The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 485 - 474: A Mix of Surprise and Fear

Chapter 485: Chapter 474: A Mix of Surprise and Fear

The old doctor withdrew his hand and, after glancing at Old Zhou, who was lying in bed with his eyes closed pretending to be unconscious, said to Ms. Qian with a smile, "It’s alright, I’ll prescribe him two doses of medicine, and he’ll be fine. When people get older, they are prone to more illnesses, so they should avoid extreme sadness, joy, shock, and fear."

The old doctor chuckled, "Even young people can’t always handle such emotions, let alone the elderly."

Old Zhou, who didn’t think of himself as particularly old: ...

Seeing that the old doctor was going on and on, Old Zhou couldn’t help but open his eyes.

Zhou Dalang, who had sharp eyes, joyfully said, "Mom, dad’s awake."

Manbao immediately poked her head out from behind, only to be pushed back by Zhou Dalang. He thought that at this moment, his father probably wouldn’t be too happy to see Manbao’s round head.

Manbao couldn’t help pouting. It was clearly she who had roused her father; his eyelids had twitched, indicating he was awake the whole time.

Humph, dad was pretending to be unconscious.

As soon as "awakened," Old Zhou tried to sit up, and Zhou Dalang hurriedly supported him, propping a pillow behind his back.

Old Zhou’s gaze swept around the room as he asked vaguely, "Where’s the stuff?"

The Zhou family members knew immediately what he was asking about. Zhou Dalang looked at Zhou ErLang, who promptly said, "Dad, it’s in the room, right behind the screen. Do you want to see it?"

Old Zhou then sighed in relief and said to the old doctor, "Thank you for coming all this way, but there’s nothing seriously wrong with me."

Convinced of his diagnosis, the old doctor nodded, but he was also curious, "What did you see to be shocked, delighted, yet also fearful?"

He could understand being simultaneously shocked and happy, as well as shocked and fearful, but the combination of shock, delight, and fear left him somewhat baffled.

The old doctor had initially thought he might have misdiagnosed the pulse or misinterpreted the facial color, but after observing Old Zhou and his family’s expressions, he knew he hadn’t guessed wrong.

Which only made him all the more curious.

Old Zhou cleared his throat and started to complain of a headache again.

The old doctor realized this wasn’t idle chatter. He chuckled, shook his head, and walked outside with Zhou Dalang to write the prescription.

Luckily, the old doctor had asked carefully beforehand. Zhou Dalang mentioned his father might have fainted from anger or joy, so he had some appropriate medicine with him.

Having written the prescription, he quickly grabbed two doses from his medicine chest and gave them to the family, then said, "If he’s not better after both doses, have him come look for me at the large market."

Zhou Dalang felt that one dose would probably be enough; hadn’t his dad just been asking about his stuff?

Therefore, he smiled, accepted the arrangement, and took his cart to drive the old doctor home.

However, the old doctor waved his hand and said, "No need, no need. Since I’m here, I’ll go check on Old Madam Bai later. They’ll send me home."

"Old Madam Bai can’t eat again?"

The old doctor smiled and nodded, then shook his head, saying, "The old lady just had too much meat and didn’t digest it well. With the hot weather and a little bit of summer heat, that’s why she can’t eat."

Zhou Dalang clicked his tongue, unable to imagine a scenario of eating too much meat, but then... "It’s almost Mid-Autumn Festival, and there’s still summer heat?"

"What do you think, is it hot right now?"

Zhou Dalang nodded.

"There you have it, it’s normal for the appetite to decline when the weather’s hot."

Though the old doctor insisted he didn’t need an escort, Zhou Dalang still carried the medicine chest and escorted him to the Bai family across the river, then headed back home.

Junior Ms. Qian had already started preparing the medicine. One dose was to be divided into two, and two doses would last two days.

Old Zhou feigned a headache for a long time, but as soon as he heard that the old doctor had left, he immediately said to Zhou Er, "Go, bring me the silver to see."

Ms. Qian glanced at him and said, "Go to the main hall. The room is too dim; how can you see properly in here?"

The two boxes of silver were placed in front of Old Zhou. He first inspected the five silver ingots in the wooden book chest, then turned to the neatly arranged forty-nine in the bamboo box. He touched them, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, then grandly commanded, "Carry them into the house and put them away safely for your mother to keep."

Manbao immediately objected, "Dad, this is the money I earned. Four-tenths of it is mine."

Old Zhou glanced at her, "You’re so young; what do you need so much money for? Let your mother keep it for you, to use as your dowry later."

Manbao, "I want to spend money!"

Old Zhou magnanimously said, "I’ll have your mother give you ten coins to spend as you like!"

Manbao’s eyes nearly popped out as she protested, "No, ten coins, ten coins aren’t enough!"

"Why aren’t they enough? You’re so young. When I was your age, I didn’t have ten coins to spend."

"When you were her age, you weren’t looking at a few dozen silver ingots to earn either," Ms. Qian said. "Don’t be stingy with Manbao; they need money to run that farm too."

Old Zhou suddenly remembered, "You knew about Manbao collecting wheat seeds early on and kept it from me. I won’t trust you again."

Ms. Qian merely stared at him, not saying a word.

Old Zhou’s bravado deflated, and he grumbled, "Alright, if you didn’t tell me, you didn’t tell me. But, but a child shouldn’t carry so much money on her..."

"Enough," said Ms. Qian softly, "Can Manbao really be compared to an ordinary child? If today you break the rule and don’t give her a share of the money, next time she might continue to earn money behind your back."

Old Zhou felt a lump in his throat.

Ms. Qian spoke wistfully: "This is easily earned money. Manbao, can you calculate how much sixty percent of the silver is?"

Manbao had already done the math, "It’s three hundred and twenty-four taels."

Old Zhou’s eyes widened as he fondled the silver ingots in his hand, silent for a long time.

When Zhou Dalang returned from outside, he saw everyone gathered around his father. Looking from side to side, he didn’t know what had happened, so he again reassured his father, "Dad, don’t be angry with Manbao. She hasn’t caused any trouble, and she brought home so much money, right?"

His face earnestly cheerful, he said, "With so many silver ingots, sixty percent ain’t a small sum."

Only then did Old Zhou roll his eyes and say, "You sure know how to enjoy yourselves. You’ve grown so big, yet the seven of you put together haven’t earned as much as your sister. Shameful!"

Zhou Dalang and his siblings fell silent in unison. However, they weren’t convinced in their hearts because you, dad, haven’t earned as much as Manbao either.

But Old Zhou eventually relented. He sighed and said, "Alright then, let’s divide it."

He moved first, "Three hundred and twenty-four taels, right? I’ll pick first."

Taking out the five silver ingots from Manbao’s book chest as well, he slowly began comparing and selecting, putting them all together. Manbao looked on helplessly, "Dad, they all look the same."

Seeing him dally, Manbao moved swiftly, picking twenty-one silver ingots and sliding them to her side with a clatter.

Old Zhou immediately cried out, "Too much, too much."

Manbao fought him for it, exclaiming, "It’s not too much, my forty percent is exactly twenty-one. You still owe me six taels."

In matters of calculation, ten Old Zhous were no match for one Manbao. She quickly left him dizzy with her accounting.

Manbao stuffed the twenty-one silver ingots into her book chest and turned, reaching out her hand to Old Zhou, "And the six taels!"

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