Chapter 434 - 423 Question 1
Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly and said, "Look carefully, and let’s see if you’ll understand in the end."
Old Master Bai, however, squinted his eyes with a smile.
Using a measure, one could not only check the condition of each seed, but also avoid shaking the measure—after pouring, the pointy top could yield twelve jin or even twelve and a half jin. Experienced people, like the tax collectors at the County Governmental Office, could even make it thirteen jin with one pour.
Old Master Bai decided he would use the measure for all the grain he took to Zhou’s house later.
However, while he could be strictly business with Zhou’s family, there was no need to be so stringent with the three children, so he would strike a balance—half and half—just to teach them a lesson.
Old Master Bai felt reinvigorated, having gained the upper hand in the situation again.
The wheat they moved out was placed on the ground, and the hired hand came forward to untie the bag. Old Master Bai’s steward was prepared, taking a measure and stepping forward, followed by a servant with an empty bag.
As they worked in tandem, the steward poured the grain into the bag with a swift motion, and together with Manor Head Bai, he announced "one" before continuing.
They called a number for each measure, and once a bag was filled, any amount not completing a measure was set aside to be included in the next bag. Meanwhile, Old Master Bai’s accountant and Bai Erlang each noted a number in their respective ledgers.
Sitting to one side, Manbao and Bai Shanbao made notches with their counting rods.
Recently, Bai Erlang also began to learn how to use counting rods, though Mr. Zhuang did not impose strict requirements on him; if he felt like learning, he learned, and if not, he would stop.