"Let me say it, let me say it." The moment Xiaoyuan finished speaking, Xiao Nan interrupted.
The children looked at Xiao Nan again. To them, it didn't matter who said it.
Xiao Nan smiled and said, "You will have to study in the future. When we leave, we will leave behind 200 people to help develop the local area. We will also leave a few to teach.
However, there are too many children and we can't teach all of them. We need other people from the Tang Empire to be your teachers. There is a problem. Teachers are also people and have to eat. We can't expect them to be virtuous enough to contribute for free. We have to give them money. In the past, we gave them meat, which is called tuition.
If you come from a distant place and don't give them enough money, most people won't be willing to teach you. So you have to earn money yourself, buy learning tools, and give the teachers a salary. "
"Then you, oh, are the children from other places in the Tang Empire the same?" A little girl asked. She wanted to study, but as a girl, she knew that she had no hope unless she could solve the money problem herself.
Hearing her question, Xiao Nan showed a sad expression. After thinking about it, he told the truth.
"Children in most places don't need to spend money, let alone earn money. They even get money when they study well."
"Who gives them money?" the little girl asked again.
"Merchants, the merchants of the Tang Empire. They take out money to build schools, hire teachers, give rewards, and take care of the food and clothes for the children," Xiao Nan explained.
"What about us?" another child asked.
Da Nan continued, "You don't have to earn money yourself. We will pay for all the expenses. Although we are nine, we have our own money, a lot of it. Part of the money is used for this.
Not all merchants in the Tang Empire are willing to spend money on the children. If they don't pay, we will take care of it. I know you want to ask why we don't give you money, right? "
The children nodded. They were all from the Tang Empire and were willing to be taken care of by the Tang Empire. What was the difference?
Some of the children even started to get angry, feeling that the nine children in front of them were alienating them.
Xiao Bei coughed and said, "We don't give you money for your growth. Your tribe is different from the Tang Empire. It's not that you are stupid, but that you are inexperienced and can't outsmart others.
There are older children. Do you remember the price you paid when you exchanged goods with them three years ago? Very cheap, isn't it? Then my family's caravan came over and raised the price. You realized that you were at a disadvantage before, right? "
"Yes, they are too bad. It turns out that a catty of Monkey Head Mushrooms can be exchanged for so many things. They only gave us a little bit in the past. You guys are really good. You guys set the price, and then the merchants all exchanged according to this price. No one dares to use the previous price. Are they afraid of you guys?"
A thirteen or fourteen year old boy, or perhaps a young man, angrily said a few words, and then asked the doubts in his heart. He also understood that it was impossible for a caravan to come and say the price, and all the other merchants would do as the caravan said. Especially after the caravan Between the Clouds and the Water never came again, but the price was still the same.
If the merchants suddenly became better, then why did they keep the price so low before?
Xiao Bei nodded proudly. "Yes, they're afraid of us. More accurately, they're afraid of my brother. My brother said that if all the merchants of Great Tang were to take out one out of ten of their stocks and give it away for free, the merchants of Great Tang would have to give it away for free. They wouldn't even dare to lie about their stocks.
That's what he meant. My brother wouldn't let people give things away for free. Even if my brother is penniless, he just needs to shout and ask for money, and within a day, someone will give him tens of millions of strings of coins. You won't understand if I tell you. Anyway, it's a lot of money. If you buy food, you won't be able to finish it even if you eat for a lifetime. "
The children in the tribe all opened their mouths and eyes wide, as if they were listening to a fairy tale.
"Why, why?" a child asked.
Xiao Bei waved his hand. "It's a long story. You'll know in the future. Then, you'll be proud of being a citizen of Great Tang. Now, I'm going to talk about why we don't give you money. To be honest, a little is enough for you to study and live a life.
But at that time, you won't understand the local things and will be at a disadvantage when you grow up. We can't protect you forever, right? If you lose out on the contract, you won't be able to reason it out. If you get angry and use violence to solve the problem, you'll only harm yourself.
If we let you work now, you'll be familiar with your local specialties, advantages, and shortcomings. When you go to other places in the future, you'll compare with the local specialties and aspects. Then, you'll know what you need the most and how much the things and services here can be sold for. "
When Xiao Bei said that, the children felt that Xiao Bei and the rest were thinking for them and became close again.
Xiao Bei didn't wait for them to ask again. He took the initiative to say, "Let's start with the carp. There's a lot of medicine on the carp, such as the eyes, scales, skin, and blood. The eyes and blood aren't easy to preserve, and the skin is troublesome to cut. Why don't we collect the scales, dry them, and sell them?
Don't throw away the bones either. It's the same for the bones of other fish. Keep them, dry them, and add the shells of the shellfish in the pond. If they're ground into powder, they can be used to feed livestock and poultry. For example, if a chicken lays an egg with a soft shell, the shell will harden when it's eaten. At the same time, the chick will grow faster. "
This was the first time the children in the tribe heard that fish scales and bones could be exchanged for things. It was the same for the shells in the pond.
