“Eight people came to rent Bamboo Joint Puppets today,” Ji Ning said, arranging the copper coins she had received on the table. Adding what she had earned earlier and deducting the portion exchanged for goods, she now had only twenty Wen in her hands.
The copper coins at this time were all officially minted. Perhaps when they were first minted, they were still bright and coppery, but after being in the hands of the common people for a long time, the coins had changed in appearance.
Having used modern mobile payments so often, Ji Ning rarely handled physical money anymore. Now, touching ancient copper coins gave her a sense of novelty.
The twenty Wen formed a small pile. The coins varied in thickness, but that didn’t affect their use. Each coin gleamed with a different oily sheen, so Ji Ning found a piece of linen cloth and wiped each one clean.
When Mrs. Wang returned from washing clothes and saw her wiping the coins, she chuckled, “Why are you wiping them?”
Ji Ning joked, “While I still have few coins and can manage to wipe them, in the future, when there’s more money, I might not even bother counting it.”
Mrs. Wang sighed, “I only hope that day truly comes.”
She looked at Ji Ning with pity. If not for the family’s poverty, Ningjie, at just ten years old, should have been carefree like her eldest brother’s youngest daughter. How could she be burdened with such hard work and financial worries?
But pity aside, Mrs. Wang still said, “Let me save this money for you?”
She spoke earnestly, “You’re just a child. There’s no place for you to spend money anyway. Why not give it to your mother? I’ll save it for you.”
Ji Ning paused her hand as she wiped the coins.
Mrs. Wang’s words sounded reasonable. At this time, it was customary for parents to manage the family’s finances, and except for cases like Ji Song, whose parents had explicitly separated the household, most of the family’s wealth was controlled by the elders.
The Ji family was an exception.
There were four people in the Ji family who handled money. Ji An studied outside, with his food and lodging taken care of elsewhere. Occasionally, he needed to buy writing materials, and he also earned money by copying books. So he had money of his own. Each month, the family set aside a portion for him, and when he ran out, he would come home to get more.
Ji Ning’s older sister, Ji Qing, was no exception. She worked in town and rarely returned home, only coming back during the Mid-Autumn Festival or New Year. Although her food and lodging were provided by the household, she needed money for gifts. Most of her wages were brought home, but she kept a portion for herself.
Besides them, Ji Song had money from his peddling, while Mrs. Xue was responsible for the household expenses.
In other words, the family’s money was distributed among four people.
Ji Ning believed that money should be kept in her own hands to feel secure.
A ten-year-old child indeed had no precedent for managing money, but she knew in her heart that these twenty Wen were her startup capital. If she handed them over to Mrs. Wang, it would be difficult to get them back later. For example, if she continued making toys and needed to buy materials, but the family hesitated due to the risks, it would become troublesome.
She looked up, showing no reluctance on her face. Instead, she put on an obedient expression and said, “Mother is right. As a child, it’s inconvenient for me to handle money.”
Seeing her understanding, Mrs. Wang nodded with relief and reached out to gather the pile of coins.
But Ji Ning changed her tone, “However, Mother, I was thinking—if I give this money to you or Grandmother, it would just sit idle at home. But if I keep it with me, who knows? It might multiply like a hen laying eggs, producing more money.”
Mrs. Wang’s hand froze mid-air.
If this had been a few days earlier, she would have thought it was just boasting, but these past few days, Ji Ning hadn’t spent a single coin and had managed to turn bamboo from the mountain into eggs, tofu, and even twenty Wen.
Ji Ning seized the opportunity to add, “If I had these twenty Wen and could ask Dad to bring me some small things from town—like those colorful silk threads or other materials—I could make even more intricate and valuable things. Then it wouldn’t just be a dozen Wen anymore; it could be fifty Wen, or even a hundred.”
She skillfully painted a tempting picture for Mrs. Wang: “Mom, let me try, okay?”
Mrs. Wang hesitated.
It was Mrs. Xue, who had been silently listening nearby, who spoke up: “Alright, it’s money the child earned herself, and what she says makes sense. If she wants to keep it, let her keep it.”
