Chapter 34 Entering the County
In April in Mengxia, the locust flowers are fragrant.
Li Langzhong was teaching his grandson how to identify medicines in the drug store when he suddenly saw Jiang Sanlang walking in with a basket on his back.
Jiang Sanlang bowed his head to Mr. Li and said, "Old man Li, I baked some golden ears again, can you see if you can keep them?"
Hearing this, Langzhong Li immediately became energetic, stroking his beard and said, "Take it and take a look."
Jiang Sanlang placed the backpack on the counter and uncovered the linen cloth.
The basket on the back is full of yellow, and the fist-sized golden ears are like yellow hydrangeas, which are very eye-catching.
Li Langzhong was surprised. He raised his eyes and asked Jiang Sanlang: "Where did Sanlang find so many golden ears?"
Jiang Sanlang scratched his head and said sheepishly: "I didn't find it, I grew it at home."
"No wonder." Li Langzhong was even more surprised, "No wonder they are all about the same size and the color is so pure."
He picked up one and pinched it. It was very dry. If he pressed harder, the golden ear made a clicking sound, as if it would break in the next moment.
"Sanlang has put a lot of effort into it." Li Langzhong said with a smile: "It's well made. If it is kept well, it will last for a year."
Then he stretched his head to look at the golden ear in the basket, and murmured to himself: "We have to find something to seal it up."
He turned around and told his grandson to get two buckets to hold the golden ears.
This thing cannot be pressed heavily to prevent it from breaking.
The little grandson ran to the back hall in a hurry.
Li Langzhong took out the box and began to weigh the golden ears.
"A total of three kilograms." Li Langzhong said: "Based on ten guans per jin, I should pay you thirty guans. Does Sanlang want copper coins or silver ingots?"
Although Jiang Sanlang already knew how much the golden ears he brought today could be sold for, he still felt dizzy after confirming it again.
Mom, thirty guan is equivalent to thirty thousand copper coins. It must be carried in a basket.
However, there is still a lot of copper coins at home, which is enough for half a year's expenses. So for now, it’s better to get silver ingots for easy storage.
"Silver ingots, I want silver ingots, they are easy to carry." He said with a smile.
Mr. Li also smiled and asked his grandson to come and put the golden ear away while he went to the backyard to get the silver.
This time he took five taels of silver ingots, six in total, and they were placed in front of Jiang Sanlang with shining silver.
This was the first time Jiang Sanlang saw so many silver ingots. He couldn't help but laugh and put them into his pocket one by one.
He carried an empty basket on his back and asked, "Old man Li, I still have some golden ears at home. Do you still want them?"
Li Langzhong was shocked when he heard this, "What? There's more?"
"Well, my family planted a lot this time, and what I brought back today is only 40%." Jiang Sanlang said.
Now it was Li Langzhong's turn to scratch his head.
Why did he say: "Sanlang, to be honest, the golden ears I collected are only temporarily stored. After all, most of the decoctions are consumed in autumn and winter.
Now I can only charge so much, and if I charge more, I won’t have cash to pay. Otherwise, take it to a large drugstore in the county town to have a look. "
Jiang Sanlang was stunned and bowed to Mr. Li, "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Li, for the suggestion."
When he got home, Jiang Sanlang was a little depressed.
Although I earned another thirty taels of silver, most of the remaining golden ears have not yet been sold.
Moreover, his eldest and second brothers are also eagerly looking forward to planting golden ears with him to make a fortune.
But now Mr. Li won't accept it anymore. If the golden ears can't be sold in the future, the eldest and second brothers will be so disappointed.
Seeing that her husband looked strange, Chun Niang asked quickly: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Sanlang repeated what Li Langzhong said and sighed: "Li Langzhong's medicine shop can't accept so many golden ears. It seems that I have to go to the county town tomorrow."
When Ying Bao heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up and she quickly raised her hands, "Dad, I'm going too! I'm going to the county seat too!"
