Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Ji Yongling and his daughter came out of the pharmacy and pulled their cart, squeezing their way to the west end of the market, where livestock and farming tools were mainly sold. The cages and mats they brought from home were perfect for selling there.

After walking a few steps, they heard a southern-accented hawker's cry from the roadside: "Selling deer antlers! Selling deer antlers! Deer antlers on sale at a low price! Top-quality deer antlers are 50 coins per ounce, and deer penis is 80 coins per ounce! Passersby, come and take a look! Don't miss out!"

Ji Yongling stopped and frowned, wondering if deer antlers and deer penises were so cheap in ancient times. Thinking about later generations, they could be sold for exorbitant prices. Moreover, deer antlers and deer penises are not produced in the Northwest. So where did these deer antlers and deer penises come from?

The vendor's shouts attracted a lot of people, and several well-dressed men gathered around.

"Dad, wait for me, I'm going to take a look." Ji Yongling said, then turned around and squeezed into the deer antler stall while bending over.

"Hey—" Ji Manchuan reached out his hand, trying to stop Ji Yongling, but before he could even open his mouth, Ji Yongling had already slipped into the crowd like an eel. Ji Manchuan could only shut his mouth and stare at the stall, waiting for Ji Yongling to come out.

A moment later, Ji Yongling slipped out of the crowd like an eel, approached Ji Manchuan and whispered, "Father, those deer antlers and deer penises are fake."

Ji Manchuan raised his eyebrows in surprise, then quickly took his daughter's hand and said, "Never mind that, let's go quickly."

Ji Yongling stopped and tugged at Ji Manchuan's sleeve, saying, "Dad, this swindler can probably make a lot of money by going to the market once. I just saw a few people who were very tempted by the stall owner's words and were planning to buy something."

Ji Manchuan pulled on the reins of the cart, slung them over his shoulder, and said, "We have no choice, let's go, let's go."

"Dad, I have a plan. Just do as I say." Ji Yongling winked and whispered something in Ji Manchuan's ear with a grin.

After saying that, Ji Yongling put on a silly look with squinting eyes, a crooked mouth, and drooling. He squeezed his knees together, stretched out his hands, and squeezed into the deer antler stall.

A deer antler vendor, dressed like a southerner, was enthusiastically promoting his deer antlers and deer penises, spitting everywhere.

"Sir, you can absolutely trust our deer antlers. Look at this, it's top-quality stuff. Eating deer antlers can prolong life, nourish blood and improve complexion, and strengthen the body. And this deer penis, hehe, we gentlemen all know its effects. It's best for a wealthy gentleman like you to keep some at home. Ah, we're in a hurry to get on our journey, so we're selling it at a loss. This is a rare opportunity!"

“Young master, you are clearly a scholar. Judging from your demeanor, I know you have good taste. Look at my deer antlers, look at the color, tsk tsk, let me tell you, you might not be able to buy something as good as mine even in the biggest pharmacy in the county town.”

A young scholar dressed as a gentleman was very tempted by the stall owner's words and said hesitantly, "My father has been saying lately that he is weak and has taken a lot of medicine, but he hasn't seen much improvement. Can your deer antler really work?"

The deer antler vendor was spitting out white saliva as he spoke, patting his chest and saying, "Young master, believe me. My neighbor, Wu Lao Er, also known as Wu the Cripple, has been eating my deer antlers ever since. His legs are no longer lame, his hands no longer tremble, and he looks like he's ten years younger. Let me tell you this: before, when his wife went out with him, people would say he was his wife's father, but now when they go out, people say his wife looks like his sister."

"Wow, it's really that amazing! I'd like to try a few ounces myself," said a middle-aged man in a silk robe.

The young scholar touched the tip of his nose and said, "Alright then, I'll take one pound each of deer antler and deer penis."

The deer antler vendor exclaimed happily, "Alright! I've traveled all over the country and met many people, but the men from the Northwest are the most straightforward. Don't worry, I'll definitely weigh you well, not a penny less."

“Hey, brother, this deer antler looks like a deer antler slice. Look, it has serrated protrusions on the edge. Didn’t Dad say that real deer antlers don’t have protrusions?” Ji Yongling said to the young scholar with a sidelong glance and a crooked mouth, spitting out a mouthful of saliva.

