Manbao nodded repeatedly.
"This bone is not good, look how flat both ends are, there’s hardly any meat. For making soup, you really need big bones. See this one? It has a lot of meat attached, and there’s marrow inside the bone, which makes the soup especially delicious. I’ve cleaned all these bones here; you can take them home and boil them to feed the sow to help her produce milk."
The vendor said, "Otherwise, you could take some ribs, they’re tasty too."
Keke spoke up, "These bones can’t compare to the big ones, but they’re better than nothing, and you can still get some broth from them."
Manbao insisted, and the vendor hesitated for a moment, "We’re all villagers here, I won’t ask for much from you. Just give me ten coins and take them all, I won’t even weigh them."
Manbao became happy but she wanted more than just that; she also spent ten coins on a pound of the best pork fat.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang winced at the sight of the meat.
Manbao still needed to buy salt because there wasn’t much left at home.
Some vendors carried salt to the market to sell. The price was slightly higher than in the county town, but because of the convenience, many households would buy it here.
Manbao squatted in front of the vendor’s stall and after a long look, felt that salt was even more expensive than meat, but she had no choice and still bought some.
Having bought meat and salt, Zhou Wulang suddenly felt the pressure on his shoulders increase significantly. If they didn’t make money...
Zhou Wulang’s face was a picture of misery.
Manbao didn’t care at all and, drooling, she said, "If we don’t make money, we won’t sell it, we’ll eat it ourselves."
At that moment, Manbao was somewhat hopeful, hoping they wouldn’t make the sale.
Manbao climbed onto Sixth Brother’s back, saliva dripping as she eyed the meat and bones in Fifth Brother’s hands, her will wavering, "Maybe we shouldn’t try to make money, let’s just take it home and eat it. Just send a big bowl to Third Brother."
Zhou Wulang quickened his pace, ignoring her.
Manbao looked regretfully at Fifth Brother as he walked farther and farther away with the meat... farther and farther away...
Having bought the meat, they of course couldn’t linger at the market any longer, so after saying a word to Zhou Erlang, they headed home.
The distance from the market to home wasn’t very far. Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang sped up and returned to the entrance of the village in less than three quarters of an hour.
On the way home, they had to pass by the school. Manbao saw her two friends on the grass at the school entrance and suddenly didn’t want to go home. She slid down from Sixth Brother’s back and was about to go play.
Zhou Liulang cautioned her, "Play here, don’t run off. I’ll have Daya come over to look after you."
Manbao obediently agreed and scampered toward Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang, asking, "What are you guys doing here?"
Bai Shanbao, clearly not pleased, said, "Waiting for you, of course. Your family said you had left, we thought you went by yourself and weren’t waiting for us anymore."
"No, that’s not it," Manbao said, "I went to the market to buy some things. I’ll bring some to Third Brother later. Can you still make it today?"
"Of course we can," Bai Shanbao brightened up a bit and puffed out his chest, "Grandma even let Daji accompany me."
Bai Erlang wasn’t too keen on going to that dusty place, but his father insisted that he must go. Even when he told his father that the teacher hadn’t assigned him that lesson, his dad didn’t care and even scolded him, asking why the teacher had assigned it to Shanbao and Manbao, who were younger than him, but not to him?
Bai Erlang thought, what else could be the reason?
It was obviously because he was likable, and the other two weren’t, so they got more homework assigned to them.
Although he wasn’t happy, resistance was futile, so Bai Erlang had no choice but to follow the others, although he still managed to take credit for himself, "My dad is letting us use the family donkey cart to go."
Manbao’s eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Of course it’s true. My dad said for the next four days, the donkey cart is at my disposal, I can use it however I want whenever I go out." The condition was that he had to go with them, and Bai Erlang couldn’t understand why he had to tag along with these two little kids.
Bai Erlang, himself still a child, grudgingly said to Manbao, "Hurry up, we’re all waiting for you."
Manbao got excited and started pulling them towards her home, deciding to tell Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother the great news—they wouldn’t need to borrow a cart anymore.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang had just finished being reprimanded by Junior Ms. Qian and were now putting their things into the courtyard, getting ready for this business venture.
Zhou Liulang went to the vegetable garden and pulled out four or five turnips.
Junior Ms. Qian was distressed, repeatedly admonishing, "If they don’t sell, bring them all back, don’t waste them."
Manbao dragged her two friends over and happily announced, "Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Bai Er has a donkey cart, we can ride in the donkey cart to go!"
Zhou Wulang’s eyes brightened, and he feigned reluctance, "Is that okay?"
"What’s not okay about it, he’s going anyway. Whether it’s empty or full, the donkey cart still goes," Manbao decisively made up everyone’s mind without any hint of embarrassment.
The Bai Family, after all, was concerned about the children, so they had the strong and capable Daji go with them. Knowing that Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang were bringing things to sell, Old Master Bai just arched an eyebrow but didn’t object to them using the family donkey cart.
After all, the three children were young, and the more adults around the better—even if Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang were only teenagers, they seemed much more reliable in Old Master Bai’s eyes.
The group loaded the big pot onto the donkey cart, and the three children competed to sit on it, excitedly setting off for the official road leading to White Horse Pass.
In the past, Bai Erlang and Bai Shanbao had mostly traveled in horse-drawn carriages. This was their first time in an open donkey cart, and it was fascinating. Despite the bumpy ride that left their bottoms a bit sore, they were still thrilled.
As for Manbao, she was even more excited, having never ridden in a donkey cart before. She was so curious that she climbed to the front and reached out wanting to grab the donkey’s tail.
Daji caught her hand and laughed, "Little Miss, you can’t grab the donkey’s tail."
Manbao asked with intense curiosity, "Does it eat grass?"
"Is it expensive? Can it do a lot of work?" Manbao, the embodiment of curiosity, continued to inquire, "Can it plow fields? Can you ride on its back like a horse and run very fast?"
Then she added, "I think it looks like a horse. I’ve seen horses. Horses are taller and prettier than donkeys. Are they born of the same mother?"
Eventually, it was Keke who stepped in to enlighten her. Then Keke said, "Donkey skin and meat have medicinal value. In the future, it’s an endangered animal, a top-tier protected species in the interstellar realm. Its genes have evolved multiple times, so there’s a gap from its original lineage. Technicians are racking their brains for its propagation. If possible, please host a donkey, preferably a pair, a male and a female. The Encyclopedia Museum will offer a generous reward."
Manbao said, "Donkeys are expensive to buy, I don’t have the money."