Chapter 273: Pity
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling stayed for another day. After walking around the city, she brought back four stewards and let them have their pick for four taels of silver per sheep.
The four stewards were all stewards of famous wealthy families in the city, and were very dissatisfied with Mu Yangling’s increase in price. “Young lady, I heard that you just sold one to someone for three taels yesterday. Why did the price increase by one tael in just a day?”
“That’s right. Even if our boss is rich, he won’t let others take advantage of him like this.”
Mu Yangling hurriedly explained, “Steward uncles, you’ve misunderstood. I chose the sheep I herded into the city yesterday. They wanted 40 sheep, so I herded 40 there. Among those sheep, the smallest one is only worth 3 taels and 60 copper coins when going by weight. I sold it to them in one go. As for the largest one?” Mu Yangling smiled in embarrassment and said, “Although I haven’t weighed it, I know a little about the sheep since I’ve raised them for so long. The largest one is worth about 3 taels and 500 copper coins by weight. But look at the sheep the few of you are choosing here.”
Mu Yangling pointed at the sheep and said, “Other than the six that the Bai family brought away this morning, there are still 254 left. If I let you choose one for three taels of silver, won’t the few of you choose the best ones? That last one can probably be sold for five taels of silver.”
“Bullsh*t. Our family head is an honest person. Why would he take advantage of you?”
“That’s right. It’s not like they’re so poor that they can’t eat.” The four stewards looked at the flock of sheep and felt that a few of them were especially strong and energetic. They waved their hands and said, “Alright, alright. Four taels it is. How should we get them out?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just point it out to me and I’ll capture it for you.”
The four stewards also found it dirty, so they stood outside the fence and wandered around the sheep. Someone pointed at a fatter one and said, “I want this one.”
Mu Yangling stepped into the fence and stared intently at the sheep, then quickly grabbed one of its legs and carried it out.
The four stewards clicked their tongues and ordered sheep one after another for Mu Yangling to catch. In the end, Mu Yangling caught a total of 15 sheep.
Mu Yangling tied up the sheep selected by the four stewards separately before washing her hands and settling the bill with them.
Knowing that the sheep they chose was worth more than four taels, they happily paid Mu Yangling the money.
Those 15 sheep cost a total of 60 taels of silver. After the silver and goods were exchanged, each steward herded their sheep back.
Xiuhong curled her lips and said, “They’re really stingy, unlike the Bai family who immediately said that they were willing to buy one for five taels of silver. After that, they even gave two taels of silver as a reward.”
Smiling, Bowen said, “The Bai family’s steward is also smarter than them to ask Sister to help them choose the sheep. Those six sheep were all chosen by Sister and were much more muscular than the ones chosen by the stewards.”
“Bowen is right. We have a win-win situation with the Bai family. Alright, throw some grass into the flock. Don’t forget to refill the water. Serve them well. Let’s go eat our fill and sleep in a while. We have to set off before dawn tomorrow. Otherwise, we won’t have time to find a place to stay when we reach Xingyuan Prefecture.”
Mu Yangling sat cross-legged on the brick bed and counted the money she had earned over the past two days. Excluding the copper coins, she had collected a total of 216 taels of silver. It looked like a lot, but it did not actually feel like much when placed in the pouch, weighing merely slightly over 13 catties. Mu Yangling expressed that as long as it was silver, the heavier the better.
After counting the money, she placed the bag on the brick bed and leaned against the wall to look outside. As this window faced the flock of sheep, she would be able to see the sheep once she opened her eyes. Bowen and Xiuhong had gone to sleep, and she didn’t know where the landlord’s family were. The people wandering behind the trees outside didn’t dare to go forward. After taking a look, Mu Yangling yawned. Having lost interest, she fell asleep on the brick bed with the blanket over her.
Mu Yangling thought that the other party would make a move in the afternoon, when they were sleeping more soundly, but she still overestimated them. When she woke up, those people were still hesitating behind the tree and did not dare to go forward. Perhaps because it was daytime, they still did not have the guts.
Mu Yangling sat on the brick bed and thought for a while. She felt that this was most likely not a habitual thief, so she put on her clothes and walked out in the direction where they were hiding.
Unexpectedly, after only about 20 steps, those people realized that something was wrong and turned around to run. Mu Yangling could only stop in her tracks and watch helplessly as they disappeared. She didn’t want to arrest them. She just wanted to talk to them about life, but the other party seemed to be very afraid of her.
After some thought, she turned around and went back.
Having woken up by now, Xiuhong and Bowen looked at Mu Yangling in confusion. “Sister, where did you go just now?”
“I just walked outside for a while. Since you’re up, get out of bed. We’ll make dinner. Also, we have to prepare the rations for tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll have time to stop and rest at noon tomorrow.”
Upon hearing this, Xiuhong instantly sobered up and immediately got off the brick bed. Considering her cousin’s culinary skills, the task of cooking ultimately fell upon her.
Mu Yangling also knew that she wasn’t very good at this. She felt that her home-cooked food was very decent, but it certainly couldn’t compare to Shu Wanniang and Great-aunt’s superb culinary skills. Even Xiuhong’s culinary skills had improved dramatically this year. Shu Wanniang’s opinion was that she was already three streets ahead of Mu Yangling.
Hence, Mu Yangling assisted Xiuhong in the kitchen.
By the time they had prepared the rations for tomorrow, it was already dark. Mu Yangling and the others began to eat.
They didn’t eat badly, but it couldn’t compare to what they usually ate at home. However, this was enough for the children of the landlord’s family to drool.
Mu Yangling had just eaten a mouthful of meat when she saw the two children hiding outside the door and looking in eagerly… at the meat on her chopsticks, swallowing their saliva from time to time.
Mu Yangling waved at them and said, “Go home and bring over a bowl of rice.”
The older sister understood and pulled her younger brother to run next door. Soon, the two little ones brought two bowls of rice over.
Seeing that they were standing there uneasily, and even when Mu Yangling asked them to eat, they merely timidly pick up a chopstick of food. After thinking for a while, she took an empty bowl and filled it up with some food. Then, she placed them aside and said, “Eat.”
The two children carefully glanced at Mu Yangling and the rest before wolfing down the food.
Bowen’s eyes widened, but Xiuhong stared at them in a daze. She remembered that when she first arrived at the Mu Residence, she, too, had fought for food like this. As she was really too hungry and greedy, she couldn’t focus on anything other than the food.
Mu Yangling knocked on the bowl and said, “What are you waiting for? Hurry up and eat.”
The two of them quickly lowered their heads and ate.
Mu Yangling and the others had made quite a lot of food, but the rice was only enough for themselves. However, the two children clearly did not need more rice. They gobbled up all the dishes on the table and their stomachs were full. Mu Yangling was afraid that their stomachs would burst, so she kept reminding them not to eat too much.
The two children only lowered their heads and ate fiercely.
The elder of the two children was only five years old. Although her face was a little sallow, their family situation shouldn’t be so bad that their kids had to starve, right?
Xiuhong leaned close to Mu Yangling’s ear and said, “Farmers can’t bear to eat much. If they have some money, they want to save it first in case they need it urgently in the future. I think their parents must be even more ill-fed than them. Everyone lives like this.”