Jiang Sheng finally finished packing up the mushrooms. Zheng Ruqian picked up the package and was about to leave.
Jiang Sheng grabbed the corner of his clothes.
Zheng Ruqian looked back. "You're a girl, you can't let you carry it."
Jiang Sheng chuckled. "Second brother, no one is carrying it."
"How can we take it to the county if no one carries it?" Zheng Ruqian wondered, "Are we going to drag it on the ground?"
Jiang Sheng really wanted to kowtow to her own brother's imagination. She waved her hand and pointed to the gradually clear figures at the village entrance.
Shili Town was poor, and Shili Station Village was not wealthy either.
Most of the villagers traveled on foot. If they needed to transport something, they used a flatbed cart, which consumed the labor of a strong young man for ten kilometers.
But in fact there were other means of transportation in the town, such as donkey carts.
With a donkey pulling a flatbed cart at the front, and the driver wielding a whip, he could order the old donkey to move forward at a steady pace.
The back of the flatbed cart could carry seven or eight people, not to mention goods.
Last time when changing the bandages for Xu Mo's broken leg, Fang Heng had suggested going to the county, but for the five of them, charging two coins per person, it would cost twenty coins round trip.
Jiang Sheng had never seen so much money. She felt heartache and was unwilling to part with it. She would rather walk for four hours to the county.
But in the past few days, she had witnessed her brothers' ability to earn money, and she had also seen Xu Mo's loneliness and silence. The little lover of money finally decided to bleed heavily.
"You, you rented a donkey cart." Zheng Ruqian was also stunned, then pained, "How much would that cost? I'm afraid all the money earned today would have to go into it."
Jiang Sheng gritted her teeth. "I didn't rent it."
"You didn't rent it?" Zheng Ruqian was very confused and looked around.
Fang Heng and Xu Mo were also somewhat puzzled. Only Wen Zhiyun looked calm.
That was because Jiang Sheng had discussed it with Fourth Brother in advance. She still had two gold beans, which were originally intended for the medical officer. Later, the medical officer was killed, and the two gold beans were still in Jiang Sheng's hands. She thought about it and felt that walking for four hours every time to deliver mushrooms was too cruel. Riding in an ox cart for too long was not cost effective either. She might as well bite the bullet and buy a donkey cart.
Wen Zhiyun expressed his support. He had never thought of taking those gold beans for his parents either. He just said that Jiang Sheng could use them however she wanted.
Jiang Sheng bought this donkey cart, bleeding heavily.
The price of the old donkey was two taels of silver, and the flatbed cart was cheap at only three hundred copper coins.
Jiang Sheng handed over the two small gold beans and got back a bunch of copper coins in exchange.
"Two-tael gold beans are equal to three taels of white silver. One tael of white silver is one thousand copper coins. Do you want seven hundred copper coins or half a tael of broken silver?" the cart driver asked.
Jiang Sheng did not hesitate at all. "I want seven hundred copper coins."
She also wanted to try the feeling of coins jingling in her purse.
The cart driver was very patient and counted out seven hundred copper coins for her. When leaving, he asked the children, "Do you know how to drive a donkey cart?"
The little heads unanimously looked at Fang Heng.
Fang Heng, with all the family's hopes and great skills, was somewhat at a loss. He had driven a carriage before, but that was a horse carriage.
No one had taught him how to drive a donkey cart.
But he thought, donkeys and horses were close relatives and looked...almost the same. He should know how, right?
Fang Heng had never shown cowardice in his life. Even if he felt unsure in his heart, his face remained cold as he nodded.
Seeing this, the old cart driver felt that this child was steady and that if he said he could do it, he certainly could.
The old cart driver didn't say any more. He left with the gold beans to report back.
The remaining children crowded around the old donkey, jumping and frolicking.
Some stroked its head, some flicked its tail, and even Wen Zhiyun couldn't help but touch the solid wooden flatbed.
From now on, they would have a donkey cart too!
