Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Borrowing Money_l
Translator: 549690339
Yingbao held her mother tightly, nuzzling her head against her chest.
Thankfully, it was just a dream.
Thankfully, she came back.
Chunniang patted her daughter’s back, softly saying, “Baobao, are you hungry?
It’s already noon, you were sleeping so soundly, your mom couldn’t wake you.” Yingbao nodded, “I’m hungry.”
“Then I’ll go bring the lunch, and you hurry up and wash your face.” Chunniang said.
“Hmm.” Yingbao turned her head to see her two little brothers, they sat beside her, sucking on their fingers while squinting and laughing at her.
She let go of her mom and rushed over to her little brothers, touching their chubby heads while laughing and saying, “Xiaojie, Dawu, would you like it if your sister taught you to read later?”
Xiaojie took his finger out of his mouth, and slobbered on his sister’s face when she came over, making a sound as if he agreed.
Xiaowu suddenly turned his head and slapped his big brother’s forehead, then started to bite his fat little hand.
“Oh my, Xiaowu, why are you biting your big brother?”
Yingbao quickly pulled Xiaowu away.
Xiaojie began to wail, holding up his bitten hand to complain to his mother.
Chunniang, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, touched Xiaojie’s little hand and even blew on it “Okay, okay, Xiaojie, it doesn’t hurt. Xiaowu was just joking with his big brother.”
Xiaojie rubbed his eyes, truly stopped crying, and went back to sit with his sister and little brother.
Yingbao gently tapped Xiaowu’s forehead, whispering, “You can’t bite your brother in the future, okay?”
Xiaowu blinked, burrowed into his sister’s arms, turned his head and glared at Xiaojie, sneakily sticking out his tiny foot to kick him, hoping to push him further away from his sister.
Jiang Sanlang had been lying on the kang bed for two days. He drank medicine on time every day, ate the steamed egg made by his little daughter, and was lively, even taking off the bandage wrapped around his head.
Now it was the busiest time of farming season. The wheat in the dry fields was to be harvested, the rice seedlings in the water fields were to be transplanted, and millet was to be planted in the fields near South Mountain.
At this time of year, even the donkey belonging to the village head would be exhausted.
Yingbao was also busy looking after her little brothers, allowing her parents to tend to the fields without worries.
Apart from looking after her brothers, she also had to find time to cook for her parents and to make a bowl of steamed egg for her brothers to supplement their nutrition.
As for the things in the cave, they would have to wait until nighttime.
The seeds she bought from the salesman had been completelv Dlanted in the cave, just waiting to sprout.
The exotic seeds received her special care, being planted in the dark soil next to the water pool.
And those thirty golden ears seemed to have truly mutated. Not only did they not collapse, but they grew bigger, shiny and translucent, golden in color, very beautiful.
As for the three piles of grain harvested earlier, they had not yet been completely threshed. Yingbao decided to secretly take the wheat from the cave to the threshing site when her family’s wheat was taken there, and pile it with their wheat to be threshed together.
Yuanbao’s school was on holiday for the farming season.
He and Huzi often came over to play with his little cousins. Occasionally, with the approval of his little lady-cousin, they could ride Youyou around the village, drawing many envious and jealous eyes.
Xiaojie and Xiaowu were also very excited to see Youyou, always crawling in her direction.
So, Yingbao found two small carriers and tightened them with ropes. She then hung them on both sides of Youyou’s back and fixed them with the saddle so they wouldn’t move to one side.
Then she put each of her brothers in a carrier and led them here and there.
Xiaojie and Xiaowu were thrilled, clinging to the edge of the carriage and looking out, laughing non-stop.
Huzi watched them enviously, persistently pulling Yingbao’s sleeve, wanting to be in the carriage as well.
Without any other choice, Yingbao had to place her two brothers in one carrier and let Huzi wait in the other one.
Therefore, the village saw an unusual sight. A two-year-old girl leading a big deer with two carriers hanging on each side. In those carriers sat three boys, one of whom was noticeably larger than the girl.
