Same Price

After receiving the money, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang wanted to go and see the cotton, cloth, and various seeds. As for the remaining pile of yams, they decided to take them back, wash them clean, cut them as Dr. Zheng had instructed, dry them, and then take them to the medicine shop.

Man Bao felt it was too much trouble, but since the shopkeeper uncle said that wealthy families would use it for medicinal meals, she went to fetch Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother to go to the county yamen.

Waving to Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang, she said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, take your time and don't worry about us."

Zhou Dalang knew that Fifth and Sixth Brothers were already familiar with the county town, so he didn't worry about them. He instructed them to take care of a few small things and then left with Zhou Erlang.

Man Bao insisted on leaving the cart and yams behind and curiously followed Fifth Brother to the county yamen.

She had never been to the county yamen before, so she insisted on not going to the Fu family's back door. Instead, she insisted that Fifth Brother push her to the main entrance of the county yamen.

To be honest, Fifth Brother had never been close to the county yamen before. When he came to sell sugar to Miss Fu Er, he always went directly to the back door.

At the gate of the county yamen, there were two guards, and a tall stone wall adorned with numerous notices stood beside it.

Since starting school, Man Bao has had to study a word for a long time whenever she saw one outside, let alone seeing so many words now.

Despite Fifth Brother's attempts to stop her, she climbed down from the cart and ran up to look at the notices.

The two yamen guards at the gate turned to look, and Fifth Brother reluctantly caught up, muttering softly, "Man Bao, little ancestor, shall we go home and play?" "Didn't you want to go find Miss Fu Er?"

Man Bao ignored him and, standing on tiptoe, read the notice on the stone wall word by word: "In the fifth year of Wenzhi, from the twenty-second day of the tenth month to the twenty-first day of the eleventh month, a total of thirty days, it is necessary to build two water conservancy projects in Baima Town, level the official road from the town to the county…"

As she read, she felt that something was wrong and counted on her fingers, "Isn't next month October?"

"Yes, what's the matter?" Fifth Brother obviously didn't understand.

Man Bao pointed to the last line of the notice, "One household, one laborer, must not be mistaken, and must serve."

Fifth Brother was stunned. He looked at the notice, picked up Man Bao, and left.

Man Bao lay on his shoulder and waved goodbye to the two curious yamen guards at the door. She even chatted with her Fifth Brother, "Fifth Brother, who in our family is going to serve?"

Fifth Brother muttered, "According to the rules, it's Third Brother's turn this year."

Sixth Brother, who was guarding the cart, didn't know what was being said on the other side of the stone wall. Seeing Fifth Brother's displeased expression, he asked Man Bao in a low voice, "Did you upset Fifth Brother?"

"I didn't, I'm so well-behaved!" Man Bao retorted.

Sixth Brother didn't say anything; he silently pushed the cart to the back door of the county yamen.

Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother used to come every day, but now they only visit every few days. The little servants at the back door have already become familiar with them.

Sixth Brother skillfully handed them a few candies, and soon a maid came out with a purse.

She saw Man Bao and exclaimed, "Why did the young lady of the Zhou family come in person this time?"

Man Bao looked at her curiously, and the maid smiled and said, "Young lady, don't you remember me?" When you bought the flower basket, I was with my young lady in the carriage. My name is Qiuyue.

Man Bao immediately asked, "Doesn't she have a sister named Chunhua?"

Qiuyue couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're right, our young lady's courtyard does have a sister named Chunhua." What kind of candy did you bring this time? Just so you know, if it's not good, we won't accept it.

Fifth Brother smiled and gave her a candy, whispering, "It's delicious, different from last time; it's new."

Qiuyue ate it and asked, "Don't you have it at other houses?"

"No, I came to your house first after receiving it." "I thought Miss Er is a regular customer and she is generous, so she should try it first before giving it to others."

Sixth Brother was accustomed to Fifth Brother's smooth talk, but the others, including the big boss and the head maid, gazed at him with admiration, marveling at Uncle Five's remarkable skill of talking nonsense with his eyes wide open.

Man Bao agreed and even showed Qiuyue a yam, "We have something good, and we always think of Miss Er first." After all, we have a customer relationship with others, but not with Miss Er. Look, this is the yam we dug from a high mountain. Do you know what a yam is?

The little maid shook her head as she didn't know.

In a poverty-stricken county like Luojiang, coming across wild items such as yams was a stroke of luck. Whether the Fu family could purchase them after they were dug up was also a matter of chance. How could the little girl know?

Man Bao explained to her that yams could be used as a medicinal ingredient and as food. They are warm and sweet, good for invigorating the spleen and replenishing qi, making them best suited for the elderly, women, and children.

If you don't believe it, you can ask the doctor. After all, the manager at Jishi Hall, Mr. Zheng, said it was good, so why not buy some for your family?

In the end, the young maid Qiuyue didn't even have time to buy the candy; instead, she was given two candies and a yam.

It wasn't until she hurried back to the courtyard that she came to her senses. She wanted to leave, but Chunhua saw her, so she could only go in with a red face to report to the young lady.

Man Bao, Fifth, and Sixth Brothers squatted outside the back door, waiting.

Fifth Brother said to her, "We should wait for her to buy the candy before recommending the yam."

"The value of candy is nothing compared to the yam." Fifth Brother, you calculate that one hundred candies only amount to one hundred wen, but a yam costs twenty wen per catty.

"One catty is the price of dried yams."

"Isn't it almost the same?"

"It's far from being the same." Look at the snow-covered grass. We pulled a yard of it, and when it was fresh, a handful weighed a catty. After drying, the catty weighed less than two liang. Do you think it's the same?

Fifth Brother was about to have a detailed discussion with his sister when suddenly the back door opened, and a woman in an apron came out with a stern face, asking, "Who said there's yam for sale?"

"Me, me!" Man Bao immediately raised her hand to point out the yams on the cart.

The woman glanced at her and then looked at the yams. She found that they were similar in quality to the ones Qiuyue had brought to the kitchen, so she nodded and said, "Okay, we'll take them all."

Man Bao said, "I want to leave one."

The woman frowned and looked at Fifth Brother, "Since we're taking all of them, you can't sell them to others, can you?"

Fifth Brother lowered his head to coax Man Bao.

"I want to leave one for you to eat, to stew with meat, so you can be healthy," Man Bao said.

Fifth Brother immediately bowed to the woman and said, "Madam, my mother is unwell, and my sister is concerned about her." "How about this: the one Qiuyue just brought in will be considered a gift from us, we'll leave one here, and the rest will be sold to you, okay?"

The woman looked at Man Bao unexpectedly but didn't pursue it. As long as they didn't sell them to others, it was fine. She nodded and asked, "How much?"

Man Bao blinked at her, "Twenty wen per catty."

The woman didn't hesitate and nodded, "Okay."

Fifth Brother and the others were stunned. How could fresh and dried yams have the same price?