The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 562 - 551: Treasure Hunt

Chapter 562: Chapter 551: Treasure Hunt

All three of them looked up at Daji together, and Bai Shanbao was the first to extend an invitation, "Together?"

Daji: ...

He was just a personal protector and had no desire to make decisions, so he averted his gaze and stepped aside.

Understanding immediately, the three of them closed the door, glanced at the empty alley to make sure no one was around, and then ran to the entrance of the hole and crawled through.

Daji stood waiting until they had all crawled in before leaping over the wall and flying in—he wasn’t about to crawl through a hole.

It was their first time entering the Yan Residence during the day, and at first glance, it seemed quite nice.

Manbao said, "It looks nicer than both of your houses."

"But it is still the home of a corrupt official, and now there is no one living there—what good is it?" Bai Shanbao asked, "Where should we go?"

"To the flower garden," Keke, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly spoke in Manbao’s mind.

Manbao’s eyes lit up, and she said, "Let’s go check out their flower garden first."

"Most of their garden has been converted into vegetable patches, what’s there to see?"

"Let’s just go have a look," Manbao replied, taking the lead and running off. Last time it was very dark, and they only had a torch for light, so she hadn’t seen much.

Now, in the light, they found that the vegetable patch they saw before was hidden behind a few large trees; it seemed the original flowers had been pulled out and the garden expanded for planting.

Here a patch, there a patch—clearly, the Xiao Family had only removed some of the flowers, leaving the tall trees untouched.

The uprooted flowers and plants were carelessly discarded; most of them were dead, but some had stubbornly survived, clinging to the adjacent soil.

Many of the flowers were ones Manbao had never seen before.

Now that spring had arrived and the plants were regrowing, Manbao started to look around, found a stick, and began to dig up the various plants.

Bai Shanbao quickly grabbed her, "With so many plants, how long will it take you to dig them all up? If you like them, we can bring a basket and a garden hoe later to dig them up."

Bai Erlang tugged on his collar, asking, "What is this grass? Without flowers, it’s hard to tell."

Bai Shanbao went over for a look and frowned, "It looks like hibiscus."

"Eh?" Manbao leaned in for a closer look and said earnestly, "It does look like hibiscus, but I’ve only seen it in books. I heard it blooms big red flowers that are very pretty. It has another name—’One Zhang Red.’"

Keke said, "Collect it."

The implication was that this plant wasn’t in the encyclopedia.

Manbao reached out to dig when she saw Daji standing aside. She rolled her eyes and withdrew her hand, "We’ll dig next time when we have a chance."

Keke, who had been anticipating this: ...

But it too had scanned Daji, and Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang were no longer ignorant children. If they dug them up now, only to have them disappear mysteriously again, they might suspect something was amiss.

Keke made no requests.

Manbao followed the edge of the vegetable patch, finding many plants she had never seen or only read about in books but had never dug up, which thrilled her to no end.

Daji: ... Who would have thought they sneaked in just to look at flowers and plants?

Bai Erlang hadn’t expected this either. Feeling bored, he straightened up and said, "I’m going to play somewhere else. What’s so interesting about these flowers and plants?"

Manbao also stood up and said, "Alright, let’s go see something else."

They then went to the Yan Family’s front lotus pond, and the lotus leaves inside were still green. Manbao stared at the bottom of the pond, "Xiao Erlang said that in the winter, they would go into the pond to touch and eat lotus roots, and they could even sell them."

Bai Shanbao said, "Digging up a couple of plants is one thing, but digging up lotus roots wouldn’t be good, right? What if they get caught by County Magistrate Tang?"

"I was just saying it, I didn’t say we were going to dig," Manbao replied, "By summer, if I could just pick a couple of lotus seeds to eat, I’d be satisfied."

Bai Shanbao also felt like eating lotus seeds and chuckled, "Let’s hope the Yan Residence isn’t sold by then."

The three walked along the corridor, mainly to enjoy the scenery along the way.

Governor Yan, being corrupt, had a beautifully built garden; despite being neglected for two years, the rockery and flowing water, as well as the flowers and trees planted along the path, allowed them to imagine how good it looked when the plants were well-trimmed.

It was like a picnic for the three as they walked and strolled around, with Manbao showing particular interest in the plants along the way. Keke continuously reported on the unknown species they found, and Manbao noted each one, planning to come back on her own when she had time.

Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang, however, were more interested in the objects inside the rooms. After walking through most of the garden, their party arrived at the residential area of the back courtyard.

Bai Shanbao casually pushed open a door and entered; the room was empty, the tables were missing their matching chairs, and it was unclear whether they had been moved by the Xiao Family.

Having glanced inside, Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang shook their heads dismissively, "There’s nothing here, was this a thorough ransacking, or did the Xiao Family move everything out?"

"The Xiao Family isn’t that big; they can’t possibly move all the tables and chairs to their own house, can they?" Manbao spoke of rumors, "I’ve heard that tables and chairs made of good wood would also be confiscated and stored away, like fragrant rosewood, sandalwood, and other fine woods."

Bai Erlang exclaimed, "The Yan Family was really rich."

"Of course, they were corrupt officials," Manbao said matter-of-factly, "If corrupt officials aren’t rich, then nobody in this world is."

While talking, the three of them moved to another room. Obviously a side courtyard, Bai Erlang’s sharp eyes spotted a wooden horse with one leg missing. After looking at it, he asked, "Is this a child’s room?"

Bai Shanbao: "The main courtyard is next door; this should belong to a young master under the age of eight."

It is standard for children to move to the main courtyard after the age of eight, though different families might have different practices.

Like in a household particularly fond of children.

Bai Shanbao gave Bai Erlang a sidelong glance.

But everyone got excited—this was the room of a child close to their age, and there might be some treasure left behind. They started searching around.

The things in this room were probably not very valuable, so they were preserved better. There was a frame in the inner chamber’s bed, but the planks and curtains were gone, presumed moved by the Xiao Family.

If it was taken during the imperial confiscation, then the whole bed would have been removed. The kind of bed that would be confiscated was either well-crafted or made of fine materials.

Most of the time, it was both.

Besides the bed frame, there were missing pieces in the desks and chairs in the inner chamber, but most remained.

Manbao, Bai Shanbao, and Bai Erlang then curiously started to rummage through, "The Xiao Family has searched these places; there shouldn’t be any treasures left, so let’s just look for interesting things, shall we?"

"What interesting things?" Bai Erlang asked, "Money?"

Manbao and Bai Shanbao turned to look at him, and Bai Erlang defensively said, "Why do you look at me like that? Did I say something wrong? Aside from money, what else would a young master hide in his house that neither the confiscators nor the Xiao Family could find?"