Jiang Sheng tried her best to restrain her wide grin, but she was still delighted to the point that her throat was visible. "Second Brother, Third Brother, carry Eldest Brother onto the cart. Let's go deliver the mushrooms!"
"Me?" Being called out, Xu Mo was full of confusion.
But he quickly understood and was touched.
He knew that even for flour, Jiang Sheng the little sister would only buy coarse grains. How could she bear to grit her teeth and buy a donkey cart? It turned out to be for him, so he wouldn't be left out.
The little girl was young but her thoughts were exceptionally delicate.
Xu Mo's nose turned sour, but with so many younger siblings around, he was too embarrassed to show it. He could only force back the sourness spreading from the tip of his nose to his throat.
With the combined efforts of Zheng Ruqian and Fang Heng, Xu Mo was gently placed on the flatbed cart.
Jiang Sheng hopped up and sat down beside him.
Wen Zhiyun held his medical book and sat on the other side.
The remaining Zheng Ruqian put the mushrooms at the rear of the cart, then sat down himself.
Now it all depended on the third brother.
Several pairs of expectant eyes looked over. Fang Heng suddenly felt a heavy responsibility weighing upon him. He gritted his teeth and suppressed the slight cowardice, then sat down behind the donkey's butt and picked up the whip.
"Go!"
With a soft shout, the old donkey snorted loudly then broke into a wild gallop.
The four people on the flatbed cart almost tumbled off.
Fang Heng was shocked. He quickly pulled on the donkey's bit, bringing the cart to an abrupt halt. Before the people on the flatbed could recover from having their faces pressed against their legs, they were thrown backward again, getting an upside view of the heavens.
"Ah..." Zheng Ruqian yelled as he desperately protected every mushroom.
Wen Zhiyun and Jiang Sheng clung to the sides, afraid of crushing Xu Mo's injured leg.
"Third brother," Jiang Sheng wailed, "Do you really know how to drive a donkey cart?"
Fang Heng responded with a whip: I can, I really can.
It was just that the donkey was old and a bit unruly.
All the way lurching and staggering, rising and falling, their buttocks were jolted into eight pieces. After an hour, they finally arrived at the county.
Jiang Sheng jumped down from the cart and spat out yellow water from her mouth.
"Jiang Sheng, are you okay?" The brothers were all very concerned.
Jiang Sheng waved her hand. As she opened her mouth, more yellow water came out. "I'm fine... I'm just... carsick..."
People had seen horse sickness and carriage sickness, but no one had seen donkey cart sickness before.
Passersby couldn't help but smile knowingly after seeing that the driver was a child.
"Jiang Sheng, it's third brother's fault. On the way back, third brother will definitely not let you get sick." Fang Heng sincerely apologized, his face full of guilt.
After vomiting it all out, Jiang Sheng rinsed her mouth and finally recovered.
She patted Fang Heng on the shoulder. "Third brother just lacks experience. In the future, you will definitely become a qualified donkey cart driver."
Fang Heng pressed his lips together and said no more.
They lined up at the gate of Xieyang County, crossed the city gate, and arrived inside the county town.
If Shili Town was like a large market, bustling with vendors selling meat, vegetables and all kinds of goods, then the county town was relatively tranquil and majestic, orderly and grand.
Gone were the crowded small stalls and vendors. In their place were neat shops lining both sides of the road.
The clothing of the passersby had also changed from coarse cloth and hemp to fine linen robes. Some men wore jade crowns, some waved paper fans, their steps light and elegant, clearly distinguished from the tanned men in the villages and towns.
Jiang Sheng had been to the county before, but she would just steal some food then hurry back, never taking the time to observe the county town carefully.
She didn't even know where You Ran Residence was located.
Fortunately, she had a clever tongue. After asking two or three times, she found this reputedly luxurious restaurant opened by a wealthy family from Fengjing in the county.
You Ran Residence.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the stately restaurant. Just as they looked up and saw the name on the signboard, Fang Heng's expression suddenly changed.
This was... a business of the Jiang family?!
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