Chapter 42 - Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Bad Idea_l

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Bad Idea_l

Translator: 549690339

“What do you mean by harping on a bad idea?”

Chen Thirty laughed and said, “That deer is originally a creature of the mountains and forests. Whoever gets it owns it, right, Donkey?”

The youth with the hemp-face who was called ‘Donkey’ responded with an apologetic smile, “Absolutely, absolutely. Brother Thirty is right, whoever gets it owns it.”

Tu Xiong smacked his lips, slapped Chen Thirty forcefully on the back with his plump hand, and putting an arm around the youth, he asked with a smile, “Well then, how do you plan to get it?”

“Come here, come here, hear me out!” Chen Thirty gestured for them to come closer. The three drew their heads together, whispering and hatching a plan.

All ended with a knowing smile.

“Ding, ding, ding, ding…”

A salesman carrying his merchandise and ringing a small gong passed by the saddle shop.

Yingbao saw him carrying a load full of eye-catching trinkets, and immediately rushed over, “Hey there, salesman, hold on a moment.”

The salesman noticed a child running towards him, knowing it meant business, so he stopped immediately and set down his burden.

Yingbao ran over and was dazzled by the goods in his basket.

Embroidered buttons, sewing threads, multi-colored silks, rosewood bead necklaces, auspicious knots.

Hanging from the basket were jade pendants, copper coin pendants, mini dolls, gourds, tiny colorful charms, and paper pinwheels.

There were also ladies’ hair decorations, earrings, ornamental hairpins made of both copper and wood, combs, bracelets, and neck chains.

The most expensive items, large and small copper mirrors, were at the bottom of the basket.

Jiang Sanlang, sitting at the entrance to the shop, was looking at his giggly little girl with a smile, knowing that she was going to spend money on a heap of trinkets again.

Yingbao chose over a dozen brightly colored silks to give to her mother.

She also picked up two ceramic goose-shaped whistles for her little brother. She selected several embroidered towels which could be used for washing faces at home.

She pointed at a little gourd with tassels hanging from it and asked, “Do you have the seeds for this?”

“Yes.” The salesman reached into the bottom of the basket, opened a cloth bag, and took out a small oil-paper packet, “These are gourd seeds.”

Yingbao was thrilled. She took a look at it, but did not recognize it, “Are these really gourd seeds?”

“Of course. Not only do I have gourd seeds, but I also have Fanbang seeds.” The salesman dug out two more small paper packets and opened them for her to see.

“Fanbang seeds? What are they?” Yingbao was very interested in the unfamiliar seeds. She hastily grabbed one to examine it, but still couldn’t recognize it. The young salesman scratched his head. In fact, he didn’t recognize them either.

These seeds were all picked out from among the undesired items of a Fanbang merchant by his father and given to him to sell.

Yingbao did not fret about it and asked, “How much for these seeds?”

“The vegetable seeds are one coin per pack, gourd seeds are two coins per pack, and Fanbang seeds are ten coins per pack,” answered the salesman.

It seems not too expensive, thought Yingbao.

“Except for the vegetable seeds, I’ll take the rest.”

They had plenty of vegetable seeds at home, there was no need to spend money buying more.

“Alright.” The salesman was delighted, picked out the vegetable seeds, counted the rest carefully, and gave them all to the little girl.

Finally, Yingbao collected a pile of seeds and bought a small copper mirror. Seeing nothing else that she wanted, she took out some copper coins from her pocket and paid the bill.

The total was less than two hundred coins, quite cheap.

After a while, a few more children came running over, surrounding the salesman’s basket to take a look.

Yingbao, cradling an armful of items, ran back and put them in her bamboo basket.

Jiang Sanlang, all smiles, patted his little girl’s head and said, “When we get home, Daddy will give you another string of coins.”

Her cute little spending habits could melt anyone’s heart; he just couldn’t be strict with her.

Seeing that it was nearly noon, Jiang Sanlang patted his stomach and asked his little girl, “Are you hungry, Baobao?”

Yingbao blinked and took some boiled water chestnuts out of her pocket and handed them to her father.

Jiang Sanlang chuckled, “How do you manage to fit so many things in your pocket?”

