The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 63 - 52 Buying Chicken

Why had she set her sights on these two households to buy chickens?

Because aside from her own family, these two had the most chickens in the village.

It was the time when everyone was starting to prepare dinner, and practically every household had someone at home.

As soon as Manbao appeared in the courtyard, Sanzhu’s wife saw her.

Sanzhu’s wife curled her lips in displeasure; she really didn’t have a good impression of Manbao, especially after the words Manbao said by the river had spread to her family, leading to a scolding from her in-laws.

What they didn’t expect was that the next day, Manbao’s family really went to the county town, and on the third day they indeed brought the money to repay the debt.

There were murmurs in the village that their family had pressured Manbao’s family to repay the money and that they had taken their grain to the county to exchange for money.

These were not kind words, and right then Sanzhu’s father took the money to Old Zhou’s house.

Although Manbao’s father had explained, the two families had cleared things up.

Nevertheless, she was still scolded by her mother-in-law, and these past few days, she had been the one to do all the heavy chores like feeding the pigs, while the older and second sisters-in-law had all taken time to relax.

Sanzhu’s wife felt all this was Manbao’s fault.

Not showing a pleasant face to Manbao, and since Manbao was no fool, she directly passed her and called out loud into the interior of the house, “Dazhu’s wife, Dazhu’s wife, are you home?”

Dazhu’s wife, who was cooking in the kitchen, ran out and looked at Manbao coldly, who was not even as old as her daughter.

Manbao smiled at her with a childlike voice yet somehow sounding beyond her years, “Dazhu’s wife, where’s your mother-in-law?”

Dazhu’s wife almost laughed at the cuteness of the girl but composed herself and said, “Oh, it’s Little Aunt Manbao.

My mother-in-law went to the vegetable garden.

What do you need from her, Miss?”

“Nothing particular, I just want to buy a chicken from your family to eat.”

Dazhu’s wife was startled, “Buy a chicken?

Doesn’t your family have chickens?”

Manbao confidently said, “Our chickens are still laying eggs; we don’t want to eat them.”

Sanzhu’s wife couldn’t help but interject, “Your family’s chickens are too precious to eat, but ours aren’t?”

Manbao said, “Maybe your family’s chickens aren’t laying eggs, so perhaps you’d be willing to sell them?”

She looked at Sanzhu’s wife curiously and said, “If you don’t want to sell, just tell me straight.

I’m not forcing a purchase.”

“You!” Sanzhu’s wife hadn’t had the chance to respond when Dazhu’s wife first eyed Manbao with suspicion, “Little Aunt Manbao, did someone from your home ask you to come buy this?”

Manbao nodded, “My mother needs to recuperate, so we need to eat chicken meat.

Dazhu’s wife, does your family have any chickens that aren’t laying eggs that you’re willing to sell?”

Dazhu’s wife hesitated to shake her head; she remained dubious, wondering how the Zhou family could send Manbao out to buy a chicken.

With brothers and sisters-in-law at home, as well as so many older children, even if someone went to buy a chicken, shouldn’t it be one of them?

Before she could express this thought aloud, Sanzhu’s wife preempted her, “Oh yes, we have a big rooster.

Do you want it?”

Manbao’s eyes brightened, and she nodded eagerly, “Yes, yes!

Sanzhu’s wife, please bring the big rooster here for me to see.

I’ll pay the market price.”

Sanzhu’s wife was skeptical, “You really want it?

Do you have the money?”

Manbao then pulled out a big handful of copper coins from her pocket, smiling, “See, I have money.”

Sanzhu’s wife’s eyes nearly popped out, and even Dazhu’s wife was stunned.

They both thought the same thing: the Zhou family must be very bold to give so much money to a little child, without fearing that someone might steal it.

However, this was in the village, and likely no one would dare to steal.

As Manbao had brought money, Sanzhu’s wife’s eyes flickered with calculation, and she turned around to fetch a rooster from the henhouse.

“Here, this one.

We have two roosters, one we’re keeping for making offerings at New Year’s, but I can sell this one to you.

It’ll be at market price, I’ll weigh it for you right now.”

Dazhu’s wife frowned at this, and Sanzhu’s wife whispered to her, “Older sister, mother wanted older brother to take this rooster to the market to sell for money.

But in our rural home, who is willing to spend dozens of copper coins to buy a chicken to eat?

If we have to deliver it to the county, it will take so much time back and forth.

If you don’t want to sell it, later tell the older brother to take it.

I’m certainly not going to do it myself.”

Hearing this, Dazhu’s wife closed her mouth.

Yet, she did not let Sanzhu’s wife have her way.

She took the initiative to fetch the scale from inside the house.

While weighing the rooster, she said to Manbao, “We’re all neighbors here, how can we charge the market rate?

We’ll give you a discount of one coin per pound.”

They quickly weighed the rooster, and Dazhu’s wife, counting awkwardly, said, “That’ll be fifty-three coins in total.”

Manbao, pleased, counted out the coins from her pocket into Dazhu’s wife’s hand, and when she was short, she reached back into her pocket—having Keke place the money there for her—going back and forth two or three times until the exact amount of fifty-three coins was counted out.

Dazhu’s wife carefully tied the rooster’s legs and then bound its wings before letting Manbao carry it away.

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Seeing her struggle to hold the big rooster, she asked, “Do you want me to help you take it back?”

Manbao shook her head, confidently stating, “No problem, I can carry it.”

Manbao left with the rooster in her arms, but halfway home, she could no longer hold it.

Deciding to let it drop to the ground, she found the rope around its wings and dragged it instead.

The rooster clucked and made a fuss, desperately flapping its wings and hopping about.

But since its legs and wings were tied, it was inevitably dragged all the way back to Manbao’s home by Manbao.

As Datou, Daya, and the others who had just noticed the little aunt’s absence and were about to go out in search of her stood with their mouths agape at the sight of the little aunt running towards them, dragging a chicken…

Erya was the first to snap out of it and ran up to ask, “Little Aunt, where did you get the chicken from?”

Datou and the others rushed over as well, picking up the pitiful rooster and stroking it sympathetically.

Despite their drooling, they said, “Little Aunt, it’s wrong to steal.”

Zhou Silang and the others also came running out.

Manbao became unhappy, stating, “Who said I stole it?

I bought it!”

Manbao proudly patted her pocket and declared, “With money I bought it!”

Zhou Wulang, just back from the county town, couldn’t help exclaiming, “Who did you buy it from?

How much did you pay?

You weren’t swindled, were you?”

The entire Zhou Family was stunned by Manbao’s return with a rooster, and after listening to her recount the experience, Old Zhou couldn’t help reaching for his waist, feeling nothing but air, and then remembered that he had taken all the tobacco leaves to the county town early that day for Five to sell, while the rest he had stored away, saving them for a smoke during the New Year.

Old Zhou then looked towards his wife.