The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 251 - 240: It’s None of Your Family’s Business

Chapter 251: Chapter 240: It’s None of Your Family’s Business

Old Zhou and the village chief went to the Bai Family to discuss with Old Master Bai how to deal with those three men.

They felt some matters were not appropriate to discuss with Ms. Liu, but Old Master Bai was in the know, and talking to him would be more convenient, even if it meant troubling him again.

The village chief and Old Zhou both felt somewhat embarrassed.

Old Master Bai’s emotions were turbulent, and when he saw the two men again, his expression was even more complex, especially in the presence of Old Zhou.

Previously ignorant, he naturally had more room for maneuver, but now that the matter involved his cousin and, to a certain extent, stemmed from him, how could he shirk responsibility?

He understood what the village chief and Old Zhou were concerned about and after a moment of contemplation said, "Don’t worry, I will handle this matter. I’ve already made inquiries this morning; they are impostors."

The village chief and Old Zhou’s eyes lit up, "They really are impostors?"

Old Master Bai nodded; to a certain degree, they were.

Both Old Zhou and the village chief heaved a great sigh of relief; as long as they were not official inspectors, it was reassuring.

Well, if they weren’t officials...

Old Zhou, suddenly coming back to his senses, quickly asked, "Old Master Bai, if they are not officials, then why did they come to investigate my younger brother’s business?"

"They didn’t come to look for Zhou Yin, but were searching for someone else," Old Master Bai had already coordinated an explanation with Ms. Liu, "That person has some connections to our family, but we have no idea where he has hidden. Knowing my aunt moved to this place, they disguised themselves to probe around, using the disaster relief as a pretext to investigate household registrations. It was your overreaction that aroused their suspicion."

Old Zhou was stunned, "Ah, so it has nothing to do with our family?"

In an instant, Old Zhou felt both regret and sympathy; regretting his hotheaded actions yesterday that led to the brawl and feeling sorry for the damaged houses and money that had been compensated.

The village chief too opened his mouth in shock, realizing it was all a misunderstanding.

Embarrassment showed on Old Master Bai’s face as he said, "By the way, I heard that your roof suffered severe damage. My aunt had Nanny Liu send five taels of silver to you. Did you not accept it?"

Old Zhou smiled awkwardly; before this, he had always felt responsible for the trouble caused by the Zhou Family, so how could he have the face to accept it? Even when Nanny Liu insisted on giving him the money, he firmly refused to take it.

But now...

Apparently aware of this, Old Master Bai apologetically said, "This was our oversight and also a misunderstanding. Please accept this small amount of money. I heard that Dalang even injured his internal organs. Do you want me to go to the county town and ask a doctor to come have a look?"

Old Master Bai handed a purse to Old Zhou, who replied somewhat flusteredly, "No need, no need. The doctor has already prescribed medicine to stop the bleeding. Resting for a while should do the trick."

But this time, he didn’t refuse the purse in his hand.

Old Master Bai was relieved and promised, "I will take care of this matter properly. Both of you can rest assured, and please let the people in the village be at ease as well. After all, this trouble can be traced back to us."

The village chief said, "We can’t blame you for this; it’s their ill-intent that’s at fault. Moreover, we are all fellow villagers, and it is only right for neighbors to help each other out."

Although he didn’t know the details, the village chief thought well of Old Master Bai for his kind heart, and even though Ms. Liu had only moved in two years ago, she was also a good person. The village children often received pastries when playing with the young master of the Bai Family.

Even when children fought, Old Madam never interfered, and there was no bullying on account of their status.

Therefore, the village chief was quite fond of this new family in the village.

This visit was like lifting a heavy stone from their hearts; the heavier they felt on arrival, the lighter they were on departure.

If it weren’t for Old Master Bai in front, Old Zhou would have almost burst into laughter; he knew it, after so many years, who would come looking for his brother?

Old Master Bai sent off the two light-hearted men, and just as they exited the door, he saw two children each carrying a plate, sneaking from the east side, seemingly intending to go to the western garden.

Old Master Bai: ...

Old Zhou: ...

The village chief glanced at Old Zhou, then at Old Master Bai, and tactfully remained silent.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao, having coaxed the cook into preparing two plates of pastries to avoid the watchful eyes of Ms. Liu and Ms. Zheng, deliberately avoided taking the closest route from the back yard and instead circled to the front before heading west.

Bai Shanbao’s study was located in the western garden.

Creeping along the corridor and using the trees for cover, the two children sneaked from the front courtyard without noticing the three adults standing above watching them.

Upon entering the western garden, they burst into a run.

Manbao, hands full carrying the plate, slowed down when she saw the glutinous rice cakes almost falling out, carefully pushed them back in place, and then continued her run.

When they reached the study, Manbao reached out to grab one to eat, but Bai Shanbao slapped her hand.

He solemnly said, "We need to wash our hands first."

"Alright."

Manbao washed her hands in the water basin on the nearby shelf; she dampened her hands briefly, rubbed them together regardless of whether they were clean or not, shook them off, then wiped with a towel and hurried back to her seat to start eating.

After washing his hands, Bai Shanbao also quickly started eating his pastries.

"Delicious~~"

"Yeah, yeah." But Bai Shanbao exercised restraint, saying, "Eating too much is uncomfortable. Let’s eat just two pieces now, then we can read for a while and save the rest for lunch, okay?"

Manbao reluctantly agreed but knew he was right because she too had experienced feeling overfull. She nodded with some difficulty, "Alright, what book do you want to read today?"

"I’m reading ’Mozi’; there are many interesting things in it. If we could make them, they would surely be more fun than the toys we play with now. What about you, what book are you reading?"

"I’m reading ’Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor.’ I feel like people in my family are always falling ill. If I knew how to treat injuries and illness, I wouldn’t have to worry so much in case of emergencies."

"Alright, then later I’ll make toys for you, and if I get sick, you can prescribe medicine for me."

"No problem."

"I want sweet medicine."

"What medicine is sweet?"

"I don’t care," Bai Shanbao declared, "I just want sweet medicine. I won’t take bitter medicine."

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I remember licorice is sweet. If need be, I’ll just add more of that for you, and it should taste sweet."

Keke: ... That’s not how prescriptions work.

But at that moment, the two children were oblivious. They both thought it was a great idea, so they contentedly pulled out their books to read.

Ms. Liu stood outside the window watching them, and unlike before, today she paid more attention to Manbao.

She had met Ms. Qian, and previously just thought that Zhou Man didn’t look much like Ms. Qian. Although Ms.Qian seemed frail due to illness now, she was not small in stature.

You could tell that she was a hearty and robust person in her youth, and Junior Ms. Qian did resemble her.

Zhou Man, though, was slightly more delicate, but since she was still young and rumored to be somewhat deficient from birth, often falling ill, Ms. Liu thought this was normal.

Besides, she had a pair of eyes very much like Zhou SiLang’s.