flstandardbreds Chapter 120 Buying People and Mule Carts
Chapter 120 Buying People and Mule Carts
"Alright, then it'll be seven taels of silver for two people." Zhang Youtie agreed immediately after hearing what Wang Yaren said. He was very satisfied with Old Ma. He had only originally wanted to buy someone to watch the pond, but who knew that this man also knew martial arts. Even though he was a little lame, he would be more than capable of dealing with some of the local thugs.
Upon hearing that Zhang Youtie was willing to buy the couple together, Old Ma's wife burst into tears. She and Old Ma kept kowtowing to Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi, promising to work hard.
After selecting their servants, Zhang Youtie and his men went to the front to sign the contract. Once the white contract was in place, seeing that it was still early, Wang Yaren led them to the government office to have it stamped. There, Zhang Youtie paid another seven hundred coins as a deed tax. Leaving the government office, Zhang Youtie carried the stamped red contract in his pocket; from then on, his family had servants.
"Uncle Ma, do you know how to choose livestock?" By this time, the driver had been replaced by the old horse they had just bought. Because of his age, Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi discussed it and decided to call the couple Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma. Zhang Youtie asked him from the other side.
"What kind of livestock would you like to buy, Master?"
"Mule, I suppose. They're used for hauling goods; they're faster than oxcarts."
"You've got good choices, shall we go now?"
"Okay, let's go. Let's buy the mule cart first; we have other things to do later."
Upon hearing Zhang Youtie's instructions, Uncle Ma drove the oxcart toward the mule and horse inn in the county town.
Old Ma was indeed knowledgeable about livestock. Upon entering the inn, he followed Zhang Youtie, watching the innkeeper introduce the mules to them. The innkeeper spoke first, while he followed behind, examining the mules' hooves and, finally, their teeth. In the end, he chose a large, thin, blue mule with white down on its chin.
"Master, this one is good. It's only three years old, just the right age to work. Its previous owner didn't feed it properly. If we take it back and feed it well, it will grow strong and healthy quickly. It will be able to pull several hundred pounds of goods at a time without any problem." Hearing him say this, Zhang Youtie also carefully examined the mule he was talking about. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became. It was indeed good. Although it was a bit thin, its eyes were bright and spirited.
"Okay, this one will do. How much?"
Seeing how quickly they had chosen the mule, the shop assistant knew that this family was well-off, so he gritted his teeth and quoted a price of nine taels.
"Nine taels? You think I'm easy to fool? Say it again, be sincere. This town isn't just home to your mule and horse shops." Zhang Youtie wasn't unfamiliar with buying livestock; as soon as the young shop assistant spoke, he knew the other party saw that he was too quick-witted and was planning to rip him off.
"Brother, look at what you're saying. This mule is indeed very good. Take it back and raise it, and I guarantee it will be plump and strong enough to haul goods." The young shop assistant didn't expect Zhang Youtie to hit the nail on the head so quickly. He looked a little embarrassed, but still stubbornly tried to persuade him.
"Name your price. If it's right, I'll buy it; if not, I'll go to another store." Zhang Youtie smiled at the young shop assistant, his smile honest and simple.
"Seven taels, brother, this is the lowest price I've quoted. I quoted nine taels earlier because I was thinking there would be room for negotiation. Since you don't like gimmicks, I'll just give you the bottom line."
"Uncle Ma, do you think this price is acceptable?" Zhang Youtie asked Uncle Ma in a low voice.
"Okay, this price is fair. We can buy it." Uncle Ma whispered to Zhang Youtie.
After listening to Uncle Ma's words, Zhang Youtie looked up at the shop assistant and said...
"This is it. Now take me to see your cart."
"Alright, brother, this way please." The shop assistant was overjoyed to hear that he wanted to buy a car, and he was already calculating in his mind how much commission he could get from this deal.
Liu, Wang, Xia Yu, and Aunt Ma were outside the mule and horse shop, partly to keep an eye on their oxcart, and partly because the smell inside was too strong and pungent.
Xia Yu waved her hand in front of Aunt Ma's eyes, trying to test if she really couldn't see. Seeing this, Liu Shi gently patted her back, indicating that she shouldn't do that.
"Aunt Ma, how did you go blind? Were you able to see before?" Xia Yu asked curiously.
"Sigh, I used to be able to see, but after doing so much embroidery, my eyes got damaged." Perhaps because so many people had asked this question, Aunt Ma wasn't saddened by it; she just sighed and replied.
"You used to be able to do embroidery?" Xia Yu reached out and touched Aunt Ma's rough hands, somewhat incredulous that such rough hands could have been used to do embroidery.
Aunt Ma felt Xia Yu touching her hand with her little hand, smiled, and stroked Xia Yu's soft little hand as she spoke.
