The mother and her two sons walked to the west side of the pier. This side was a little busier than the east, and there were many people.
A boat had just departed, and a group of men surrounded the small stall. Zhao Dashan and Zhao Ergou were so busy their feet barely touched the ground.
Zhao Sanniu hurriedly said, "I'll go help Big Brother and Second Brother."
Cheng Loanloan immediately stopped him. "Let's see how these two little ones handle their business."
Zhao Ergou was in charge of greeting customers and collecting money, while Zhao Dashan was responsible for scooping ice jelly and cleaning bowls. The two of them worked together quite well.
A burly man led several of his brothers over. "Give me nine bowls of ice jelly."
Zhao Ergou immediately froze. Before, the most anyone had bought was three bowls, which was nine copper coins. He had already struggled to calculate that. This time, nine bowls of ice jelly—how was he supposed to calculate that? The customer was waiting to pay, Zhao Dashan was waiting to scoop the ice jelly, and several pairs of eyes were on him, making him flustered. He blurted out, "That's twenty-three copper coins in total, Big Brother, nine bowls of ice jelly."
"Good!"
Zhao Dashan started working.
A man behind them burst out laughing. "Kid, how did you calculate that? Nine bowls of ice jelly are twenty-seven copper coins. You're four copper coins short."
The man who had ordered nine bowls of ice jelly snorted. "He said twenty-three, so it's twenty-three copper coins. I'll leave it here!"
He tossed down twenty-three copper coins with a clatter.
Zhao Ergou looked dejected. He had actually miscalculated. He had lost four copper coins on the sale. How could he be so stupid!
He stared blankly at the copper coins on the table, unsure for a moment whether he should ask for the extra four copper coins. If they refused, it wouldn't matter; at most, he just wouldn't sell to them anymore...
As he was struggling fiercely, a clear voice sounded in his ear.
Cheng Loanloan walked over, smiling warmly. "This child of ours hasn't had the chance to study or learn arithmetic, so please forgive him for making a mistake. Since he miscalculated, he should bear the responsibility. How can we let you pay more? Dashan, why are you still standing there in a daze? Hurry up and scoop those nine bowls of ice jelly."
Zhao Dashan got up and started working, while Zhao Ergou, looking embarrassed, followed to help.
"This elder sister is truly generous."
"With such an air of dignity, how could their business not thrive?"
"..."
The praises from nearby attracted more people to buy ice jelly. Soon, a barrel of ice jelly was sold out.
Zhao Ergou looked uneasy. "Mother, I miscalculated by four copper coins. Please punish me by not letting me eat."
"You are my son, how could I let you go hungry?" Cheng Loanloan laughed. "If I left these calculations to Dashan or Sanniu, they might even calculate forty copper coins. You did very well. Don't blame yourself. Think about what you want to eat later. Meat buns or noodles, or perhaps wontons?"
Zhao Ergou was so apologetic he didn't want to eat, but he still pressed on, "Mother, you really aren't angry with me?"
"If you had learned how to do arithmetic and still calculated it that way, I would naturally scold you. But you've never known how to do this, so it's normal to make a mistake."
Cheng Loanloan reassured him. "Don't worry, Mother will teach you. Don't think about this anymore. Hurry up and clean up, then we'll go to the Nanfu Academy. After we finish selling there, we'll go eat something. We made quite a profit today, so you can eat whatever you want."
The atmosphere finally became more relaxed.
Zhao Dashan carried the last bucket of ice jelly, Zhao Ergou carried a wooden plank, Zhao Sanniu carried a bucket of water and food, and Zhao Sidan held a bag of snacks in his hand... These were the rewards Cheng Loanloan had promised him yesterday.
The mother and her five children quickly arrived at the Southern Manor Study.
It was just then that the morning class ended, and students were coming out.