Use the Following Information About the Current Year's Operations of a Company

Use the following information about the current year's operations of a company to calculate the cash paid for merchandise.
$$\begin{array} { | l | r | } \hline \text { Cost of goods sold } \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots & \$ 226,000 \\\hline \text { Merchandise inventory, January } 1 \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots & 54,800 \\\hline \text { Merchandise inventory, December } 31 \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots & 57,400 \\\hline \text { Accounts payable, January } 1 \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots & 54,400 \\\hline \text { Accounts payable, December } 31 \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots & 59,800 \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) $218,000.
B) $223,200.
C) $220,000.
D) $228,800.
E) $234,000.