The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 393 - 382: To Help

Chapter 393: Chapter 382: To Help

The villagers who were all ears also got startled and after a while, someone exclaimed, "My goodness, if someone were to take a loan for two oxen, the interest in three years would be enough to marry a wife."

Manbao said, "Doesn’t marrying a wife require fifty taels of silver? This is only three thousand four hundred wen."

"Oh boy, do you think every girl’s family demands fifty taels of silver? For families of poorer circumstances, a dowry of a hundred wen, and the rest spent on the wedding banquet, you’d actually save a lot from the three thousand four hundred wen. My goodness, the interest on borrowing two oxen is three thousand four hundred wen, is the County Governmental Office robbing us?"

Manbao: "...The figure is that in three years, but why would you wait three years to pay it back? Wouldn’t it be okay to pay it back after half a year?"

"Whether the heavens give us a meal this year is still uncertain, and you dare to casually spend four taels of silver?" Old Zhou said leisurely, "If heaven doesn’t show favor, no matter how much land we cultivate, it’s for naught. If we can’t even feed ourselves, let alone the massive debt looming over us, wouldn’t that be deadly?"

"Yes, yes," the villagers echoed Old Zhou’s words, "we can’t take such risks."

Thus, those who were originally tempted immediately lost their enthusiasm. The Land Officer knew this would happen. When he received the news yesterday, he first talked about it in Dali Village, and not a single family was willing to take the loan.

Zhou Hu also began to hesitate. He squeezed out of the crowd to find Manbao, and saw that she had already listened to the proclamation and was walking back behind her father with her hands clasped behind her back.

An elder and a child, one clutching a tobacco pipe and hands behind his back, the other looking up with their neck craned and hands behind their back.

Zhou Hu hurriedly caught up with them, pulled her aside, and asked in a low voice, "Manbao, are you still going to take the loan?"

Manbao nodded, "Of course I am. I believe I can repay it."

Zhou Hu hesitated, fearing just as Uncle Jin said, that if heaven didn’t show favor, he really wouldn’t be able to repay it this year.

No, even if heaven showed favor, he might not be able to repay it this year, and at least not until next year.

But having an ox would make things much more convenient for his family. Without even mentioning anything else, he could plow the fields by himself without needing to ask for help from the Zhou brothers.

Zhou Hu hesitated, and seeing his indecision, Manbao whispered in his ear, "Let’s go to town tomorrow to take a look, maybe we’ll find a way to wipe out this year’s interest."

Zhou Hu looked at her in surprise, "How can you wipe it away?"

Manbao smiled like a little fox, "You’ll know when the time comes."

With that, she ran off to catch up with her father.

Zhou was nearly home when he saw his daughter rushing back. He asked, "What did you talk to Zhou Hu about for so long?"

Manbao suddenly remembered she hadn’t told her dad about her plans to take a loan for the ox, and so she said, "Dad, I’m going to the county town tomorrow, and I’ll bring back a big present for you."

Zhou, with a chuckle, asked, "What kind of present?"

"It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you."

"Alright, you go," Zhou said, never forbidding her from going to the county town, "Your Second Brother is going to the county to sell tofu and bamboo baskets tomorrow, let your Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother go with you. It’s getting colder, and they have nothing to do at home anyway."

Manbao agreed.

Vegetables were scarce in spring. Ms. Qian and Junior Ms. Qian had just sown the seeds not long ago, and they were just beginning to sprout. Because of the cold spring, they carefully covered them with some straw, planning to remove the straw once the cold snap passed.

So, apart from dried and pickled vegetables, wild greens from the fields were all they had at home.

Manbao didn’t like wild greens that much, always finding them too bitter.

Of course, if Junior Ms. Qian cooked them, she could still manage to eat them.

Ms. Qian guessed that people in the city were also lacking vegetables now. So, she bundled several bundles of wild greens harvested by Datou and others and put them in the bamboo basket, telling Zhou ErLang to try selling them in town the next day.

"Sell them if you can, if not, bring them back. We’ll eat them ourselves."

Zhou SiLang was quite disdainful, "Are we really going to bring back these few wild greens to eat? We can just go out and find more in the fields."

"Do you think wild greens are easy to find now?" Ms. Qian smacked him and shooed him away, "These days many families in the village rely more on wild greens than on bread. They are searching desperately for wild greens, and only our family has so many children to fetch more."

Zhou nodded, "That’s right. So starting tomorrow, our family will eat watery meals three times a day. We’re not working the fields anymore, so why eat so much?"

Zhou glanced at Junior Ms. Qian and instructed, "When you make noodle soup, add more water and use less noodles."

Junior Ms. Qian complied.

Zhou looked at his grandsons and granddaughters squatting in the yard, writing, and thought for a moment. "Make more tofu tomorrow, and save some for the family too. It’s not expensive and tastes good. Don’t we still have a lot of beans?"

"Then I’ll soak more beans tonight."

Zhou nodded, satisfied, and crouched to the side, fondling his old tobacco pipe.

The next day, Manbao had tofu brain, steamed eggs, and then a small half-bowl of noodle soup.

She was all grown up now, and thanks to her recent exercises, she could walk all the way from Qili Village to the county town by herself.

Zhou Hu was waiting at the village entrance early in the morning. He followed the Zhou brothers when they arrived and even helped Zhou Er push the cart.

Zhou Er only then learned that Zhou Hu was also heading to the county town and curiously asked, "Is your sister-in-law out of medicine?"

"No, I’m going to town to inquire about the ox loan."

He thought Manbao was right; he had to see for himself in town. If there really was a way to offset this year’s interest, he was even more inclined to take the loan.

Zhou Er was surprised, "You’re thinking of taking a loan for an ox?"

Zhou Hu was more surprised, "Isn’t your family doing the same?"

Zhou Er almost tipped the cart over into the ditch. His eyes widened as he turned his head to look at Manbao.

Manbao proudly said, "Correct, that’s the big present I’m bringing home to the family. Second Brother, think of how much careful ploughing we can do with our own ox!"

Zhou Er hesitated, "But this is a big deal. Have you talked to mom and dad about it?"

Zhou Si was already excited, "Why bother telling him? If we tell dad, we surely won’t get to do it. I think getting an ox is great. With one, we won’t have to pull the plough, and it’s much faster. If it wasn’t for dad being in charge at home, I would’ve wanted to take the loan."

Zhou Er glared at him, "What if we can’t repay it? It’s about three or four taels of silver!"

Zhou Si thought for a moment then said to Manbao, "Don’t be scared, Manbao. Worst comes to worst, when I sell the ginger from my field in autumn and winter, I’ll chip in for you."

Manbao got excited and quickly nodded, "Okay, I’ll remember that, Fourth Brother. But you all don’t need to worry, I’ve already discussed it with Shanbao. We’ve also earmarked a piece of land to plant ginger, right by the ditch. The soil is fertile, it drains well and is convenient for irrigation. It’s about two acres. Once we fully plant ginger there, we’ll surely make a good sum of money."