The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 538 - 527: Invitation

Chapter 538: Chapter 527: Invitation

Li Erlang immediately asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Bai Shanbao thought for a while and realized it was not necessarily a bad thing, so he shared how County Magistrate Yang had first used his own money to buy and lend out cattle, and then bought grain seeds and agricultural tools to distribute to the farmers.

County Magistrate Yang was known for being wealthy and bold, a common perception among the residents of Luojiang County both high and low.

The grain price war of the previous year had led to his impeachment, but in the end, he had emerged victorious.

Bai Shanbao and Manbao got along well with him; some things he couldn’t discuss with people in the County Governmental Office, and since Wantian was just a servant, he would talk to the two of them whenever he met them.

Ultimately, he had won that battle over grain prices.

Although he faced an official censure, Yang Heshu was not a groundless County Magistrate like Fu, unafraid of being reported, so after receiving the official documents, he continued to write his defense as usual, and grains were still being sold in the small room next to the county office.

His defense was submitted, time passed, one month went by, another report, another defense, and two or three months had slipped away.

This wore out the patience of the grain merchants in the county city, who, having no other choice, had to lower the grain prices and soften their stance to settle the matter.

This was because it was said that at the time, County Magistrate Yang, having just collected the autumn tax, had submitted a proposal to retain a portion of the autumn grain to bolster the prefectural storehouse in preparation for future natural disasters.

The grain merchants and local gentry were quite alarmed upon learning this news through various channels, fearing that he would sell off all that grain, which would mean they wouldn’t have any business for the next half year.

Out of desperation, they were forced to compromise.

Yang Heshu took great pride in speaking about this matter, and Bai Shanbao and the others also found it very satisfying.

But all three knew in their hearts that not everyone had the confidence or ability to act in such a manner.

Even Li Erlang hadn’t expected Yang Heshu to operate this way in Luojiang County, and he couldn’t help laughing heartily.

Manbao took the opportunity to ask, "Mr. Li Er, since you know Lord Yang, why not take a slight detour to visit an old friend in Luojiang County?"

Li Erlang laughed loudly, "I must admit, I’m feeling a bit of regret now. I should have taken a detour to the city of Luojiang County, hahaha ..."

Li Erlang had a keen interest in agriculture and since he saw that the three were also knowledgeable about farming and could discuss it with him—unlike ordinary farmers who could only talk—he began discussing agriculture with them.

Mr. Zhuang didn’t restrict them; after watching them for a moment, he smiled slightly, continued to sip his tea, and tapped his bamboo clapper.

It was a rare occasion for Li Erlang to be able to talk so freely; he spoke with them until late into the night, only stopping when the three, being younger, couldn’t stop yawning and needed sleep.

Li Erlang, feeling the conversation was still unfinished, returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and rested.

The next day, as soon as Manbao woke up, she started looking for water to wash up, then ran into the hall and found a cushion to sit on, following the Taoist priests in their morning rituals.

The Taoist priests: ...

After completing the morning rituals, Manbao respectfully knelt down to kowtow in front of Daode Tianzun, and once she got up, the Taoist priest beside her asked, "Young lay practitioner, why have you come to offer incense so early?"

"I didn’t come to offer incense. I stayed in the quiet room last night, so I came early this morning to give thanks to Heaven Master, and when I saw you were doing morning rituals, I joined in."

The Taoist priest asked, "Do you also recite the Dao De Jing?"

"My mother is particularly fond of the Heaven Master, so I recited it to her and eventually memorized it just from repeating it so often."

The Taoist priest couldn’t help but stroke his beard and smile, "Very good, very good. Since you’ve read the Dao De Jing, you might also look into the Zhuangzi."

As Li Erlang entered the hall, supporting his waist and intending to visit, what he saw was Manbao discussing scriptures with the Taoist priests with great interest.

Zhou SiLang came looking for her after a while as she hadn’t returned; he also felt a close connection to the statue of Taishang Laojun and the Taoist priests, so even though this hall looked much grander than their mountain temple, he still approached the statue of Laojun and kowtowed before getting up and joking to Manbao, "You said you were coming to kowtow, but it seems you were here chatting all along."

He apologized to the Taoist priest, "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, I’m sorry my little sister has disturbed you."

"Not at all, Gentleman, no disturbance. Quite the contrary, our conversation with the young lay practitioner was quite enlightening," replied the Taoist priest.

Li Erlang had learned last night that Manbao had read the Dao De Jing; after all, it was through her hints that he remembered while examining Bai Shan.

He approached with a smile and asked her, "Do you really like Zhuangzi?"

"Yes, my mother says that when I was little and ill, living through it was half due to the blessings of the Heaven Master."

Li Erlang laughed heartily and nodded, "Sincerity brings the divine."

Bai Shanbao called out to them from outside, indicating it was time to depart.

The siblings promptly said their farewells to the Taoist priests and Li Erlang. Surprised that they were leaving so soon, Li Erlang couldn’t help but say, "We’re also headed to Yizhou, why not travel together?"

Manbao shook her head, "Our master chooses our path, and we don’t know where we’ll turn next. Aren’t you on business? Any delay would be unfortunate."

Li Erlang: ...I should have found an excuse related to traveling.

Manbao didn’t want to travel with them anyway. Not knowing if they were good people or bad, and finding them dishonest, having lied upon meeting, she thought a brief exchange of words was enough—no need for deeper ties.

Manbao shared her thoughts with Mr. Zhuang, who praised her, "Well done. When you are outside, you should not harbor malice, but you must always be cautious of others. Also, don’t expect pie in the sky to be real."

Manbao nodded, taking his words to heart, "My mother told me that pies don’t just fall from the sky, and if they did, they might even be poisoned. We shouldn’t accept them. We need to walk steadily forward, step by step—that’s the stable way to live."

Bai Shanbao whispered, "I suspect he may be an imperial inspector in disguise, out to inspect officials."

Mr. Zhuang replied, "Regardless of who they are, you are all still children, and should stay out of governmental affairs. Occupy your place, do your work, and wait until you’ve grown up to get involved in policy-making."

All three agreed, and Zhou Si and Daji brought their carriage into the city, where they had breakfast and bought lunch before continuing their journey.

They did not dwell on the advice they had given to the farmers the previous night. Most of the farmers who had stayed the night in the quiet rooms had taken the children’s words as a joke, but some took them to heart and began to inquire about the new wheat variety.

Li Erlang also took it to heart. Turning to his attendant, he said, "Yang Changbo had earlier submitted a report about discovering new wheat varieties and new plows. At first, I thought this child of the Yang family was too eager for credit, but now it seems he reported the truth."

Changbo was Yang Heshu’s courtesy name.

The attendant replied, bowing his head, "Sir, what those three youngsters said might not necessarily be true; they spoke of wheat yielding five bushels per acre, which seems rather high."

Li Erlang laughed and said, "Yang Changbo’s report did not mention five bushels; he only mentioned yields reaching four bushels or three and a half, which is still better than current wheat varieties."

After a moment of thought, he added, "With doubts in my heart, when we return, we shall visit Luojiang County for ourselves."

"Yes."

"Have you noted down the names of those children? We might meet them again in the future."

With a smile, the attendant replied, "I have indeed noted them down."