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

"Where is that scoundrel who sells deer antlers?" shouted a man with a full beard who was walking at the front of the group.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "He's here, sleeping on the ground!"

The men pushed through the crowd and walked in. The bearded man shook his body, kicked the deer antler stall owner on the ground, and said, "As expected of you, you coward! You're quite nimble on your feet, you cheated Xinning County and then ran to Ningping County, you're pretty fast!"

The deer antler vendor tried to sit up again, but the bearded man stepped on his chest: "Hey, you're pretty tough, aren't you? What, is the ground in Ningping County comfortable? Planning to sell fake medicine while asleep?"

Those around them, not understanding what was going on, whispered among themselves.

Another lean man with the beard said to those around him, "This is a scoundrel who specializes in selling fake medicine. He resells all kinds of fake medicinal materials and has cheated a lot of people."

Last year, he sold a batch of fake deer antlers to our boss, causing them a huge financial loss. That coward disappeared very quickly, never staying in one place for long. We searched for him for quite a while but couldn't find him.

We happened to be passing through Ningping County today, and we heard from the people ahead that someone selling fake deer antlers had been caught. So, we came over to check, and sure enough, it was that same guy again!

The bearded man pressed harder with his foot, causing the deer antler vendor to wince in pain.

The bearded man revealed a satisfied, mocking smile, then turned back and said, "I wonder which expert discovered that this cowardly deer antler is fake?"

Everyone around looked at Ji Yongling, who had been pretending to be stupid until her face cramped up. She shrank back and hid behind Ji Manchuan.

Ji Manchuan met the gazes of the crowd and could only give an awkward "hehe" laugh.

The bearded man clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ji Manchuan: "Your Excellency has truly discerning eyes. This fake deer antler is made by dyeing ordinary deer antler slices, and it is made to look quite realistic. It is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish it from the real thing."

Our master, who considers himself an expert in medicinal herbs, was fooled by this coward. We never expected to be seen through by you, sir, in Ningping County! You are truly a master!

Ji Manchuan gave an awkward smile again: "Not at all, not at all."

The bearded man continued, "May I ask how you discovered that this deer antler was fake?"

Ji Manchuan hesitated for a moment, wanting to say that he knew nothing at all.

The young scholar standing nearby stepped forward and said, "I know, I know, it was this uncle's daughter who discovered it first. Don't let her being a little different from ordinary people fool you, she has a keen eye and could tell at a glance that the deer antler was fake."

Then he recounted what Ji Yongling had said earlier about the authenticity of deer antlers.

The bearded man listened attentively, nodded, and turned to the lean man next to him, saying, "Hurry up and write it down."

Ji Yongling poked his muddy head out from behind Ji Manchuan, still with his slanted eyes and crooked mouth, and quickly added: "My dad said that you can also boil it in water. Real deer antler won't deform when it's put in water, it won't break when heated and stirred, and it won't become soft or mushy after boiling."

The bearded man glanced curiously behind Ji Manchuan, then clasped his hands in a fist and said again, "Thank you, young lady."

After saying that, he grabbed the deer antler stall owner by the collar, pulled him up from the ground, pushed him backward, and threw him to his companion.

The bearded man clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the people around him again, saying, "We plan to take this coward to the government office to see the officials. Anyone who wants to come and watch the show can be a witness for us. Thank you all."

People around were talking about it, but no one stepped forward.

The young scholar looked around and, seeing that no one was willing to go to the government to testify against the swindler, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said with his head bowed, "I, I'll go."

The bearded man said gratefully, "Thank you, young master. We will go and report this to the authorities first. After the magistrate sentences this fellow, I will thank you on behalf of my master."

The scholar waved his hand and stammered, "No need, no need, it's no trouble at all."

When some people saw the young scholar step forward, they also expressed their willingness to go and testify.

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the bearded man and his group, Ji Yongling pushed Ji Manchuan out of the crowd and headed towards the west end of the market.

On the way, Ji Manchuan said with dissatisfaction, "Look at you, a girl, what have you done to your face? Quickly pour some water from the gourd and wash it off."

You were really too reckless just now, kid.

Although the market is crowded, you don't have a weapon to protect yourself. The stall owner is a strong man; if a fight broke out, you, a mere child, would definitely lose and would be at a disadvantage.

Ji Yongling touched the pocket containing the self-defense spray and said, "Dad, we are a family of martial arts practitioners with a long history of martial arts. How can we let ourselves suffer losses so easily?"

Ji Manchuan scratched his head and asked, "Is that how you use 'family of distinguished families' and 'family tradition of learning'? Don't think you can fool me just because your father isn't well-educated. The little bit of knowledge you have was taught to you by your father!"

Ji Yongling smiled, revealing a set of white teeth on his yellow muddy face, and said, "Dad, you have to have faith in our family. We are a 'distinguished family,' and we have a 'family tradition of learning.'"

Ji Manchuan shook his head helplessly.

In fact, Ji Yongling was not afraid of the deer antler stall owner. In addition to the regular reserve materials, her warehouse also contained some materials for logistics and transportation.

Among them was a batch of security weapons, from which she took the simplest self-defense spray for herself, just in case.

However, today's events made her realize that even without the help of weapons from later generations, she could easily defeat an adult man simply by relying on the Ji family staff techniques she had practiced, combined with some medical knowledge, and by using skillful force.

This shows how powerful the Ji family's corrupt practices were.

Ji Yongling and his daughter arrived at the west end of the market, only to find that all the good stalls had been taken, and the remaining spots were on the edge of the market, with very few people passing by.

As luck would have it, they ran into Zhang Sheng, who had come to Niujiazhuang before because of the piglets.

When Zhang Sheng saw that Ji Manchuan had also come to set up a stall, he quickly called out to him.

It turned out that Zhang Sheng had come to sell the herbs he had dug up and the brooms his father had made. So he asked Ji Manchuan to put the basket and mat next to him, squeeze them together to make a stall, and he could pay two coins less in taxes.

Ji Manchuan exchanged pleasantries with Zhang Sheng and inquired about the piglets' condition.

Zhang Sheng said, "I caught that piglet and took it back. It's perfectly healthy. I really owe it to your girl that day."

Ji Manchuan waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to be polite.

As the two were talking, a woman carrying a basket came up to ask Ji Manchuan about the price of leeks.

Ji Manchuan hesitated for a moment, then quoted three coins per pound.

Upon hearing the price, the woman hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to buy them all, saying that her master wanted to use them to entertain guests.

Ji Manchuan and Ji Yongling were both pleasantly surprised, not expecting that these dried chives would sell so well.

Ji Manchuan quickly arranged the chives and put them into the woman's basket. Ji Yongling carefully tied the basket with straw rope and handed it to the woman with a smile.

The woman paid the money with satisfaction and was about to leave when Zhang Sheng called her back.

Zhang Sheng took out a broom and said to the woman, "Sister-in-law, this is a broom made by my father. It's sturdy and durable. Would you like to buy one?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, but finally took the broom, examined it carefully, and nodded, saying, "This broom is very well made. Okay, I'll buy one."

Zhang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that his stall had finally opened for business.

Ji Manchuan was also very happy, thinking that he still had some brooms at home and planned to bring some to sell at the next market.