big sister headed home

Chapter 22

With money' I have confidence in my heart' Dou Hua is thinking about what is still missing in the family' she happened to be in the county town' and bought the missing things back home.

Thinking that there is not much white flour in the cupboard. I used a lot of steamed buns last time. Every time I pasted pancakes, white flour was mixed with whole grain noodles. The ten catties of white flour I bought last time was eaten faster. The bag has already bottomed out.

Moreover, there are children in the family, and it is the time when they are growing up. Dou Hua does not want them to eat poorly. The pancakes steamed with coarse grains are too dry.And coarse grains plus some white noodles are fermented and then steamed, it will become fluffy and soft, it is easy to eat, and it is easier to absorb and digest. Dou Hua and the others eat this way now, so they need to buy more white noodles.

I also thought of some window paper on the windows of the house that leaked air. Many of them were blown out by the wind, and the wind was blowing everywhere.This started from the fact that her father, Dou Sanshan, had an accident last year, and her mother was seriously ill. The children of them never expected to re-paste the window paper before the Chinese New Year, and the window paper needs to be pasted every year. Yes, most people would choose to paste it a few days before the Chinese New Year, to make a new year and a new look, auspicious, but her family was delayed, and now three months have passed since the Chinese New Year, and those window papers are even more tattered. , There is no heating in the house, so I have to buy some window paper.

Thinking of this, Dou Hua sighed again in her heart, if Dou Sanshan and his wife were still there, life for their siblings would probably be much easier, unlike what they are now, no one is in charge of everything, and they all depend on themselves.

Thinking that it would be hard to get the white flour she bought, Dou Hua went to a paper shop first, and she chose strong and bright window paper, and came with ten sheets, which were enough to paste all the window paper at home. Ten Wen, two hundred Wen was spent.

Dou Hua took out the rolled window paper, walked towards the grain store, passed a courtyard, and first heard a few donkeys braying that attracted her attention, then she listened to it, and heard the sound of quarreling inside, ordinary people also She could only listen to the sound of the quarrel, but now Dou Hua's five senses are supernormal, and she can even hear the content of the quarrel clearly.

First, I heard a big man's rough voice, "If you want to sell this donkey, you can sell it for five taels of silver. If you don't sell it, you can take it away. We don't care about such a thin animal."

"Brother, my donkey is a good donkey. It has good teeth, a strong body, and is an upright man. It cost 15 taels of silver to buy the year before last. Why is it only given five taels of silver? At least eight taels of silver will do it." said a man.

"I don't care if you are a good donkey or not. Those who sell me are slaughtered and sold for meat. I am not a farmer who farms the fields. If you buy a donkey for farming and use it, if you sell it to them, it is probably worth some money. Sell me this donkey." , It’s worth the price, and you don’t even look at how thin your donkey is, and you won’t get a few catties of meat if you slaughter it, and I’ll pay you if you don’t.” The big man spat, his attitude was very upset, Then he said,
"I said Wang Xiucai, do you want to sell this donkey so that you can pay for the travel expenses to catch up with the exam? I'm here to advise you. It's not nice to say that if you don't have the life of an official, don't even think about it." You have taken the exam three times in a row, and you didn’t even pass the exam. Why do you take the exam? The poor in your family can’t afford to eat. What’s the use of studying? I'm not too young anymore, so I can make a living in the library, earn a little money, marry a daughter-in-law, the wife and children are hot on the kang, nothing is worse, I have to think about studying and becoming an official, how can it be so easy to be an official? Hundreds of people from the county went to Beijing to take the exam, and only a handful of them passed the exam, you, let's stop thinking about it as soon as possible."

"What do you people in the market know? I was unlucky and got sick a few times before, which affected my performance. This time I will definitely pay attention to not let myself get sick. I will definitely go to high school. You just wait." Huh, since you don't like my donkey, I won't sell it, there are more people who know more than you."

"If you don't sell it, don't sell it. Who cares? I can't look down on such a skinny donkey. Go, go, go, hurry up and lead your donkey, don't get in the way of my work, delay my earning money, sorry I can’t even hear the words, let’s go!”

"Hmph, let's go, I don't need you to chase me, I can go by myself." Wang Xiucai walked out of the courtyard with a drooping head, not feeling lost, and stood on the street with the donkey, touched the donkey's head, and sighed, "Donkey!" Ah, donkey, you say your fate is bad, or my fate is bad. I took the exam three times in a row because of illness, which affected my performance in the exam. I can't even look down on you, you and I really feel sorry for each other, alas~"

What answered Wang Xiucai was a loud howl from the donkey,—ah~
The lost young man burst out laughing when he heard the sound, and slapped the donkey on the head, "Could it be that you donkey has become a genius and can understand what I say."

