The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 435 - 424: Making Big Money

Chapter 435: Chapter 424: Making Big Money

Both of them took the counting rods and went to find Mr. Zhuang, confirming several times before running back to calculate based on the examples Mr. Zhuang had given previously.

However, their speed still dropped quite a bit, and mistakes were frequent.

When they made errors, they couldn’t help Bai Erlang, who began to sweat profusely in his haste; yet his speed at keeping the accounts had increased significantly, and even though he was slower, he wouldn’t forget the numbers that had just been reported.

As he grew more adept, not only did he work with ease, but he also had the spare time to gloat over the flustered Bai Shanbao and Manbao.

Old Master Bai watched and sighed incessantly; people had now learned to use counting rods for calculations, and had already become very quick and smooth at it when calculating volumes earlier. It was expected that they would adapt quickly to weighing as well, yet you haven’t even learned to use counting rods. What are you so proud of?

Old Master Bai couldn’t bear to watch his son and directly shielded his face with his teacup before turning his head and speaking with Mr. Zhuang.

Weighing was much faster compared to measuring volume. With a sack tipped over, two people lifting, and another comparing with the steelyard weights, the numbers would be reported and done.

Thus everyone’s pace was swift, except for Manbao and his group, who were slower.

But as they kept on calculating, they gradually gained proficiency. The two quickly worked out the sum for the last bag, and after Bai Erlang had recorded it, they both heaved a great sigh of relief.

Old Master Bai also came over, first looking at his son’s recorded accounts before checking those kept by his own account room.

The accounts room had already calculated the price for each item as well. He did the work of three by himself, not only more neatly and attractively but also faster.

During the process of manipulating the counting rods, the three children couldn’t help but look enviously at the accounts room more than once.

Old Master Bai flipped through the records and nodded, "Alright, calculate the total."

The accounts room smiled and took over the account book, his fingers nimbly flicking the counting rods so fast that they were almost invisible.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao gaped, while Bai Erlang’s mouth hung open in admiration watching the account room at work.

Mr. Zhuang approached from behind the two and coughed lightly, "Why are you dawdling, get calculating."

Manbao came to his senses and hastily picked up the account book recorded by Bai Erlang. He and Bai Shanbao started to calculate, each taking one side of the accounts.

Mr. Zhuang stood in front of them and said, "The more complex the numbers, the greater the caution required. Otherwise, a single mistake could mean starting over from scratch."

Mr. Zhuang admonished, "So be meticulous, agile-minded, courageous, and have a good memory."

Manbao and Bai Shanbao nodded continuously, indicating their understanding, and then slowly began to move the beads on the abacus.

The accounts room was quick. In a mere quarter of an hour or so, he had calculated all the accounts, including the total copper coins and the corresponding amount in silver taels.

Manbao and his group’s speed was much slower, but fortunately, they made no mistakes and came up with the same figures.

The two added up both copper figures, then gawked at the total sum in astonishment, "We have so much, so much money!"

Bai Erlang quickly leaned in to look, only to see that the final sum from weighing was 1,156,662 copper coins, while the measured amount was 1,141,457 copper coins.

Bai Er exclaimed in awe.

Old Master Bai asked with a smile, "And how much does that make in silver taels?"

The two children immediately began to calculate using the figures on the counting rods.

Since it involved division, and the number they were dividing by was so large, they manipulated the rods very carefully. Still, they soon got confused and, scratching their heads, started over...

Watching helplessly at the chaos of counting rods, Manbao turned to look at Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang knew this was a bit difficult and didn’t make it hard for them. He smiled, took the counting rods, and helped them calculate.

"The total is 1,910 taels of silver, with a balance of 119 copper coins," he announced.

The accounts room master stroked his beard with a smile and nodded, "That’s exactly right."

All three children whooped with joy, unable to contain their excitement.

Old Master Bai asked with twinkling eyes, "Happy now?"

All three nodded vigorously.

Old Master Bai then said with a smile, "Well, since Mr. Zhuang is here, let’s have the teacher help you calculate how much you spent on the wheat you bought, shall we? You said that the wheat was bought on credit, right? You’ll have to pay it back eventually."

The excited children suddenly fell silent. That’s right, they had almost forgotten that the large quantity of wheat they had obtained was in exchange for credit.

Bai Shanbao cleared his throat, and Manor Head Bai immediately brought over the account book for the credit. It only listed the quantity traded and the total amount, but he didn’t know how much Old Madam Bai and the young master had agreed upon.

But Manbao and Bai Shan knew. They took the counting rods and started to calculate.

Previously, Bai Shan had agreed with Ms. Liu that the wheat transported would be thirty copper coins per dou.

This price was the market rate in Luojiang County but quite high in Longzhou, so Ms. Liu felt the deal was not a loss for her.

And Manbao and Bai Shan thought that they covered transportation costs and didn’t have to run around buying, so it wasn’t a loss for them either.

Who could have expected that the price of grain would drop to twenty-seven copper coins as soon as it arrived?

Of course, this market price was the purchase price that grain merchants offered to the farmers, and the price in grain shops was naturally more than this.

The grain they had traded amounted to 16,878 dou, which was 506,340 copper coins. When converted to silver, well...

They looked up and considerately handed the counting rods to Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang said with a smile, "Four hundred twenty-one taels, with a balance of 1,140 copper coins."

With a definitive figure, the three children erupted in full cheer.

Old Master Bai stroked his beard with a smile and turned to speak with the accounts room, "Have someone bring the silver in."

It was late morning by now, and the sun was already high. Old Master Bai thought that the Zhou Family wouldn’t take too long since they didn’t have much wheat to sell; thus with a wave of his hand, he led the group to Old Zhou’s place.

The people at Zhou Family and Qian Family were anxiously waiting at home. They had even sent Datou to the village entrance to keep watch so he could come and report as soon as anyone approached from across the river.

Datou saw from afar that the young lady was leading a group of people over and immediately ran back home with all his might.

Old Zhou sighed in relief and looked at Ms. Qian.

Ms. Qian stood up, leading a group of daughters-in-law out the door, escorting not only Eldest Aunt Qian and Eldest Sister-in-law Qian but also waving to those nearby who were spectating, ushering them towards Zhou Dayuan’s place nearby.

It was quite hot under the sun, with only a few women taking shelter under a banyan to cool off, as it was more comfortable to stay indoors at this time.

At Ms. Qian’s call, everyone followed in droves, curious to see what was happening, and ready to enjoy some idle chatter.

When Old Master Bai arrived at Old Zhou’s place and saw so many people, he was momentarily taken aback.

Old Zhou smiled warmly and explained, "These are my cousins; it’s Duanwu Festival, so they came to visit my daughters-in-law. Knowing that Old Master Bai was coming today to collect the wheat seeds, they decided to stay and watch the excitement."

Old Master Bai was naturally happy to greet them, and they exchanged pleasantries.

Old Zhou’s Family had already prepared the wheat to be sold and had it ready to be weighed immediately.