The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 249 - 238: Human Sentiment

Chapter 249: Chapter 238: Human Sentiment

Ms.Qian, who was about to pour all the money together, paused when she heard this. She furrowed her brows in thought, glancing at the private savings Zhou Dalang had handed over. She then took the same amount from Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang before returning the rest to them, saying, "Keep it for yourselves. Times are hard for the family; we can’t combine all the money. Five is right. When it’s time for you to discuss marriage, if the family has money, we will naturally provide for you. If not, you’ll have to use your own savings as a stopgap, and we’ll repay you when the family has the means. So, it’s important that you have your own savings."

She said, "Your eldest brother, second brother, and third brother all had their weddings funded by the family. Your fourth brother’s wedding used money from your eldest sister, which our family will repay. Naturally, the same will apply to you when you marry."

"With so many children in the family, it’s difficult to treat everyone equally, but I’ll do my best to be fair."

Zhou Wulang felt somewhat embarrassed and said, "Mother, we’re not discussing marriage right now. Let’s use the money for the family’s urgent needs first."

Ms.Qian shook her head. "It should be enough as it is. As long as you contribute as much as your eldest brother, that’s fine. When you think about it, you’re actually at a disadvantage."

Since Five and Sixth had done as they had, Ms.Qian naturally couldn’t take all of Zhou Xi’s money. She only took as much as given by Zhou Dalang and returned the rest, saying, "You are a returning daughter; you must always have some money in hand."

From the money Zhou Silang had brought out, Ms.Qian only took the copper coins, returning the rest to him, saying, "I didn’t use your elder sister-in-law’s dowry, so I certainly can’t take your wife’s dowry. Take it back."

Zhou Silang had brought the least amount of money, but he hadn’t been out earning much in the past half-year. Ms.Qian thus spoke to him, "Pay more attention, and look after your younger brothers and sisters."

Zhou Silang hung his head in shame.

Manbao’s money wasn’t much either, but Ms.Qian didn’t take it all. She grabbed a handful for Manbao to save for buying snacks, and only then took the rest.

Ms.Qian called Zhou Er, Zhou Si, Zhou Wu, and Manbao over to organize the money together. Everyone’s funds were already tied in bunches of one hundred, and the tied ones were set aside while the scattered ones were gathered to be counted and continued to be tied.

Then Ms.Qian looked at the figures tallied from the night before.

They didn’t know how to write, but they had their own methods of keeping count.

Ms.Qian said, "Eighteen people were injured. For those with minor injuries, fifty wen will suffice. For the more serious ones, we’ll need to give a hundred wen. People like Daliang and Dagu, who were kicked badly and also cut, need at least two hundred wen each..."

She had Manbao note each detail, and then calculated a total.

The total was two thousand three hundred and fifty wen. Ms.Qian breathed a sigh of relief; there was enough money.

After counting the money, she called all her sons and daughters-in-law and began to assign tasks.

Zhou Dalang was too badly hurt to leave the house. The others, led by Old Zhou and accompanied by Manbao, took the money to visit those most seriously injured. Zhou Er and Zhou Liulang were tasked with visiting those who were less severely hurt, while Zhou Sanlang and Zhou Wulang went to see those with the lightest injuries.

Ms.Qian said, "Even though you’re bringing money, you can’t show up empty-handed at someone’s home." She asked Junior Ms.Qian, "Do we have any eggs left at home?"

"I collected eleven from the henhouse this morning."

"Too few; it’s not enough," Ms.Qian said, taking some scattered copper coins from her money box and counting out seventy wen. She then took two more strings of coins and handed them to Ms.Feng, Ms.He, and Ms.Fang, saying, "Go around the village, visit every house, and see who has eggs for sale. Here is money for one hundred and eighty."

The whole village might not have that many eggs, so Ms.Qian said, "Buy however many you can find."

The three daughters-in-law agreed and hurried out.

Ms.Qian then had Junior Ms.Qian find some baskets, saying, "Put two jin of rice in each basket, and make up eighteen baskets. Some things are hard to say outright, but we need to understand that these injuries were suffered on our behalf. Show gratitude where it’s due, and ensure the proper etiquette is followed. Even if we don’t mention the favor involved, as neighbors in the same village, it’s simply the right thing to do."

Junior Ms.Qian quietly acknowledged this.

Ms.Qian spoke softly, "You needn’t worry about Eldest. Since the doctor said there’s nothing serious, he should be fine. Be more diligent these next few days, take the medicine for three days, and if it still hurts, go to the county town for a check-up. As you saw just now, we still have money left over in the family."

Junior Ms.Qian responded with a choke in her voice. Zhou Dalang had hardly slept last night, not because of the pain in his waist, which didn’t hurt when untouched and not moved, but because of his back. What hadn’t seemed like much earlier had, over time, turned into a pronounced bruise and swelling, making it uncomfortable to lie or to lean.

With him unable to sleep from the pain, Junior Ms.Qian couldn’t sleep either.

Junior Ms.Qian quickly prepared the best rice in the house, filling each basket with two cylinders of it. Only the Zhou family could afford to provide eighteen baskets of rice at once; no other household could manage such a thing.

Thus, they would make individual visits.

Summer was the season when hens loved to lay eggs, especially recently as people were catching bugs and picking snails in the fields.

The caught insects and snails, of course, weren’t just discarded; most families brought them back to feed their chickens and ducks. Insects could be fed directly, whereas snails could be boiled, the shells crushed and fed to the chickens, which was why the poultry were so keen on laying eggs lately.

Particularly with the Zhou family’s chickens, Junior Ms.Qian raised them well, with most hens happy to lay two eggs every three days; a few even managed two eggs a day.

So, after Ms.Feng and the others made their rounds, they indeed managed to buy enough eggs.

They carefully carried the eggs back in three large baskets, and then the eggs were divided among the smaller baskets, laid atop the rice.

Ten eggs per basket wasn’t much, but it was a token of intent.

Then everyone set out, basket in hand. Even the Dalv family next door, who didn’t get along well with them, received one.

Because Dalv had his arm hit by the scabbards of the attackers, and while no bones were broken, the bruising was severe. The local doctor had provided him with medicated wine for application, along with a couple of prescriptions for swelling-reduction.

Given the proximity, Zhou San and Zhou Wu were the first to visit their house.

Though they came bearing money and goods, even Ms.Zhang couldn’t refuse gracefully. She sent them off with a smiling face, and as soon as they left, she turned to demand the fifty wen from Dalv.

Dalv quickly looked to his father.

His father simply lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, saying, "You could learn from them."

Ms.Zhang was displeased, planting her hands on her hips. "Learn from who?"

"Whom do you think? This money is for Dalv’s treatment. What are you going to do with it?"

"It’s just a bruise. Cold water compresses, followed by warm ones later, should do the trick. What need is there for medicine?"

"He’s your son, and the doctor has prescribed medicine."

"Haven’t we already gotten two prescriptions? They’re paid for by their family, two should be enough."

He didn’t want to argue with her anymore and turned to his son, saying, "Keep the money for yourself. If it still hurts after the medicine is finished, go to the market and get a couple more days’ worth prescribed."

Dalv happily agreed, tucking the money into his chest.

Ms.Zhang leaned back in exasperation.

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