The donkey was patted, shaking his big head in disapproval.

Dou Hua was standing on the side of the road holding the window paper, but she could hear and see clearly. From the conversation between the two, she heard that the donkey seller was called Wang Xiucai. Sell ​​it to the butcher at a low price, just to get the silver quickly.

But there was no agreement on the price, and Wang Xiucai came out again. In fact, Dou Hua looked at Wang Xiucai probably not because of the price. She probably was reluctant to kill the donkey. Looking at the interaction between him and the donkey, it was obvious that she was very interested in this donkey. Donkeys are also emotional.If it hadn't been the point of no choice, he would never have thought of selling the donkey.

Just now when Dou Hua heard that Wang Xiucai was selling donkeys at such a low price, her heart skipped a beat. Her family is a farmer and needs the help of animals most for work, and the price of animals that help people work is not cheap. A mature cow needs more than 20 taels of silver, and a donkey is cheaper, costing more than 15 taels.

Even at such a price, sometimes there is still a price but no market, and even if you collect enough money, you may not be able to buy it, because the farmers with livestock want to let the livestock help with the work, and they will not sell it easily, and even if they sell, It also needs to be filed with the government. Farm animals are not allowed to be sold and slaughtered at will. They must be registered and licensed, and some taxes need to be paid to the government.

Hearing that she could buy a donkey that can help with work at such a low price, how could Dou Hua not be moved, but she still hesitated. She was not afraid of the price. A caring person sees speculation and jealousy.

The village is so big, and people will know what's going on within a few days. A valuable animal like a donkey is even more eye-catching. They say that the money is not exposed, but the donkey is money. If someone asks, How could she explain that her family got the money?
But if Dou Hua is to give up now, she is a little unwilling. The wheat will be ripe in less than two months. When it comes to the busy farming season, the animals can be a big help. They are all children, so the work must be difficult. It is different with this donkey. This donkey can help them share a lot of work, and now it is a rare opportunity to buy a donkey for half the price. Timing, missed, gone.

At this moment, Dou Hua was in a dilemma. She never thought that there would be such a day when she hesitated for a long time to buy a donkey.

Dou Hua stood there thinking about it, her two big black and white eyes stared straight at the other donkey, a big man poked it very hard, she didn't pay attention to it, the donkey seller Wang Xiucai noticed her.

Wang Xiucai noticed that there was a girl not far away looking at him, looked at her, and found that she was really tall, taller than himself, dressed in coarse clothes, and dressed like a peasant girl, staring at her donkey like that, Those eyes clearly showed longing. Wang Xiucai saw that the girl seemed to be very interested in his donkey, and wondered if she would buy her own donkey.

If this peasant girl bought her own donkey, his heart would be more at ease. At least his donkey should be treated well, and he would not have to be slaughtered and sold for meat, and he could get some money himself, enough for the travel expenses to go to Beijing rush exam.

Wang Xiucai really has no other way to sell donkeys now. Over the years, he has already emptied his family because of his studies. He failed the exam three times in a row. His parents were very disappointed. But he was not reconciled. Wang Xiucai understood his own strength. The first three times were due to bad luck and his illness affected his performance in the exam. This time he decided to put all his eggs in one basket and make one last effort. If he failed again, he would give up the idea of ​​the scientific exam. If he wins, he can naturally get what he wants.

Faced with parents' incomprehension and lack of support, Wang Xiucai had no choice but to write letters, couplets, copy books, and earn some money for travel expenses. After selling his donkey for three years to pay for the trip, he finally relented and did not want his donkey to be slaughtered and sold for meat by the butcher, so he quarreled with the butcher and led the donkey out.

Now that the donkey has not been sold and the money has not been settled, Wang Xiucai is also very anxious, but the Dou Hua in front of him now gives him a glimmer of hope.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiucai tidied up his clothes, led the donkey to Dou Hua, and gave a scholar's gift, "Hi girl, sorry for the abruptness, but you fell in love with my donkey. If you Willing to buy, the price is negotiable.”

Dou Hua was struggling with heaven and man in her mind, she was stunned when she heard the sound, she didn't expect that in a blink of an eye, this scholar came over with a donkey, and even talked to herself, asking herself to buy a donkey, is her performance so obvious ?Should the donkey buy it or not?
(End of this chapter)