Zhao Ergou’s eyes lit up. “I’ve calculated it. It’s six hundred and nineteen.”
“Ergou is very clever. For lunch today, I’ll reward you with a big meat bun,” Cheng Loanloan said with a squinting smile. “The four of you aren’t very good at arithmetic. So, starting tonight, you must spend the time it takes for one stick of incense to learn calculations every evening.”
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Dan were visibly delighted.
Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu could only force a smile.
Just this small incident clearly revealed the personalities of the four sons.
Cheng Loanloan put the copper coins into her waist pouch, stood up, and said, “Let’s go, Mother will take you to eat.”
The five of them, mother and sons, went to a wonton stall. The proprietress brought up five bowls of wontons, smiling with narrowed eyes. “Elder Sister bought five bowls, showing great support for our stall. I’ll give you some pickled vegetables to try.”
The small plate held a little bit of pickled vegetables, and the taste was quite good.
Cheng Loanloan took the opportunity to teach her children. “This proprietress knows how to do business. This time she gave us pickled vegetables, so next time we want to eat wontons, we’ll definitely come to her place.
Similarly, when we sell ice jelly, we should treat our customers the same way. Just like today, it’s not a big deal if Ergou miscalculated a few copper coins. If you insist on getting those few coins back, it will make the customers feel like they’ve lost out. To do business long-term, you can’t fuss over a few copper coins like that. There must be gains and losses; that is the principle of long-term business.”
Zhao Ergou nodded as if in thought.
After finishing the wontons, the four boys were only about five-tenths full. Cheng Loanloan bought each of them a meat bun, and Zhao Ergou received two.
At home, besides staple foods, there were no other vegetables. The mountains were not short of wild vegetables and mushrooms; what was most lacking was meat.
Cheng Loanloan led the group of boys to the butcher’s shop. It was afternoon, and the butcher’s shop didn’t have much fresh meat left, only a piece of pork belly, some pig offal, and also pig bones and pig blood.
Cheng Loanloan bought all of these. Two catties of pork cost sixty copper coins, pig bones were considered cheap at ten copper coins per catty, and the pig blood was given by the butcher.
As Cheng Loanloan bought things, Zhao Ergou stood silently beside her, calculating. “Wontons cost sixty copper coins, meat buns cost thirty-five copper coins, pork cost sixty copper coins…”
He mumbled, slowly adding up the money, then a hint of alarm flashed in his eyes.
It seemed like they had earned a lot of money, but they had already spent half of it after buying just a few things.
Yesterday, how much money did Mother actually earn? How could she buy dozens of catties of rice flour, and also buy a lot of fabric and twenty ducks, and five bags of pastries…
Cheng Loanloan turned her head and heard Zhao Ergou calculating the money. Her heart pounded.
Among the four boys, the second eldest was the most perceptive. If the second eldest calculated everything clearly, then she wouldn’t be able to fish in troubled waters anymore.
She opened her mouth. “Everything in town has increased in price; no matter how much money we earn, it’s not enough to spend. We still have rice and millet at home, so we won’t buy any more for now. Dashan, here are twenty copper coins. Go buy some food for Hui Niang, so she can have a taste.”
Zhao Dashan immediately went to buy. This amount of money was just enough for a bowl of wontons and a meat bun.
There was still brown sugar and peanuts at home. Cheng Loanloan didn’t go to buy any more, and led her four sons home.
From Hakou Four Towns to Daha Village, they rode in a swaying ox cart. When the sun had set in the west, they finally arrived at the village entrance.
At this moment, everyone in the village was working in the fields. The mother and son were not surrounded by onlookers and went straight home. Their courtyard was tidied up, and twenty ducklings were quacking, full of spirit.