The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 357 - 346: Good Book

Chapter 357: Chapter 346: Good Book

Manbao placed the booklet in the bookcase and then carried the bookcase on her back to the courtyard.

Aside from the youngest few, the rest of the Zhou family had risen.

Since Ms.Qian’s health improved, she began rising early each day. As the weather grew colder, there were fewer greens in the fields, and tofu became a better-selling commodity.

Zhou ErLang no longer sold greens but only the bamboo baskets he wove. The yams and ginger he got from Four and the others also earned a decent sum, but his most popular item was still tofu.

No matter how much he took to the town every day, he sold it all.

According to him, not only did the town’s residents love to buy tofu to eat, but some restaurant waitstaff also came to buy from him, usually half a bucket at a time.

Consequently, the largest income for the Zhou family now came from tofu.

Of course, the ginger and yams that Zhou SiLang and the others harvested were worth more, but those were from barren lands, and Ms.Qian did not take all of their crops; they only owed a contribution to the family coffer.

Ever since Old Zhou announced that all produce and business that required labor from the family would be managed outside of private interests, the tofu business had not divided any private funds.

Because the town now demanded large quantities, Ms.Qian divided the family into two groups, one led by Junior Ms.Qian and the other by herself.

Junior Ms.Qian got up at dawn to make two batches of tofu with Zhou Dalang for Zhou ErLang to take to town; after breakfast, Junior Ms.Qian would rest, while Ms.Qian started making the second round of tofu with Zhou Sanlang, also two batches. When done, Zhou Sanlang would deliver it to town, just in time for the afternoon when people came out to buy groceries.

It was said that restaurants and taverns also liked to buy tofu in two batches from them—what they bought in the morning they used for lunch, and what they bought in the afternoon was used for dinner—fresher!

Seeing the little girl carrying her bookcase over, Ms.Qian took a spoon and went to the kitchen, scooped a bowl of tender tofu custard out of a wooden barrel, sprinkled a handful of sugar on it, and had Ms.Feng take it along with a steamed egg to Manbao.

A thin pancake, a bowl of steamed eggs, and a bowl of tofu custard comprised Manbao’s breakfast.

This was Ms.Qian’s newly varied breakfast menu after her recovery, richer and tastier than before, causing Manbao’s face to gradually round out, and even her height, which had long been static, grew a tad.

The tofu custard was an accidental creation by Ms.Qian.

When she and Junior Ms.Qian learned to make tofu, the first attempt at coagulation wasn’t very successful. It instead produced overly tender tofu that couldn’t hold its shape, which turned into custard.

Keke was the one who named it "tofu custard," but in the eyes of the Zhou family, it was a name given by Manbao.

Manbao sprinkled a handful of sugar on the custard the first time they tried it. They thought it was quite good; the key was, although the custard might quickly make one hungry again, it was also filling.

If only sugar weren’t so expensive; if they only ate tofu custard, who knows how much grain they could save.

Soybeans were cheap, and a pound of soybeans could make about four pounds of tofu custard.

Indeed, a pound of soybeans yielded more tofu custard than tofu, and after Ms.Qian and Junior Ms.Qian pondered, they soon crafted even tastier tofu custard.

Now the Zhou family ate a bucket of tofu custard every day, enough for everyone to have their fill.

After Manbao finished eating, she ran off to school and just as she reached the intersection, she saw Bai Shanbao with a sleepy face carrying his bookcase towards her.

Manbao stopped and waited for him.

Bai Shanbao saw her too but didn’t hurry, continuing his slow approach.

He lazily lifted a paw in greeting and couldn’t suppress a yawn, begrudgingly commenting, "Why do we go to school at the same time in summer and winter?"

"Because you sleep at 9 p.m. in summer and also at 9 p.m. in winter."

Bai Shanbao thought about it and realized it was true—it was almost the same. But what if one wanted to sleep more in winter?

Like Bai Shanbao, many students felt groggy, especially those not from Qili Village. They had to rise at least fifteen minutes earlier than Manbao and the others to make it to school on time.

Upon entering the classroom, the light shone in from outside. Bai Shan struggled against another yawn in the morning light, which almost made Manbao feel sleepy too.

She thought about the time she went to bed last night and stated definitively, "You certainly didn’t go to sleep at 9 p.m. last night."

Tears nearly welled in Bai Shanbao’s eyes as he covertly glanced outside and whispered to Manbao, "I have a really interesting book, and I stayed up late reading it last night. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep."

Manbao brightened up, whispering back, "I also have an interesting book."

The two exchanged glances and made a decision, "I’ll let you read it when I’m done."

Manbao nodded vigorously, "I’ll let you read mine when I’m done too."

The pair laughed stealthily as if they had snatched some sweets.

Bai Shanbao pulled out his textbook and glanced around before quietly taking the book from his bookcase and hiding it under his textbook to sneak a read.

Manbao bent down to find her own book, placing the textbook she needed to read on the table, then taking out the paper printed by Keke.

But unlike Bai Shanbao, she boldly spread the paper out on the table and read openly.

She glanced at Bai Shanbao, puzzled at why he was making such an effort to read secretly.

Manbao turned to the page she left off on the night before and continued reading.

Although it was a paper written by a master in biology, it was easy to understand because, after all, it couldn’t be too profound—it was a research study on primitive agriculture.

As she read, Manbao thought about how her older brother and Second Brother made such and such adjustments to farming from spring planting to autumn harvest, resulting in a great bounty for their family...

On the other hand, Bai Shanbao was immersed in the stormy world of martial arts and dramatic emotional turns, his eyes sparkling and his cheeks flushed with excitement...

When Mr. Zhuang entered the classroom with his hands behind his back, a quick glance revealed Bai Shanbao’s unnatural demeanor, prompting him to stroll over quietly to check the book hidden beneath Bai Shanbao’s textbook.

Although Manbao found the paper interesting, it wasn’t captivating in the same way as a storybook, was it?

Thus, when the teacher approached, she looked up briefly, then continued reading her paper. Noticing that Mr. Zhuang had stopped next to Bai Shanbao and remained there, she looked up again before returning to her paper...

After a while, observing their engrossed expressions, Manbao couldn’t resist joining in out of curiosity.

Manbao jostled Bai Shanbao’s hand, nearly tipping him over. He steadied himself nervously, whispering, "Be careful."

He then glanced around and shifted the textbook slightly to give Manbao a peek.

A classmate seated behind couldn’t contain a cough at the sight.

Bai Shanbao didn’t hear or simply didn’t mind, pushing the book slightly towards Manbao and asked, "Do you want to start from the beginning, or shall we continue reading from where I am?"

"Who reads a book from the middle? Naturally, it’s from the beginning," a familiar voice spoke, coming from behind them.

Bai Shanbao turned stiffly only to see Mr. Zhuang standing behind him when he looked up.