The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 408 - 397: Argument (Extra - as a reward for the book friend "Jinyiwei: Rongrong")

Chapter 408: Chapter 397: Argument (Extra Chapter as a reward for the book friend "Jinyiwei: Rongrong")

Mr. Zhuang quickly asked, "Where did you get your seeds from?"

Bai Shanbao yawned and said, "We bought them from Manbao’s family. She said their seeds are good and even gave us a little discount, but there wasn’t really any discount. Manor Head Bai said they were as expensive as those from the grain stores in the county town."

Manbao was not pleased. She stopped trying to sleep, climbed out of bed, and said, "Well, doesn’t that mean I’ve provided home delivery? Plus, it was my sister-in-law who helped to distribute the seeds. Would a grain store in the county town do that for you?"

Bai Shanbao said gloomily, "This year’s seeds are three times more expensive than last year’s."

"Exactly," Manbao wasn’t the least bit ashamed, instead she put her hands on her hips and continued, "That’s why, after selling so many seeds, I don’t even have noodles to eat. Now, the steamed buns we eat at home are made with bran mixed in."

Manbao did have many leftover grains in her system, but she couldn’t just wave her hand and make those grains appear, nor could she eat the raw grains. She could only sneak a few handfuls of grain into the storage bags when nobody was looking, daring not to take too much at once.

Once, she added a bit too much, and her mother became quite surprised, wondering how the grain bag seemed never to empty, yet somehow had more than before.

Keke then strictly forbade her from adding more than a couple of handfuls every now and then, making Manbao wonder how long it would take to add all that grain.

So Manbao was worried. She became anxious whenever the topic of exchanging seeds came up, feeling that she would never again buy seeds from future folks to get new ones.

Wouldn’t it be better to just exchange seeds directly?

It was a pity no one was interested in her seeds.

Manbao sighed.

Yet Bai Shanbao was extremely stingy. The financial matters of their small farm were under his control, mainly because when they bought seeds, farming tools, and various other things in the spring, they spent a lot of money. His grandmother probably thought they were spending too much and directly allocated him a sum to manage on his own.

Now, without any income and paying daily wages to casual laborers, in addition to buying food for them, he felt enormous pressure, alright?

Bai Shanbao felt relieved that a month ago they had planted a lot of vegetables in the fields in front of the mountain, so they didn’t need to buy vegetables, or else his heart would ache even more.

Although Manbao liked money as well, she never hesitated to spend it, mainly because the money wasn’t in her hands nor was it hers to manage, so she didn’t feel any pain over it.

The two couldn’t understand each other, leading to an immediate argument.

Mr. Zhuang, who was originally concerned about the seed issue, lost interest when he saw the dispute, and moved to the very edge of the kang bedwooden bed, contentedly watching their back-and-forth quarrel.

Bai Erlang, who had already been asleep, woke up from the noise but didn’t open his eyes, pretending to sleep. As their argument intensified, he couldn’t help but get up and shout, "Stop arguing!"

The two of them stopped and looked at him.

Bai Erlang, angered, said, "Is it not just about money? My father has it. I’ll ask him for it later. How much do you need?"

"No way!" Bai Shanbao and Manbao immediately refused in unison.

Bai Shanbao said, "This is our matter. We’ve already established a contract. How can we go against it?"

Manbao also said, "And we’re not short on money right now. Even if we were, we should borrow it, not ask for it."

Bai Erlang then yelled, "Then why are you arguing? In the middle of the day when you could be sleeping—what’s there to argue about?"

"This isn’t an argument. We are clearly discussing how to save money," Bai Shanbao retorted defiantly.

"That’s right," Manbao chimed in, "How can a family become prosperous? By increasing income and reducing expenses. We haven’t harvested yet and have no income, so we have to cut costs. And you’re supposed to be the head of the farm, yet you don’t worry at all! Freeloading is the most shameful thing!"

Bai Shanbao emphasized as well, "Freeloading is the most shameful thing!"

Bai Erlang was left speechless, unable to argue or fight back. He huffed, turned away, and ignored them.

However, Manbao and Bai Shanbao reached a consensus, "From now on, let’s be more frugal."

Bai Erlang couldn’t help but turn back and say, "What’s there to save? The time for spending money has passed. Once we harvest our wheat, won’t we start making money?"

"We can’t sell this batch of wheat," Manbao said, "It needs to be saved for food, and we’ll need more to feed casual workers later on."

But Bai Shanbao had a different suggestion, "We can’t eat that much. Right now, grain is expensive. We should take the opportunity to sell some, and when the summer harvest brings prices down, we can buy some back."

Manbao, however, thought grain was more important than money. She argued, "Grain can always be turned into money, but money can’t always be turned into grain."

"We can’t eat so much, why keep so much grain?" Bai Shanbao countered, "We have to take advantage of the high grain prices to make money. Otherwise, once the summer and fall harvests come in, grain won’t be worth much."

Bai Erlang looked from one to the other, silently not saying a word.

Manbao thought for a moment and realized that the situation was indeed different for their farm compared to her family’s.

Her family always saved most of the grain they harvested, only selling some when they really needed the money.

But clearly, their farm didn’t need that much grain.

Manbao asked, "How do we sell it?"

"Sell it directly to the grain shops," was the reply.

Having followed her brothers to sell grain a few times, Manbao knew that grain shops generally offered lower prices than outside merchants. So she asked, "Who usually buys your family’s grain?"

Bai Shanbao shook his head, "I don’t know."

Bai Erlang said, "I know, my family sells to Uncle Wu."

He had been with his father to meet Uncle Wu several times. Uncle Wu always brought him tasty candies and even gave him toys.

Manbao’s eyes sparkled as she said to him, "When Uncle Wu comes to buy grain again, remember to introduce us to him."

Bai Erlang patted his chest and said, "No problem!"

Mr. Zhuang had been watching and listening with a smile, and when they finished their discussion without arguing any further, he continued to ask, "Manbao, where do your family’s seeds come from?"

"They are harvested," Manbao said, "Every year, my parents pick the best wheat spikes to use as seeds."

"But clearly, this much seed grain didn’t just come from selection. It shows your family’s wheat is also good. Were your wheat crops better than others’ in previous years?"

"Yes," Manbao could confidently nod her head and said, "They were better because we were meticulous with the care, weeding diligently and applying plenty of fertilizer."

Mr. Zhuang nodded. At that time, he was unaware that the entire Qili Village had exchanged for wheat seeds from the Zhou Family, and that this year, the per-acre yield of winter wheat in Qili Village increased almost twice compared to other villages.

Even the villagers of Qili Village themselves did not know.

After all, who would weigh the produce? Even if they did this year, no one had weighed every acre in previous years. They just estimated how many bundles of wheat an acre could produce, and feeling joy at a good harvest was enough for them.