Farm Girl's Small Blessings

Chapter 11: Points Credited

On the side, Da Ya and Er Ya watched with delight, but Feng Shi glared at them and immediately advised Man Bao, "Sister-in-law, our baskets were hard to sell to begin with. If you add flowers and plants to them, they will be even harder to sell. These flowers and plants are abundant on the mountain, who in our village really needs them?"

"But they seemed to like them a lot. Just now when I offered them, they all accepted," Man Bao thought they were just stingy, unwilling to spend money.

"Of course people will take free things, but when it comes to money, they won't find it worth it."

Man Bao thought for a moment, then shared her own thoughts, "No, if the flowers and plants weren't attractive, even if given for free, people wouldn't want them. So, we need to find some generous people, show them our beautiful flowers and plants, and they will surely buy."

Feng Shi interjected, "But everyone at the market is stingy."

Man Bao shrugged, "Fine, let's not sell today then. Let's give them away for free, and once we find generous people, we can sell to them."

Feng Shi was satisfied and allowed them to arrange the flowers and plants they brought in the baskets.

Da Ya and Er Ya immediately pitched in to help.

Surprisingly, the baskets looked much more appealing after the arrangement, lined up neatly and eye-catching, attracting everyone's attention.

Even those who didn't need baskets at home stopped to take a closer look, while those in need of baskets approached directly to inquire about prices.

Prices at the market remained consistent over the years, rarely increasing. Thus, their baskets were priced similarly to others. Zhou Er Lang's craftsmanship was commendable, and customers picked out their preferred baskets, either paying or exchanging with items.

Items commonly exchanged at the market were eggs, cloth, and grains.

Cloth was expensive, and they had to submit a certain amount each year as tribute. Most often, they exchanged with eggs and grains from their homes.

Of course, some used money, but it was less common.

After a round of trading, Feng Shi collected a good amount of grains and eggs, neatly organizing them in the baskets and the shoulder basket.

Seeing the sun rising higher, Feng Shi anxiously glanced towards the end of the street, where her husband and eldest uncle had not yet returned.

Upon noticing several children looking pale, she knew they were hungry. Reaching into the shoulder basket, she took out two pieces of bread, tearing them apart to distribute among them, "Here, eat a little with water, and wait for your grandfather and father to return before going home."

Zhou Wu Lang and Zhou Liu Lang also received half a piece of bread from their sister-in-law, breaking them up to chew. They half-knelt and sighed, "It must be hard to sell, the autumn harvest just passed, and no one's family lacks grains."

"Nonsense, children say whatever they want. The wind is blowing, and your husbands will certainly return smoothly," Feng Shi said, "Fifth uncle, you must say more auspicious words."

"Auspicious words are hard to say? I dream about the god of wealth every night, wishing our family

One trip down, Feng Shi had collected quite a few grains and eggs, neatly categorizing them in baskets and shoulder baskets.

Seeing the sun rising higher, Feng Shi anxiously glanced towards the end of the street, where her husband and eldest uncle had not yet returned.

Upon noticing several children looking pale, she knew they were hungry. Reaching into the shoulder basket, she took out two pieces of bread, tearing them apart to distribute among them, "Here, eat a little with water, and wait for your grandfather and father to return before going home."

Zhou Wu Lang and Zhou Liu Lang also received half a piece of bread from their sister-in-law, breaking them up to chew. They half-knelt and sighed, "It must be hard to sell, the autumn harvest just passed, and no one's family lacks grains."

"Nonsense, children say whatever they want. The wind is blowing, and your husbands will certainly return smoothly," Feng Shi said, "Fifth uncle, you must say more auspicious words."

"Auspicious words are hard to say? I dream about the god of wealth every night, wishing our family becomes rich and prosperous, but I've never seen it become true."

Man Bao was quite interested, so she asked the system in her mind, "Computer, is the god of wealth in the sky? Can you see him?"

System: "...cannot, and there shouldn't be a god of wealth in this world."

"How can there not be one? We worship him every year, and there's also the kitchen god and earth god..."

System: "People in the future firmly uphold atheism, and they believe there are no goddesses or gods in the world."

This contradicted the stories Man Bao had heard since childhood. She remained puzzled for a while, but soon understood the concept, excitedly stating, "It must be because there are no gods in your world, so they all came to ours."

System: "That's a possibility."

Man Bao said, "Is the god of wealth stronger than you? Can he just wave a wand to make things disappear and then appear again, and then still be able to fulfill my wishes?"

"I can fulfill the wishes of the host as long as they complete the tasks I set for them. Therefore, there are no free bestowals in this world."

Man Bao nodded thoughtfully, "You are like a deity, I believe even deities think in a similar manner. However, deities do not converse with me, how am I to know what their task is?"

The system fell silent.

Nevertheless, Man Bao pondered on his own, contemplating the ways of immortals. Soon, a realization dawned upon him, and he exclaimed within his mind, "I understand now!"

He then grabbed Zhou Wulang and said, "Your approach won't work. Make a wish when you go to bed at night, for it reveals insincerity in your heart. You must assist the God of Wealth in order for your desires to be fulfilled."

