The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 174 - 163: It’s Rare to Be Confused

Chapter 174: Chapter 163: It’s Rare to Be Confused

Manbao asked Junior Ms. Qian for money, and Junior Ms. Qian did not refuse but instead asked, "How much per pound will you sell to me?"

Junior Ms. Qian haggled with a smile, "Before, when Wulang and the others picked Chinese yam beans to sell, Manager Zheng from the medicine shop said he’d never heard they were edible, and they couldn’t sell them outside. So, they ended up eating them themselves. You can’t ask for a high price because of that."

Manbao couldn’t help scratching her little head; she really didn’t understand pricing. In the past, other than candy, whatever she sold was based on the market price.

But there was no market price for Chinese yam beans since they were not sold in the market, plus the buyer was her beloved Eldest Sister-in-law. Manbao found herself in a difficult position.

Junior Ms. Qian did the math for her, "You and Fifth were the ones who brought back the seeds for the Chinese yam, and Fourth and Fifth were the ones who planted and took care of them. Datou and the others have a share too, so the money earned should be divided among everyone. Right, since you’re taking money for the yam beans from Eldest Sister-in-law, you have to pay her when you eat candied yam beans on skewers in the future."

Manbao wrinkled her nose and said, "Eldest Sister-in-law, when I ate them before, you never asked me to pay."

"That was before. Aren’t you also asking me for money now?"

Manbao thought about it and felt it made sense, but still felt something was off.

Junior Ms. Qian took care of her like her own daughter, feeding her even more than their three sons. Seeing her troubled, Junior Ms. Qian held her in her arms and taught her gently, "Manbao, we are a family. Brothers should settle accounts clearly, but that’s for big matters. For small things, it’s better to be a bit muddled so a family can live in harmony."

Manbao looked at her Eldest Sister-in-law, puzzled.

Junior Ms. Qian then chuckled and asked, "Tell me, who takes care of the vegetable garden?"

"Mom, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, Third Sister-in-law, and Eldest Sister."

"See, you didn’t plant vegetables, and neither did Fourth, Fifth, nor Sixth. Should they pay when they eat the family’s vegetables?" Junior Ms. Qian laughed: "Money isn’t calculated like that. Among family members, such trivial things shouldn’t be counted."

Manbao seemed to understand a little bit. After a while, she clapped her hands and said, "I know now! This is what Zhou Dayuan’s wife always says about not being able to keep everything perfectly even."

The expression on Junior Ms. Qian’s face became hard to describe. She asked, "When did you go and talk to Eldest Aunt Zhang again?"

Because of the homestead land issue, the relationship between the Zhou Family and Zhou Dayuan’s family had become a bit tense. During this time, Junior Ms. Qian always walked past Ms. Zhang without even looking at her, not uttering a word.

Manbao said cheerfully, "I didn’t talk to her. Talking to her is too much of a hassle. She was talking to someone in the village. When she saw me coming back from school, she raised her voice so loud and said, ’Our family only has one son, no matter how biased we are, it’s all for Dalv. It’s not like some families where they have six or seven children, yet the favoritism is off the charts...’"

Manbao pinched her throat and imitated so accurately that Junior Ms. Qian was stunned, as if she saw a disdainful Ms. Zhang flaunting right in front of her.

Manbao even mimicked Ms. Zhang’s body twist and continued in a loud voice: "You can’t keep everything perfectly even. Now the children are young, and it’s nothing, but wait until all six get married and have children of their own. By then, they will be old, and let’s see how they make it through those days."

Manbao dropped her hands and snuggled back into her Eldest Sister-in-law’s arms, asking with a smile, "Eldest Sister-in-law, isn’t it like what Zhou Dayuan’s wife said? When the family is large, you can’t keep everything perfectly even, and we also need to learn to be muddled. If we’re too calculating, the family won’t live in harmony."

Junior Ms. Qian was stunned for a moment as she tried to make sense of the cause and effect. It seemed, just as Manbao said, that Ms. Zhang was right about their parents-in-law showing favoritism?

Looking down at the little one in her arms, Junior Ms. Qian couldn’t help but exclaim, "Aiyo," and hugged her, "How can our Manbao be so clever? Your sister-in-law is so fond of you."

Manbao laughed heartily, proudly saying, "I just knew Eldest Sister-in-law would love me the most, even more than our three brothers. So, Eldest Sister-in-law is also biased."

Since that was the case, Manbao naturally also wanted to favor her Eldest Sister-in-law. Thus, she decided not to take any money. The Chinese yam beans in the field could be taken and picked at will.

While Junior Ms. Qian and Manbao were talking in the inner room, Zhou Dalang was in the outer room making a wooden pushcart toy for his young son, something he had promised a long time ago.

Hearing the conversation inside, Zhou Dalang for the first time realized his wife’s eloquence was that good, she actually managed to persuade Manbao.

You see, Manbao’s mouth was just like her father’s. From a young age, it was them persuading others, not the other way around.

When Manbao happily left, Zhou Dalang put down the wood in his hands and walked into the inner room. "You’re really clever, managing to coax money out of that child."

Junior Ms. Qian threw the clothes she was folding at him, chiding, "Shut your mouth, will you? What kind of brother talks about his own sister like that? Manbao’s being filial."

Indeed. Her attitude towards their mother and Junior Ms. Qian showed as much; the child was indeed very shrewd.

And that settled things. No one brought up the issue of the price of Chinese yam beans again.

With no issue on Manbao’s side, Zhou Silang and the others certainly had no problem. In their private thoughts, they also felt this was normal. It was unusual to have someone like Manbao who always split the shares so clearly.

However, this approach had its advantages – it prevented uncertainty each time they had to split the money after contributing their dues.

The principle of distribution was set. After they contributed their dues, the remaining money would be divided proportionally.

Even if sometimes a person could only get a few coins, getting a few coins every day added up to a lot over time.

Especially in the countryside, if you wanted to buy something, you had to walk a long way to the market or wait for a peddler to come by.

In the past, whenever a peddler came to the village to sell goods, Datou, Daya, and the others could only follow the adults and watch, drooling over the goodies on the peddler’s load, unable to buy anything. But that had changed now. Whenever the peddler came again, they were a strong force in consuming his goods.

Candy didn’t need to be bought, because none was as tasty as the ones their aunt gave. But other toys or little snacks were very popular.

Manbao even encouraged Zhou SiLang to become a peddler for a time, using her words, "It’s so much fun, you can leave the village every day, go wherever you want, see many different people, and also see lots of strange plants and animals."

Zhou SiLang scoffed at this, telling her, "Do you think being a peddler is for playing? You have to carry the load to the west village, and roam the east village; it’s tiring. And you could easily run into robbers. If I act the hero and protect the goods without paying up, you’ll be without a fourth brother."

Manbao was taken aback and curiously asked, "There are robbers on the road?"

"Yeah, there are bandits."

With a gasp, Manbao quickly asked, "Where are the bandits, and what do they look like?"