The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 163 - 152 Homework

Chapter 163: Chapter 152 Homework

County Magistrate Fu nodded his head, indicating that he understood, but still said, "The county governmental office isn’t well-funded. Currently, the meals provided for the laborers follow the old practices. It won’t be easy to change the system."

Manbao furrowed her little eyebrows, feeling puzzled about why it would be difficult. Wasn’t it just a matter of earning money? Besides, everyone didn’t eat that much.

Just as Manbao was about to speak, the Assistant County Magistrate suddenly asked Bai Shanbao, "What is the young master’s name?"

Manbao then closed her mouth temporarily, recalling her mother’s teaching that one should wait for others to finish speaking before talking, and that interrupting was impolite.

Bai Shanbao puffed out his little chest and said, "My name is Bai Shan."

"Bai?" County Magistrate Fu asked with a smile, "Is Bai Li from Qili Village related to you?"

Bai Shanbao hesitated before replying, "He is my uncle."

"Eh, Bai Li has brothers?"

Bai Shanbao said, "My father and my uncle are first cousins."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Fu nodded, thinking that Bai Shanbao was a relative of the Bai family who came to rely on Bai Li. He smiled and asked him, "You seem quite talented in your studies. Is your father also in education now?"

Bai Shanbao replied with hands clasped in front of him, "My father was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations in the first year of Dazhen, and in the second year, he was appointed as the County Magistrate of Baxi County. Later, he lost his life in the line of duty while pursuing bandits."

Bai Shanbao frowned slightly, not looking very happy. Of course, these weren’t his own words, but rather something his grandmother had once recited to someone. Bai Shanbao just changed "son" to "father."

This brought back some less than pleasant memories.

Manbao sensed her little friend’s unhappiness and immediately put thoughts of laborers and meals at the back of her mind, reaching out to grab his hand.

Bai Shanbao’s hand was grasped by a pair of chubby hands. He glanced to the side, felt much better, and looked up energetically at County Magistrate Fu.

County Magistrate Fu did not expect this to be the orphan of a former colleague. Considering there were not many officials at the time and the bureaucratic circles were quite small, he quickly recalled who Bai Shanbao’s father was after a moment’s thought, "Your father is Bai Qi?"

Bai Shanbao said in a milky voice, "Yes, sir, my father!"

County Magistrate Fu couldn’t help but sigh, "So you are the son of an old friend. Would you like to study at the county school? I can give you a letter of recommendation."

Bai Shanbao shook his head, "Thank you, my lord, but my knowledge is not yet sufficient for the county school. I’ll consider it when I’m a bit older."

County Magistrate Fu nodded, expressing satisfaction, "That’s very good. Lord Bai indeed has someone to carry on his legacy."

Manbao, looking up curiously, wanted to say something but was firmly squeezed on the hand by Bai Shanbao, so she kept silent.

County Magistrate Fu did not continue the conversation with the two children, having the bailiffs take them away and then going to inspect the dike.

He was there for an inspection. Usually, he would just take a quick look and leave, but this time he came because he heard the project was halfway completed, so he wanted to check on its progress.

Bai Shanbao, holding Manbao’s hand, walked far away. They looked back at the retreating figures of County Magistrate Fu and his party only when they were a great distance away.

Manbao also looked back and, seeing that only her brother Zhou Si and Daji were beside her, said, "He lied, he doesn’t really know your father."

Bai Shan nodded, "I know. If he did, my grandmother would have visited him when we moved here."

"Then why did he lie?"

Being a year older than Manbao and having received a different kind of upbringing, Bai Shanbao explained, "It’s a courtesy. Besides, Baxi County isn’t far from here, and it falls under the jurisdiction of Mianzhou, the same as Luojiang County. Of course, he would mention it. But as for you, don’t say everything that comes into your mind in the future. People outside are different from those in the village."

Manbao expressed her surprise, "So beyond Luojiang County is Mianzhou, huh? Have you been there?"

Zhou SiLang couldn’t help but facepalm... focusing on that.

But Bai Shanbao took it well. He quickly put his worries aside and, feeling cheerful, said, "I’ve never been there, but that’s the provincial capital. It must be more prosperous than Luojiang County. Let’s go when we’re a little older."

Manbao nodded, "I want to eat a lot and grow up fast."

Bai Shanbao agreed, also nodding, "We should also learn to ride horses; otherwise, walking is so tiring."

"My family doesn’t have horses, and they’re expensive. Can we ride donkeys instead?"

Bai Shanbao hesitated, "That might work too."

Zhou Si hauled one child by the back of their collar toward the Zhou family’s stall, saying, "Enough of that; we don’t even have a donkey at home. Aren’t you hungry after being out all day? Hurry up and eat something so we can return home. Second Brother shouldn’t have brought you here."

Daji followed silently, allowing Zhou Si to drag their Young Master.

It wasn’t until they were back home that Manbao suddenly let out an "Ah" and exclaimed, "County Magistrate Fu forgot to return our written draft to us."

Bai Shanbao felt some annoyance too since they had spent a long time writing it. So, he sighed with Manbao for a while, still a bit gloomy even on the next day when they went to school.

Seeing the two children with drooping heads, looking like frostbitten eggplants, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t resist pulling them out and asking what was wrong. Upon hearing their story, he said, "What’s the big deal about that? You wrote the essay yourselves; you’ll have to revise it anyway. Just write it again. ’Reviewing the old and learning the new’—even if it’s the same content, the compositions you write should be different."

Mr. Zhuang promptly gave them an assignment. "Based on your recent experience viewing the dike construction, write it again. This time, you’re not allowed to work together; each must write their own."

The two children widened their eyes, thinking of the sheer number of words they had to write, and both felt their hands ache a bit.

Mr. Zhuang said, "You’re still young, so I’ll give you plenty of time. Just hand it in before the winter break for the Winter Solstice."

Manbao counted on her fingers how long until the Winter Solstice and realized there was a long, long time to go, which immediately cheered her up. She and Bai Shanbao excitedly agreed.

Seeing that the children had regained their spirits, Mr. Zhuang brought them back to the classroom, saying, "Let’s begin the lesson."

Although there was a long time until the Winter Solstice, Bai Shanbao and Manbao dared not slack off since the essay was quite long, and it had taken them a whole year to write previously.

So, as soon as school ended, the two children went back to the Bai family’s home together, skillfully pulling out their writing materials from the book chest in the study to prepare for their homework.

This was a habit the two children had formed over the past year; when they didn’t play outside, they usually did their homework and read books in the Bai family’s study.

After all, the Zhou family didn’t have a study, not even a writing desk. Manbao had to do her homework sprawled on the dining table, and no one talked to her while she worked—it was very boring.

Bai Shanbao also liked having company while doing homework. The two silently took their places and arranged their brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

After exchanging glances, Bai Shanbao placed his hand on the white paper before him and said, "Don’t peek at mine."

Just as Manbao was thinking of peeking, she huffed and turned her head, "I won’t peek at yours; you’d better not peek at mine either."

The two children looked at each other warily. They even placed books between them to block each other’s view before they began to grind their ink and ponder how to write a better essay than the other.