The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 458 - 447: The Visit of the Yamen Runner

Chapter 458: Chapter 447: The Visit of the Yamen Runner

Mr. Zhuang chuckled and said, "It’s not that I’m so impressive, but rather your parents are understanding and reasonable. When I went to your house, your mother had already sent over your silver ingot. However, you left without eating breakfast, and that’s why you missed it."

Mr. Zhuang continued, "That is your third error, skipping breakfast over such a trivial matter. You hurt not only your own health but also your parents’ hearts, yada yada..."

Mr. Zhuang, becoming enthusiastic, simply started to explain the Classic of Filial Piety to the three children, who all became very anxious.

Seeing that they really couldn’t listen any longer, Mr. Zhuang finally waved his hand and said, "All right, go home."

The three children then carried their Small Book Boxes and rushed out together, with Bai Erlang being the oldest and running the fastest, making his way to the front and dashing towards his home across the bridge.

Bai Shanbao and Manbao were two steps behind, but they also followed closely behind him.

Bai Erlang hurried back to his room, not even bothering to put down his book box before searching for the silver ingot.

Mrs. Bai’s maid had placed it on the table inside the inner room, and Bai Erlang’s servant hadn’t tidied up very well, so Bai Eryi saw it as soon as he rushed in.

He rushed over, opened the chest, saw the familiar silver ingot, and couldn’t help but burst into a happy, loud laughter.

Bai Shanbao and Manbao were also happy for him, and both of them helped him think of a place to hide the money.

They thought that hiding valuable items under the bed was the least secure approach since everyone would think to hide things there.

Like their dad’s private stash, it was never hidden under the bed.

"What about the remaining twenty-nine silver ingots? Do you want to take them back to manage yourself?"

"No," said Bai Erlang, "I want to wait and see if anyone else will try to take my money. For now, you can keep it safe for me."

"No problem, the money is in my study. You can go and check it whenever you want."

Bai Erlang looked a bit worried, "Is it safe?"

"Don’t worry, there won’t be any thieves."

After discussing the important matters, Bai Shanbao invited his two friends to come over to his house to drink realgar wine, "They say you have to drink realgar wine for the Dragon Boat Festival."

Manbao was curious, "Can you even drink it?"

"No, but I’ve prepared it anyway. We’ll let Daji drink it and show us," Bai Shanbao said.

Manbao didn’t see what was so interesting about this and declined.

Bai Shanbao was disappointed and said, "My grandmother is coming back in a few days. Ah, why are the teacher’s lessons getting so tough?"

Ms. Liu was like a mountain weighing on Bai Shanbao’s shoulders. Without his grandmother at home, he was the king of the house, with nobody able to overrule him.

But now, that reign was about to end.

Manbao, however, found herself missing Grandma Liu and asked, "Grandma Liu has been gone a long time, don’t you miss her?"

"I do, but I want to be the boss at home even more."

Manbao and Bai Erlang: ...

Grandma Liu returned earlier than they all thought. It was only the seventh day of the month, not even 9 a.m. yet, when her carriage entered Qili Village.

Since there were no students from outside to overhear the lesson, Mr. Zhuang was teaching them in the small courtyard, enclosed by walls on all sides. Although there were only three of them, they read aloud quite loudly, so they didn’t hear the commotion of carriages and horses at the entrance of the village.

It wasn’t until Nanny Liu arrived in person, carrying a food box, that they took notice.

The maid following Nanny Liu brought many gifts, all intended for Mr. Zhuang as festival presents.

Nanny Liu smiled and said, "Our Old Madam has returned from Yizhou, and we owe much to the teacher for looking after our young master during her absence. These are local goods she brought back from Yizhou, so I hope Mr. Zhuang won’t look down on them."

Then she mentioned requesting leave for Bai Shanbao, "Our Old Madam hasn’t seen her grandson for a long time and misses him dearly. She also has some matters to discuss with him. Therefore, we’d like to ask for half a day off from the teacher, and we’ll bring him back in time for the afternoon class."

She meant they might have to leave early that morning.

Mr. Zhuang looked at the hourglass. It wasn’t long until their noon dismissal—only about forty-five minutes—so he nodded and smiled, "Alright, take him back with you."

Nanny Liu happily left the gifts, greeted Manbao and Bai Er, and said with a smile, "Young Master Tang, Miss Man, the Old Madam has also brought back gifts for you. After you’re dismissed midday, come to our house. The Old Madam has brought back quite a few tasty treats."

Manbao’s eyes sparkled, but she kept glancing at Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang, unable to help but smile, waved his hand and said, "Go on, all of you go together."

Mr. Zhuang paused, then instructed, "You can leave early this morning, but first go home and tell your parents and family before going off to play with Shanbao."

After all, they needed to give the family time to talk during their reunion, right?

Manbao and Bai Erlang nodded vigorously, delighted with the prospect of leaving early.

Manbao, with her Small Book Box on her back, happily sprinted home.

Ms. Qian, seeing her drenched in sweat, pulled her to the entrance of the kitchen. While taking off her book box, she asked, "Why are you back so early on such a hot day?"

"Grandma Liu’s back. She requested a little leave for Shanbao, so the teacher gave us all a break," replied Manbao.

"So will you have lunch at home today?"

Manbao nodded.

Ms. Qian then said with a smile, "That’s fine. I’ll cook some millet porridge for you. It’s so hot that dry food won’t appeal to you."

Manbao nodded eagerly and requested, "I want to have the pickles with porridge made by Sister-in-law."

Ms. Qian tapped her nose with a smile and said, "You’re quite choosy, aren’t you?"

As Ms. Qian was about to cook the porridge, someone knocked at the gate. A person poked their head in from outside and loudly asked, "Is this Zhou Jin’s home?"

Ms. Qian answered with a smile, "Yes," and went out. When she saw the yamen bailiff standing at the door, her smile froze for a moment before she forced a nervous one, "Yes, Zhou Jin is my man of the house. May I know what matter brings the official here?"

"Where is he? Bring him back. There’s an official document for him," said the bailiff.

The women of the various households who were resting inside or doing all sorts of chores came out with a string of children behind them.

The bailiff, startled by the sudden appearance of so many women and children in the courtyard, frowned and said, "Why ask so many questions? I see plenty of men listed in your household registration. Where are they?"

"They’ve gone to the mountain," replied Ms. Qian hastily, afraid of any misunderstanding, "They went up to look for wild mushrooms and fruits. I don’t know where to find them at the moment..."

In truth, they had gone up the mountain searching for China root, which could be gathered before the sun got too hot. When the sun climbed higher, the women would return home, while the men, with baskets and hoes, continued the search for China root on the mountain. Last year, they made a good sum of money from finding China root.

Of course, Zhou Er wasn’t there; he had gone to the city to sell tofu and vegetables.

So what Ms. Qian said was true; she really didn’t have a way to bring them back immediately.

She glanced behind the bailiff to confirm that he was alone. Then, biting her lip, she stepped aside and invited him in.

She smiled and said, "It’s much too hot to keep you waiting at the door. Please come inside and have a seat. Having some water would be good, too."

She added, "I’ll send my grandson to call for the village chief. Our village chief is from the same clan as us. With no men around, it’s as good as telling him whatever it is you need."

The bailiff’s expression softened, and he followed Ms. Qian into the main hall.

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