Chapter 146

146. Chapter 146: Selling Daughter to Pay Head Tax

"If we don't sell her, who are you going to find to make up this head tax?" the man said mercilessly. "She is fourteen this year and will be fifteen next year. She has to pay a head tax of eight hundred wen, and our family can't even earn that much in a whole year."

These words left Yanzi's mother completely speechless, and she just covered her mouth and cried her eyes out.

By now, many neighbors had gathered to watch, and seeing this scene, they all sighed and shook their heads helplessly and sadly.

In previous years, this kind of selling a daughter to pay the head tax wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was also a last resort. Years of natural disasters and droughts had left many families unable to even eat, let alone have extra grain to sell for money to pay the head tax.

The head tax for the few people in the family added up to at least two taels of silver, and these farmers couldn't earn two taels of silver in a whole year.

"Dad, please don't sell Elder Sister, sell me instead..." Six-year-old Gao Xiaoshuan knelt down beside his sister with a thud. He was a boy and could be sold for more money; if they sold him, the family wouldn't have to worry about the head tax.

"Shuanwa..." Yanzi's mother cried as she rushed over to hug her two children. These were all pieces of flesh that had fallen from her own body; she wasn't willing to sell either of them...

But the family really couldn't scrape together this head tax. What were they to do...

For a moment, the mother and her two children in the courtyard hugged each other and cried. Gao Daniu stood on the side watching, his eye sockets turning red, but he quickly turned his face away, and when he turned back, his face had returned to its previous coldness.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, watching from outside the courtyard, couldn't bear it in the end, so she gently tugged on her mother's sleeve.

Jiang Wei saw this and leaned down, and Jiang Xiaoxiao whispered a few words in her ear.

"Fine, it's up to you to arrange."

Seeing her mother nod, Jiang Xiaoxiao stepped into the Gao family's courtyard and said to the mother and daughter inside, "Sister Yanzi, Brother Shuanzi, our family is hiring two people to work. If you are willing, come to our house tomorrow."

After a pause, she added, "If you come to work, my mother says she will give you ten wen a day."

The mother and her two children were stunned and took a long time to come back to their senses.

"I, I'll come." Gao Xiaoyan nodded hurriedly, hope shining in her eyes that were still filled with tears.

Ten wen a day; if they worked for twenty days, they could scrape together the head tax for one child!

"I'll go too!" Gao Xiaoshuan wiped the tear stains off his face and followed suit.

The next day.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and Master Zheng, who was building the house, hadn't arrived yet, but the two Gao siblings were already waiting outside the Jiang family courtyard.

Jiang Xiaoxiao rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the door for the two siblings. Gao Xiaoyan felt very embarrassed and began to reflect on whether she and her brother had come too early, as Little Sister Xiaoxiao hadn't even woken up yet.

"Wait for me outside." After saying this, Jiang Xiaoxiao turned and went back into the house. Not long after, she came out carrying a small back basket and holding a basket.

She handed the basket in her hand to Gao Xiaoshuan. Gao Xiaoyan, standing on the side, saw this and subconsciously reached out to take the back basket on Jiang Xiaoxiao's back, but Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head at her: "Sister Xiaoyan, you stay at home and squeeze goat milk with my mother, Brother Shuanzi will go up the mountain with me."

"Squeeze, squeeze goat milk?" Gao Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment and subconsciously turned to look at the sheep pen on the side, where a plump milk goat was chewing on the chopped green grass on the ground.

Jiang Wei happened to walk out of the house, and seeing this, she beckoned to her and ordered, "Xiaoyan, come over, I'll teach you how to squeeze goat milk."

Jiang Xiaoxiao led the bewildered Gao Xiaoshuan up the mountain.

"Little Sister Xiaoxiao, what are we going up the mountain for?" Gao Xiaoshuan asked weakly.

Before leaving, his mother had repeatedly told him that he must be obedient and sensible when working for the Jiang family, and that no matter what work Jiang Xiaoxiao asked him to do, he must do it seriously, keep his mouth shut, and not say what shouldn't be said, let alone ask what shouldn't be asked.

But now that they were on the mountain, looking at the vast, empty wilderness, he still couldn't help but voice the question in his heart.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at Gao Xiaoshuan's timid appearance and couldn't help but smile, opening her mouth to spit out two words: "Pick flowers."

The house at home was almost finished, and the plan to make soap also needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. The materials needed had already been prepared, but to make scented soap, natural flower petals had to be added.

Her mother had everything in her space, except for fresh flower petals, so she thought about trying her luck on the mountain to see if she could pick some wild flowers. If she couldn't pick wild flowers, then she would follow the original plan and customize unscented ordinary soap and milk-scented soap.

As for goat milk, they had milk goats at home, so there was no need to worry, but these wild flowers... It was autumn now, and in these big mountains, apart from the golden fallen leaves all over the ground, there were only withered branches, making it really hard to see a bright, vibrant color.

After hearing her words, Gao Xiaoshuan didn't ask what picking wild flowers was for, but pointed to a small path she hadn't been to before and said, "A few days ago, when I went there to pick bird eggs with Goudan, I saw some Patrinia and wild ginger flowers growing there."

Jiang Xiaoxiao's spirits lifted upon hearing this: "Take me there quickly!"

Gao Xiaoshuan led the way in front, and Jiang Xiaoxiao followed behind. While observing the tall trees along the way, she did indeed see many bird nests built in the treetops, and couldn't help but mutter to herself that the children in this village really took climbing trees and touching bird eggs as a daily routine.

Not long after, Jiang Xiaoxiao, following behind, saw a cluster of plants not far ahead, with thumb-sized orange-yellow flowers dotted among the green leaves.

This was Patrinia!

She had been reading medical books recently and recognized at a glance that this was the common Patrinia in the countryside, which was also a Chinese herbal medicine. The branches, leaves, and flowers could all be used as medicine, and the roots could also be used as medicine; it could be said that the whole body was a treasure.

The flowering period of Patrinia started in May, and now that it was just early autumn, many orange-yellow flowers could still be seen blooming among them.

Jiang Xiaoxiao walked over happily, and just as she was about to reach out and pick a small flower, she suddenly smelled a scent like stinky feet...

She subconsciously looked at the Patrinia in front of her, then looked at Gao Xiaoshuan standing far away behind her, and her expression couldn't help but stiffen.

Gao Xiaoshuan covered his nose and made a muffled sound: "Little Sister Xiaoxiao, are we not picking this Patrinia anymore?"

"Not picking it." Jiang Xiaoxiao said with a wooden face.

She almost forgot that although Patrinia is a medicinal herb, the flowers are smelly and cannot be used to make scented soap at all.

Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed and said, "You'd better take me to find the wild ginger flowers."

Patrinia cannot be used to make soap, but wild ginger flowers definitely can.

Wild ginger flower, also known as white butterfly flower, has pure white flowers shaped like butterflies, and its scent is clear and fragrant. In modern times, it is commonly used to make essential oils, and its fragrance has the effect of relieving tension, eliminating fatigue, and refreshing the mind... If this were added to soap, it would definitely sell for a high price!

"Oh, okay." Gao Xiaoshuan led Jiang Xiaoxiao to another small path.

But the two of them circled around twice and didn't find the wild ginger flowers that Gao Xiaoshuan had mentioned. (End of chapter)