Dalu was surrounded by several children who were enviously staring at Huzi,
Xiaojie, and Xiaowu.
The Master sighed and shook his head upon seeing this.
The world has gone downhill, and the weak are being overpowered by the strong.
What’s wrong with these children in the village? Why are they always circled around a tiny little girl?
Several days passed.
The wheat in the village had been mostly harvested. Some had already been threshed, with only the drying to be completed.
In those few days, Lizheng had already come to inspect once, announcing that this year’s taxes would be increased by ten percent.
The villagers grumbled, but they were powerless.
So, many villagers rushed to dry their wheat, hoping to sell their crops early to make more silver coin.
This was because the Imperial Court now implemented a tax law based on the amount of land one owned, and taxes were calculated into silver coin.
So, the people had to sell their grain first to get the money to pay their taxes.
This resulted in the rapid oversaturation of the grain market after the summer harvest, with prices heavily suppressed by wealthy merchants.
Therefore, people had to sell their grain before the price dropped in order to reduce their losses.
Jiang Sanlang’s wheat had also been gathered and laid out to dry in the threshing ground, ready to thresh in a few days.
But he was not in a rush, for he had enough silver coin to pay his taxes, and he didn’t plan to sell his grain at this time.
Uncle Chen had said that the price of grain would definitely rise this winter, so he not only refused to sell his grain, but also planned to buy some from other families to store.
He wouldn’t purchase a great deal, just enough for his family to live a comfortable year.
While he was flipping his wheat over to dry, Chen Ergou from Xichen Village suddenly ran over with his wife, knelt before Jiang Sanlang, and began to sob and beg:
“Sanlang, I beg you to go to the county town and speak up for my son Lulu, sniff sniff…
Jiang Sanlang jumped, quickly retreated and said coldly, “I wonder if you’re appealing to the wrong person.”
Chen Ergou crawled forward on his knees, tears and snot running down his face:
“Sanlang, it’s all my son Lulu’s fault for listening to that damned Chen Thirty’s incitement, but you didn’t suffer any harm, can you please go to the county elder and ask him to let my son go, sniff sniff… I beg you…”
Jiang Sanlang was rendered speechless and barked, “Are you suggesting I suffered no harm?”
He lowered his head, pointing at a large bald scar on his scalp, “Are you blind? Who do you think caused this to happen?”
Chun Niang also angrily said, “My husband was nearly killed by your son Chen
Lulu, and you dare to say nothing happened?”
Chen Ergou blinked his small eyes, thinking to himself, you seem to be very alive and kicking now.
He sniffed, sobbing, “Then… can you lend me some money, so… I can redeem my son?”
Even though his son had committed a crime, he was still under eighteen years old. The county elder said that as long as their family could come up with fifty taels of silver, they could redeem their son and bring him home.
If they couldn’t produce the ransom, Chen Lulu would have to remain in the county jail indefinitely.
But where could he get fifty taels of silver? He couldn’t even scrape together one hundred coin from his home.
He had tried to borrow from the entire village over the past few days, but no one was willing to lend him any money.
Many people locked their doors and closed their windows as soon as they saw him coming, even after he called and pleaded, they didn’t respond a word.
It was Old Chen Shuan who told him that Jiang Sanlang from East Village had completely recovered and was bouncing around lively, far from looking like someone who had been severely injured.
Moreover, on that day, Jiang Sanlang received fifteen taels of compensation, fifteen taels! All built from the blood and sweat of the people of West Village.
Old Chen Shuan also suggested to him that Jiang Sanlang’s home was supposedly growing gold, even a small escape of savings would be enough for fifty taels. He suggested Chen Ergou visit Jiang and cry and ask for help, as Old Jiang was known for caring about his reputation and may very well provide support.
Jiang Sanlang was nearly laughing with rage, “How dare you have the nerve to come here to borrow money from me? Who gave you such audacity?”
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