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But in families like theirs, it’s actually a bit late to buy now.
“I plan to buy a few children with good martial talents, to nurture them for Xiao Bao. My attendants have been trained since childhood; I had people around me from the age of two. Buying for Xiao Bao now, is actually already a bit late,” Su Yu said, looking at Wang Jinhe.
“Sure, if you think it’s appropriate, then go ahead and buy,” Wang Jinhe replied directly.
She understood that for someone like Su Yu, who was part of a large family, he would have a better understanding of when it was right to have attendants around the children. Also, what Su Yu said was true; growing up together from a young age would foster deep loyalty.
“Then we’ll choose together afterwards.”
“Sounds good.”
After Su Xi woke up, he found Su Yu talking to Xiao Bao. When he heard that they had finally started considering having attendants around Xiao Bao, he felt reassured and didn’t intervene.
When he first arrived and saw that there were no attendants around Xiao Bao, he had started thinking about finding some people. Now that both Su Yu and Wang Jinhe had similar thoughts, he didn’t feel the need to interfere too much.
Xiao Bao looked at them, feeling a bit confused, not fully understanding what they were talking about.
“Mommy, what are you talking about? I didn’t understand,” Xiao Bao asked Su Yu and Wang Jinhe, his curiosity piqued.
“We mean to have some people around you to take care of you,” Su Yu explained.
Xiao Bao tilted his head, thinking carefully. “Like Uncle Yuan Bao and Uncle Yuan Xu?”
Su Yu nodded, “Yes, just like Uncle Yuan Bao and Uncle Yuan Xu.”
“Alright.”
“Xiao Bao accepted it quite quickly,” Wang Jinhe said, a bit amused.
“That’s good.”
While they were talking, Wang Jinhe and Su Yu set the table, and the rest of the family members also joined them.
After the meal, the three of them went outside. The servants were already waiting at the door, including Huang Qi.
“Young Master, Yuan Bao asked me to come today. Is there something specific he wants me to do?”
“We’re going to buy some fruits today. There’s a family over there growing some sour jujubes. Go check them out, and if they’re suitable, buy them,” Wang Jinhe explained.
Huang Qi was pleasantly surprised to hear that they had found sour jujubes. “Sour jujubes? I’ve been looking for them. If possible, I’ll buy them all.”
“Let’s go then.”
As they arrived at Hululu Village, the villagers were already waiting at the village entrance.
Seeing a carriage approaching from a distance, one of them exclaimed with joy, “The people have arrived! I see the carriage!”
“They’re here, they’re here! We all see the carriage!”
Wang Jinhe got off the carriage, holding the drowsy Xiao Bao. She looked at Huang Qi and said, “Li Bo, take Huang Qi to see your sour jujube trees.”
“Yes,” Li Bo led Huang Qi to his orchard. He had planted over twenty sour jujube trees, and every tree had produced excellent fruit.
After they left, Wang Jinhe turned to the others. “Let’s start picking peaches first. After Huang Qi has inspected the jujubes and determined their quality, we can decide on the price. Yuan Bao, you’ve been handling this. Set the price.”
“Got it.”
In the first orchard, when Yuan Bao saw the large peaches, he was momentarily surprised but quickly regained his composure. After walking around the orchard, he said, “Typically, peaches sell for seven cents per kilogram, which is the highest price. For these, we can set it at nine cents per kilogram.”
The owner of the orchard was delighted to hear the price of nine cents per kilogram. “Thank you very much.”
“No need to thank me. Your fruits are of good quality, that’s why I can offer this price,” Yuan Bao replied. He knew that if he transported these fruits to the surrounding areas, he could easily sell them for twenty cents per kilogram.
“You’re all fruit growers; you know how to pick them. We only want the ripe ones; the unripe ones can stay on the tree and ripen. When we pick them, I’ll make sure to separate the ripe ones for you. Please don’t think I’m being unreasonable, but we can’t sell unripe fruits,” Yuan Bao said straightforwardly.
“Don’t worry, we understand. We’ve been picking fruits for many years,” one of the farmers assured him.
“Alright, let’s start picking. Be careful not to damage them,” Yuan Bao said. After speaking, he went to the carriage and took out an account book, noting down the names of the farmers and the prices of the fruits.
Wang Jinhe couldn’t help but chuckle as she watched Yuan Bao’s earnest and professional demeanor. “I have to say, Yuan Bao, you really can give off that intimidating vibe.”
“It’s not about intimidating people; Yuan Bao is just always so serious when he’s working,” Su Yu laughed at Wang Jinhe’s comment.
Where did he come up with such talk?
“Well, it’s a good thing.”
For every basket of fruits, Yuan Bao would inspect them. Once he was satisfied that the fruits were of high quality, he nodded and said, “Very good.”
After picking for two hours, they had finished picking the fruits from this orchard.
“In total, it’s 2,497 kilograms. Please double-check it,” Yuan Bao handed the account book to the orchard owner.
The orchard owner waved his hand. “I can’t read, but I trust you. You wouldn’t cheat us over such a small matter.”
Yuan Bao was momentarily surprised, then he smiled. It felt good to be trusted so implicitly.
“2,497 kilograms of fruits at nine cents per kilogram. In total, it’s 22 taels and 4 hundred and 73 wen,” Yuan Bao quickly calculated, “Please check if it’s correct.”
Even though the orchard owner couldn’t read, he had no trouble with calculations.
“It’s correct.”
“Here are 22 taels, and these are copper coins. Count them, and if everything is in order, put your thumbprint here.” After handing over the money, Yuan Bao took out the ink and stamp.
The orchard owner saw so much money for the first time; his hands trembled as he counted.
This was truly their money, not someone else’s.
“Yes, that’s the correct amount,” the orchard owner said after putting his thumbprint. Holding the silver coins, he was overjoyed. They had only picked one-third of the fruits in his orchard. There were still two more harvests, and he could make a significant amount of money. It was truly wonderful.
The man’s wife looked at the money in her hands, her eyes red.
When they heard that someone wanted to buy their fruits yesterday, they didn’t believe it. But now, with the money in their hands, they truly believed.
Fortunately, when they were about to give up, the village chief kept urging them to continue farming. Who knew, someone might buy their fruits one day? Look at this year, someone did buy them, and at such a good price.
People around them were happy to see them receive the silver.
“Let’s move on to the next orchard. We have limited carriages, so we can only pick from three families in a day. But don’t worry, we’ll pick all the fruits, it’s just a matter of time. No need to rush,” Yuan Bao assured them. He hadn’t anticipated their fruits being this good. They had slightly underestimated the number of carriages this time. They would bring more tomorrow.
“No problem,” the villagers agreed.