The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 412 - 401: Hit the Mark by a Fluke (Additional update for June with 2500 monthly tickets)

Chapter 412: Chapter 401: Hit the Mark by a Fluke (Additional update for June with 2500 monthly tickets)

The bookstore shopkeeper seemed to know that Bai Erlang didn’t like to read, so as soon as he came in, he had his assistant bring over a stool for him to sit on and even had someone serve a plate of pastries to entertain him.

The reason for his attentiveness was that the Bai Family was a major customer of their bookstore.

Not to say they were the largest, but definitely one of the few major customers.

Not to mention Bai Shanbao often came to their bookstore to buy books and stationery, Old Master Bai even had a standing order to buy some new books to store away.

The shopkeeper didn’t know if the other party read them, but whenever new books came in, Old Master Bai would collect a set.

This young master would buy things without looking at the price, just based on what he liked, which made him even more generous.

The shopkeeper greeted Bai Erlang with a smile, and to keep him from getting bored, he even held a cup of hot tea while making casual conversation, such as what the young master had been up to lately, what book he was reading...

Bai Erlang was bored to death, he didn’t like to read, and it wasn’t fun going out to play alone. Having someone to talk to while waiting was naturally a good thing.

The two of them started chatting away animatedly, while Manbao and Bai Shanbao each browsed the bookshelves for interesting reads.

When Yang Heshu walked into the bookstore casually, he immediately spotted Bai Erlang talking by the counter and subconsciously glanced through the aisles of bookshelves, indeed spotting the two children.

Yang Heshu couldn’t help but smile and walked in with his hands behind his back.

As soon as the shopkeeper looked up and saw Yang Heshu, he immediately stood up to greet him.

Yang Heshu smiled and gestured with his hand for him to sit down and continued straight into the bookstore.

Bai Erlang also saw Yang Heshu, but he didn’t get up, instead he lazily greeted him, "Lord Yang."

Yang Heshu smiled and nodded, stopping to ask, "You’re not at school today?"

"The teacher gave us a holiday and asked us to come and buy counting rods."

"Oh, you’re starting to learn counting rods?" Yang Heshu sized him up and smiled, "That’s quite fast. It seems you’ve been doing well in arithmetic."

The shopkeeper watched, uncertain, this is... acquaintances?

Yang Heshu went straight into the shelves to look for books, Bai Erlang didn’t pester him with conversation but turned his head and asked the shopkeeper, "Where were we in our conversation just now?"

The shopkeeper: "...We were talking about the time you went to the river to dig up mud and made mud balls to throw at each other in a fight."

"Oh, right." Bai Erlang took a sip of tea and continued to tell the story.

Almost an hour later, Manbao and Bai Shanbao each came out with two or three books.

The shopkeeper hadn’t expected Manbao to also buy two books and couldn’t help but laugh, "Is the young lady earning money now?"

Manbao proudly said, "My father gave it to me."

The shopkeeper understood then; it was Bai’s money, not a big deal to spend on books.

The shopkeeper smiled as he processed her payment and then went to tally up the books Bai Shanbao had purchased.

Manbao had spent all the money her father gave her, and only then was she satisfied, wrapping up the books and handing them to Daji. She turned around and saw County Magistrate Yang standing behind her, her spirits lifted, "Lord Yang, what a coincidence."

Yang Heshu was amused, "I’ve been here for almost half an hour, passed by you three or four times, and you’ve only just noticed."

Bai Shanbao also cast him a curious glance.

Yang Heshu knew then that neither child had noticed him, and he felt a bit embarrassed as he cleared his throat with a light cough, smilingly said, "It’s almost lunchtime, why don’t I invite you to lunch?"

"Sure, sure," even Bai Erlang was excited as they all started to make suggestions, "We know which restaurant in the county has the best food."

Yang Heshu then burst into hearty laughter, happily said, "I know too."

There were only a few restaurants in the whole county, and one of them was big. How could he not know?

Though he had only been in office for three months, he had already eaten at all the large and small restaurants in the county, and he had even almost bored himself into trying out the small food stalls on the roadside.

Yang Heshu handed over the two books he had picked out to the shopkeeper, and after instructing his attendant to take care of the payment, he led them towards the restaurant.

In the past, he used to travel by carriage, but now he relied on his legs — no choice, if he rode a horse or took a carriage, it would have taken less than a quarter of an hour to explore the entire county. What fun would that be?

To pass the time, it was better to walk; there was always a different view to see.

The group strolled leisurely to the restaurant, where Yang Heshu didn’t seek a private room but found a spot to sit down on the second floor.

Each of them took their seats, and after looking around, Bai Shanbao commented, "The county town seems busier than before."

"Really?" Yang Heshu also looked around and smiled, "Maybe it’s because everyone was busy with spring farming before and didn’t have time to come out. Now that spring farming is over, everyone has the time."

"It’s not just that," Manbao, who had visited the county town the most, looked out the window and then said, "It must also be because there’s no more entrance fee, so everyone loves coming into town now. Look, there are so many children below."

Everyone looked downstairs and saw a group of kids gathered around laughing and running around a sugar figure seller. Every time the seller finished a sugar figure, the children would cheer.

Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang both nodded in agreement.

However, Yang Heshu was taken aback and asked, "What does this have to do with the entrance fee?"

"Of course, it matters. With no entrance fee, everyone can come into town whenever they want." Manbao looked at Yang Heshu earnestly and said, "Lord Yang, you really are a good county magistrate."

Yang Heshu: ... After all the things he had done, he hadn’t been praised as a good county magistrate, and now because of the removal of the entrance fee, he was being praised?

Why did he cancel the entrance fee again?

Oh, right, because he felt it was unnecessary.

One or two coins were not worth meticulous accounting, the gate soldiers, standard-bearers, and even the clerks above could be siphoning them off.

The money collected at County Governmental Office each month wasn’t much; moreover, it was a waste of everyone’s time, including the common people’s.

So he cancelled it.

But...

Yang Heshu was somewhat baffled, "Is a single coin enough to stop people from entering the town?"

"Of course," Manbao said as if it was the most natural thing in the world: "A single coin used to buy a plain bun, two coins for a sugar figurine. If my nieces and nephews and I all entered town, that would be ten coins, enough to buy five sugar figures."

Yang Heshu: ... That did sound like quite a bit.

"Since we were spending ten coins, it was better that just one person goes into town and uses the remaining nine coins to buy something tasty. We can just wait at home." Manbao continued, "Before, children from our village rarely came to town because it was too far, and with the entrance fee, the adults didn’t like coming in either. If they needed something, they’d go to the big market, and if they couldn’t find it, they’d ask those going into town to pick it up for them. My Second Brother often helped villagers with their shopping."

Yang Heshu couldn’t help clenching his hands; he had never imagined that the impact of the entrance fee would be so significant. It was just a penny or two?

Manbao looked at him skeptically, "You’re not planning to reinstate the entrance fee, are you?"

Yang Heshu came back to his senses and smiled, shaking his head, "No, the entrance fee isn’t worth collecting."

"That’s right, that’s right, don’t be like County Magistrate Fu, or else I’ll have to sell you candy."

Curious, Yang Heshu asked, "Why would you sell me candy?"

Manbao said solemnly, "To earn the entrance fee, of course."

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