The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 481 - 470: Like

Chapter 481: Chapter 470: Like

The somewhat chilly bracelet was finally slipped onto her wrist; perhaps due to inexperience, or maybe nervousness, it took Old Zhou a good while to get it on.

But Ms. Qian was certain he must have practiced it—otherwise, how could he have accurately put the bracelet onto her wrist in the dim night light coming from outside?

By the moonlight, Ms. Qian stared blankly at the slender bracelet on her wrist and these thoughts just ran through her mind.

She knew something was off with him these past few days; he was acting strangely, not going up the mountain with Four to hunt for mushrooms or look for China root, nor did he check on his rice and wheat crops. Instead, he just sat at home, fidgeting here and there.

She thought it was because Aunt Lai had been spreading stories of his foolish youth, but she never expected it was because of this.

Old Zhou waited for a long while, and seeing that she didn’t make a sound, couldn’t help but cough loudly.

Ms. Qian couldn’t help but snicker, "Who can see anything in the dead of night? Why didn’t you give this to me during the day?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhou’s face fell with regret as he muttered, "There was no time during the day..."

"Did you ask Two to buy it for you?"

"No, I bought it myself."

"You’ve only been to town once in the last eight days, haven’t you?" Ms. Qian said with a smile: "You bought it then?"

Old Zhou was silent, faltering in response.

Ms. Qian sat up from the bed, lifted her wrist in the moonlight to take a closer look, and smiled, "It’s quite pretty, did you choose it yourself?"

Old Zhou’s face lit up with joy, and he nodded, "Mhm."

No woman, regardless of age, dislikes jewelry.

And this was Ms. Qian’s first silver bracelet; she admired it for quite a while before she remembered to ask, "How much did it cost?"

"Quite pricey," blurted Old Zhou, "it was three taels and seven hundred wen."

Ms. Qian raised her eyebrows and asked, "Where did you get the money from?"

Old Zhou froze, only then remembering that he wasn’t supposed to have any money.

But Ms. Qian remembered her youngest daughter’s increasingly big, staring eyes over the past few days as she stared at him, unmoving.

Under her gaze, Old Zhou begrudgingly admitted in a low voice, "I borrowed it from Manbao."

Ms. Qian: "...And how do you plan to pay her back?"

I hope he doesn’t expect me to pay her back...

Old Zhou cleared his throat and said, "Manbao is still young, I’ve already discussed it with her. She’ll get it back when she gets married."

Ms. Qian watched him for a long while, then nodded slightly, "Alright, as long as you’ve got it figured out."

She didn’t ask how he planned to earn the money to repay; she knew he must have some private savings tucked away, just unsure how much exactly.

But as for Manbao...

Ms. Qian smiled lightly, fell asleep with the silver bracelet on, and the next day when Manbao came over for breakfast, she saw the silver bracelet on her mother’s wrist and was delighted, "Mom, let me see it."

Ms. Qian happily showed her hand to her daughter.

Manbao looked at the design and asked, "Mom, do you like this style?"

Seeing Old Zhou listening intently, Ms. Qian nodded with a smile, "I like it."

Manbao then memorized the style of the silver bracelet.

Junior Ms. Qian and the other daughters-in-law only then noticed the silver bracelet on their mother-in-law’s wrist and complimented her, "Mom looks so beautiful wearing that."

Ms. Qian smiled, "Your father-in-law gave it to me."

And so the daughters-in-law praised, "Father-in-law has good taste," making Old Zhou happy as well.

Manbao then quietly asked her oldest sister-in-law, "Do you like this kind too?"

Junior Ms. Qian smiled and nodded, "It’s a silver bracelet."

She liked it no matter what it looked like.

Manbao nodded, thinking that her dad’s choice wasn’t bad after all.

Once everyone had dispersed and Old Zhou also went to tend to his beloved cattle, Ms. Qian pulled Manbao aside to ask, "Did your dad borrow money from you?"

Manbao nodded.

She then asked, "Isn’t your dad’s private savings enough to buy a bracelet?"

Manbao looked repulsed, "Dad’s private stash only has a little over a hundred wen, how could that be enough?"

Ms. Qian: ...to be so stingy for all these years and only have a little over a hundred wen?

Manbao also looked around and whispered to her mom, "And about twenty of those wen were pinched from Second Brother."

Ms. Qian looked puzzled, "How did he manage to pinch money from your Second Brother?"

"Last year," Manbao explained, "when Second Brother was going to town to sell stuff, Dad withheld half of his money, allowing him just ten wen a day. Second Brother complained privately to me for a long time."

Ms. Qian rubbed her forehead, but when she thought about it, it made sense; Old Zhou truly had no opportunities to earn money.

Whenever the family’s harvest was sold, the money would go straight from buyer to her hands.

Even when Old Zhou and his sons worked at Landlord Bai’s, while the sons turned over sixty percent of their earnings, Old Zhou turned in all of his.

So how had he managed to save up even that little bit of private money?

When Ms. Qian came to her senses, she saw Manbao giggling to herself with her neck tucked in; she knew what her daughter was proud of and tapped her on the forehead, "This one thing is quite consistent among you Zhou family men."

"What’s quite consistent?"

"Hiding private money."

Well, it’s true; currently, the one with the most private savings in the family, Manbao chuckled to herself and, leaving her mother behind, hurried into the kitchen in search of something to eat.

The atmosphere in the Zhou family was good. Despite the village youth learning about the diligent Old Zhou’s lazy past, it didn’t hinder the Zhou family’s younger generation from reigning supreme in the village.

Alongside the spreading of Old Zhou’s laziness, the story of his clever and quick-witted younger brother also quietly circulated among a small group.

The adults didn’t often talk about Zhou Yin, and when they did, it was without the avoidance of the past. But some of the very old people would mention him from time to time.

To the village’s youth, he was a fresh figure they hadn’t heard much about before, naturally piquing their curiosity.

It led to Datou and his cousins having a justified explanation for their own and their little aunt’s intelligence, "Look at how smart our great-uncle is. It’s only natural for my little aunt to be smart, and for us as well—it runs in the family."

Their friends looked on with envy and, after going home at night, they couldn’t help but sigh at their grandparents and parents, feeling it’s an inherited trait; hence they aren’t as smart as Datou and his cousins, and it wasn’t their fault.

Indeed, in the eyes of their friends in the village, Datou and his siblings were very smart.

They not only could count and read, but were well-educated and knew many things.

If previously, Zhou Silang asserted his dominance in the village with his fists and having numerous brothers, and Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang with wealth and numerous brothers, then Datou, Daya, Second Son, and Erya maintained that status among peers with their wisdom.

The children did not realize that intelligence can grow, especially during the childhood phase.

At least Keke thought so, as it felt its host was becoming smarter with age and learning; by now, she was able to easily handle interactions with people who sought her out through forums.

Particularly with those she was more closely related to, like Doctor D and others, it was surprisingly undiscovered that they were conversing with a child.