Zhou Wulang inquired, "What should I do to assist him?"

"Such as cleaning for him, serving tea and meals," Man Bao explained convincingly, "I did the same for Mr. Zhuang. I cleaned for him, and he taught me to read. I served him tea and meals, and he would give me finished writings. You must treat the God of Wealth in the same manner."

Zhou Wulang burst into laughter and asked Man Bao, "Where can I find the God of Wealth then?"

The group of friends collectively gazed up at the azure sky, expressing their regretful sighs, "He resides in the heavens."

Feng Shi listened expressionlessly to the children's innocent chatter, wholeheartedly sorting through the exchanged goods. Nearby villagers admiringly praised her, saying, "Elder sister, your child is truly clever."

Their children would not ponder such matters or utter such words; each day, they would either play with mud or think about climbing the mountain to find wild fruits.

Feng Shi smiled at them and remarked, "Children, day in and day out, they have grown accustomed. Nobody knows what goes on in their little minds."

Everyone laughed cheerfully, "That's right, we can't understand a word our children say before they turn three."

Feng Shi did not eat the pastry, purposely saving a piece for Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang. Seeing Man Bao nibbling on a small piece with relish but struggling to finish it, she realized he was not accustomed to it.

After all, they had never traveled far, and at home, they always ate hot meals.

After some thought, Feng Shi asked Zhou Wulang to watch over the stall as she took out two eggs, intending to go to a nearby household in the village to boil them and feed them to her younger sister.

When she left, Man Bao immediately took something out from his pocket, which he had actually received from Keke and was wrapped in a handkerchief.

Unwrapping the handkerchief, he revealed candies wrapped in oil paper. This time, the rewards from the thorn bubble were more substantial, as in the future, these candies had become extinct. The museum had records and photos of them but no real specimens.

Man Bao not only documented the fruit but also a sapling, so the museum generously awarded her fifty points for the first time.

Keke deducted her historical debt, which was essentially the points she owed for exchanging candies by using Keke's savings to entice her to gather grass for documentation, totaling eighteen points.

In the end, Man Bao had thirty-two points left, the most she had ever obtained in her history. Previously, she had to document several different plants to earn a single point.

These points were obtained through the efforts of Keke and the museum because the plants she documented before already existed in the museum records and would continue to exist in the future.

One of those points was an encouragement point.

Man Bao thought that the word 'encouragement' was quite pleasing to the ear, and she took pride in it, exchanging every point for candies without ever considering repaying Keke.

The candies that children ate were very cheap, with one point exchanged for a large bag, containing about a hundred pieces. According to Keke, they were sold by the pound, at wholesale prices, which were quite affordable.

Various colors were available.

At first, Man Bao particularly liked candies with vibrant colors, but Keke purchased mostly yellowish and reddish candies for her, considering her safety. The colors of the candies were similar to those available today.

As for the candies with very vibrant colors, Keke had bought a separate bag for her, keeping it in the system to be consumed slowly.

Most of the other candies were distributed by Man Bao, as she was a generous child.

Man Bao never kept candies for herself, and from time to time, she would put a candy in the mouths of her brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces.

As the closest to Man Bao, Da Yi Er Yi and San Yi were the ones who ate the most candies.

Additionally, Lao Zhou Tou, Qian Shi, and a few sisters-in-law could also get her candies, so her candies were consumed quite quickly.

Last night, as soon as the points were credited, she bought a bag of candies and peeled many of them in the system. She then took out the oil paper bags that her second brother had brought for her, wrapped them again with her handkerchief, and today, she used her small hands to pack them.

Seeing that the second sister-in-law had left, Man Bao quietly took out the candies and whispered to her friends, "Should we sell these candies?"

When Zhou Wulang and the others saw the candies, they couldn't help but salivate, asking, "Man Bao, I remember we ate all the candies that your second brother brought last time when he came to the fair. Where did you get these from?"

Man Bao had just connected Keke and the deity, so she was particularly mysterious and proud, saying, "The deity gave them to me."

Friends all didn't believe her because she had previously mentioned that a friend named Ke gave them, then said they were from her descendant and someone in the system.

So about sister's words, everyone was completely unconvinced.

Although not believing, but still ask as usual, they started eating candy: "We might eat too much before selling."

"Yes, let's eat less first," Man agreed happily packed it up again. "It would be better to sell later when we have more."

Mai also laughed at herself: "Our family is having a hard time now; we should learn to go without sugar for now."

Everyone looked downcast.

Man comforted them by saying: "When we have money later on my candies will be available; I will give you all of them once grandma's medicine is bought today since the pharmacy ran out last night causing trouble with sleeping sickness so I had to wake mommy up and pour water onto her back which made me tired until death almost happened - literally! Now this seems insignificant compared to giving grandma medicine!" Friends realize how important it was for her well-being instead of just wanting candy sale profits; quickly agree and prepare themselves properly while carrying kids inside house for safe travel distance selling process together outside home base where children can assist during business hours ensuring success