Communication
However, even though the officials do not collect taxes, preaching still needs to be done, and the responsibility for preaching falls on the village head.
It is just the same old story: the autumn taxes must be paid by the end of October. Although there are nearly two months left, paying early will naturally bring peace of mind.
The Zhou family had already prepared the grain tax and packed it in bags, ready to be transported in carts and baskets.
This year, they had a cart, which made things a little easier compared to previous years.
For safety on the road, the village transports all the grain together. In previous years, only the village head's family had a cart, while other families had to carry the grain in baskets to the county. Some families, due to having fewer members, had to hire donkey or ox carts for transportation; otherwise, they might not be able to finish transporting the grain even after two or three trips.
With many male members in the Zhou family, Zhou Dalang took his three younger brothers, and one person carrying two baskets was just about enough.
Last year, Zhou Silang went to the county in this manner. At that time, he had just finished assisting the Bai family and had not yet received his wages. He took the grain to the county and, unable to resist, handed it to his three brothers to look after before going off on his own. This carelessness cost the Zhou family dearly.
This year, Qian Shi and Lao Zhou did not want Man Bao to go to the county, but he insisted. Furthermore, she also pledged to keep a close watch on him. Qian Shi thought about it and felt that there was no harm in being vigilant, so she let Zhou Silang go. She also wanted to see if this boy would not gamble.
With the cart, the Zhou family did not have to carry the burden, but pushing the cart on the mountain road was still very tiring. So, Zhou Dalang thought of taking Wulang with him, and they would take turns. Since both the fourth and sixth brothers were going, it was better to leave this heavy work to the fourth brother.
Zhou Silang and San Ge pushed the cart up the hill, and then Zhou Erlang took over. "Alright, Eldest Brother and I will take over from here."
Zhou Silang: ... They must be intentional.
As the cart sped up going downhill, Man Bao sat on it and happily exclaimed, not paying attention to her fourth brother.
When they arrived at the county, they split up at the city gate. Zhou Dalang, Zhou Erlang, and Zhou Sanlang went to queue up to pay taxes, while Zhou Silang and the others went to sell items.
With two baskets of ginger, Man Bao took them directly to Jisitang.
The shopkeeper, Zheng, from Jisitang, was also behind the counter. He had been communicating with Man Bao for the past six months.
Yes, it was about communication. In fact, it was Man Bao who wrote to him first. He absentmindedly replied, and this exchange of messages turned them into pen pals.
Every time Zhou Erlang or Zhou Wulang visited the county, they would deliver a letter to him and return with a letter from him. Although they were not far apart and could communicate through Zhou Erlang or Zhou Wulang, they were accustomed to writing letters. It was a very strange experience.
Before the autumn harvest, Zhou Wulang came to the county to sell sugar and sent a letter to the shopkeeper Zheng. In the letter, he mentioned that the ginger she had grown was ready to be harvested and inquired if he was interested in purchasing it.
Today, Man Bao brought ginger to the shopkeeper Zheng as a gift, not to sell it to him. Then she recommended, "Zheng, if your patients want to buy ginger for tea, remember to tell them that my family has a lot of fresh ginger, which is the spiciest and best for making tea."
The shopkeeper, Zheng, accepted her gift of ginger and nodded, saying, "I was just about to tell you that our pharmacy is going to bring in a batch of dried ginger." Why don't you leave about ten catties of old ginger to dry for me? I can see that the quality of your ginger is good. "If it's all the same, I'll give you sixty wen per catty for the dried ginger."
Zhou Xi was pleasantly surprised and clenched her hands, while Man Bao responded casually, "Alright."
Then the shopkeeper, Zheng, took her out of the back door of the pharmacy and knocked on the door next door. An eighteen- or nineteen-year-old young man opened the door, and the shopkeeper, Zheng, smiled and said, "Here, this is the young man I mentioned to you." His family runs a grocery store, and he also sells goods while traveling the streets as a hawker. Selling your ginger to him is the best.
The young man greeted Zhou Silang with a smile and then looked at Man Bao, laughing, "Your sister is really cute."
Man Bao also grinned and said, "I think so too." Brother Xiaoding, how much money can you offer for our ginger?
Xiaoding glanced at Zhou Silang and Zhou Xi, noticing that they didn't mind Man Bao speaking, and replied, "Thirty-five wen per catty, including the leaves."
He continued, "Many ginger roots are ready for harvest now, but your quality is exceptional, so I'm willing to offer this price." "I'll only make a few when I sell it, but if you're willing, you can bring a basket to the county every day."
Zhou Xi asked, "Can you sell this much every day?"
Xiaoding smiled and said, "There are many wealthy families in the county, and they all use ginger for cooking and tea." "Ginger is a seasoning, unlike us country folks who only have meat and tea on holidays and can't afford to drink tea, so it seems rare to us."
Zhou Xi immediately stopped asking more questions.
Man Bao then pulled Zhou Silang aside and whispered to him, "I asked the shopkeeper Zheng, and now the ginger prices have gone up." "They are selling for between forty and fifty wen in the market." "If you don't have time to come and sell it yourself, I think selling it to him is the best option."
Zhou Silang was reluctant to give up the five to ten wen difference and whispered, "We can earn a lot from a catty."
Man Bao didn't mind, "Mother won't agree to let you come to the county alone, and Bai Lao Ye's family has work to do, so you have to go and work."
This was really not good news. Zhou Silang lowered his head and said, "Alright, let's sell it, but we'll only sell one basket today, and we'll take the rest to the market ourselves."
Man Bao agreed.
After consulting with Zhou Xi, the two siblings gave him half a basket of ginger, weighed it, and received the payment. Zhou Xi took the money and followed them out, looking dazed.
Zhou Silang took the remaining ginger to the market, and Zhou Xi followed.
But Man Bao put some in another basket and planned to find another friend.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Silang decided not to set up a stall and simply collected the ginger, remarking, "Perhaps it's a significant customer." "I'll go with you."
Zhou Wulang sneered, "There are so many people here." What if we scare the young lady?
Zhou Xi quickly asked, "Which young lady?" "Are the people buying vegetables usually adults?"
"It's the young lady from the county magistrate's family." Man Bao promised to bring her something nice, and they agreed to meet at the bookstore. Last time, Zhou Wulang helped deliver the letter. Because they had to rush for the autumn harvest, Zhou Wulang sold a hundred pieces of sugar to Miss Fu Er and advised her to savor them slowly.
Zhou Wulang was impressed by Miss Fu Er's strong teeth, as she had consumed a lot of sugar without any issues.