bookrebus Chapter 61 Buying Donkeys
Chapter 61 Buying Donkeys
There weren't many people out buying and selling livestock on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. The livestock dealers sat listlessly, their eyes scanning every passerby.
They sell everything here, from chickens and ducks to cows and donkeys. The only downside is that they don't sell horses.
The larger animals are mostly inside. Since they're all livestock, you can imagine how unpleasant it must smell. Luckily, it's winter now; if it were summer, the smell would be indescribably awful.
When Song Jiaojiao saw a donkey for sale, she went closer and asked, "How big is your donkey? Is it male or female?"
The donkey dealer, rarely seeing anyone approach, quickly replied, "Sir, this is a top-quality male donkey of mine, just two years old this year, in its prime. No other donkey in this livestock market can compare to mine. Look at the muscles in its hindquarters, so firm. It can easily travel two or three hundred li a day, if not three or four hundred. I feed it the best food, and look at its spirit, there's absolutely no hidden disease."
Song Jiaojiao looked around the donkey pen and saw that it was well-maintained. The donkey in front of her looked fine on the outside.
How much does it cost?
When the donkey dealer heard Song Jiaojiao ask the price, his eyes lit up even more. Looking at Song Jiaojiao's clothes, although there were no decorations, the clothes had no patches and did not look old. He turned the beads and said, "Sir, you are really lucky. This donkey only arrived before the New Year, less than a month ago. If it weren't for the fact that there are fewer people during the New Year, it would have been sold long ago. This donkey is worth 100 taels."
Upon hearing his words, Song Jiaojiao turned and left. "I bought a horse for 150 taels of silver, and you have a donkey that can only be used to carry things, not to plow the fields. You're treating me like a coward! The donkey is good, but the person isn't."
Seeing that Song Jiaojiao turned to leave without hesitation, the donkey dealer hurriedly called out, "Sir, sir, the price is negotiable. How about 80 taels?"
Song Jiaojiao heard that the donkey vendor had lowered the price, but it was still much higher than the market price, so she did not stop.
"Hey, sir, how much do you want?" the donkey vendor called out anxiously when Song Jiaojiao still hadn't stopped.
"Forty taels." Song Jiaojiao stopped and turned back.
"How much? 40 taels? Sir, how can you bargain like that? Just cut it in half!" the donkey dealer said with a wry smile.
"Just tell me if you'll sell it at this price or not."
"It can't be sold. Selling it would result in a complete loss. It would cost at least 60 taels."
Seeing that he really wouldn't sell for forty taels, Song Jiaojiao offered a little more, "How about this, 50 taels, if you want to sell, I'll close the deal right now."
The donkey dealer's eyes darted around, but he still looked pained and said, "Sir, this price is really not right. Look at this, it's a perfectly healthy young male donkey. This price is really not acceptable."
Song Jiaojiao didn't speak, she just silently watched the donkey dealer.
Seeing Song Jiaojiao like this, the donkey dealer thought she was probably not easy to fool. "How about this, sir, let's compromise. 55 taels, this is my lowest price."
After saying that, he looked at Song Jiaojiao's reaction and said, "55 taels plus a subframe, if that doesn't work, then forget it."
The donkey dealer thought about it and realized that a frame only cost 2 taels, so he could still make at least a dozen taels, which wouldn't be a loss. "Alright, alright, I see you really want to buy it, so let's just consider it making friends."
Song Jiaojiao watched as he deftly mounted the bicycle frame, exchanging money for goods.
After buying the donkey, Song Jiaojiao went inside and looked at two cows, one male and one female, which cost her 90 taels. Although cows are not as durable as donkeys and horses, they can plow the fields. She bought the cows thinking that they could be used to haul goods during the week and to lend them to villagers during the busy farming season to build relationships.
I bought a lot of grain on the way back, but I didn't buy any meat. We have a lot of cured meat at home, and it won't taste good if we don't eat it soon.
Song Jiaojiao was driving the horse-drawn carriage, while Xu Da was driving the donkey cart behind, with two oxen tied to it.
After returning home, Song Jiaojiao asked Xu Da to order two cart frames from Wang the carpenter, and then to go to Wang the stonemason to order a foot-operated pounder, as well as a stone tool for pressing sugarcane juice, which Song Jiaojiao had drawn.
Seeing that Song Jiaojiao had bought a cow and a donkey, the village chief, thinking that her family didn't have many sheds, came up to ask if she needed a shed built. Song Jiaojiao was worried about where to put the cow and the donkey when the village chief arrived, so she quickly agreed, thinking that with so many of them, it would be done in an hour.
After the oxcart was ready, Song Jiaojiao sent Xu Da, Meng An, Meng Qi, and Cheng Yun out to collect sweet potatoes. Seeing that the sweet potatoes at home were dwindling, she had to go a little further each day to collect them. Although the sweet potatoes that had been stored for a while weren't as starchy as the ones at the beginning, Song Jiaojiao herself bought them at one coin per pound. She just had to wash and sort them herself after they were collected. Of course, the price was still the same as before.
In the blink of an eye, it's already the 14th of the lunar calendar, and tomorrow is the Lantern Festival.
"Mom, I heard from the aunties in the village that there are lanterns in town for the Lantern Festival. Mom, I've never seen what lanterns look like before."
Mu Xue tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling, clearly wanting to see the lanterns, but she didn't say it out loud.
"Really? The lanterns aren't that interesting, there are a lot of people, and there are child traffickers too." Song Jiaojiao knew Mu Xue wanted to go, so she wanted to tease her.
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, the light in Mu Xue's eyes immediately went out. "Ah, there are also human traffickers. Well, forget it, there's probably nothing to see here."
“However, we can bring more people. As long as we keep a close eye on them, we can still get a look.” Song Jiaojiao’s tone changed, and Mu Xue’s dimmed eyes brightened instantly. She gestured excitedly as she spoke.
"Mother, you mean we can go now? Can I bring Xu An with me?"
Xu An is not yet six years old, which is the age when he is most vulnerable to being abducted by human traffickers. However, since it was rare to see Mu Xue with a playmate, Song Jiaojiao finally agreed, thinking she could just arrange for more people.
"Here's what we'll do: Mu Qing, take Bai Shuqin; you take Xu An; He Fan, Meng An, and Xu Da will follow; Mu Xue, you and Xu An will stay with Big Brother, understand?"
Song Jiaojiao thought that there were quite a few adults in the family, and Mu Qing and Bai Shuqin were not young, so they wouldn't be the targets of human traffickers. The main ones were Mu Xue and Xu An.
"That's wonderful, Mom! You're the best mom in the world!" Mu Xue jumped and danced with joy, her happiness infectious, bringing smiles to everyone's faces.
"Alright, alright, go prepare what you need. Early to bed and early to rise so we can go earlier tomorrow," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
Mu Xue agreed and happily ran off with Xu An in her arms.
The next morning, after breakfast, the group set off in a large group. Along the way, they encountered many villagers taking their children to town. This year, every family had extra income; otherwise, they wouldn't have been in the mood to go to town to celebrate the Lantern Festival.
Before they even reached the town gate, Song Jiaojiao could feel the bustling noise, and the carriage slowed down accordingly.
After finally getting the carriage to the storage area, most of the time had passed. With the increase in people, the streets, which are usually not allowed to have stalls, were open today, and there were many food stalls on the street.