Stingy

Mǎn Bǎo's eyes sparkled as she clutched the two privet fruits she had found, not saying a word.

Lǎo Zhōu and Qián Shì sat by the bed, illuminated by the firelight, and saw the gleam in their daughter's eyes, as bright as the morning star in the sky. The couple fell into a silent reverie, speechless.

Mǎn Bǎo joyfully lifted her head, extending her small hand to show Lǎo Zhōu and Qián Shì, "Father, mother, look at this. What do you see?"

Qián Shì, coming back to herself, smiled and asked, "What is it?"

"It's a private fruit." Fifth Brother picked two strings for me today. I didn't realize they would look like this when dried, and they can even be used to treat my mother's illness.

Qián Shì smiled as she patted Mǎn Bǎo's head, watching her kneel on the ground, excitedly explaining that they would need to buy less medicine in the future.

Listening with a smile, Qián Shì didn't tell her that medicine is prescribed individually, not by type.

Mǎn Bǎo suggested, "Let's have Big Brother and Third Brother collect all the privet fruits and dry them for Mother to eat."

Qián Shì nodded with a smile, "Alright, I'll have your big brother do it tomorrow."

Mǎn Bǎo was very excited and suddenly didn't want to sleep. She set down the privet fruits in her hand, climbed onto her parents' bed, and rolled to the innermost part, lying still.

With a pair of twinkling eyes, she looked at her parents.

Lǎo Zhōu couldn't help but pat her chubby bottom and said, "You're so big now, yet you still want to sleep with your parents." "Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Not embarrassed." Not embarrassed. Third Brother still sleeps with his older brother and sister-in-law.

"Third Brother only said that not long ago." "He's still young; of course, he should sleep with his parents." In Lǎo Zhōu's heart, even though his third grandson is the same age as his daughter, and even a couple of months older, in reality, his daughter is much older in his heart. ###

There's no way around it. Children in rural areas mature later than their urban counterparts. They are capable of working, but their maturation process is delayed.

Their children mature early, partly due to having access to an adequate supply of food and drink. In some families, due to a lack of food and clothing, seven or eight-year-olds may appear to be only four or five years old and may struggle to speak fluently.

But no one was as early as Mǎn Bǎo.

In the entire village, even the young master of the Bai family could not walk unsteadily at nine months and call his parents at ten months.

And so, they all agreed that Mǎn Bǎo was the smartest child in the entire village, or even the whole township.

And because she was smart, mature, and precocious, she was given her own bed at an early age.

There's no way around it. When she was over a year old, she would complain to Qián Shì, saying that her father's snoring was so loud that she couldn't sleep at night.

God knows that she could sleep soundly with just a slight tilt of her head, and not even thunder could wake her up.

By the time she was two, she had even more complaints. She told her mother that her father didn't wash his feet and they smelled.

So Lǎo Zhōu gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, took his sons up the mountain to cut down a tree, and paid someone to make a small bed for her. He also had his second son weave a bamboo wall to separate the room, and that's when the complaints stopped.

Since then, Mǎn Bǎo rarely made a fuss about sleeping with her parents. But it's good for a child to be close to their parents, so Lǎo Zhōu didn't chase his daughter off the bed; he just got out of bed and brought her a small blanket. ###

Mǎn Bǎo rolled around on the bed with her small blanket, sharing with her mother the interesting things she experienced at school.

Qián Shì listened quietly, occasionally asking a question or two to encourage her to speak more.

Qián Shì knew that Mǎn Bǎo had acquired a vast knowledge of characters. Master Zhuāng not only taught them how to read but also instructed them in arithmetic. Her best friend now is the young master Shàn Bǎo from the Bai family.

Bai Shàn Bǎo was mentioned, and Mǎn Bǎo had a lot to say. She talked about how he was bullied by Bai Erlang and then went on to discuss his family's plan to build a house.

