Farming Family's Pocket Dimension: A Charmed Little Lady Comes to Farm

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: 1 Dou of Cornmeal

Ms. Qian mulled it over, then tugged on Gu Zhong beside her and whispered, "I’m thinking we could buy this girl as a child bride for Bao’er. That way, we won’t have to spend silver on a wife for him later. Besides, we’re short on labor. Xing’er can still help in the fields now, but she’s getting older and will be married off in a year or two. After that, is the family supposed to rely on you as the only worker? And for just a dou of rice, it’s a bargain."

Gu Zhong frowned. "It’s a good idea, but how will we feed another mouth right now?"

Ms. Qian lowered her voice. "Isn’t there still Gu the Second?"

"His family must have several hundred taels of silver stashed away. If we truly run out of food, do you really think Gu the Second would just stand by and watch his own older brother starve?"

Gu Zhong fell silent for a long moment. "If you insist on buying her, then do it."

With Gu Zhong’s consent, Ms. Qian straightened up, her confidence restored. She looked at the woman squatting on the ground. "I’ll take the girl. For one dou of cornmeal!"

The woman seemed stunned by the offer, speechless for a long moment.

Ms. Qian got up. "You have a grain sack, don’t you? Bring it here, and I’ll fill it for you."

Bao’er started whining, "Mom, I don’t want her! I told you, I don’t want a wife!"

Ms. Qian placated him, "We’re buying her for you to ride like a pony, not to be your wife."

Bao’er’s face lit up instantly. He clapped his hands and cheered, "Oh, goodie! I’m getting a pony to ride! A pony to ride!"

Watching Bao’er, the woman’s face clouded with hesitation. Then, steeling herself with a grimace, she untied the bundle she was carrying, pulled out a sack, and followed Ms. Qian to the mule cart.

Ms. Qian poured out a small half-sack of cornmeal for the woman, who immediately protested. "This is nowhere near a dou! You need to give me more."

Ms. Qian clutched the opening of the large sack. "What do you mean? Look, it’s half full. That’s definitely a dou."

Gu Fei glanced over and suddenly called out, "Mother, don’t we have a sheng measure? Where is it?"

Mrs. Chen called back loudly, "It’s in the mule cart! Go find it."

Gu Fei got up and went to the mule cart. She pretended to rummage around, but in reality, she pulled her family’s wooden sheng measure from her personal dimension.

She handed the measure to Lian’er. "Take this to your mother."

Lian’er accepted it with a grateful look and hurried over to her mother.

Ms. Qian had already heard Gu Fei. Now, seeing Lian’er approach with the measuring tool, she got so angry she kicked Ah Huang, the dog belonging to Gu the Second’s family. "You meddling mutt, get out of here!"

The scrawny Ah Huang whimpered and scurried away.

’That poor dog,’ Gu Fei thought. ’My uncle’s family hadn’t wanted to bring him in the first place, but he insisted on following. They have nothing to feed him, so he gets by on whatever he can scrounge up—tree bark, grass roots, or even dung.’

Her uncle, Gu the Second, sneered from nearby. "Did my Ah Huang do something to provoke you? A kick like that could have given him an internal injury. If anything happens to him, you’ll pay for it!"

Ms. Qian spat. She then saw Lian’er and her mother get another sack and begin measuring the cornmeal into it, one sheng at a time.

A dou is equal to ten sheng. The half-sack of cornmeal measured out to only six sheng. The woman grabbed at Ms. Qian’s arm. "I told you it wasn’t enough! You’re short by a lot. Give me the other four sheng."

Muttering curses under her breath, Ms. Qian had no choice but to measure out another four sheng of cornmeal for the woman.

The woman tied the sack shut, clutched it to her chest, and quickly moved to the side with her son.

Lian’er returned the sheng measure to Gu Fei and just stood there, uncertain for a moment whether she should follow her mother or go over to Ms. Qian’s side.

Ms. Qian shot her a vicious glare. Still fuming, she tried to think of some work to give the girl, but there was nothing to be done right then. She had no choice but to snap, "You wretched girl, get over here! Watch Bao’er and make sure he doesn’t run off."