He wasn’t really asking, it was just a casual remark.

Yingbao chuckled as she shoved the water chestnut into her father’s hand: “Dad, you should eat if you’re hungry. I’m not.”

Jiang Sanlang took it, bit into it, and found it was already cooked. He figured it must have been given to his daughter by his wife.

“Are you really not hungry, Baobao?” he asked.

“Hmm, I still have more here.” Yingbao took out another water chestnut.

Jiang Sanlang couldn’t help but laugh, savoring the water chestnuts his daughter gave him one by one.

He wasn’t sure if it was because the weather was getting warmer, but he felt a warming sensation coursing through his veins.

He clenched his fists, suddenly feeling extraordinarily strong.

Youyou leaned her head close by, nudging her little owner, hinting that it needed a water chestnut too.

Seeing no other option, Yingbao fed it the water chestnut and patted her head:

“Take me home later.”

She was looking forward to the feeling of riding on the deer.

Finally, the Shopkeeper brought over the completed saddle, “Come, come, try it on. If it doesn’t fit, we’ll make adjustments.”

Yingbao held onto Youyou as the Shopkeeper placed the saddle on it, tightening the straps.

Youyou was somewhat resistant, repeatedly trying to jump and hit him.

“Okay, okay.” Yingbao stroked its neck to calm it down.

Youyou reluctantly rubbed against her little owner, finally settling down.

The Shopkeeper then fastened the reins, explaining to Jiang Sanlang how to control the deer and things to pay attention to.

Yingbao carefully listened, not missing a single word.

Once the saddle and reins were secured, Jiang Sanlang lifted his daughter onto Youyou’s back.

Yingbao sat upright, her feet firmly on the foot rope, grabbing reins from her father. She instantly felt as sturdy as an old dog.

She urged Youyou to take a walk around, feeling absolutely thrilled.

Jiang Sanlang paid for the saddle, smiling from ear to ear, following beside Youyou’s on their walk back.

“Baobao, slow down.” He was still worried his daughter might be thrown off.

Yingbao trusted Youyou. It wouldn’t stumble for no reason, let alone deliberately throw her off.

Along the way, Youyou caught the attention of passersby. Some even approached them, asking where they bought the deer and how they trained it.

Jiang Sanlang simply smiled and ignored them.

Off the main road leading back to the village, there were a few patches of Wild Bamboo Forest.

The bamboo forest was well-maintained, not lush but quite tall, perfect for cooling off in the summer.

There seemed to be three figures squatting in the bamboo forest, up to something unknown.

Jiang Sanlang instantly became alert, reaching into his bag to grab his axe, gripping it in his palm.

Being a frequent hunter, he had a sharp intuition. Those three didn’t seem to be just resting, but rather waiting for someone.

In the bamboo forest, Tu Xiong and Chen Thirty, along with Chen Lulu, had been waiting for more than an hour, growing increasingly impatient.

Before this, Chen Thirty had specifically made two trips back to the town to confirm whether the deer were still there, only to return and continue waiting. “Damn it! I’ve been waiting for so long. I’ll teach that… what’s his name?” Chen Thirty spoke fiercely, turning to ask Chen Lulu, “What’s the man’s name?”

Chen Lulu: “His name is Jiang Sanlang, from Dongchen Village. The little girl he’s with is adopted, not his biological daughter. I heard recently he’s been quite lucky, they’re even building a house on South Mountain.”

“Really?” Chen Thirty was intrigued and asked, “How did they become so wealthy?”

“They apparently have some kind of ‘golden ears’.” Chen Lulu spat in disgust and said, “I stopped by their house and took a few, they tasted terrible.”

“Golden ears?” Chen Thirty, at the mention of ‘gold’, became even more curious, “What golden ears? Made of gold?”

“Not made of real gold.” Chen Lulu fumbled, “It seems to be a kind of yellow mushroom. It looks odd. Maybe it’s poisonous.”

“Poison?” Chen Thirty didn’t believe it, “If it’s poisonous, why did you eat it?”

Chen Lulu: “Well, I was just curious, so I took a bite. My mom told me not to eat poisonous mushrooms, so I threw the rest away..”