The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 427 - 416 Document

Chapter 427: Chapter 416 Document

He nodded with a smile, "Sure, the same price."

Manbao then smiled and squinted her eyes as she also picked up a pen ready to write the contract. Old Master Bai couldn’t help but say, "Manbao, why don’t you let Erlang do it, can Erlang write?"

Bai Erlang, of course, had practiced as well, and upon hearing this, he was eager to try.

This was the first time Old Master Bai saw an expression of genuine interest on his son’s face after asking him to do something.

Old Master Bai’s face lit up with a smile, encouraging Manbao, "Let Erlang write it."

Without a second thought, Manbao handed the pen to Bai Erlang. The contracts they had been writing over the past two days always had errors and omissions and needed constant corrections and re-copies. Manbao was tired of writing.

Bai Erlang was doing something this important in front of his father for the first time, so he was especially excited and took his task with utmost seriousness. After gripping the pen, he began to write earnestly. Having written only a short distance, he became stuck.

Then he couldn’t help but steal a glance at Manbao.

Since it was their own contract, Manbao quickly stepped forward to look and pointed out, "Leave a big space here empty, to fill in the numbers later."

That’s when Bai Erlang remembered that when writing homework assigned by their teacher, the teacher had provided the prices and quantities of goods, but this time, they did not yet have the quantity of goods.

Bai Erlang asked, "How many dou of wheat does your family have?"

"I don’t know, we’ll weigh it directly when the time comes," said Manbao. "So just write here ’twelve and a half wen per jin.’"

Bai Erlang first looked to his father.

Old Master Bai nodded contently, "Add a note later that it’s 150 wen per dou, and fill in the quantity later."

Bai Shanbao was the first to finish the contract, and he hadn’t filled in the quantity yet either. Firstly, he did not know the exact amount yet, as he would need to check the ledgers for the grain exchanged today; secondly, such a bulk sale would definitely require a separate weighing, and the precise number would be filled in then.

After Bai Shanbao finished writing, with Manbao’s guidance, Bai Erlang also completed his writing.

Old Master Bai looked over both contracts, nodding with satisfaction, "Alright, let’s set a time to weigh the grain tomorrow, and then we’ll have the transaction with cash and silver settled."

Old Master Bai smilingly asked, "Do you want silver or copper coins?"

"Silver!"

"Copper coins!"

Bai Shanbao and Manbao spoke simultaneously, with differing opinions. The two looked at each other, and Bai Shanbao said, "Silver is better, it’s easier to carry and store."

Manbao thought for a moment and then said, "But my family mostly uses copper coins, we rarely use silver blocks."

Old Master Bai smiled and said, "If you settle with silver, we’ll have to go by market rate, currently a thousand and two hundred copper coins are equivalent to one tael of silver."

Manbao quickly calculated the wheat she had at home and, after hesitating for a moment, said, "Let’s go with silver then."

It was the perfect opportunity to pay back the debt to the County Governmental Office.

Old Master Bai nodded in approval, otherwise, where would he get so many copper coins on such short notice?

And carrying so many copper coins around was also cumbersome.

Old Master Bai happily handed both contracts to Bai Er, smilingly saying, "Son, you need to make a copy of each document, why don’t you copy one out now?"

Bai Erlang, having had his chance to perform, was now less keen on writing. After glancing at the contract, he said, "Dad, let Manbao do it, she hasn’t written it yet."

Manbao, too lazy to write, said, "Your father asked you to write it, and besides, you can practice your penmanship; isn’t that great?"

"Just so," Old Master Bai stuffed the contract into his chest, saying, "Write quickly, haven’t you seen how dark it is outside? Have you had your evening meal yet?"

Only then did the three children feel the hunger, with their stomachs starting to ache from being empty.

Old Master Bai, beaming, said, "Write quickly, I’ll have someone prepare your evening meal."

Bai Erlang felt like crying and asked, "Dad, could they help me?"

Old Master Bai replied, "I don’t care."

So Bai Erlang looked towards his two little friends.

To hasten their mealtime, both picked up their pens simultaneously, and the three collaborated to copy the document again, before finally laying down their pens to eat their evening meal.

With their concerns put aside and hunger coming on strong, they ate heartily. Only after gnawing on a pork knuckle did Bai Erlang remember his father and looked up to ask, "Dad, aren’t you eating?"

Old Master Bai glanced at him and said, "I’ve eaten in town."

But indeed, he was a little hungry by now. Old Master Bai hesitated for a moment between his health regimen and the delicious food, but eventually, he picked up his chopsticks.

Once the three children had their fill, he called the servants to escort them away. Bai Erlang lingered in his chair without moving and said, "Dad, I won’t go back over there to stay; just send Shanbao over."

Old Master Bai gave him a glance, reaffirmed his son’s disloyal nature, and waved him away without bothering to engage further.

As soon as he left the main hall, Daji came up to him and bowed, saying, "Young Master, the Madam has been looking for you thrice; once you’re back, you must report to her."

He also addressed Manbao, "Miss Man, your family has come looking for you three times as well, and the last visitor was your fourth brother. From what I gathered, it seems that the master and mistress of the house took offense at something."

"Ah?" Manbao quickly realized it must be about today’s wheat trade, and grabbing her contract, she waved goodbye to Bai Shanbao, "See you tomorrow."

Bai Shanbao lazily waved his paw, watching her trot away with a little stomach poking out.

The servant following Manbao hurried to hold the lantern farther ahead, continuously urging, "Miss Man, take it easy, you just ate."

They jogged together towards the Zhou Family’s front gate, which was left wide open, negating the need to knock.

Manbao ran in while looking back, waving, "You can head back now, be careful on the road."

It was not long after dusk, and everyone was still awake, either enjoying the cool evening in the courtyard, chatting, or doing some chores.

For instance, Zhou Erlang was tying up sun-dried bamboo strips in the dark.

However, the atmosphere that evening felt particularly uneasy. Having seen Manbao return, Zhou Wulang appeared out of nowhere, whispering to her, "Dad is angry with Mom; he just took the chance to scold Big Brother and Second Brother..."

Big Brother and Second Brother really were pitiful.

Old Zhou was obviously irritated and restless, so he didn’t go to bed early that night—he sat on the threshold of the main hall, blowing off steam by smoking and worrying.

Ms. Qian, meanwhile, sat on a stool not far away, braiding her granddaughters’ hair.

Manbao ran over, happily calling out, "Mom, Dad!"

Ms. Qian’s face lit up with a smile, knowing from that sound that her child had likely gotten what she wanted. She squinted in laughter and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"I have, Old Master Bai treated me," Manbao didn’t continue speaking with her mother but instead settled down on the threshold, wiggling her little butt until she was right next to her father, brimming with excitement, "Dad, guess what this is?"

Old Zhou glanced at the paper in her hand and asked, "What’s that? Your homework? Did the teacher praise you again?"

"No, this is the contract I made with Old Master Bai," Manbao said. "I convinced Mom not to trade the wheat because our family can directly sell it to Old Master Bai."