The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 533 - 522: Just Like Landscape

Chapter 533: Chapter 522: Just Like Landscape

"We have rice, noodles, steamed buns, and flatbread. Whatever the patron would like to eat, we will prepare."

Zhou SiLang then said with a smile, "Then bring us a pot of rice and some stir-fried dishes..."

"Oh dear, patron, please forgive us, but our stall is small and we can’t afford an iron wok, so we only have stews, boiled dishes, and steamed dishes for veggies. You see..."

"Let me see what you have for steamed and stewed dishes..." After carefully choosing his dishes, Zhou SiLang casually picked up the teapot from the stove and brought it over to pour water for Mr. Zhuang and the others, "Must be thirsty, have some water first."

The youngster who had just finished feeding the horses saw this and hastened over, saying, "Patrons shouldn’t have to lift a finger, besides, the tea hasn’t been steeped yet."

Zhou SiLang immediately said, "We don’t drink tea. Oh right, if the teacher wants some, would you like to brew some with our tea leaves?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "There’s no need to fuss, the tea from the teahouse will be fine."

Hearing this, the young waiter quickly went to make tea. The neighboring table looked over at their table several times. Seeing that the water on the stove wasn’t boiling yet, they smiled and had someone pass a bowl of their tea to Mr. Zhuang, "Seeing that the teacher is so cultured, may I ask where you are headed?"

Bai Shanbao, sitting closest, quickly got up to thank them, glanced at Mr. Zhuang, and then presented the bowl of tea to him.

Mr. Zhuang sat and returned the gesture, seeing the man leading the others was also smiling, "I am taking a few students to Yizhou to study on the road. May I ask where you gentlemen are coming from and where you are heading to?"

The middle-aged man at the next table had an authoritative and majestic appearance, with a smile that hinted at sharpness. Although the four men with him were not to be underestimated, he stood out as soon as one laid eyes on him.

He was sitting right across from Mr. Zhuang and said with a smile, "We come from Guanzhong, out on a business trip, also headed to Yizhou."

Manbao turned to glance at the stable, then looked around but saw no other carriages besides the two they had brought, then retracted her gaze, thinking to herself: How foolish, if they said they are merchants, how could they not have a carriage?

Where would they keep their goods without a carriage?

Bai Shanbao also took a glance before withdrawing his gaze and ignoring the adults. He and Bai Erlang eagerly watched in the direction of the stove.

Most of the steamed and stewed dishes were ready-made, so aside from some dishes Zhou SiLang had ordered, the meal was served quickly.

Zhou SiLang promptly called Daji, who was still busy outside, to come in and eat.

There was no talking during the meal, everyone ate quietly, and the middle-aged man who had been chatting happily with Mr. Zhuang did not disturb them, letting them eat in peace.

After eating, everyone sat down to drink tea and rest; of course, Manbao and her company had plain boiled water.

Zhou SiLang then went to take down all the water bags from the carriage and went to the host to fill them with water.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao came forward to help. Seeing Bai Erlang looking sleepy, Manbao nudged him, "You want to sleep just after eating; take care not to get indigestion. Come and help, it’ll keep you alert."

Bai Erlang yawned and took a water bag from Zhou SiLang, grumbling, "You used to sleep right after eating too."

Bai Shanbao, while filling up a water bag, said, "Bai Er, if you dare to use the water from the water bag to wash your hands again, I’m going to beat you up."

"I didn’t do it on purpose. My hands were sticky; what else was I supposed to do?" Bai Erlang argued. "And I’m not afraid of you; you can’t beat me."

"I’ve been learning kung fu from Daji."

"I’ve learned it too, you’re not even as good as me."

Manbao focused on filling her water bag, then turned to look at the woods behind the tea house. "I’m going to play in the woods, are you coming?"

"Digging for your herbs again? Tell me, Zhou Ba, are those things you dig up even herbs?"

Manbao glared at him, "My name is Zhou Man!"

"From now on, you’re not allowed to call me Bai Er anymore, or else, hmph!"

Bai Shan was brimming with joy. "I’m not scared, go ahead and call me Bai Da, hahahaha..."

The middle-aged man couldn’t help but laugh at the banter of the three youngsters, saying to Mr. Zhuang, "Teacher’s students sure are lively."

Mr. Zhuang sighed apologetically, "I apologize for any disturbance my students may have caused."

He looked towards the stove and raised his voice slightly, "Zhou Man, once the water’s filled, lead your junior brothers to tend to the horses, check if they need some water."

Manbao suddenly remembered, "Right, you guys are my junior brothers, so you should call me senior sister. Bai Er, no, Third Junior Brother, call me senior sister quickly."

Mr. Zhuang: ...He just reminded the three children to be careful about what they say outside and to be prudent about their names.

And these three kids...

Upon hearing this, Bai Erlang picked up the filled water bag and ran off. Hmph, he wasn’t going to call her that; he hadn’t for the past few years, so why should he start now?

Bai Shanbao also made a quick escape clutching his water bag.

Unable to hold back, Manbao muttered as she followed, "You two are really bad, so lazy. If it weren’t for the teacher’s reminder, I would’ve almost forgotten I’m a senior sister. I’m older than you, you should listen to me, got it?"

Bai Shan climbed up to the carriage and handed Manbao her basket, saying, "Okay, just go dig up your herbs."

Seeing that he still had a book in his hands, Manbao looked at him with sympathy, "Second Junior Brother, you’re going to read again, huh?"

Bai Shan sighed heavily.

Manbao then suggested, "Why don’t you come play with me in the woods instead?"

Bai Shan hesitated for a moment but eventually shook his head, "You go ahead, we should be reaching Yizhou in a couple of days, sigh..."

Manbao went off with her basket by herself, Zhou Si followed her out, and as they walked past many herbs, she didn’t pick them. She was determined to find ones she hadn’t seen before.

In the blink of an eye, she was squatting down to dig up a plant, and Zhou Si couldn’t help but plop down on the grass, asking, "Manbao, are you sure this is a herb too?"

"Should be."

Zhou Si chewed on a blade of grass and shook his head, "You and your habit of digging up plants and flowers, you’re still not over it, and you say it’s for collecting herbs? There were several types of herbs we saw earlier that you used to dig up, why didn’t you dig them?"

Manbao put the dug-up flower in her basket, holding her hoe, she asserted, "Because they’re not worth money."

Zhou Si yawned, seeing her still searching nearby, he laid down on the grass, legs crossed, and waited for her. "Before, you used to talk about studying while traveling, I thought it was something impressive. Turns out it’s just carting around and walking about; this is called learning?"

"The teacher even talked to us about poetry."

"You can talk about poetry in the village too; our village has mountains, and it has water. Why is it necessary to contemplate mountains and rivers elsewhere? Can’t you just look at those at home?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "It feels different though."

"I think it’s all the same."