Sickly Peasant Girl: General, I’m In Charge!

Chapter 27: Exchange for Food

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Again, she found herself puzzled, “The medicine shopkeeper seems to be quite adept at calculations.”

“Every shopkeeper must be literate, and literacy leads to numeracy,” Madam Li replied as she helped her clean her hands. She then served Chen Xiaosang a bowl of warm quail soup from the pot.

With her nose twitching at the aroma, Chen Xiaosang couldn’t take her eyes off the bowl. Swallowing, she made a decision, “In the future, I want everyone in our family to be educated and good at counting.”

Mrs. Li chuckled and shook her head. She placed the bowl on the table, handing a pair of chopsticks to Chen. “Education comes with a price, dear. Families like ours can hardly afford it.”

Being able to farm the land should be enough.

After sipping the quail soup and wiping her mouth, Chen Xiaosang firmly grasped her chopsticks. “Without education, they won’t even know how to count. I refuse to let Dazhu and the others remain uneducated.”

Not fully understanding the term ‘uneducated’, Mrs. Li recognized it wasn’t a compliment. She assumed that her daughter was still upset about not being allowed to weigh the grains.

With no one else in the kitchen, she explained, “Your father deliberately chose today to collect grains, waiting for your uncle to apologize in front of the village witnesses. With the weighing done, won’t it just be our family present when your uncle arrives?”

Chen Xiaosang’s eyes sparkled at this revelation. Her father had purposely planned for her uncle to humilated in front of the villagers.

With a wide grin, she remarked, ” My dad is so smart.”

Mrs. Li returned the smile, helping her neaten her short hair. Indeed, if Chen Baolai hadn’t been intelligent, she wouldn’t have fallen for him all those years ago.

Meanwhile, in the county town, Old Chen, who was delivering soup to his four sons, sneezed twice. Under the concerned gazes of his sons, he urged them to hurry up and drink their soup.

As he prepared to leave, Sishu clung to his leg, crying. He was picked up by Dashu and set aside.

Old Chen’s heart softened, and he suggested, “The rain is so heavy, you won’t get much work done. Come home with me.”

Sishu nodded enthusiastically, only to hear his elder brother protest, “The rain will stop by tomorrow. If we return now, we’ll have to pay an additional entrance fee. It’s better if we don’t.”

Old Chen saw the wisdom in Dashu’s words and conceded, “In that case, work a few more days. But remember, you must return by June. No matter how much you earn, you can’t neglect the farm.”

Chen Sishu’s shoulders slumped as he plopped onto the ground.

Looking at the raindrops falling from the eaves, he wanted to cry.

Old Chen stuffed their dirty laundry into a basket, shouldered it, and braved the rain. After a few steps, he turned back to his sons huddled under the eaves, “Don’t skimp on the biscuits your mother made. I’ll bring more when I come to pay the summer tax the day after tomorrow!”

A glimmer of comfort shone in Chen Sishu’s eyes. He energetically waved his arms and shouted to Old Chen, “Dad, bring me an egg when you come the day after tomorrow!”

Just as his shout finished echoing, a slap landed on the back of his head. He rubbed the assaulted spot, turning to see his second brother smirking at him. “You’ve barely done any work, and you’re already thinking about eggs?”

Shishu pulled a face, protesting, “I earned twenty coins yesterday.”

“And you think earning twenty copper coins gives you the right to eat eggs that cost one each?” Ershu shot him a sideways glance.

Knowing his second brother’s propensity for metaphorical backstabbing, Shishu didn’t dare to cross him. So, he could only stare at his father’s back.

Despite the heavy rain, Old Chen had returned home, where everyone was still busy.

Chen Xiaosang sat at the table, attentively listening to her sister-in-law’s counting. She did a quick calculation in her head and confirmed, “That totals 120 coins.”

After taking a pile of coins, she carefully counted twenty coppers and pushed them towards an old lady in the village.

“Why is it 120 coins?” The old lady couldn’t resist asking.

Chen Xiaosang began explaining with her fingers, “A liter of wheat is three copper coins. You’ve brought forty liters, so that makes 120 coins.”

The bystander also wore a confused expression.

“Each liter is three coins,” Chen Xiaosang reiterated logically. “Ten liters then are thirty coins. Four lots of thirty coins make up one hundred and twenty.”

Seeing them frowning in confusion, Chen Xiaosang cheerfully suggested, “You can use your fingers to count.”

“But I only have ten fingers. How can I count forty liters of wheat?” The old woman was anxious.

In the past, it was her husband who sold the produce in town. This was her first time calculating such a large number, a task her fingers were insufficient for.

“You can borrow fingers if you don’t have enough,” Chen Xiaosang pointed at the people nearby, offering a solution to the old woman.

The old woman was delighted and promptly asked the others to lend their hands for counting.

Chen Xiaosang watched them count forty fingers in all, pressing one after another. To kill time, she glanced around and noticed her father observing her with a complex expression.

“Dad!” Chen Xiaosang flashed a bright grin.

Old Chen patted her head, “Are you managing the money today?”

“Mother was supposed to, but she lost to me in math. So, it’s my responsibility now.” Chen Xiaosang replied, then promptly asked after her four brothers.

“They’re doing fine,” Old Chen assured her. “They’ve had some quail soup and bread.”

Relief washed over Chen Xiaosang. Seeing this, Old Chen gave her head another affectionate pat before retreating to his room.

Chen Xiaosang watched as her mother followed her father back to her room. She was bored, so she stacked the scattered copper coins in front of her one by one, then pushed them down and rearranged them.

On her eighth attempt at piling them up, an excited scream echoed, “It really is 120 coins! Little Sang, you’re so clever! You figured it out so quickly!”

“I just had to glance at her, and the answer came to me,” Chen Xiaosang said with a shrug.

“How did you calculate so quickly?”

The women around her lit up with curiosity, firing questions at Chen Xiaosang from every side.

Even their own husbands couldn’t calculate as fast as Xiaosang!

Chen Xiaosang, innocently shrugged again, “That’s just how I figured it out.”

The women around her, old and young, were full of praises for Chen Xiaosang. However, thinking about their own kids who knew nothing more than playing in the mud, they couldn’t help but grit their teeth.

That night, children from several families were made to practice their arithmetic, counting stones until they saw them in their dreams. A few mischievous ones even secretly planned to give Chen Xiaosang a beating.

Meanwhile, Chen Qingshan was pacing restlessly inside the house. His gaze kept drifting towards the door where three egg-laying hens were tied, which was only adding to his irritation.

He had planned to visit Chen Baolai’s house once everyone had gone to the fields, make an appearance and put the matter to rest. But the rain had disrupted his plans. He thought it might be for the best, as everyone would stay indoors during the rain, which was somewhat comforting.

However, Chen Baolai had decided to collect the grains today. Chen Qingshan had checked multiple times, only to find the house always bustling with people.

Chen Qingshan gritted his teeth, convinced that Chen Baolai was doing this intentionally.

On the other hand, Mrs. Qian’s eyes were so swollen she could barely see. She grumbled, “I’ve been beaten so bad, and now we still have to send a hen to their house as an apology.”

Chen Qingshan shot her an angry glare, “You think if I don’t go today, Chen Baolai won’t have you taken to the county court? Don’t you know that Chen Baolai is like a mad dog? Why did you even try to steal his money?”

If she had only stolen some money, it would have been a lesser problem. But she dared to hit Chen Xiaosang.

Everyone in the village knew Chen Xiaosang was the apple of Chen Baolai’s eye. No one dared to cross her in the past, yet his foolish wife dared to hit her. Now, he had to swallow his pride and apologize.