The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 113 - 102: Borrowing

Chapter 113: Chapter 102: Borrowing

Ms. Qian was not willing to take a big risk, but she wasn’t averse to taking any risk at all. After weighing her options, she finally decided to take out some money to buy a flatbed cart.

The household lacked one, and since Manbao had started going to school, her opportunities to go out had become more frequent. Having a flatbed cart at home would also be convenient. Even if this business venture didn’t work out, the cart could still be used, so it wouldn’t be a loss.

However, she was not very keen on buying a large cauldron. She said, "We have a large cauldron for boiling water at home and a smaller one, which is sufficient for stewing and boiling things. If we buy another one and don’t need it later, wouldn’t that be a waste?"

She continued, "A large cauldron costs more than three hundred coins. If the business goes as well as it did today, then fine, but what if it doesn’t?"

Erlang then asked in distress, "Then what do you suggest we do? Second Sister-in-law and I can’t just go into business empty-handed, can we?"

After a moment’s thought, Ms. Qian said, "This business won’t succeed overnight. You have to first go check out the location and even greet the local constables. So, tomorrow morning go to your uncle’s house, ask to borrow a large cauldron and take along two pounds of meat. Tell them you’ll borrow it for two months, and also speak to your second uncle to ask if he can look after your uncle’s need for hot water during these two months."

Ms. Qian, always careful with money, said, "There are plenty of pots and pans in the house. Bring more of those; they can also be placed over the fire to heat."

Erlang happily agreed. As long as he had a way to get the business up and running, he wasn’t eager to spend money either.

Manbao felt it was too troublesome and discussed it with Wulang, "It’s so troublesome. We might as well take the money and buy the cauldrons for Second Brother ourselves. It’s best to buy two, a large and a small one, the small for stewing and the large for making broth."

Zhou Wulang looked at her and silently turned his back on her, ignoring her.

Manbao then insisted on sitting in front of him. Zhou Wulang clutched at his purse and said, "Don’t even think about it. Mom said it’s a waste. If we don’t do this business later, wouldn’t the items become useless?"

"If they become useless, we can sell them," Manbao said matter-of-factly. "Cleaned up, they’ll be as good as new."

Zhou Wulang looked at her with an expression reserved for fools. "Who sells a cauldron? Most families use it for a lifetime; if they are careful, it goes from grandparent to parent, from parent to child. Who would sell their family cauldron? Even if you did sell, who would buy it?"

Manbao was disbelieving. "If that’s the case, how do the people who make cauldrons live?"

Zhou Wulang was stuck for an answer, then stubbornly said, "I don’t care, I’m not paying."

"Fifth Brother, what do you need all that money for?"

Wulang’s face turned red; he looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them, then whispered to Manbao, "I want to save money to get married."

Manbao looked at Wulang in shock, scratching her head and asking, "Fifth Brother, are you thinking about getting married?"

"Not yet. But didn’t you say one should think ahead? I gave it some thought, and the next big step for me is getting married, and after that, having kids. Big Brother and Second Brother said the family is financially strapped now. Although Silang has done wrong and should be punished, my parents can’t skip his wedding. I heard Second Sister-in-law and First Sister-in-law talking; without eight taels of silver, Silang probably won’t be able to marry a good girl," Zhou Wulang confided, recalling what his brothers had said. "For such an amount of money, given our large family, we’d need to save for at least two or three years without any illnesses or disasters, and as you see, Silang, Sixth, and I are living together. If we get married, we need to build houses."

He calculated, "I reckon if the family were to build houses, they’d build mine and Sixth Brother’s together. That would require no small amount of silver. If I rely on my family to arrange my marriage, I reckon it’d be seven or eight years from now."

Manbao also counted on her fingers, finding his reasoning sound.

Wulang went on, "After seven or eight years, I’ll be over twenty. By that age, all the kids I play with could already be making vinegar. My chances of marriage would be even tougher, and the dowry would have to be even higher."

Manbao’s face showed utter astonishment.

"If my marriage is delayed, so is Sixth’s, and our family’s fortunes drag on like this, one affecting the other... how many years will it take to get ahead?" Wulang said with worry. "I reckon, if there are no major illnesses or disasters and Silang doesn’t gamble anymore, it would take at least twelve years. But twelve years from now, Datou would be twenty-one, and Daya would be twenty. Will they need to get married, will they need to find spouses?"

Manbao’s eyes widened in horror, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, "Heavens!!!" Keke, Fifth Brother can’t be right.

The system calculated and said, "Your Fifth Brother’s calculations are actually quite accurate. Based on the average income of the host’s family over the past three years, he isn’t wrong."

"Is this what you call the butterfly effect? Just because Silang lost a bet, our family will never be able to get ahead?"

"Host, don’t forget, you are the second smartest person within a hundred miles. Now children study knowledge, and you still have me. Your future is immeasurable, as is your family’s," the system reassured her.

However, Manbao’s attention was elsewhere, and she retorted dissatisfiedly, "Wasn’t I the smartest person within a hundred miles? How come I’m the second smartest now?"

Keke cleared its throat in imitation, saying, "That’s because Bai Shan has arrived."

Manbao pouted, feeling a bit miffed. So when Zhou SiLang came back from working at the Bai family, all cheerful, Manbao started ordering him around, telling him to sweep the yard because it was dirty, then to fetch water for her bath, and even to give her a piggyback ride...

At first, SiLang was compliant, unaware of her motive, but he quickly noticed something was up and said unhappily as he put down the wooden bucket, "Manbao, are you deliberately tormenting your Silang? Don’t you know I’m tired from a day of work?"

Manbao huffed at him, saying, "I worked too. I’m tired and I earned more money than you did. When can you pay back what you owe to the family?"

Caught off guard, Silang hoisted her onto his shoulders and yelled, "Alright, little ancestor, just point where you want to go!"

From her lofty perch, Manbao surveyed the courtyard and the road outside, immediately perking up. She grabbed his hand with one hand and pointed forward with the other, declaring triumphantly, "Ahead, I want to go out and play, giddy-up!"

Old Zhou glanced at his daughter and asked Zhou WuLang, "Will Manbao go with you again tomorrow?"

Wulang really hoped Manbao would go; even if she did nothing and just sat there, he felt much more at ease. So he nodded repeatedly.

Old Zhou then asked, "Has she finished her writing assignment?"

Zhou WuLang wouldn’t know; he hadn’t seen the third child pick up a pen all day. He replied a bit guiltily, "She should be nearly done, I guess."

Old Zhou decreed, "Then she can go again tomorrow, but the day after she must stay home and concentrate on her writing. What kind of scholar is always running about outside?"