The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 324 - 313: Intimidation and Show Off

Chapter 324: Chapter 313: Intimidation and Show Off

Manbao made use of the time before bed to slip back into the study once again and saw that the inbox on the side was flashing continuously, so she clicked it open, thinking it was another video from the teachers to address her questions.

But to her surprise, what appeared was an article.

Manbao scratched her head. Although she preferred video to text, she still read the letter patiently.

Whether it was audio or text, as long as it passed through the system, Keke would translate it into language and characters that Manbao could understand and read.

This teacher had only just learned that Manbao was from another world, so the letter expressed great interest in the patients of her era.

He hoped that they could collaborate, offering her technical support while she provided him with a sufficient number of medical records, and the two could conduct research together.

Manbao didn’t see what there was to research. Wasn’t studying medicine all about treating and saving people?

However, she wasn’t opposed to the idea because having a teacher to communicate with anytime was much better than her studying alone with books in the study room.

So Manbao gladly agreed.

The doctor of medicine was delighted, and so was Manbao.

For this reason, when Bai Shanbao saw her the next day, she had a beaming smile on her face and looked very happy.

But Bai Shanbao, on the other hand, felt a bit downcast and sighed deeply, causing Manbao to snap out of her joy and ask, "What’s wrong?"

Bai Shanbao said, "Grandmother wants to take me back to Longzhou for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Counting on her fingers, Manbao said, "There’s still a month till Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Exactly. It will take at least twenty days to travel to Longzhou, on top of visiting relatives and friends and inspecting the family properties once there," Bai Shanbao said with some displeasure. "By the time we return from Longzhou, it might already be mid-September."

That would mean two months would have passed by then.

"So you won’t be going to school?"

"Grandmother said she would take care of my studies and make sure I don’t fall behind, and then I could just catch up on some lessons with the teacher when we return," Bai Shanbao responded.

Manbao was also sorry to part with Bai Shanbao and asked, "Why must you go back for Mid-Autumn Festival? There are no close relatives at your place anymore, right?"

Bai Shanbao nodded, "That’s right, there aren’t any, but the family steward wrote to say that some family members have come to the estate wanting to buy land to set up their businesses, so it’s not possible not to go back."

Scratching her head, Manbao was puzzled, "If they want to buy land and set up business, why do you have to go back?"

Looking at her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Bai Shanbao said, "Because the land they are interested in belongs to my family."

Manbao’s eyes widened, "Is that even possible?"

"Of course," Ms. Liu did not hide these matters from Bai Shanbao, feeling that it was Bai Shanbao who would be the one to carry on the Bai Family lineage, so Bai Shanbao knew about these issues. Clenching his fists tightly, he said, "Not long after my dad passed away, Clan Elders came to our door wanting to help manage our family’s affairs. My grandmother didn’t agree, and after such incidents occurred several times, she couldn’t stand the harassment anymore, as they became increasingly aggressive. That’s why she sold some of the fields and shops in Longzhou and moved here."

But selling them didn’t mean Ms. Liu just sat on the money.

Ultimately, she used the money to purchase estates, right around the old estates.

The reasons were twofold: one, that area was familiar, as the family steward had managed it for many years and was more comfortable there; two, having all the properties concentrated in one area made them easier to manage.

However, the drawbacks were also obvious. That place wasn’t very far from Longzhou, and some relatives of the Bai Family also had lands there.

Bai Shanbao was rather angry, "Grandmother should have just sold all the land and relocated here, so we wouldn’t have to go back."

Manbao nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing, "That way, you wouldn’t miss any classes."

"Exactly, exactly." Bai Shanbao’s eyes gleamed with an idea, "How about you come with me to convince my grandmother? I alone may not carry enough weight."

Bai Shanbao said, "Grandmother likes you, and if both of us talk to her, she might consider it."

Manbao indicated no problem, "Today my brothers went to help Second Lu’s family harvest beans; no one will accompany me to play in the mountains, so I’m free."

Manbao, who happened to be free, went back with Bai Shanbao to the Bai Family and tried her best to persuade Ms. Liu to buy land in this area.

Seeing the two innocent and lively children, Ms. Liu couldn’t help but caress their little heads and sigh, "Things in this world aren’t so simple, are they?"

Bai Shanbao was somewhat dissatisfied, "The world’s affairs are actually simple; it’s you adults who think it’s too complicated."

"Silly child, you only see the disadvantages of our family’s properties being in Longzhou but not the benefits," Ms. Liu paused for a moment, then, knowing that both children were studying The Great Learning, decided not to hesitate. "Tell me, where in Qili Village can one find good fertile land for sale?"

Bai Shanbao had no idea and turned to look at Manbao.

Scratching her head, Manbao said, "Seems like there isn’t? I don’t think anyone in the village is selling land."

"Right, unless someone is at the brink of survival, who would sell land? Even if someone did sell, it would be bits and pieces here and there, rarely anything substantial," Ms. Liu explained. "But our family’s estates are contiguous, even the smallest are eighty mu of connected land."

Bai Shanbao still didn’t understand, but Manbao had already nodded, "Having connected land makes it easier to work on, saving lots of time and manpower."

Laughing, Ms. Liu nodded her head at Manbao, "Exactly. It took three generations of management in Luojiang County for your Uncle Bai’s family to achieve this scale. For our family, who has just arrived, it’s impossible to know how long it would take to reach the current scale of properties."

You cannot buy or sell Yongye Fields, but there was a loophole; Ms. Liu could purchase some if she wanted to, but buying contiguous pieces would not be possible.

Unless she used underhanded tactics to force people to ruin and desperation, making them sell their fields just to avert disaster.

Doing that, if they encountered a competent county magistrate, it was uncertain who would die first, and Ms. Liu wouldn’t resort to such actions regardless.

She said, "I sold the properties and shops in Longzhou and bought nearby properties out of luck, just because there were people selling land at that time."

"Despite the scoundrels showing up to force us, there are also relatives and old friends there who are on good terms with our family. The reason I want to take you back this time is to show them that my grandson is now capable and intelligent," Ms. Liu said with a profound look. "To ensure they don’t push us too far."

Why do they dare to press in step by step?

Because they see us as an easy target, a widow and an orphan; then Bai Shanbao was previously quite reckless, getting into fights with classmates at the clan school, talking back to teachers, and being ignorant and uneducated.

They thought that the Bai Family had no capable successor, that Bai Shanbao was not to be feared, and this gave them the audacity to eye their family’s assets.

But now Shanbao had reformed, becoming smarter day by day, and was also excelling in his studies; Ms. Liu decided to take him back for Mid-Autumn Festival not only to deter, but also to show off.

Before, Ms. Liu wouldn’t deliberately hide family matters from Bai Shanbao but had consciously avoided some issues; now that both children had asked, and she sensed that they had grown up, she simply told them everything.