Once everyone had arrived and the clan leader and five elders appeared, the scene immediately fell silent.
Who would dare make a sound? Clearly, something major had happened! Otherwise, why would all five elders show up at the same time?
The village head supported his father as he sat in the clan leader’s seat. The five elders were also helped into their seats by their younger family members. With a nod of approval from the clan leader, the village head stepped forward to speak.
“Grandpas, grandmas, aunts, and sisters-in-law, we called you here early this morning, and we’ve also invited the clan leader and elders. You’ve probably already guessed—this is about the medicinal herbs that Third Sister-in-law of the Chaodong household mentioned yesterday.
“About this matter—last night, Chaonan told the clan leader exactly how many herbs the town’s medical clinic would take and the prices. The clinic will only take a hundred catties of each herb. The doctor said this is to teach the apprentices how to process the herbs. And the price varies for each herb: sweetgrass root is three wen per catty, chickweed is seven wen per catty, stone bamboo is one wen per catty, old crow’s eye is ten wen per catty, and fine grass is two wen per catty.”
Before the village head could continue, most people didn’t pay much attention to how many herbs the clinic would take—they only heard the prices: ten wen per catty for some, one wen for others. Immediately, a buzz of discussion broke out.
“Oh my, old crow’s eye is ten wen per catty! My family dug up over four catties last night—that’s forty wen!”
“My family dug up less—only a little over a catty of old crow’s eye. But chickweed is seven wen per catty, and we dug up two catties of that—together, that’s also forty wen!”
“Sigh! My family mostly dug fine grass—over four catties. The rest were less than a catty each. Together, it only comes to about ten wen.”
Some were thrilled to have dug more of the high-priced herbs, while others lamented having mostly low-priced ones. All kinds of emotions and voices intertwined, growing louder and louder.
“Everyone, quiet down! Quiet down!”
The village head shouted louder than all the voices combined, and finally, silence returned.
“Listen up, everyone! For these freshly dug herbs, the clinic will only take a hundred catties of each. Because the prices vary, the clan leader and elders stayed up late to come up with a solution.”
The village head paused there. The villagers, unable to wait any longer, eagerly asked:
“Dabangzi (village head’s nickname), what’s the solution? Just say it already!”
“Yeah, Dabangzi, what’s wrong with you? Why stop at a critical moment? Keep talking!”
The village head raised both hands, palms down, pressing the air to calm them, and quickly explained:
“Grandpas, grandmas, aunts, and sisters-in-law, after saying all that, don’t I get a chance to catch my breath? Now, please listen quietly while I continue.”
The representatives from each household, sitting casually on rocks, burst into laughter.
“Here’s the deal: Last night, the clan leader and elders came up with a plan—to take the total value of the herbs and divide it equally among every household.
“The total value of the five herbs is two taels and three qian of silver. Our village has thirty-nine households. Thirty-eight households will each get fifty-nine wen. One household will get one wen less—fifty-eight wen. That household will be mine.
“So, next comes the weighing of the herbs. I ask all the grandpas, grandmas, aunts, and sisters-in-law to go home and bring your best herbs.”