The tide would wash up a lot of things with shells. Also, when it rained heavily, the water level would rise, and the water level would recede, leaving behind a lot of shells.
"They're all eaten by the birds." A child thought of the flocks of birds that landed on the shore or went to the shallow water to eat. He felt distressed. Birds ate shells that could be exchanged for things.
"Yes, birds like to eat them. There's also small fish and shrimps. Look at the ones flying in the sky. My brother and sister call them red-beaked seagulls. The shells you pick now can only be used as fodder. Dry the meat and put a little salt. When you sell it, you can give it to people who don't have or lack it as snacks.
Then, there's also some damaged shellfish. You can dry them too. That's to say, pick the good ones and sell them. Keep the bad ones and ensure the quality. It's to let others know that everything you have is good quality. Yes, that's what it means.
What do you do with the bad ones? Grind them into powder like the bone powder and shells. I'll teach you how to make a kind of noodle food, bread. Put the powder into the noodle and bake the bread to feed the red-beaked seagulls. "
Xiaobei explained the use of everything in detail to the children. If she didn't have to go with her brother and sister, she would have wanted to stay. Dianchi Lake's scenery was really beautiful. Moreover, she heard from her brother that the weather here was good. Living here for a few months was not bad. Unfortunately, she had no choice.
The local children did not understand. Other things could be used to exchange for things they needed. Things that should have been thrown away had to be specially made and then fed to the birds?
Birds were not chickens. If they were raised, they could eat eggs and meat. If the birds finished eating and flew away, wouldn't they be tired for nothing?
"I don't want to feed the birds," a child said unhappily.
"How else should I say that you need to learn?" Xiaoyuan looked like a child who couldn't be taught. "You can't do without knowledge and experience. Now, you only see the things in front of you and don't think about the future. Dianchi Lake, what a beautiful lake.
We are now building dams and digging canals. In the future, we will build pavilions and corridors in the shallow water areas. There can be boats on the lake, barbecues on the shore, and restaurants.
Our Tang people are getting richer and richer. Our productivity is catching up. In other words, we produce a lot of things and can't use them all up. The technology of road construction is improving. In the future, there will be many slaves.
Everyone doesn't need to do things every day. The rich people can come out to see the scenery and customs of various places and taste the delicacies of every place. In the future, there will be many people coming to Dianchi Lake. We just need to advertise. "
"What does that have to do with feeding the birds?" A child directly asked the key point.
Xiaobei and the others were helpless.
"In the future, when people come to play, can you feed the birds? You sell them the things to feed the birds and make money, right? Now, you have to feed the birds until they are not afraid of people and like to eat your food. Only then will people buy it. "After Xiaobei finished speaking, she felt that she had no energy. This bunch of stupid children.
The children were very sensitive. When they saw Xiaobei's expression, one of them asked, "Are we stupid?"
"That's not it. It's just that my expectations are too high. I always compare the children with us. Not only you, but even the adults in your tribe can't figure it out. If you can immediately understand any of our ideas and think of other advantages, then all of you can enter the top ranking of the richest people.
So, you have to learn as you do. Other than the things in the water, there are also all kinds of mushrooms and mountain vegetables in the mountains. When you have time, go and pick them. Dry them in the sun or in the shade. They can all be sold for money. When you pick them, you have to be careful not to be bitten by snakes and insects. You are not allowed to enter the mountains that are too deep. "
Xiaobei first comforted the other party. She admitted that the content of what she was saying now was not something the children could understand. Many adults were confused when they heard it.
At the same time, Xiaobei warned them not to let the children go deep into the mountains and forests and be eaten by wild beasts just to earn some money.
The children did not know what the top ranking was. They knew that Xiaobei and the others were better than them, so they did not understand a lot of what she said.
"Xiaobei, teach us again. Let's see what else we can do." A child requested.
"Okay, you have to pick mushrooms and mountain vegetables in the mountains. You also have to make powder from fish scales, fish bones, and shells. You also have to sell shellfish jerky.
There is no fixed price for these things Between the Clouds and the Water. The merchants will pay according to their own ideas. I'll teach you a way so that you won't lose too much. Yes, don't lose, not take advantage of others. You won't be able to take advantage of others unless we do it ourselves. "
Xiaobei did not forget to show off her skills.
The children in the tribe laughed and continued to listen carefully. They had never been told this before.
"The way is to pretend to be children. Oh, you are children. You, yes, you. Stand up. You look cuter. Brother always says that we are cute."
Xiaobei pointed at a girl in the crowd. She looked to be around six or seven years old. Like Xiaobei, she had long eyelashes and a small face. Xiaobei had observed her before. Her habitual expression was Weiwei. She pouted her lips a little and stared at him curiously. It made people want to kiss her when they saw her.
"You, you're calling me?" The little girl who was pointed at by Xiaobei bit her lip and looked left and right. She lowered her head slightly, but her eyes were looking up. She was indeed cute.
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