The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 218 - 207: Retreat

Chapter 218: Chapter 207: Retreat

The two of them looked down on him together. "Didn’t you hear what the teacher just said? The administrative center of Jiannan Road is in Yizhou, and most state capitals have a governor. The military and political affairs of Jiannan Road are under the control of the jiedushi. However, Yizhou is still the fiefdom of the Prince of Yizhou. The teacher has talked about all these things during class."

Bai Erlang’s face flushed red as he exclaimed, "Impossible, I’ve never heard the teacher talk about this."

Bai Shanbao retorted, "That must be because you were sleeping."

Manbao hesitated, "Or perhaps you were whispering?"

Bai Erlang also began to doubt, "Has the teacher really talked about it?"

Bai Shanbao and Manbao nodded vigorously together.

Bai Erlang’s shoulders then slumped, and he fell silent.

Mrs. Bai, still anxious about the three children, came to see them, as usual:...

She hesitated for a moment, didn’t go in, turned around, and walked away.

Mr. Zhuang came to teach in Qili Village, and of course his former aspirations were all gone. But the breach of the levee was such a serious matter that even he, content in his corner, couldn’t help but worry.

Moreover, Qili Village is under Yizhou; the land here, the people here, none could possibly remain unaffected by the flood.

But what could he, a mere civilian, do?

Old Master Bai was talking to him, "I’ve closed the shops in both the county town and Baxi, and moved everyone to our rural estate. Right now, I have no idea about the situation in Yizhou."

He said, "When refugees arrive here, the county magistrate will probably ask people like us to come into town."

At that time, donations of money and grain would certainly be expected. That was all Old Master Bai could do.

The rain in Qili Village continued to fall, though it gradually lessened. The small river in the village swelled rapidly, flooding the school and entering some houses near the river or in low-lying areas.

Fortunately, the water wasn’t very deep. Although it greatly impacted daily life, there was no risk of drowning.

As a result, school was indefinitely canceled, with no one knowing when it would resume.

Manbao’s house was in a good location, with solid blue brick and tile construction, so it was unaffected by the disaster.

Many families in the village couldn’t stay in their homes and most moved in with relatives who had fared better. Some had relatives whose homes also leaked and couldn’t accommodate them, so they eventually ended up at Manbao’s house.

Therefore, Manbao’s family also made room to accommodate two households. Once the rain stopped, the village chief organized the villagers to help these families repair their homes.

Those that were completely damaged and uninhabitable needed to be rebuilt, while others required mending.

Of course, these tasks were for Zhou Dalang and the others; Manbao had nothing to do with it. She still was carried to the Bai Family’s house for class every morning by Zhou SiLang and picked up in the evening.

Though Mr. Zhuang was worried, he had to suppress it and create a small stove for the three children, occasionally telling them about Yizhou, the Qianwei Weir, and various droughts and floods.

By late May, the rain finally began to subside and the swelling river slowly receded. Old Zhou led his sons with hoes to check on their seedlings in the fields.

Many fields were submerged, and some near the river were so flooded that not even the tips of the seedlings were visible—in fact, it looked like a wide river.

Many families in the village were on the verge of tears, and Old Zhou was extremely worried, leaving early and returning late just to assess the damage.

After evaluation, nearly half of the Zhou Family’s fields might yield nothing. Once the water receded, the seedlings were either washed away or had rotten roots. Even if some survived, they probably wouldn’t produce a harvest.

After all, they had missed the critical time for earing.

The Zhou Family was still fortunate, as they had many fields spread out. So, although one part was flooded, some parts luckily escaped the disaster.

Other families may not have been so lucky. Although Manbao rarely joined her father in the hustle and bustle anymore, she often encountered villagers. Almost everyone looked worried, pessimistic about this year’s harvest when it came up in conversation.

As the water slowly subsided, it left behind many insect eggs. Even with the sun coming out, people weren’t too relieved. Villagers became busy again, venturing out early and returning late to catch insects, weed, and re-fertilize their fields.

The school needed to be cleaned and renovated, so it remained closed during this time.

Mr. Zhuang wasn’t teaching anymore; he needed to make a trip back to the county town. With the children out of school, they were finally free to explore the outside world.

The adults forbade them from going near the river, so they called friends and went to play in the mountains. Manbao recalled the flower basket business she had run for two years and decided to pick many flowers to weave into baskets again.

Of course, adults had to make the Small bamboo baskets.

After some thought, Old Zhou said to Zhou ErLang, "From now on, don’t bother with going to the fields in the afternoon. Stay at home and weave bamboo baskets. This year’s harvest will definitely fail, and with massive flooding elsewhere, as mentioned by the Chief, I expect grain prices will rise. So, we need to earn more money at home."

Zhou ErLang nodded. The family had already abandoned many fields, merely attempting to salvage what they could. No one knew how much they would eventually harvest.

Old Zhou said to Junior Ms.Qian, "Since Two is going to the county town, make some tofu and let him take it with him. Right now, every penny counts, and we must save."

He was very worried. "With the fields in this condition, I don’t even know how we’re going to pay the autumn tax."

Everyone lowered their heads.

Manbao then raised her little hand and said, "Dad, I’ll help you!"

Old Zhou managed a smile and said, "Hahaha, I knew Manbao was dutiful."

Zhou Family brothers:... as if they weren’t being of help.

Currently, the Zhou Family was in debt, and it was quite substantial. Although Manbao no longer had the opportunity to overhear her parents’ private conversations at night, she kept tabs in her mind, knowing they owed their eldest sister five taels of silver. That debt wasn’t urgent, but if they couldn’t pay the autumn tax in full with grain, they feared they might have to pay in cash.

Manbao, who helped her father calculate taxes every year, was all too familiar with this.

When she said she’d help, she meant it. The next day, she urged Sixth Brother to take Datou and Daya with them to sell flowers in the town with Second Brother.

Zhou Dalang loaded everything onto the cart, glanced at the flowers in their baskets, and nodded his consent.

No one at home objected. Last year and the year before, they had indeed made a good amount of money selling flower baskets. Even though there were now many flower basket sellers on the market, strange as it was, theirs were just a bit more popular than the others.

Of course, that was at the same price point.

Zhou ErLang and Zhou Wulang assumed this trip to the county town would be like any other, but as soon as they reached the gates, they sensed something was amiss.

The line to enter the town was extraordinarily long, filled to brimming with people, many of them ragged and numb with exhaustion. Zhou ErLang froze, stopping in his tracks for a moment.

Zhou Liulang curiously observed those people and then turned to ask him, "Second Brother, what’s wrong?"

Zhou ErLang considered turning back but, upon seeing the tofu in their basket, decided to proceed into town.

Bamboo crafts could be sold later, but tofu couldn’t wait.

He tightened his grip and instructed the others, "Once we’re in town, don’t run around selling flower baskets. Just sell them with me in one spot. Don’t go anywhere else, understand?"

Manbao immediately responded, "But I wanted to talk to Second Miss Fu. I promised her in our last letter that if I went to town, I’d visit her to play."

And she intended to sell her sugar to her as well.

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