"I used to serve young ladies from wealthy families, so naturally I know how to embroider. Later, my master released me, and I married Old Ma, who worked at a security escort agency." Aunt Ma briefly recounted her past, essentially summarizing it in a sentence. But this only fueled Xia Yu's curiosity. According to Aunt Ma, she should have lived a good life, so why was she eventually sold to a brokerage firm? Wang and Liu exchanged a glance; their thoughts were similar to Xia Yu's. Aunt Ma's starting point wasn't low, so why was she sold to a brokerage firm in her fifties?
Xia Yu wanted to ask, but Liu stopped her, saying there was plenty of time and she would find out eventually, so there was no need to rush.
"Oh." Xia Yu could only manage a dry "oh" at the end.
When Zhang Youtie came out again, he was followed by Old Ma leading a mule cart.
"Third brother, your family is really something else. You bought land and a car this year. Tsk tsk, look at this big blue mule, it looks so energetic, but it's a bit thin. You should feed it more hay when you get home."
"Yes, sister-in-law, the mule Uncle Ma picked is really good. We need to take good care of it when we get home. It'll be very strong for hauling goods."
"Where are you planning to take this bucket of shrimp? Shouldn't we head back? Otherwise, we'll have to travel in the dark," said Wang, glancing at the setting sun.
"We'll head back after we get the shrimp to the dock. Uncle Ma, you drive the mule cart behind us, we'll go to the dock first. Is that alright?" Zhang Youtie said to Wang Shi, then turned to Uncle Ma, who was leading the mule cart.
"Master, you'll be fine. You can go ahead without worry, I'll follow behind."
A group of people, in two cars backlit, slowly drove towards the dock.
Upon arriving at the dock, Zhang Youtie spotted the cargo ship bearing the character "Shen" from a distance. The dock was bustling with activity, as many people were carrying sacks of goods onto the ship. A leader was directing the work from below.
"Hello, Steward. Steward Ding from the Shen family has arranged for me to deliver thirty catties of prawns to Zuixiaolou in the prefectural city." Zhang Youtie said with a smile to the person in charge.
"Oh, Steward Ding has already sent someone to give the instructions. Just give it to me. Steward Ding will eventually give you the money," the leader said to Zhang Youtie.
"Okay, okay, shall I take this bucket onto the boat?"
"No need, you can go back. I just picked it up."
"Thank you for your trouble." Zhang Youtie placed the bucket at the man's feet, exchanged a few more polite words, and then turned back to the oxcart.
When the family returned to Zhangjia Village, it was completely dark. Once home, they pulled the oxcart and horse-drawn cart into the yard. Uncle Ma unloaded the carts and asked for directions to the cowshed. He then led the ox and mule to the cowshed and added fodder to the troughs.
As soon as Xia Yu entered the house, she went straight to the kitchen. Liu Shi then brought out a small stool and invited the somewhat awkward Aunt Ma to sit down and rest for a while. She said that after they finished eating, she would take them to their lodgings.
“Madam, I can help wash the vegetables. How can I sit and rest while Miss cooks?”
“You’ll have work to do later, so don’t rush now. Please sit down. The food is leftovers from lunch. We’re just ordinary farmers, nothing like the wealthy families you’ve lived in before. The food is simple, so we hope you can get used to it.” Liu Shi chatted politely with Aunt Ma.
"Madam, what are you saying? You and Master are so kind-hearted, willing to give Old Ma and me a place to live. We are so grateful that we could never repay you even if we worked like oxen and horses for the rest of our lives. How could we dare to complain about the food?" As he spoke, he was about to kneel down and kowtow to Madam Liu again.
Seeing her movements, Madam Liu quickly stopped her from kowtowing.
After Uncle Ma settled the oxen and mules, Zhang Youtie led him to the small hut by the shrimp pond.
"This is a temporary structure, a bit rudimentary. I'll have someone rebuild two rooms when we dig the pond again in a couple of days. You and Aunt Ma can stay here for now. I'll bring you a set of cooking utensils tomorrow. From now on, you and Aunt Ma won't have to run back and forth for meals anymore. There's not much chores to do at home. You and Aunt Ma will mainly be watching over the shrimp ponds here, making sure no one else throws random things in."
"Yes, I'll follow your orders, Master. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on the shrimp ponds and make sure no one causes trouble." Uncle Ma was pleased with Zhang Youtie's arrangements; he and his wife would be able to cook separately from now on, and she would feel more at ease. He was even more determined to do his job well.
After arranging everything, the two returned home to find Xia Yu had already prepared the meal: cornmeal porridge, steamed buns made from a mixture of corn and water, a bowl of boiled shrimp, and a stir-fried cucumber. However, when it was time to eat, Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma resolutely refused to eat in the main room, saying it was against the rules; they were servants and it was already a favor from their masters that they could eat in the kitchen. In the end, Xia Yu had no choice but to set aside a separate meal for them: a plate of shrimp, a plate of cucumber, four steamed buns made from a mixture of corn and water, and a small bowl of porridge.
Aunt Ma couldn't see the food, but Uncle Ma saw that the food Xia Yu gave them was the same as what the masters ate. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed several times before taking his food to the kitchen with Aunt Ma.