Jiang Sanlang couldn't help but laugh when he saw how anxious his little girl was, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to sell golden ears. Dad, please take me there." Ying Bao waved her father's sleeves and acted coquettishly.
"Okay, I'll take you there."
Jiang Sanlang picked up his daughter and said to his wife: "I will go to the front yard to discuss with the eldest and second brothers to see if they are free tomorrow. It will be safer for us brothers to walk together."
If the golden ears can be sold in the county town, a sum of money will come into the account. It will be bad if you encounter robbers on the way back, so you must have a few strong men to go with you.
Moreover, since I plan to bring my eldest brother and the others to grow golden ears together, I need to find a merchant who can buy them stably. Otherwise, the brothers will be busy working in vain.
"Okay then, go ahead."
Chun Niang looked at her daughter worriedly, "But you really want to take Bao'er there? It's so unsafe on the road."
Ying Bao didn't wait for her father to answer, and immediately answered, "I want to go! Dad promised to take Bao'er with him."
Chun Niang glared at the little girl and said, "Naughty, Bao'er doesn't want a younger brother?"
"I want my younger brother. Bao'er comes back from the county town and brings delicious food to my younger brother, and also to my mother."
The two brothers are seven months old and can eat something to grind their teeth. She is going to the best pastry shop in the county to buy milk cakes for them.
Chun Niang:......
Jiang Sanlang smiled, "Let her go. When the time comes, bring Dacheng with her and let him carry Bao'er."
Ying Bao narrowed her eyes with a smile and nodded repeatedly, "Mom, don't worry, Bao'er is not naughty, Bao'er is useful."
Chun Niang was helpless and poked the little girl on the forehead, "Then you must be obedient and not run around. There are bad people in the county who will steal babies, especially babies like you."
"Well, Bao'er doesn't run around."
The next day, Jiang Sanlang borrowed a donkey cart from the Muramasa family, carried two baskets of golden ears, and the three brothers headed for the county seat.
Of course, Ying Bao and her cousin Jiang Cheng were also on the donkey cart.
Starting before dawn, we walked and stopped all the way until we arrived at the city gate at noon.
The soldiers guarding the city made them pay five cents for the carriage and horse tax before letting them go.
After entering the city, a few people drove around in donkey carts, mainly looking for pharmacies where they could buy golden ears.
Yingbao had lived in the county town for several years in her previous life, so she knew the layout of the county town well.
She directed her father to drive the car, turn left and right, and enter a busy street.
There are many shops on the street, colorful flags are flying, people pushing carts carrying burdens, people leading donkeys and horses, and pedestrians of all kinds come in an endless stream.
Yingbao pointed to a store: "Dad, that's a drug store."
In her previous life, she had taken her younger brother to see a doctor and get medicine at this house. The doctor in charge was very skilled in medicine, and the shopkeeper was also very trustworthy.
I just don’t know how I am now, whether it is the same as in my previous life.
Jiang Sanlang looked up and saw that it was indeed a drug store.
"Jiukang Medicine Hall."
Just by looking at the name, you can tell that it is a long-established medicine hall.
"Big brother and second brother, let's go take a look."
Jiang Sanlang called his two brothers, "Take a basket of golden ears first, and put the rest in the car for Dacheng to watch."
Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang responded, got out of the car, straightened out their clothes, and dusted off the dust on their shoes, and then followed their third brother to Jiukang Medicine Hall.
Ying Bao was held in her father's arms, her eyes rolling around.
The Jiukang Medicine Hall in front of me seems to be small in scale, and there are not as many medicine cabinets as in the previous life.
But the Jiukang in the previous life was already the Jiukang Medicine Hall more than ten years later, so naturally it cannot be compared to it now.
After entering the shop, Jiang Sanlang handed his little girl to his second brother, then stepped forward and handed over his hand to a dispensing clerk who was about seventeen or eighteen years old: "Is the shopkeeper of Guitang here?"