The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 297 - 286: Happy

Chapter 297: Chapter 286: Happy

Zhou ErLang directly took the carrying basket from Zhou SiLang, hoisting it onto his back and weighing it in his hands, unable to hide the smile on his face any longer, "This has got to be at least twenty pounds."

Thanks to his experience in small business, Zhou ErLang had a knack for estimating weight. And since he had made the carrying basket himself, he knew its approximate load.

For that reason, everyone trusted his estimations.

Even Zhou Dalang and Zhou Sanlang couldn’t hide the joy on their faces. Now they didn’t mind that Zhou SiLang had spent so long in the mountains.

One grabbed the hoe from his hand, while the other picked up Manbao, and they headed home with big strides.

If they had encountered so many China roots, they wouldn’t have cared how dark it was; they would have needed to dig them out and take them home to rest easy.

By the time they reached the entrance to the village, the daylight was nearly gone, just faintly lingering.

At this time, everyone was returning from the fields to prepare for bed.

But some, finding it too hot to sleep inside, chose instead to sit at their doorsteps or under the village trees, chatting and shooting the breeze with others.

Seeing the Zhou brothers coming back with hoes and carrying baskets, they couldn’t help but ask, "What have you been up to, coming back like this? Hey, that’s Manbao on your back, isn’t it? How did you get her so dirty?"

Of course, Zhou SiLang wasn’t foolish enough to tell them that they had been digging for China root in the mountains. With a twirl of his eyes, a lie slipped out effortlessly, "We went to divert water for the rice paddies, and Manbao went down into the fields."

Everyone had a good laugh at that. Diverting water to the rice paddies wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; at this time of year, every family did it. But the idea of Manbao working in the fields seemed amusing, and they began to tease her, with some even stepping forward to try and take Manbao down to question her.

As a result, Zhou Sanlang just kept walking forward, swiftly disappearing ahead with Manbao in tow.

The jokers were somewhat embarrassed, and Zhou ErLang smoothed things over, "My mom’s getting anxious. Third has taken her home to clean up first. When you’re free, come play at our house."

As for the carrying basket Zhou ErLang had on his back, most people weren’t interested. Everyone knew that the Zhou family grew vegetables by Little Bay, so the basket either contained vegetables or wild mushrooms they had found in the mountains.

Yet some were curious and stepped forward a few paces to inquire, "Zhou Er, did you and your brothers find some good stuff on the mountain?"

Zhou ErLang couldn’t refuse to show them; otherwise, by the next day, all sorts of rumors would have spread.

Luckily, under the tree leaves at the bottom of the basket were straw mushrooms that Zhou SiLang and Manbao had found. Because the light was dim, the villager who lifted the leaves couldn’t see them too well, but they still recognized the mushrooms.

And then, seeing the size of the carrying basket, they couldn’t help but express their amazement, "You found so many straw mushrooms?"

As soon as these words were spoken, people came over to have a look, "Geez, Zhou Er, you guys are quite something. You’re going to make a fortune, aren’t you? These sell for a lot in the county town, right?"

Zhou ErLang just laughed it off, "It’s alright, just alright."

Zhou SiLang, walking ahead, looked back and called out, "Second Brother, hurry up. I haven’t even had my dinner yet."

Those who wanted to continue looking and asking felt embarrassed to keep holding Zhou ErLang back and watched enviously as the Zhou brothers walked away.

"It didn’t rain yesterday, did it? Where did they find so many straw mushrooms?"

"They have the skills, right? I tell you, it seems like the Zhou family is making a comeback."

"Tsk, you’re a bit late saying that. I already knew it when they built their house last year. Without money, could they have afforded such a big house with blue bricks and large tiles?"

"And they even built big beds."

"It’s also because they have so many people, they work fast. Not to mention, just wait a few days until the wheat harvest, you’ll see. Your family of three or four, and their family of over ten working together on the field, even if split into two groups, they’ll be like a wave sweeping through," a villager with few family members said enviously, "By the time they’ve reaped three or four acres of wheat, your family might not even have finished one."

"Yeah, every time I compare our wheat harvest to theirs, I feel upset. They work for a bit and move to another spot, while we could be cutting from morning till night and still not finish a single patch."

"So, we really need to have more kids."

"Having them is one thing, they need to be able to pull their weight."

The topic drifted off, and no one discussed Zhou ErLang’s wild mushrooms anymore, but everyone now had an impression.

Zhou ErLang, carrying the basket back home, joined his brothers in sorting everything out. The good straw mushrooms were set aside to be sold in the city the next day, while the lesser ones were placed separately. Junior Ms.Qian immediately prepared some with two eggs for Manbao to eat as a dish.

The China roots were laid out on the ground with the dirt peeled off and set aside to dry.

Zhou ErLang decided to take three or four of them to sell at the county town’s drugstore the next day. Taking only a few each day, he could do this for several days.

Taking too many was risky, both when bringing them to sell and when bringing the money back; it was better to earn money slowly and steadily.

Old Zhou and Ms.Qian, sitting on the threshold watching everything, had faces creased like multi-petaled chrysanthemums. Just thinking about the income from the China roots gave Old Zhou more confidence about getting through the upcoming winter.

After cleaning up, Manbao ran out and immediately smelled something delicious, promptly sitting on a stool to wait for her meal.

Since it was dark inside and Old Zhou didn’t want to waste oil on the lamp, he and Zhou SiLang ate in the courtyard.

There was a moon in the sky, providing just enough light to make out the bowl and food.

Zhou SiLang muttered under his breath about stinginess before diving into his meal.

Old Zhou, sitting atop the threshold, spoke from his elevated position, "Manbao, let your Fourth Brother handle going into the mountains for things from now on. You shouldn’t follow them in. You, you should read more, find things as valuable as China root, and teach your brothers, letting them go into the mountains to find them."

While eating, Manbao replied, "Dad, China root is hard to find. Just relying on Fourth Brother and the others, it would be hard to find any. If I’m not busy, I might as well go into the mountains too."

She thought mountain excursions were fun and allowed her to collect some plants she hadn’t seen before.

Old Zhou certainly didn’t think his daughter would be better in the mountains than Zhou Si, assuming she was making up excuses to play. He was about to scold her when Zhou Si raised his head and vigorously nodded, "Dad, the China root was too hard to find. Manbao found all of it today. If not for her, we probably wouldn’t have found anything."

Old Zhou was taken aback, pausing before asking, "Is it really Manbao who found them?"

"Really, especially this last one, you wouldn’t believe how deep it was hidden. If Manbao hadn’t said there was China root inside, I wouldn’t have believed it..." Zhou Si vividly recounted how Manbao discovered that patch of China root.

The Zhou family listened intently as Zhou Si took the opportunity to present his wooden immortal theory, then eagerly looked at his parents, "Dad, Mom, don’t you think I’m right? Isn’t Manbao the reincarnation of a wooden immortal?"

Old Zhou hastily turned to his wife, who frequently prayed to Heaven Master, for such matters were certainly her domain.

Ms.Qian was a believer in Taoism, so after a moment of thought, she said, "When I have the time, I’ll ask the Taoist priest up the mountain."

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