The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 535 - 524 Idle Talk (Extra update for the Alliance Leader of all book friends)

Chapter 535: Chapter 524 Idle Talk (Extra update for the Alliance Leader of all book friends)

Several people first glanced at Mr. Zhuang before taking the bread, and then the middle-aged man leading the group simply grabbed a piece and sat down opposite Mr. Zhuang, smiling, "I didn’t expect such a coincidence that we would meet again twice today. My surname is Li, and I’m the second eldest in the family. May I ask how you address yourself, sir?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and replied, "I’m the only son in the Zhuang family. If Mr. Li Er doesn’t mind, you can just call me Zhuang Dalang."

Manbao also returned to his seat, eating the bread while softly telling his two companions, "Ranked the same as Bai Er."

Bai Shanbao nodded, "The person is much the same too."

Mr. Zhuang, who heard the whisper: ...

Seeing him pause, Li Erlang looked up at him puzzledly. Mr. Zhuang smiled at him and asked, "Mr. Li Er, aren’t you in a hurry with your business travels?"

Li Erlang laughed, "The business in this world is endless, so occasionally I slow down and take it easy. Based on what I heard during the day, sir, you’re heading to Yizhou to let your student take the academy examination?"

His gaze glided over the three of Manbao before finally settling on Bai Shanbao, and he asked with a smile, "Is it this young man?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile.

Li Erlang couldn’t help but praise, "Looking at this child, he’s only about twelve or thirteen years old, and he’s already taking the academy examination?"

He had noticed Bai Shanbao at the tea house, first because of the conversation that revealed certain meanings; secondly, because the child was engrossed in a book inside the tea house—he could tell that the other party was truly absorbed in it.

It hadn’t been appropriate to strike up a conversation in the tea house, but now it was easier.

Li Erlang straightforwardly began to quiz Bai Shanbao on his studies.

Bai Shanbao answered each question until they became more difficult. Unable to help himself, he looked at Mr. Zhuang, but Mr. Zhuang just smiled without speaking, so he had no choice but to rack his brains for the answers.

But internally he couldn’t help but complain, is this really just a merchant?

Who are we kidding?

Manbao listened with great interest, prompting Bai Shanbao to nudge her with his elbow.

After thinking for a moment, Manbao quietly reminded him, "It’s about ’unspoken teaching’ from Dao De Jing."

Upon hearing this, Bai Shanbao immediately understood and confidently gave the answer.

Only then did Li Erlang turn towards Manbao and with a smile say to Mr. Zhuang, "Mr. Zhuang has two..." lowering his head and meeting Bai Erlang’s eyes, he paused before switching, "He has three good disciples."

Naturally, Mr. Zhuang humbly demurred.

Li Erlang finished his bread, took a drink of water, and went to talk to a farmer on the other side, "Old man, what have you got in your basket?"

"It’s lotus roots dug up from a pond," the farmer showed him the contents of his basket, explaining, "At this time our homegrown vegetables are scarce; there were some lotus roots left undug from last winter, which I dug up to sell in town."

"Have you not sold them?"

"Sold them, sold them, just a few segments are left," the farmer said cheerily, "It’s just that it’s hard to find accommodation in town, which is why I specifically went outside the city to stay in the Taoist temple."

Li Erlang then laughed, "This Taoist temple is not bad, they specially reserved quiet rooms for travelers to rest."

"Indeed, there were no quiet rooms before; they only began building them a few years ago, so now we dare to stay in town until late, waiting until people are done browsing the night market before leaving," the farmer explained with a chuckle, "Otherwise, in the past, we would have to head home right after the 3 p.m. time period."

Curious, Manbao asked, "Can’t you travel through the night? When it’s dark, you could light torches."

"Oh my, that’s too risky; the mountains and forests are dense, even with one or two companions one wouldn’t dare to walk the mountain paths at midnight."

Bai Shanbao became interested, asking excitedly, "Are there mountain bandits?"

Li Erlang: ...

The farmer laughed heartily, "I haven’t heard of any bandits, but it’s unsafe to travel at night; even without bad people, what if you run into evil spirits?"

"Is your home far from here?" worried that Bai Shanbao would ask another odd question, Li Erlang quickly steered the conversation back.

"Far, indeed; it takes nearly two hours to make the trip."

Li Erlang: "That long?"

"Yes, so we have to set out at dawn; by the time we reach the county town the morning market has already passed, so we have to wait for the noon market. But there are fewer people buying vegetables at noon, while the night market has more people looking for bargains. Even though the prices are driven down, at least they’re sold, right?"

Li Erlang asked, "Has it been tough for your family over the past two years? I heard that Yizhou experienced a flood the year before last, and Maozhou was also affected."

"Oh indeed, it’s been a struggle ever since that flood; we had to borrow a considerable amount of money to survive. Fortunately, the past two years have been good for farming, so I reckon another two years of work will pay off the debt. I just pray to the heavens for a few more years of providing food," said the farmer.

"What kind of debt did you incur that requires so many years to pay off?"

"Two bags of grain."

Li Erlang’s eyes widened slightly, asking, "Do you mean to say your family’s annual labor, beyond your own consumption, doesn’t even yield two bags of grain? That you have to split it over four years to repay?"

"I borrowed the grain during the disaster year; then, grain was thirty wen a dou, it was on credit and included interest. Later, regardless of whether it’s repaid in money or grain, it’s calculated at market price," explained the farmer, "With the interest accruing on the borrowed money and grain prices being low these past years, the more I pay, the more I owe. I even had the Land Officer calculate it for me; I reckon it will take four years to clear the debt."

Manbao blinked and commented, "Sounds like the money a casino lends to gamblers."

Bai Shanbao: "Accumulating interest like that is illegal, isn’t it?"

Bai Er asked, "Does the government intervene?"

"Depends on the situation," Manbao replied while tearing the bread to eat, "If Lord Yang knew about it, he’d probably intervene. As for County Magistrate Fu, he’d probably act as if he’d heard nothing."

"County Magistrate Fu left several years ago, how come you haven’t forgotten him?" Bai Shanbao felt that County Magistrate Fu was quite pitiable.

Manbao said, "How could I forget? Just last month, I received a letter from Second Sister Fu. She said she’s engaged now, they’re currently discussing the wedding date; perhaps she’ll marry this autumn, or maybe next spring. I’m still thinking about what gift to send to Second Sister Fu."

While Li Erlang wanted to continue talking to the farmer, he also wanted to follow up on Manbao’s story. So he paused before asking Manbao, "Which county are you folks from?"

"We’re from Luojiang County."

"Luojiang County?" Li Erlang took a moment to remember, then laughed, "The current county magistrate of your place is Yang Heshu, right?"

"Yes, yes, do you know Lord Yang?"

"I’ve met him. How is that Lord Yang as an official?"

"He’s good," Manbao said, "We all like Lord Yang very much."

"Oh? And why is that?" Li Erlang asked with a smile, "From the sound of your voices, the previous county magistrate of Luojiang was surnamed Fu. Was he not good?"

Mr. Zhuang then put down his bamboo tube and coughed lightly.

After thinking it over, Manbao said, "That’s not the case; we even went to see off County Magistrate Fu when he left. Sir said that if it weren’t for County Magistrate Fu’s efforts, our county wouldn’t have been exempted from taxes for a year."

Upon hearing this, the farmer immediately asked, "Your county was exempted from taxes?"