The deer antler vendor leaned out of his stall, reached out, and pushed Ji Yongling while shouting, "Whose silly child is this? Get out of here, get out of here!"

When the young scholar heard Ji Yongling call him "brother," he was about to deny it, but when Ji Yongling said that the deer antler was a piece of deer antler, he immediately lowered his head to look at it carefully.

Ji Yongling deftly dodged the deer antler vendor's hand that was pushing her, and continued to say with a dazed expression, "Brother, didn't Dad say that real deer antlers don't have a white outer layer? Look, this one has a white outer layer. Oh dear, brother, you really bought a fake! Dad will beat you to death! Dad doesn't like you anyway! Waaah, you're going to be beaten to death! What will I do? What will I do?" After saying that, she pretended to wipe away tears with her hands covered in yellow dirt, and her face instantly turned into a mud doll.

The people surrounding the stall chimed in, saying, "Looking at it this way, this deer antler really looks fake." "Could this really be deer antler slices being passed off as real ones?" "It's so heavy, it really looks like deer antler slices. Deer antler is very light."

Seeing that Ji Yongling had ruined his business with just a few words, the deer antler stall owner angrily jumped out of his stall and pounced on Ji Yongling.

"Hey, hey, how could you hit someone!" Upon seeing this, the young scholar reached out to stop the deer antler stall owner.

However, the antler vendor's overwhelming force was clearly beyond the young scholar's ability to withstand. The young scholar was shoved aside and landed on his backside. The others rushed to pull him up, and some shouted, "Whose silly child is this? He's going to get beaten!"

Just as the deer antler vendor grabbed Ji Yongling by the collar, Ji Yongling delivered a decisive straight punch to the vendor's face.

The enraged deer antler vendor instantly leaned backward, fell to the ground, and kicked up a cloud of yellow dust.

Ji Yongling pretended to be scared, shrinking her neck and trembling uncontrollably, muttering, "Don't hit me, don't hit me, I don't want to die."

Those around only saw the deer antler stall owner rush towards Ji Yongling with force, but because it was too fast, they did not see Ji Yongling throw a punch, so they did not know why the deer antler stall owner was lying on the ground.

Some people defended Ji Yongling: "Oh dear, this doll looks like a complete fool. He doesn't know how to fool people, so he's definitely telling the truth. This stall owner is definitely a swindler. He failed to sell the fake goods and is now taking his anger out on a doll. He's so shameless!"

Some people said to the young scholar, "Is that girl your sister? Why does she dress and look quite different from you?"

"Girl, girl, my girl!" Ji Manchuan shouted as he squeezed through the crowd.

He had been watching from the sidelines. Just as the antler vendor was about to hit Ji Yongling, he was about to rush in, but Ji Yongling acted too quickly. Before he could even see clearly, he saw the vendor lying on the ground, and he knew that Ji Yongling had definitely not suffered any loss.

"My dear girl, your father has finally found you." Ji Manchuan grabbed Ji Yongling's arm, using his stiff acting skills to portray the excitement of a father who had found his lost daughter.

Someone pointed at Ji Manchuan and said, "What a pitiful, honest man. He can't bear to lose such a silly girl and even came all the way here to look for her."

"Yes, let alone girls, even a silly-looking boy like this would usually be abandoned by his family."

The deer antler vendor, lying on the ground, stared blankly at the ground. He struggled a couple of times, trying to prop himself up with his arms, but failed.

Ji Yongling pretended to cry and said to Ji Manchuan, "Dad, didn't you say that real deer antler is very light, hard and brittle, and has a fishy smell, and has fine red, yellow or brown hairs on it, right? You didn't lie to me, did you, Dad?"

Ji Manchuan gave a forced smile: "Hehe, that's right, how could Father lie to the girl?"

The young scholar walked over, bowed to Ji Manchuan and Ji Yongling, and said, "Thanks to you, young lady, I almost bought fake deer antlers, otherwise my father would have beaten me to death."

Ji Manchuan chuckled awkwardly, "This girl is silly, silly. Everyone, please don't argue with a simpleton like her." After saying that, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the people around him.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man nodded to Ji Manchuan: "Fools have their luck. This kid may seem silly, but he's actually quite shrewd, more so than those of us who almost fell for his tricks."

Just as Ji Manchuan was about to say something modest, several men rushed over aggressively from the other end of the market.