The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 158 - 147: Asking Around

Chapter 158: Chapter 147: Asking Around

The Chief was about to leave when he suddenly met Manbao’s eyes, his steps involuntarily catching before he stopped and asked, "Is this your little girl?"

Manbao lifted her small face and flashed him a sweet smile, prompting the Chief to subconsciously respond with a slight smile of his own.

Old Zhou’s heart skipped a beat as he answered and pulled Manbao over, whispering, "Quick, call him Chief Grandpa."

Manbao’s crisp voice called out, "Hello, Chief Grandpa!"

The Chief couldn’t help but break into a smile, the wrinkles on his face bunching together; he stretched out his somewhat withered hand to touch her small head and said with a laugh, "Good, good..."

As the Chief left with his entourage to collect money from the next household, Manbao touched her own small head and looked up at her dad, "Why does everyone like to touch my head?"

Manbao’s hair was fluffy; because it was getting cold, she hadn’t had her head shaved in several months, and now her hair was nearly covering her ears, soft and cuddly. Old Zhou also touched her head upon hearing her question and said with a smile, "Because our Manbao is adorable."

Now Manbao was delighted, her smile filled with joy, then she turned to say farewell to Zhou Silang.

Zhou Silang had brought all his clothing with him, Junior Ms.Qian had made him two pairs of thick shoes, and Manbao had prepared a full pack of candies for him, saying, "Silang, if you get hungry, just eat some candy. Don’t worry, I will have Dalang and the others come find you tomorrow and cook some meat soup for you. But I think ginger soup is better than meat soup, so I will cook ginger soup for you instead."

"No!" Zhou Silang rejected the idea without a second thought, "Sanlang still gets to eat meat soup, and I should only have ginger soup?"

He had tried it before and it wasn’t tasty at all.

Manbao coaxed him like a child, "Silang, ginger soup is good for dispelling cold. Dalang even said that building the river dam requires standing in the water, and besides, ginger is more expensive than meat."

Zhou Silang retorted, "I just like to eat the cheap stuff, I don’t want the expensive things."

Manbao pondered over the taste of ginger soup and nodded in agreement; what a coincidence, she felt the same way.

Zhou Silang was set to assemble that very day to join the other able-bodied men from the village to go to Jiangding Village, where it was said that the County Governmental Office had already purchased a batch of materials and construction was to begin the next day.

Jiangding Village wasn’t far from Qili Village—closer than heading to the county town, at least. It was in the opposite direction from the county town, and about a forty-five-minute walk upstream would get you there.

Qili Village was a small one, with just over sixty households, so the local Chief was from Dali Village, looking after not only these sixty or so households but also about thirty households in Dali Village. Because Dali Village was larger, with two Chiefs emerging from there, the big market held every few days was set up in Dali Village.

The situation in Jiangding Village was similar to that in Dali Village, with about a hundred households directly under the jurisdiction of a Chief, and the smaller surrounding villages were also accustomed to heading to Jiangding Village to trade and market.

Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang had gone ahead to inspect the broken section of the dam, located about three miles upstream from Jiangding Village. That area had no residences, so naturally, there were no vendors.

However, Zhou Erlang felt that if they set up their stalls there, people would certainly follow, for it was too close to Jiangding Village.

That might diminish their advantage.

So, after discussing together, the brothers decided to build a temporary shelter near the riverbank. Not only would it be good for business and securing a spot, but they could also sleep there at night to guard their goods.

The weather was not yet very cold, so they thought it would be fine.

Having engaged in the laboring trade once before, the brothers felt quite confident in this business and were not as restrained as they had been the previous year.

Zhou and Ms.Qian didn’t stop them and let them go ahead with their plan.

Thus, Manbao, together with Zhou Wulang, went to discuss with Zhou Dalang, "Big Brother, ginger soup is even better than meat soup, do you want us to cook some and sell it to you at a low price?"

Zhou Dalang was surprised, "We have to buy?"

"Of course," Manbao declared as a matter of course, "Silang still owes money to the household. If you don’t buy and we run out of ginger in the field, then what will he repay with?"

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Dalang saw the sense in her words. Thinking that boiling a pot of ginger soup wouldn’t require too much ginger, he nodded and said, "Okay then, how much will you sell it to us?"

"I asked Silang, and he said thirty wen would be fine."

Neither Zhou Dalang nor Zhou Erlang had any objections; after all, the money paid to Silang would still end up with the household—it was just passing through an extra pair of hands.

So never mind thirty wen, they were fine even with forty wen.

As for the money Wulang and the others had entrusted with her... Zhou Dalang looked around and then, picking up Manbao, quietly asked, "Manbao, can you quietly tell Big Brother how much money Wulang and the others have saved with you?"

Manbao covered her mouth, mumbling, "I promised them, not to tell you."

"Just whisper it to Big Brother, and I won’t tell," he coaxed.

Manbao couldn’t help but lower her hand and said, "The teacher said, once a secret passes the ears of a third person, it’s not a secret anymore, so I won’t tell you."

Zhou Dalang: "..."

If she wouldn’t tell, then so be it. After all, he would know in a year or two anyway.

What Zhou Dalang really wanted to know about Wulang and their savings was because Old Zhou had mentioned that once they had completed this round of labor service, they would build a new house and start arranging for Silang’s marriage.

After all, now that Silang had come of age, getting married would help him shoulder the responsibilities of a family.

This year had gone unexpectedly smoothly, and the family had earned money much faster than in previous years, so they had enough funds to build the house. It was just that Silang’s marriage costs might still be short.

While thinking about these matters, Zhou Dalang joined Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang in heading to Jiangding Village to claim a spot and set up a simple grass shelter. Then, they started planning their business.

Those who had bought their soups and dishes during last year’s labor service immediately recognized what they were about to do, while a large portion had no idea yet.

Even the officials sent to supervise the work site were curious. When they heard that Zhou Dalang intended to do business there, they couldn’t help but laugh, "Isn’t everyone here for labor? What business could you possibly do?"

Zhou Dalang explained with a smile, "It’s just to provide everyone with warm soup. It’s not worth much, but as the days are getting colder and everyone is working in the water, we thought of boiling some meat soup, ginger soup to warm everyone up. My brother is among them as well."

"Oh? Which one is he?"

When Zhou Dalang showed them which one was Zhou Silang, the officials burst into laughter, "This slick talker is your brother? I know him well; he often goes to our area to sell ginger. What, does your family have so much ginger you can’t eat it all, so you brought it here to make soup?"

Zhou Silang mainly sold his goods near the County Governmental Office and the nearby affluent neighborhoods, so the officials naturally recognized him.

Although they didn’t live there, their office work and main patrolling areas were there—so it was only a matter of time before they got to know him quite well.

Zhou Silang’s eloquence had won him quite a few friends during this time, with whom he was now quite close. Therefore, when he came to serve his labor, he was directly assigned to work on the shore, carrying stones and shoveling