The Farmer's Market

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang felt the burden of the back baskets on their shoulders to be particularly heavy.

Zhou Erlang, being resourceful, immediately took out a small bamboo basket from Wulang's back, gritted his teeth, and put five eggs into it, saying, "Young man, it's been a long time since we've been to the county town." We are not aware of the new rules for entering the city. We don't have any money with us because it's needed for medicine for our elderly at home. We've come to the county town to exchange some cash. Please be understanding.

The guard had never seen such a small bamboo basket before and curiously looked inside. Upon seeing the eggs, he glanced around and picked up the basket, stating, "Okay, I'll take this as my way of helping you."

With that, he took out a coin from his pocket and threw it into the plate, motioning for them to come in.

Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang bowed repeatedly in thanks before quickly pushing the cart into the city. Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang also hurriedly carried their baskets on their backs, pulling along their elder and second sister.

Mǎnbǎo sat in the wicker basket, watching her family nearly bending down to the ground under their heavy loads, feeling a sudden discomfort.

Kēkē sensed Mǎnbǎo's emotions and comforted her, saying, "This guard isn't too harsh." "Don't be upset."

Mǎnbǎo asked, "Kēkē, do you have guards like him in your time?" Are they worse than him?

The system replied, "Host, with the development of future technology, people will not only be able to enter and exit the city from the ground but also from the sky, which will be very convenient." Moreover, in the future, the population itself will be an important resource, so there won't be an entrance fee. "If humans can settle in the city, there will be various rewards."

Mǎnbǎo curiously asked, "What kind of rewards?"

"Houses, cars, settlement fees, job relocation fees, and various other preferential policies."

Mǎnbǎo couldn't fully understand these things, but she thought it was great that there wouldn't be an entrance fee. If their family were in the future, her elder and second brothers wouldn't have to bow to the guard.

Then Mǎnbǎo pouted, "So he's much worse than people from your time, and you still say he's not bad."

"He's not bad, indeed." The guard only has limited authority and does not have the final say. The system had some understanding of this. Although it was a system for collecting biological knowledge, its chip contained a vast amount of information to better serve the host and enhance the efficiency of information collection. Additionally, it had the capability to connect directly to the encyclopedia.

Naturally, the information in the encyclopedia was also accessible.

For ancient culture and history enthusiasts, the site has been undergoing restoration in recent years, enabling visitors to witness numerous historical artifacts and structures. The system was not stingy in this regard. After all, it had free time, so it could chat with the host.

While Zhou Dalang pushed the cart to find a spot in the market, Mǎnbǎo listened to many stories of corrupt officials and tyrants. She didn't connect these stories with what had just happened, but she listened with great interest, feeling indignant for the people in the stories.

After feeling indignant, she forgot about what had just happened.

Because she was so focused on the stories, Mǎnbǎo forgot to look at the lively stalls on the street. When the cart stopped, Zhou Dalang helped her down, and Kēkē also fell silent, allowing her to finally regain her composure.

Mǎnbǎo looked around curiously and found nearby stalls selling vegetables, fruits, and people selling various baskets and crates, just like theirs. She thought this must be the farmer's market that Kēkē had mentioned.

The four brothers of the Zhou family quickly unloaded the baskets, crates, and eggs, and arranged them in their designated spots.

They arrived late and could only set up their stall in the corner. Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang asked Sìlǎng and Wǔlǎng to watch over the three children, saying, "Please sit quietly here." "We'll go sell the grain and be back soon."

Sure enough, it didn't take long. Just as they finished setting up, before the first customer arrived, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang returned with the empty cart.

Mǎnbǎo ran up and asked, "Elder brother, did you sell everything?"

Zhou Dalang patted her head and smiled, "Yes, I'm going to buy medicine for mother and some paper for you to practice writing." "You stay here with your second brother and don't run around, understand?"

Mǎnbǎo nodded and said, "Elder brother, don't buy paper for me." Save the money and return it to the family of the village chief. The third daughter-in-law is short of money.

Zhou Dalang frowned and asked, "What's wrong?" "Did the third daughter-in-law come asking for money?"

Èrya, unable to explain clearly, immediately told her uncle the story of the previous morning. She said, "Auntie mentioned that we would return the money to her when we earn it today."

Mǎnbǎo nodded, "We must keep our word." This is called being true to our word.

Zhou Dalang frowned and didn't say anything.

Zhou Erlang said, "Elder brother, listen to Mǎnbǎo. She's still young and doesn't need paper to practice writing at the moment." I'll find a large stone tablet for her in the mountains. She can practice writing with a wet chopstick for now. We can buy paper when the family is more prosperous next year.

Zhou Dalang sighed as he patted Mǎnbǎo's head, "Mǎnbǎo, you're being wronged."

Mǎnbǎo was puzzled, "I don't feel wronged."

Zhou Dalang smiled and left to buy medicine.

Zhou Erlang saw the younger ones eagerly looking outside and said, "You can go play. I'll watch over here." Wǔlǎng, please take care of the three little ones. There are many bad people outside. "Don't let them get taken away by human traffickers."

Wǔlǎng agreed and immediately took out their small baskets. Erya and Erya quickly started weaving flowers. This time, everyone learned quickly and made eight flower baskets at once, which they could easily carry without worrying about crushing the flowers.

Carrying the beautiful flower baskets, they all went out to find their customers.

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang each carried a small bamboo basket and a basket of flowers on their backs, setting off happily together.

Zhou Erlang squatted behind the stall, shaking his head with a wry smile. He was waiting for them to return fully loaded, just like last time. He doubted that anyone would buy these small bamboo baskets unless they were wealthy.

Wulang, Liulang, Èrya, and Èrya were all timid, holding their flower baskets and eagerly watching the passersby, not daring to say a word.

Mǎnbǎo, on the other hand, was curious and looked at the items on the stall. When she saw something interesting, she ran up to take a look, asking questions with great interest.

Èrya couldn't help but walk up to her when they had walked half a street without selling a single flower basket. She whispered, "Little aunt, we're here to sell flower baskets."

Mǎnbǎo suddenly remembered her task and said with a smile, "Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot." "That chicken I saw earlier was really pretty."

The praised stall owner was very happy and said, "That chicken is a rare breed in our family, the most valuable rooster." Would you like to buy one to try?

Mǎnbǎo asked, "How much?"

The stall owner said, "Not expensive, not expensive." Twelve coins per pound. "This chicken weighs five and a half pounds, so that's sixty-six coins."

Wulang and the others were quite scared, afraid that she would agree to buy it. As soon as the stall owner quoted the price, she slumped her shoulders and said, "That's too expensive. I don't have that much money."