The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 229 - 218: A Thick Letter (Please Collect and Recommend)

Chapter 229: Chapter 218: A Thick Letter (Please Collect and Recommend)

Very good, another matter was settled. The steward and the chief clerk who understood the subtleties both let out a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but cast another curious glance at Manbao.

Children who could say things that stump the adults were certainly impressive to some extent.

But Manbao was still young and naturally small for her age, and even though she was now fair and plump, she was quite short. Along with her chubby little face, she looked extremely tender.

No one would blame her for speaking out of turn; instead, they thought of it as child’s innocent bluntness.

Looking at Bai Shanbao, those who knew the undercurrent of the conversation smiled faintly. After all, it was just the words of a seven- or eight-year-old child, and stretching it to a matter of male-female taboos seemed quite far-fetched.

However, after having lunch, Old Master Bai invited County Magistrate Fu and his entourage to rest in the guest room for a while before taking the two children to the study for a talk, deciding it was time to teach them the art of conversation.

They were not getting any younger, and it was time they started learning this skill. Otherwise, if they always offended people when they went out and didn’t understand why they might end up in a sack without a clue, that would be truly miserable.

Old Zhou also felt that his little girl was too talkative and was just about to have a word with her when he listened at the door of the study for a while and then quietly left.

He thought that if they made tofu at home in the future, they should not only deliver it to the neighboring Shanbao’s house but also send some to Old Master Bai’s house as well.

County Magistrate Fu, although wanting to appear diligent, found the Bai Family’s environment was indeed very pleasant. Added to his lack of rest and sleep deprivation, as soon as he sat down on the bed after a full meal, he couldn’t help but feel drowsy.

In a short while, he lay down on the couch and fell fast asleep with a snore.

The chief clerk and the steward were also very tired and fell asleep in their respective guest rooms as well.

There was no helping it. If County Magistrate Fu was sleep-deprived, so were they, for they had nearly been following him throughout his county tour.

While the commander and assistant county magistrate could stay with other matters in town and didn’t come out, the chief clerk and steward couldn’t do that. The former was in charge of finances and needed to distribute relief and gather statistics; he had to go. As for the latter, with the presence of the magistrate in the countryside, of course, he had to follow and strategize.

Once these three men fell asleep, they slept quite long. Manbao and Bai Shanbao not only finished listening to Old Master Bai’s impromptu lesson on "the importance of the art of conversation" but also discussed it between themselves before each claimed a soft couch and took a nap.

By the time they woke up, County Magistrate Fu had not gotten out of bed yet. Manbao’s eyes twinkled, and she immediately went to get paper and ink to write a letter.

Possibly learning her lesson, she looked around first to make sure only she and Bai Shanbao were in the study, before she said to him, "Second Sister Fu is really nice, and I’m so happy when I talk to her. Ah, if it weren’t for having so many things to do each time we enter the county city, I would like to talk to her from morning till night."

Bai Shanbao, initially also wanting to make a pen pal like Manbao, was displeased to hear her say this and huffed, "She’s so much older than us, what’s so good about talking to her?"

"She knows a lot. She understands many things I say, and I understand what she says too."

"I understand everything you say too. Does that mean you can’t understand what I say?"

Bai Shanbao looked at him oddly, "Of course I can, but you are just one person. Now, with Second Sister Fu, it makes two, and if you could also become good friends with Second Sister Fu, then the three of us could play together in the future. When we discuss our lessons, it could be the three of us."

Manbao wrinkled her nose in disdain, "Bai Er is too dumb. Discussing lessons with him is not fun at all because he doesn’t understand many things. It’s much more interesting to talk with you and Second Sister Fu."

Mr. Zhuang had been giving the two of them private lessons, teaching them different books than Bai Er and the others. And just before the Dragon Boat Festival, Mr. Zhuang informed the two of them that they would study the same books as Zhou Bin and the others.

Such changes occurred from time to time. Perhaps because of the small number of students in the school, Mr. Zhuang, who had his mind on students all day long, paid much attention to tailored teaching. The progression of some children was different from that of other students.

There were those like Manbao and Bai Shanbao who progressed quickly, and naturally, there were also ones like Bai Erlang who lagged a little.

Zhou Bin was the village leader’s eldest grandson, who started school two years before Bai Erlang and was on a different learning track from them.

When they discussed lessons with Bai Erlang, naturally, he could not keep up with them.

Although Manbao’s reasons were valid, Bai Shanbao still felt there was no need to add another person to their study group, especially since that person was far away in the county city, and communication would require writing letters.

It would be less of a hassle to discuss any issues with Zhou Bin and the others instead.

Seeing that Bai Shanbao really did not want to befriend Second Miss Fu, Manbao could only sigh in disappointment, abandon the idea of including his letter with hers, and then began writing a letter to Second Miss Fu.

By the time County Magistrate Fu woke up and had just washed his face and sipped his tea, Manbao came running and handed him the letter, hoping he would deliver it to his second daughter for her.

Curious, County Magistrate Fu took the folded square stack of papers and asked, "Why haven’t you put it in an envelope?"

"Envelopes are expensive, and since it’s not far, it’s not going to be mailed, carrying it by hand is just fine. I don’t mind, and Second Sister Fu won’t mind either."

County Magistrate Fu: "... Are envelopes really that expensive?"

Manbao nodded emphatically and sighed, "Yes, expensive. The cost of one envelope is enough to buy the draft paper for writing to Second Sister Fu ten times."

If it wasn’t for the fact that she bought her paper from the trade market, she wouldn’t have indulged in writing so often, as the paper at the bookstore was simply too expensive.

But Bai Shanbao interjected from the side, "That’s definitely not enough because you write too much."

Manbao hummed, "Because I have so many things to say to her."

County Magistrate Fu was particularly curious about what she had written to make such a thick bundle. No, no, no, that wasn’t the point. The point was, wasn’t she too young to write so much without finding it annoying or tiring?

He knew his son was even older than her and making him write just two pages a day was like asking for his life.

However, County Magistrate Fu maintained his integrity in front of others. Even though he really wanted to take a look, he didn’t, but put away the letter with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’ll take it back to her."

In the afternoon, their main task was to assess the disaster damage in Qili Village’s fields. Although the summer days were long, they couldn’t stay out too late. Thus, after getting ready, County Magistrate Fu went with the others to inspect the crop conditions in the fields.

This time, not only did Manbao and Bai Shanbao accompany them, but Old Master Bai also brought along Bai Erlang, who had been hiding and enjoying the coolness in the back yard.

As a result, the three children walked under the scorching sun alongside a group of adults toward the fields. Bai Erlang’s face turned red from the sun, and he couldn’t help but grumble to the two, "Why am I here? I don’t even understand farming."

Manbao and Bai Shanbao were both wearing straw hats and joined the adults. Seeing Bai Erlang’s face turned red, Bai Shanbao advised him, "You should wear a hat, be careful of heatstroke."

"No, it’s too ugly."