The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 161 - 150 Inquiry

Chapter 161: Chapter 150 Inquiry

The bailiff’s cold sweat was about to drip from his forehead.

Behind him, the little boy said, "Manbao, don’t be afraid. When I get back, I’ll have Daji build a boat. If the flood comes, we’ll sit on the boat so we won’t be drowned. And sitting on the boat, we can even catch fish in the water."

Manbao burst out with a cry, immediately thinking of a better idea, "Let my Silang learn to swim. That way he can dive into the water to catch fish and then hand them to us on the boat.

Zhou SiLang: ...

Bai Shanbao suddenly pointed to the river and said, "Look, a big fish!"

Manbao couldn’t help but lean in to see, and indeed saw a fish as big as a palm, just darting out from under a stone, its tail flicking, and in a whoosh, it disappeared. She screamed in excitement, reaching out her hands as if she really wanted to catch it.

County Magistrate Fu, standing behind them, cleared his throat and stepped forward, also peering down for a look.

When Zhou SiLang turned around, he suddenly saw a group of nicely dressed people behind him, and got startled. He was always brave, and after patting his chest, he asked, "Who are you guys?"

Manbao and Bai Shanbao raised their heads, with County Magistrate Fu standing right in front of them.

Bai Shanbao just took one look and said, "That’s the county magistrate. Didn’t you see the badge on his clothes?"

Zhou SiLang’s eyes widened, and while he was somewhat clumsy with his salute, he couldn’t help but sneak a peek upwards at him.

County Magistrate Fu wasn’t paying attention to Zhou SiLang; instead, he was curious about Bai Shanbao. He stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "Young Master, where are you from?"

Bai Shanbao and Manbao had already gotten up from the ground, dusting the mud off their palms. They performed a student’s salute in proper fashion and replied, "Your Honor, we’re from Qili Village."

County Magistrate Fu smiled and asked, "I heard what you said just now; do you know how to build the dike?"

Bai Shanbao looked towards Manbao and said, "I don’t understand, but Manbao knows some. Why don’t you ask her?"

County Magistrate Fu looked interested, turning his gaze towards Manbao.

Manbao was shorter than Bai Shanbao and clearly younger. Her round face was full of curiosity as she stared at his clothes.

County Magistrate Fu couldn’t help but chuckle, asking, "What’s the name of this little girl?"

Manbao gave a proper curtsy and replied, "My name is Zhou Man."

"Oh," said County Magistrate Fu, "do you have a formal name?"

Few commoner women, especially children as young as she, had formal names. Some families would not decide on one until the girl was of age to discuss marriage, and most commoner women never had a formal name for their entire lives.

Manbao, as if it were the most natural thing, said, "Of course. I’m already an aunt."

"Oh?" County Magistrate Fu was intrigued and promptly found a stone to sit on by the embankment, inviting the two to come closer and talk. He asked Manbao, "So your brothers are quite old?"

Manbao nodded and pointed at Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang, who were selling soup, food, and drinks in the distance, saying, "There, that’s my eldest brother and Second Brother, and this is my Silang."

County Magistrate Fu glanced over. He had visited the embankment several times and was naturally aware that people were doing business there. He didn’t pay it much mind, though he felt a bit happy about the flourishing population of their family.

After all, the population was one of the things he was evaluated on as a magistrate. He asked with a smile, "How many brothers do you have?"

"Six!"

County Magistrate Fu praised, "Not bad, not bad. If your father has six sons, it would be great if your brothers could each have six as well."

Manbao thought for a moment and slightly widened her eyes, "Then how many houses would my family need to fit everyone?"

Bai Shanbao also held his belly and laughed heartily, "By then, you won’t even be able to recognize everyone."

Manbao argued, "My memory is really good. I can remember everyone in the village. How could I not recognize everyone?"

County Magistrate Fu: ...Why did the topic suddenly veer off in this direction?

He cleared his throat and returned to his original question to Manbao, "Do you know how to construct a river embankment?"

"I know a bit," Manbao stated realistically, "they’re building it right now, aren’t they? Building a dike involves using wood, stones, and mud to construct a slanted wall that can release or block water."

County Magistrate Fu nodded with a smile, "That’s not wrong."

He thought Manbao had summarized this after seeing the embankment under construction. He didn’t pay much further attention to the children’s naive talk, but the Assistant County Magistrate behind him couldn’t help asking, "Why should it be slanted?"

"Because it can distribute the force," Manbao had just heard Keke mention this, and the most important point was to calculate the angle of inclination according to the actual situation to maximize the resistance against the water and prevent the dike from being breached.

Manbao shared her understanding with the Assistant County Magistrate, "If you have a stick standing like this, with really high water rushing down, it might break. But if it’s slanted like this, with really high water rushing down, the water might just flow down from it, and the stick will still be slanting."

The Assistant County Magistrate was astonished, and even County Magistrate Fu couldn’t help but turn back to look at Manbao, asking, "Who told you this?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "The principle was explained by my friend, but the words are my own. I think what I said is right."

They had secretly played in the reed beds, and she noticed that sticks in the mud would fall over with a strong wind, straight ones before slanted ones, but this she would not disclose to the adults, because she and Bai Shanbao had coaxed their little playmates with a lot of treats to keep them from telling the adults.

Daji, who had been silently watching over them like a shadow as they played: ...I’m an adult too!

County Magistrate Fu marveled at Manbao’s cleverness but did not dwell on it, as it was ultimately a young girl. Instead, it was Bai Shanbao by his side who attracted his attention.

Bai Shanbao had something to tell County Magistrate Fu; he tugged on Manbao’s sleeve and whispered into her ear right in front of everyone.

His so-called whisper wasn’t quiet at all, and since everyone was standing close by, they all heard.

Bai Shanbao said, "Let’s show our writings to the county magistrate."

Manbao replied, "They’re not finished yet. The teacher said they’re not ready to be seen."

Bai Shanbao was not pleased and said, "It’s been a year, how long does it have to be? I think they’re very good, and now we have the chance to show them to the county magistrate. We may not get another chance like this."

By then, Bai Shanbao had stopped whispering into Manbao’s ear and was openly discussing it with her in front of everyone.

Manbao, not realizing anything was amiss, argued righteously, "No problem. Once they’re finished, and the teacher says it’s okay, I’ll have my friend deliver them to the county magistrate."

Bai Shanbao was curious, "Your friend knows the county magistrate?"

County Magistrate Fu was also very curious.

Manbao nodded and said, "Yes, the county magistrate is her father."

The Assistant County Magistrate and the chief clerk and others looked towards County Magistrate Fu.

County Magistrate Fu: ...

Bai Shanbao insisted, "I think they’re very good."

"The teacher says they’re not good enough. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come to see the dike being built."