The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 339 - 328: Sentimental

Chapter 339: Chapter 328: Sentimental

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang slowly finished their bowls of wontons, then drank up the soup too. They looked up and caught each other’s eyes, neither really wanted to go pick up their little sister.

The feeling of not having a child around really was nice!

Zhou Liulang put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and after paying the bill, he looked up at the second floor of the restaurant.

Manbao, who was watching the street scene through the window, spotted his gaze first and excitedly waved at him.

Zhou Liulang stood below and looked up, hands on his hips, and called out, "Are you going out for fun later? If not, Sixth and I will go for ourselves, and come back for you later in the evening."

Fu Wenyun immediately pointed at Manbao’s arm, and Manbao quickly said, "Go ahead, if we’re not at the restaurant later, we’ll be at the bookstore."

Zhou Liulang understood, they were planning to visit the bookstore later, and that meant he and Sixth would definitely have to go out separately. He had no interest in looking at books.

Actually, Zhou Liulang initially liked reading quite a bit. What country person doesn’t wish to recognize countless characters, master a wealth of knowledge, and then take the imperial exams and be appointed as a marquis or chancellor?

Dreams, even the most unrealistic ones, are there for people to have.

But memorizing five characters one day and forgetting them the next, learning and forgetting, and the learning process being so tedious...

Not everyone has the patience to squat on the ground and trace characters on paper with a twig for half a day.

That’s why Zhou Liulang now gets a headache at the sight of books, and only when at home does he learn some characters with Datou and the others so as not to forget them completely.

He felt that to truly love reading from the bottom of your heart, and to love deeply, you either had to be a bookworm or a smart child like his little sister.

He was neither here nor there with either option, naturally leading to a lack of interest in reading.

Luojiang County’s bookshops were not big, their collections were limited and seldom updated. In the past two years, whenever Manbao and Bai Shanbao came to the county town, they’d make a round through the bookshop, so the shopkeeper was already quite familiar with her.

Fu Wenyun, however, was a new face.

Upon seeing Manbao, the shopkeeper pointed out a spot, and Manbao smiled at him, pulling Fu Wenyun over.

She knew that’s where new books were placed.

The bookshop wasn’t crowded, so Manbao flipped through and found two thin volumes, one being the "Zhongda Poetry Collection" by someone named Kong Zhongda, and the other was "Mao’s Poetry Justice."

Having finished the Classic of Poetry, Manbao picked up "Mao’s Poetry Justice" and started flipping through it.

Fu Wenyun, who had just finished learning the Classic of Poetry, looked on with keen interest and quickly asked, "Is this ’Mao’s Biography’?"

Manbao had already opened the book, nodded, and after reading for a while said, "You could buy a copy to read at your leisure."

"If you say so, it must be a good book," Fu Wenyun concluded, taking a copy from the shelf, planning to buy it to read at her leisure.

Fu Wenyun knew that Manbao had read many books, but she didn’t realize she had read that many. Of all the books in the shop, Manbao could speak of them with such familiarity.

Those she had read, those she had not, which ones were worth reading, which ones were beyond their understanding at the current stage, and which ones were no longer necessary to read, she could name them all.

However, after a round through the bookshop, Fu Wenyun had already picked up seven or eight books, some of which they had in her family’s study at home.

But she wanted a book that was solely hers.

Although the books were expensive, she could afford them.

After all, the money her mother gave her today hadn’t been spent on clothes or jewelry.

Fu Wenyun happily purchased the books, then turned to look at Manbao and was surprised to see her empty-handed, asking, "Aren’t you buying anything?"

"I’m buying ink."

The shopkeeper smiled at Fu Wenyun amiably, skillfully took a box of inksticks from a shelf, and handed it to Manbao, sighing, "You’ve been through so much ink, that would’ve used up a lot of paper, yet I’ve never seen you buy paper from me."

Manbao bluntly said, "Your paper is too expensive."

"I already gave you the cheapest price possible, any cheaper and I’d be at a loss."

So Manbao sighed, "That’s why reading is expensive."

The shopkeeper smiled at her, reading isn’t expensive—how else would scholars be esteemed?

After paying for the inksticks, Manbao placed the box in her cloth bag, then helped Fu Wenyun with the books as they headed out.

Fu Wenyun was very happy that day and invited Manbao to join her back at the restaurant, "I’m in no hurry to return, let’s sit at the restaurant a while. May I treat you to lunch?"

"Sure," Manbao readily agreed, "I just hope we won’t disturb your elder sister."

"It won’t matter, she and Miss Liu from the Liu family may not come back to the restaurant for their meal. Let’s eat first. Besides, most of the books I chose I haven’t read before, I would like to seek your advice on them."

Although Fu Wenyun was older than Manbao, her time spent reading didn’t compare.

After finishing the Classic of Poetry, she had an "academic hiatus," and now that she had resumed studying, she still needed to spend half a day at the back mansion learning the zither and embroidery with her elder sister.

She knew much more than Manbao, but when it came to books, she hadn’t read as many as Manbao had.

She envied Manbao, and Manbao envied her too, "Next time, if there’s a chance when you come to the county town, I’d love to listen to your sister play the zither."

Fu Wenyun replied with a smile, "Next time you come to my house, I’ll take you to my room and play it for you."

Knowing Manbao loved to eat, Fu Wenyun ordered three signature dishes from the restaurant, a feast enjoyed by Qiuyue as well.

After eating, Manbao confirmed, "Very tasty!"

Fu Wenyun had been paying attention to her expression, and laughed as she said, "But you must’ve had tastier before—I didn’t see much surprise on your face."

Manbao proudly declared, "The cook at my friend’s house makes it very tasty, and so does my sister-in-law."

Fu Wenyun nodded, "I often hear you talk about your sister-in-law’s cooking; if there’s a chance, I’d definitely love to try it properly."

As they chatted, it was Zhou Wulang and the others who found them first and came to take Manbao away.

Fu Wenyun, as usual, took out one hundred wen to buy candy, and perhaps because they were about to part, she looked somewhat sad while looking at the sweets, "If I leave, I won’t be able to taste your candy anymore."

Manbao opened her mouth but didn’t know how to comfort her.

Zhou Wulang glanced at her curiously and interjected, "Then buy more, Second Miss. Our family gives discounts for bulk candy purchases, by the way, where are you going, for a long time?"

Zhou Wulang chattered on, "If it’s for a long time, it’s best to buy more. Then store it in a jar, it can be kept for quite a while. If you buy more than five hundred pieces, you get one free for every two you buy...."

Manbao actually thought it was a good idea.

Fu Wenyun’s sentimental feelings were completely washed away by Zhou Wulang’s enthusiasm.

Qiuyue secretly glared at Zhou Wulang and timely said, "Miss, the eldest miss is here."

Zhou Wulang regretfully stopped, and in the end said, "Second Miss, if you want to buy candy, remember to look to us. My second brother comes to the county town to sell vegetables every day."

Fu Wenyun could only nod in response.

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