Mǎn Bǎo even said to Lǎo Zhōu, "Father, I've already informed Shàn Bǎo that next time, I will have my brothers assist and bring in more people to help construct their house. In three to five days, they will finish building their house, and then he will no longer be bullied by Bai Erlang.

Lǎo Zhōu's eyes flickered slightly as he asked, "Did the young master mention when his family plans to build the house?"

Mǎn Bǎo yawned, "It's soon, it's soon." Once they finalize the location, they will start building.

Lǎo Zhōu fell silent, and Mǎn Bǎo urged him softly, "Father, did you agree or not?"

Lǎo Zhōu said, "I agreed." "Now go to sleep; you have to go to school tomorrow."

Mǎn Bǎo's breathing gradually became deeper. Seeing that she fell asleep in the time it took to say this, Lǎo Zhōu couldn't help but shake his head and smile. "This child is just like her father; she falls asleep as soon as she closes her eyes."

Qián Shì gave him a warning look.

Lǎo Zhōu quickly changed the subject, "I was thinking of suggesting to Dà Zhù that Dà Láng and Sān Láng engage in some physical labor." Since the Bai family is building a house, there is no need to go out. They can stay at home.

Qián Shì nodded slightly and said, "The big households are different from us." They won't be short of stones or wood, and they'll need labor for everything. There will be work until after winter.

The family needed money, and although the Bai landlord required labor for the land, it was still scarce after the autumn harvest. These days, Zhōu Dà Láng and Zhōu Sān Láng didn't have much work to do.

Originally, Qián Shì wanted his two sons to pack their bags and go to the county to engage in hard labor. Even if they couldn't earn money, at least they could secure enough food for themselves. It would save some food at home.

The Bai family building a house was a stroke of good luck.

Early the next morning, while Mǎn Bǎo was washing her face with her eyes closed, Qián Shì called her three sons and said, "You three, go with Wǔ Lǎng and let him show you what privet fruit looks like." Pick all the ripe fruits.

 Mǎn Bǎo, who was washing her face, instantly perked up and ran back to her own little bed. She pretended to take the string of privet fruit from under the bed, but actually took it from Kē Kē, and gave it to her big brother, saying, "It's like this, Big Brother." If you encounter any rare plants, flowers, or fruits in the mountains that are not found nearby, please collect them and bring them back to me.

The Zhou brothers knew that Man Bao had always liked to pull up flowers and plants. She used to go to the family's vegetable garden and pull up the young vegetables that had not yet fully grown. She had to examine everything she saw.

He looked at his mother and agreed, taking the privet fruit and leaving.

Qián Shì then said to Mǎn Bǎo, "Go eat breakfast quickly, or you'll be late for school."

Mǎn Bǎo agreed and ran to the main hall, but instead of going to the kitchen to eat, she sneaked into Zhōu Sì Láng's room.

The four, five, and six brothers lived together. Zhōu Sì Láng was already about to go out with a hoe, and Zhōu Wǔ Láng was also ready. Mǎn Bǎo whispered to him, "Wǔ Lǎng, be careful on the road." If you see any privet fruits, pick them all. "Their mother's medicine."

Zhōu Wǔ Láng didn't understand how the fruit turned into his mother's medicine overnight, but he still nodded and asked, "Mǎn Bǎo, could you please ask your friend to give us more sugar next time? A hundred pieces is a bit too little.

She said, "I plan to ask Miss Fù to introduce us to a few more customers." I believe that selling sugar baskets is more profitable than selling flower baskets. "Isn't it one penny for ten pieces of sugar?"

Mǎn Bǎo couldn't bear to spend her points like this. She still had to save money to buy medicine for her mother, so she refused, "A hundred pieces a day is not too little." Can't you sell a few less to Miss Fù? She's just one person; eating too much sugar can cause cavities. When you go to the county next time, if she still wants to buy, tell her that people with cavities are especially unattractive.

Zhōu Wǔ Láng: ... Did he want to die, or did he no longer wish to do business with the Fù family, to say such things to a girl?