Chapter 40

Bartering (2)

Mu Yangling gestured for them to look at her rabbits and said, “My father went into the mountains this morning to catch these rabbits. I’m exchanging one rabbit for two catties of new cotton.”

“You caught so many in one morning?”

Mu Yangling’s heart skipped a beat. Lowering her head in embarrassment, she said, “We set up a trap in advance. Coupled with the fact that there are many people in our family, we managed to catch so many. Because they are still in the mountains, they sent me to sell the rabbits so that I can use the money to buy some cotton and other things. However, not only will selling these at a stall take a long time, but we also have to pay a lot of taxes, so…”

The owners all understood her plight. One of them sighed and said, “The business tax has increased again. I wonder if my shop will still be around next spring.”

Mu Yangling’s eyebrows twitched. The business tax had increased again?

“I don’t have money, but it’s not a bad idea to exchange cotton for it. Let me see your rabbits. I’ll choose one to bring back and give my children a good meal.”

This was Mu Yangling’s first time doing such a thing, but these people were familiar with it. Usually, there were peddlers from the countryside who exchanged grains or other things with them. As long as they could avoid the registrar, everyone was happy to barter.

Mu Yangling quickly swapped out four more rabbits. After checking the new cotton they brought, she stuffed it into her bag and carried it on her back.

Seeing that Mu Yangling was about to leave, the boss asked, “Miss, what else do you want to exchange for? I see that you still have seven or eight rabbits in your basket.”

“My mother is pregnant. I want to exchange for some brown sugar, red dates, longan, and other blood-nourishing things.” After saying that, she said regretfully, “It’s a pity that the pharmacy isn’t manned by the owner. Otherwise, I would have gone to exchange for some medicinal herbs.”

The boss laughed loudly and said, “You can’t exchange for medicinal herbs, but these little things are not difficult. Let me tell you, at the end of this street, there’s a grocery store at the left corner. That shop belongs to a relative of mine. His family is large and they’re considered well-off. If you want to barter, go there. They’ll definitely say yes.”

Mu Yangling expressed her gratitude and headed there after leaving the shop. There were not many things that they needed at home, but there were actually quite a lot of little things here and there.

When Mu Yangling arrived at the provision store, she directly explained her purpose for coming. She also said that she was recommended by the boss not far away. After successfully exchanging two rabbits for a lot of red dates and brown sugar, she even took a bag of candy before leaving in satisfaction.

Mu Yangling went to look for her father.

When Mu Shi came out of the restaurant, the roe deer and more than half of the rabbits were gone, with only seven remaining. Seeing that his daughter still had six left, he heaved a sigh of relief. “Come, let’s go to the market to set up a stall.”

“Father, I heard that the business tax has risen again.”

Mu Shi frowned slightly. “Let’s go and ask.”

The business tax had indeed increased, but not by much. Based on the scale of the Mu Family’s stall, they would only have to pay an additional five copper coins a day. However, penny and penny laid up will be many, especially for commoners like them. One could do a lot with five copper coins.

However, he had no choice but to pay the tax. If he was discovered setting up a stall outside, his goods would be confiscated and he would be fined.

Mu Shi looked at the things his daughter had exchanged for and stroked her head. “I’d better go to the county tomorrow. I’ll go there every other day. Stay at home and take care of your mother and brother. Although bartering is one solution, our family is so small and there’s a limit to what we can use. What’s the use of bartering for so many things? Silver is still more practical.”

Deflated by Mu Shi’s words, Mu Yangling said dejectedly, “I forgot about this.”

Mu Shi smiled and said, “You’re still so young. It’s already not bad that you can come up with this method.”

However, Mu Yangling was a little dejected. She was not young anymore.

The father and daughter sold all the rabbits and bought some millet before returning home.

Mu Shi told his wife about entering the county and said, “The town folks can’t consume so many rabbits. In the future, Ah Ling and I will enter the mountain in the morning. I’ll go to the county, while she will go to town to deliver goods to the eatery and restaurant. She will be back home in less than an hour. When she comes back, don’t let her enter the mountain. Let her play in the village with her brother.”

Shu Wanniang nodded hurriedly. “Let her learn some needlework from me. She can’t possibly not know these things when she gets married in the future, right?”

“Alright, let her play for two hours in the afternoon and learn for two hours.”

The two of them decided on Mu Yangling’s daily learning schedule from now on.

However, Mu Yangling had plans of her own. She would enter the mountains in the morning and leave the mountains at ten in the morning. It would only take an hour to send something to town.

She could play with her brother for an hour and then go home for lunch. In the afternoon, she could bring them to catch fish and roast rabbits to eat. She could also go to the cave to play. In addition, she had to fulfill the promise of teaching Liu Ting how to read…

Mu Yangling suddenly thought of her great-aunt and turned over with bright and sparkling eyes. Previously, she had been worried that she didn’t have time to look for that witch. Now, she would have time.

Mu Yangling chuckled. Even if she couldn’t help Great-aunt take back the farmland, she could at least make her life in West Mountain Village easier.

Having confirmed her future goal, Mu Yangling got up bright and early the next morning and covered her brother with a blanket. Then, she got up, washed up, and followed her father into the mountains.

As they were entering the county, the father and daughter no longer restrained their abilities and tried their best to hunt more rabbits.

There were indeed many rabbits in the mountains. As long as they went deeper, they could find two rabbit nests within a hundred steps. Mu Yangling sealed a nest and smoked the rabbits out. This method was faster than shooting arrows. She chose the bigger ones and threw them into the sack, letting the smaller ones go.

“Father, do you want to bring a few small ones into the city? I heard that the young misses and young masters in the county are much more delicate than those in town and like to raise them. Anyway, you’ll be looking to sell these rabbits to eateries and restaurants when you enter the city. Why don’t you bring a few more small ones and give them to the manager of the restaurant so that they can bring them back for their children or for their young misses and young masters to play with?”

“Rabbits are dirty. Who’d like to play with that? I’ve only heard of eating rabbits and raising horses and cats. I’ve never heard of raising rabbits.”

Mu Yangling was unconvinced. “Rabbits are much cuter than cats.”

Mu Shi picked up a rabbit. “Can those young ladies carry such a fat rabbit? For instance, your mother doesn’t like to raise rabbits, but she has thought of raising cats.”

To Mu Shi, his wife’s aesthetic sense was much more reliable than his daughter’s. At the very least, his wife was once a rich young lady. As for his daughter?

Alright, it wasn’t that he was being humble as a father, but this child was just a wild child who ran all over the mountains. She was even more like a boy than a boy.

Mu Yangling was originally neutral about the idea. But seeing that her father did not trust her, she ran far away and found another rabbit nest. This time, she did not let the little ones go. She brought them over and placed them in the sack, then said, “If they’re still alive by the time you reach the county, take them out and gift them away. Father, trust me. Many little girls and young masters like to raise rabbits. Rabbits are so adorable. Just look at how happy your son is raising one.”

“That’s because your brother has nothing to raise. Buy him a horse and see if he still wants rabbits.”

Mu Yangling stomped her feet. “How is that comparable? A horse costs 80 taels of silver and a rabbit costs 80 copper coins. If it were me, I would prefer horses to rabbits, too.”

Seeing that his daughter got mad, Mu Shi didn’t dare to anger her anymore. He agreed. “Alright, I’ll remember this. Once I enter the city, I’ll give them to those shopkeepers or owners.”

Only then was Mu Yangling satisfied.