought, bamboo strips don’t cost money anyway, if you guys are trying to steal my business, then I’ll steal it too.
He simply lowered the price to one cent, and other vendors immediately couldn't sell their flower baskets.
After selling the things, Zhou Wulang just patted his butt and left. He went home and boasted about it to Manbao and the others.
Manbao shook his little head and said, " Fifth brother , you are harming others and not benefiting yourself by doing this."
Zhou Silang also said: "If you offend someone like this, I'm afraid you will be targeted next time you go to the county to do business."
Zhou Wulang said, "I'm not afraid. They were the ones who targeted me first. Humph, they are just copying us and selling flower baskets. I can accept it if the price is the same as mine or even one cent lower than mine. How can they just sell it for two or three cents?"
Zhou Liulang supported his fifth brother, "Those people are so annoying. They know we are an old business, and many kids have identified us and specifically walked around us to sell goods. Wherever we go, they follow us."
Manbao also said: "Too bad!"
Zhou Silang then stopped talking. They were brothers and they were not made of clay. Since they had been bullied to this extent, they certainly would not allow others to bully them.
But everyone knows that the flower basket business can no longer be done, at least not during this period of time, otherwise Wulang and his friends would probably be beaten if they went to the county town.
But Zhou Silang and Manbao were quite happy. One of them said, "Then stay at home and help me open up the wasteland."
One said, "It's a good opportunity to pick Centella asiatica."
Zhou Wulang and the others sighed for a while and then agreed.
With the addition of Wulang and Liulang, not only did Zhou Silang's speed of clearing the land increase a lot, but the amount of Centella asiatica in the house also increased.
The dried Centella asiatica was rolled into balls and put into a sack. Zhou Silang picked it up and said, "There are so many of them, but they only weigh this little. Can you sell them for a good price?"
Manbao was eating candy and doing homework. Hearing this, he looked up and asked, "Hey, didn't Fifth Brother go to the pharmacy to ask for the price?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, "Could it be that the pharmacy won't accept it?"
Everyone is worried, isn't it a waste of all the work we've done these days?
Manbao said confidently: "No, the master has said that the pharmacy will accept it, and in the summer they will make medicine for passers-by to drink."
"But it's almost winter now, will the drugstore still accept it?"
Zhou Dalang, who was passing by, heard this and said, "I'll take a bag to the county town to have a look tomorrow. Don't worry."
Zhou Wulang immediately perked up, "Brother, are you going to the county town?"
Zhou Dalang smiled and said, "Yes, we have dried all the Ligustrum lucidum at home. My mother asked me to take them to the medicine shop tomorrow to have a look. If the medicine shop is satisfied, we will pick the ones from the forest and dry them in the sun."
Zhou Wulang immediately said, "Let's go too!"
They hadn't been to the county town for several days and were planning to find an excuse to go out and sell the candy. Manbao had been talking about wanting to eat meat these past two days.