Chapter 76: Same Price

After getting the money, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang wanted to check out the cotton, cloth and various seeds. As for the remaining pile of yams, they decided to take them back, wash them, cut them and dry them as Doctor Zheng said before bringing them to the medicine shop.
Manbao thought it was too troublesome. Since the shopkeeper uncle said that wealthy families would use it to make medicinal food, she took her fifth and sixth brothers to go to the county government office.
He also waved to Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang, "Big brother, second brother, you guys go shopping slowly, don't worry about us."
Zhou Dalang knew that Laowu and Laoliu were already familiar with the county town, so he was not worried about them. He told them to take good care of the children and left with Zhou Erlang.
Manbao insisted on leaving the cart and yam, and followed Zhou Wulang to the county government office out of curiosity.
She had never been to the county government office since she was a child, so she insisted on not going to the back corner gate of the Fu family, but insisted that Zhou Wulang push her to go to the main gate of the county government office first.
To be honest, Zhou Wulang had never been close to the county government office. When he came to Miss Fu Er to sell candy, he would go straight to the back corner door.
There were two yamen runners on duty on both sides of the county government gate. There was also a tall stone wall on the side of the county government office, on which were densely covered many notices.
Ever since he entered school, Manbao would spend a long time studying a word he saw outside, let alone now that he has seen so many words.
So she ignored her fifth brother's attempt to stop her, climbed down the cart and ran up to take a look.
The two yamen runners guarding the door turned their heads and looked over. Zhou Wulang chased after them, muttering in a low voice: "Manbao, little ancestor, can we go home and play? Aren't you going to look for Miss Fu Er?"
Manbao ignored him and stood on tiptoe to read the notice posted on the stone wall, reading it word by word: "In the winter of the fifth year of Dazhen, from October 22 to November 21, a total of 30 days, it is necessary to build two water conservancy projects in Baima Town and level the official road from the town to the county..."
Manbao thought something was wrong and said, "Isn't next month October?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Zhou Wulang obviously didn't understand clearly.
Manbao pointed to the last line and said, "One man per household, no mistakes, you have to serve in the army."
Zhou Wulang was stunned for a moment, took a look at the announcement, picked up Manbao and left.
Manbao leaned on his shoulder and waved goodbye to the two yamen runners who were curiously looking at her at the door. She was still chatting with her fifth brother, "Fifth brother, who in our family is going to serve in the army?"
Zhou Wulang said in a muffled voice: "According to the rules, it is the third brother's turn this year."
Zhou Liulang was guarding the cart and didn't know what they said at the stone wall. Seeing that Fifth Brother looked unhappy, he whispered to Manbao, "Did you make Fifth Brother angry?"
"I didn't," Manbao said unconvincedly, "I was so good!"
Zhou Liulang stopped talking and silently pushed the cart to the back corner door of the house behind the county government office .
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang used to come every day some time ago, but recently they come every three or five days. The servant at the corner gate has become familiar with them.
Zhou Liulang skillfully stuffed a few candies into his mouth, and soon a maid came out with a purse.
When she saw Manbao, she exclaimed, "Why did the young lady from the Zhou family come in person this time?"
Manbao looked at her curiously, and the little girl smiled and said, "Young lady, don't you remember me? When I bought the flower basket, I was in the car with my young lady. My name is Qiuyue."
Manbao immediately asked, "Does that mean there is another sister named Chunhua?"
Qiuyue couldn't help laughing so hard that she doubled over, and said, "You're right. We do have a sister Chunhua in our young lady's courtyard. What kind of candy did you bring this time? Let me tell you first, if it doesn't taste good, we won't take it."
Zhou Wulang smiled and stuffed one into her mouth, whispering, "It's delicious. It's different from the last time. It's new stock."
Qiuyue stuffed it into her mouth and ate it, asking, "Don't other places have it?"
"No, I came to your house as soon as I got it. I thought the Second Miss was an old customer and generous, so I had to wait for the Second Miss to eat it before giving it to others."
Zhou Liulang was no longer surprised by Fifth Brother's smooth talk, but Datou, Daya and others were looking at him with admiration, thinking that Fifth Uncle was really good at lying with his eyes open.
Manbao agreed, and even held a yam to show Qiuyue, "If we have anything good, we will definitely think of Second Sister Fu first. After all, we have a client relationship with others, but not with Second Sister Fu. Look, this is the yam that my family climbed a very high mountain to dig. Do you know what a yam is?"
The little girl shook her head, she didn't know.
Luojiang County is not rich. For something like yam that is purely wild, you have to rely on luck to dig it up. After digging it out, whether the Fu family can buy it also depends on luck. How would the girl know?
Manbao learned and taught her that yam is a food ingredient that can be used as medicine. It is warm and sweet in taste. It is good for strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi. It is best for the elderly, women and children.
If you don’t believe me, you can go ask the doctor. Anyway, Mr. Zheng from Jishidiang says it’s good, so why don’t you have one at home?
The little girl Qiuyue didn't even have time to buy candy before she was stuffed with two candies and a yam.
She came to her senses when she was almost back to the yard. She wanted to leave, but was seen by Chunhua. She could only go in and report to the young lady with a blushing face.
Manbao and his fifth and sixth brothers squatted outside the corner gate waiting.
Zhou Wulang said to her, "You should have waited until she bought the candy before recommending the yam."
"How can the value of sugar compare to that of yam? Fifth brother, do the math. One hundred pieces of candy only cost one hundred coins, while a pound of yam costs twenty coins."
Zhou Wulang said, "One pound is the price for drying."
Man Bao said: "Aren't they all the same?"
"It's far from the same. Look at Centella asiatica. We pulled a whole yard of it. When it was raw, a handful weighed one pound, but when it was dried, it weighed less than two ounces. Do you think they can be the same?"
Zhou Wulang was just about to have a detailed discussion with his sister when the corner door suddenly opened and a woman in an apron came out with a stern face and asked, "Who said there were yams for sale?"
"Me, me!" Manbao immediately raised his little hand and asked her to look at the yams on the cart.
The lady glanced at her, then lowered her head to look at the yam, and found that it was similar in quality to the one Qiuyue brought to the kitchen, so she nodded and said, "Okay, we'll take them all."
Manbao said, "I want to keep one."
The lady frowned and looked at Zhou Wulang, "Since our family wants all of them, then you can't sell them to others, right?"
Zhou Wulang lowered his head to coax Manbao.
Manbao said: "I want to give it to my mother. I bought some meat and stewed it together. It will also help my mother to be healthy."
Zhou Wulang immediately bowed to his wife and said with a flattering smile , "Excuse me, my mother is not in good health and my sister misses her. How about this? The one Qiuyue just took in is a gift from us. We will keep one here and sell the rest to you, okay?"
The lady looked at Manbao in surprise, but she didn't want to pursue the matter, as long as he didn't sell it to another family. So she nodded and asked, "How much?"
Manbao blinked his big eyes and looked at her, "Twenty cents a pound."
The lady didn't hesitate and nodded, "Okay."
Zhou Wulang and others opened their mouths wide, wondering how could a raw and dried animal have such a high price?

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