She added, “But it’s only twenty Wen. When she earns more money in the future, she can hand it over to the family.”
Yes, it was only twenty Wen—barely a drop in the bucket for the family’s difficulties.
But if it were used to buy materials, perhaps she could earn even more.
Mrs. Wang nodded. “We’ll listen to your father and mother.”
As the family was talking, someone suddenly knocked loudly on the door outside, their voice booming.
Feng-ge’er thought someone had come to buy toys and hurried to open the door.
Ji Ning followed him out, only to find the visitor in a furious state. As soon as the woman saw Ji Ning, she pointed at her nose and scolded, “What kind of thing have you made? Our family’s chickens have been so frightened they’ve stopped laying eggs.”
Feng-ge’er jumped up. “What do you mean ‘been frightened’? Your Erdan didn’t even buy our Bamboo Tube Cannon!”
Erdan’s mother glared. “He didn’t buy it, but those little rascals bought your Bamboo Tube Cannons, and some wretched soul used it to hit our chicken!”
In her hand, she held a chicken with its feet tied, its head drooping listlessly.
Ji Ning’s heart sank, but she kept her composure. She pulled back Feng-ge’er, who was about to argue, and stepped forward to ask, “Auntie, don’t be upset. Take your time and tell us what exactly happened.”
Erdan’s mother was still fuming. “Just now, a bunch of little troublemakers were chasing chickens and dogs all over the village with your so-called Bamboo Tube Cannons! Our speckled hen was brooding, and some wretched soul hit its wing. It got so scared it flapped around wildly, scattering the nest and nearly breaking the eggs. How can it lay properly after such a fright?!”
So it was the Bamboo Tube Cannons causing trouble.
Ji Ning instantly understood. The children couldn’t afford the Bamboo Joint General, so the Bamboo Tube Cannons remained their first choice. Still fresh and exciting, they couldn’t help but get carried away. Before, they’d throw stones at things; now, with a “ranged weapon,” they loved chasing chickens, ducks, and dogs even more.
Just then, Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xue also came out upon hearing the commotion. Mrs. Wang took one look at the situation and felt a pang of guilt. “Sister-in-law, it’s the children who don’t know any better. It’s not our Ning-jie’er’s fault.”
Erdan’s mother wouldn’t let it go. “I have to say, Sister-in-law Song, if your Ning-jie’er hadn’t made these things, who in the village would be playing with them? They’re clever, alright, but shouldn’t they be managed? What if someone gets hit?”
This hit the mark and touched on Mrs. Wang’s worries.
Ji Ning took a deep breath. This matter had to be handled properly.
Her mind raced. First, she needed to calm the anger. “Auntie, you’re right. We didn’t think this through properly. When we sold the toys, we told them not to aim at living creatures, but there will always be mischievous ones who don’t listen. Disturbing everyone’s livelihood is our fault.”
In just a few sentences, she first admitted fault, her attitude at least appearing sincere, which made Second Egg’s mother’s expression soften a little.
Deep down, she knew this matter couldn’t be blamed on Ji Ning. It was just that the children involved hadn’t been caught, so she had to come and confront the “source of the trouble.”
Ji Ning didn’t take on unnecessary responsibility either. She had verbally instructed every child who came to buy a Bamboo Tube Cannon before, and a simple inquiry would reveal the truth.
She made no mention of compensation. Instead, she said, “How about this? I’ll set a rule right now: from now on, anyone who rents or buys toys from me must remember—no shooting at living creatures, and no damaging crops or vegetable patches. Otherwise, they won’t be allowed to rent or buy any new toys from me in the future. What do you think?”
She paused, then turned to Feng-ge’er and said, “Later, go outside and find your little friends. Tell them that if anyone hit Auntie’s chicken, they should step forward and apologize. If they honestly admit it, they can rent toys from me for free for two days. If no one admits it, ask around to see who witnessed it.”
Two days of toy rentals were equivalent to two eggs, roughly the same as what should have been compensated to Second Egg’s mother.
Author’s Note:
None