The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 395 - 384: Buying on Credit

Chapter 395: Chapter 384: Buying on Credit

Manbao and the others were not the first to crowd around; in fact, there were already quite a few people outside the straw shed looking at the cattle.

But most were just neighbors joining the hubbub, none daring to enter the shed, fearful that the County Governmental Office would make them take the cattle they looked at on credit.

So when Zhou Silang and his group pulled out their household registration to enter, the clerk who had set up a desk at the entrance of the shed glanced at them and asked, "Are you all from one family?"

Zhou Hu hurriedly took out his own registration and said, "No, I’m from another household."

The clerk made a note and waved them in with his hand, saying, "Alright, go in."

Everyone immediately entered.

Inside the shed, there were only cattle, along with a cattle hand in charge of them.

Seeing the four men looking around as they walked, clearly not experts, he leaned against a cow and asked, "Do you know how to select cattle?"

Manbao nodded slightly, while both Zhou brothers from the Zhou family shook their heads in unison.

The cattle hand looked curiously at Manbao, who had nodded, and asked, "You know how?"

Manbao, having decided to take cattle on credit, had examined the cattle at the farm and even consulted Manor Head Bai, who was present at the time they bought cattle. Now, her belly was full of tricks of the trade.

So Manbao proudly lifted her chin and said, "Of course I know. To evaluate cattle, you first look at the teeth. The best are around four years old, so you need to see if they have grown permanent corner incisors."

The cattle hand nodded, affirming she was correct.

Manbao grew even prouder and continued, "You also look at the hooves. Good hooves are big and properly aligned, with dense, hard hoof material."

"Not bad, not bad," the cattle hand said with a smile, "Young miss, why don’t you pick one out and see if there’s one that catches your eye?"

Manbao blinked and looked at the cattle lined up on both sides. She was a bit perplexed. Indeed, Manor Head Bai had said that, and she had remembered it, even peeking at the teeth inside a cow’s mouth. But what kind of teeth counted as milk teeth, and what kind indicated the permanent teeth that had grown in after shedding?

The cattle hand immediatly knew she was clueless, and he burst out laughing. He thought so; how could a child who looked only seven or eight years old know how to select cattle?

"Alright, I’ll help you choose. You want castrated bulls, right? These few here are all good," he said.

As Manbao followed where he pointed, she noticed the cattle he indicated with glossy, shiny fur, and their eyes were lively.

Manbao saw bamboo tags hanging on their necks and couldn’t help but go forward to take a look, discovering them marked with the character "one." She then asked, "What are these tags for?"

"To differentiate the quality of the cattle; the prices are all set. Whichever one you choose, just flip it to see its number, then take it to inquire about the price. This is the highest grade of castrated bull and also the most expensive bunch."

Manbao flipped it over and, sure enough, there was a string of numbers on the back.

Every head of cattle was numbered, and if you wanted to sell them, you had to report it to the County Governmental Office first. If an old cow was to be slaughtered, you also had to report it to the office. And if a cow accidentally died of sickness, you definitely needed to notify the County Governmental Office.

Manbao noted down its number and asked, "Then do you know how much this cow costs?"

The cattle hand said with a smile, "Of course I know. I’ve memorized the price of every head of cattle here. This one is four taels and five hundred wen."

Zhou Hu, of course, was startled and stepped back.

Manbao hadn’t expected it to be so expensive either and, after patting it, asked, "Is there a cheaper one that’s still good?"

"That would be the next grade of castrated bulls," he explained. "If you want a four-year-old, that’s not possible. Consider a three-year-old one." Since they were the first group to come in, the cattle hand was still relatively enthusiastic about helping them.

It was mainly because the clerks sitting at the entrance to the shed didn’t want to talk to him, and aside from him, there were only cattle inside the shed. Perhaps he was accustomed to solitude, and now that he began talking about his area of expertise, he couldn’t stop.

He led the four of them around, showing the next grade of castrated bulls and listing their pros and cons before then suggesting a few they might consider...

Manbao, along with Zhou Si and Zhou Wu, huddled together to discuss and, after consulting with each other, unanimously decided on a castrated bull numbered "Luo 398."

Manbao looked up again and confirmed with the cattle hand, "This one only costs three taels and five hundred wen, right?"

"That’s correct."

Zhou Hu hesitated before also choosing a castrated bull, slightly inferior to the one the Zhou family chose, priced at three taels and two hundred wen.

He entrusted Manbao to help check the number, wrote it down, and then went to the clerks to ask about the price.

Upon hearing their prices, the clerk’s mood improved considerably. After flipping through the ledger and confirming the same prices as the cattle hand, he asked, "Do you want to take them on credit?"

Manbao nodded repeatedly and asked, "Should we first go to the County Governmental Office to borrow silver before taking the cattle?"

The clerk nodded, "Exactly."

"Then take another look, my cattle are thirty-five hundred wen, right?"

The clerk rolled his eyes and said, "It’s thirty-five hundred wen. Hurry up and borrow the silver. It’s almost time for lunch..."

Manbao immediately pulled Zhou Si to the County Governmental Office to borrow silver.

Yang Heshu was standing in the County Governmental Office, looking worried. Clearly, the day’s events were far from what he had anticipated, and he felt frustrated.

As he turned around and saw Manbao and her group enter, his eyes lit up and he beckoned with a smile, asking, "Are you here to take cattle on credit?"

"Yes," Manbao rushed to reply, "I’ve just chosen a cow, worth thirty-five hundred wen. I brought some copper coins with me, so I’d only like to borrow three taels. County Magistrate Yang, is that alright?"

"Of course, that’s fine," Yang Heshu said, beaming. "Even if you took just one tael on credit, it would be okay."

After speaking, Yang Heshu looked expectantly at Zhou Hu.

Zhou Hu’s face flushed, and he lowered his head, saying, "I, the lowly one, have also chosen a cow, for thirty-two hundred wen, so I would also like to borrow three taels."

With two heads of cattle taken on credit in one go, Yang Heshu was delighted and personally led them to the adjacent accounting office to borrow the silver.

Principal Clerk Zhang had been prepared; after standing and greeting County Magistrate Yang, he quickly verified the household information of both families. Then, he filled out the credit documents rapidly, having them sign and affix their seals.

As Manbao picked up the pen to write, Principal Clerk Zhang frowned and pushed her hand away, saying, "Doesn’t your family have a male present? It should be a male who signs."

Hearing this, without a second thought, Manbao handed the pen to Zhou Si.

Zhou Si grumbled at the inconvenience caused by Principal Clerk Zhang, but still took the pen and, with trembling care, inscribed his own name on the document.

Principal Clerk Zhang glanced at the shaky and crooked characters without much displeasure, only frowning slightly as he pushed the seal forward for Zhou Si to affix his thumbprint.

Zhou Hu’s process was much simpler. He picked up the pen and carefully drew a circle in the signatory space, then pressed his thumbprint onto it.

Principal Clerk Zhang scrutinized it once more before handing over the cut silver pieces to them, reminding, "After you take the cattle, bring the tag here to register it. If your cattle fall ill or have an accident, you must bring the tag to the County Governmental Office to report."

Zhou Si and Zhou Hu replied in unison, happily taking the silver pieces and heading out.