The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 610 - 599: The Mask

Chapter 610: Chapter 599: The Mask

Bai Shanbao urged Manbao to stay in the city and play tomorrow, saying, "Wei Chen said the city is really fun. Not only is there a boat race, but also a Nuo play. Have you seen a Nuo play before?"

Manbao shook her head, "I haven’t seen it, have you?"

"I vaguely remember seeing it once when I was little in Longzhou. I don’t remember it very clearly, but it was really interesting. It’s for driving away ghosts and plagues. They wear masks on their faces, so much fun."

Manbao was so tempted by his words, but she had promised Keke to find something nice for it.

Seeing her interest, Bai Shanbao continued, "It’s Duanwu Festival, and the streets will definitely have a lot of flowers for sale. The ones you planted in the yard haven’t bloomed yet. I saw quite a few in the streets, so we can buy some nice ones when we go."

But what she wanted were not the flowers she had seen on the streets, but the ones she hadn’t.

Manbao was thinking just that when Keke suddenly said, "If the host wishes to go, then go. Just don’t forget to make it up to me after the Dragon Boat Festival."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed wholeheartedly in her mind.

Keke added, "If you see any creatures you haven’t seen before tomorrow, remember to record them."

Having just benefited, Manbao agreed without a second thought.

Manbao nodded at Bai Shanbao, "Okay, we’ll go see the Nuo play on the streets tomorrow!"

So Bai Shanbao was happy, Manbao was happy, and Keke was satisfied.

Bai Erlang saw the two of them make plans on their own and felt a little unhappy, "Why didn’t you ask me?"

Bai Shanbao looked down, curiously looking at him sitting in the wicker chair, "Aren’t you going?"

"Of course I am!"

Bai Shanbao, "Then isn’t that settled?"

He turned to Manbao and asked, "What did the teacher teach you in today’s class?"

The two then discussed their studies.

Bai Erlang: ...

He puffed up his cheeks, deciding to ignore them, but after a while, he couldn’t resist talking to them again, "Is there really a Nuo play tomorrow? Should we buy some masks too?"

Just as they were talking about their studies, the attention of the two was immediately diverted. Bai Shanbao said, "The streets were already bustling when I came back earlier."

Manbao’s heart was moved, "Shall we go out and play in a bit?"

"Why in a bit? Let’s go out now." Bai Shanbao was ready to act, turning to take his book basket from Daji and carrying it back to his room. Then he stuffed a few pieces of silver into his money pouch.

He ran out and called his two friends, "Let’s go!"

It was free time after school every day at the government school, and Mr. Zhuang never forced them to read, relying on everyone’s own initiative. So when they decided to go out and play, no one stopped them.

Daji silently followed them out.

The cook, hearing the commotion, ran out to remind them, "Young master, be sure to come back early, I’m going to start making dinner soon."

Bai Shanbao waved his hand nonchalantly, then turned to ask Manbao, "Where are Fourth Brother Zhou and Zhou Lijun?"

"They’ve gone out," Manbao said. Exiting the alley, she was surprised to see so many new stalls on the street, "Is it this lively?"

The three people walked along the main street and soon came across a stall selling masks. They couldn’t help but crowd over and start picking.

Some larger stalls had especially many ghost masks, and they were particularly terrifying with a lot of colors.

Manbao chose one, put it on her face, and asked Bai Shanbao, "Scared?"

Bai Shanbao glanced at it and shook his head, "Not scared."

He put on his own and asked, "What about mine?"

"Also not scary."

Suddenly a hand rested on their shoulders, and they couldn’t help but turn around together. A ferocious ghost mask suddenly appeared before them, and both of them couldn’t help but cry out, stepping back.

Bai Erlang took off the mask and laughed heartily at them, delighted, "Scared you, didn’t I? Hahaha, you have to hide the mask and wear it secretly to scare people. What’s so scary about watching each other put it on?"

The two thought he made sense, so they turned to the stall owner and bought two of the scariest-looking masks.

"Little cousin!" Zhou Lijun, seeing Manbao, hurried over with a basket on her back, "Little cousin, what are you doing here?"

"Buying masks," Manbao generously put one she held up to Zhou Lijun’s face to compare, smiling, "This one also suits you well. I’m giving it to you."

Bai Shanbao glanced at her basket and asked, "What were you doing?"

"I went out of the city with Fourth Uncle," Zhou Lijun said happily: "Little cousin, you don’t know, mugwort sells even better in Yizhou City! Early today, we went out to cut mugwort, then tied it into small bundles. In just half a day, we sold them all, and they were even pricier than in the county."

"How much pricier?"

"Four coins a bundle. Fourth Uncle and I each took a stall spot. We sold over a hundred bundles in total. We plan to set up a stall early tomorrow morning too." Zhou Lijun said, "Fourth Uncle is still cutting mugwort outside the city right now. He had me come back early to let you know so you wouldn’t worry. He might come back late."

Manbao acknowledged, indicating she understood.

Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang couldn’t quite grasp it, "You can sell mugwort? Isn’t that stuff everywhere?"

"Of course you can, my Second Brother has been selling mugwort to the county for several years."

Bai Shanbao suddenly realized, "That’s why every Dragon Boat Festival, people complain that all the good mugwort near the village is gone, and they have to go further away to cut their own..."

Bai Erlang remembered as well, "My friends have to take sickles to the far fields every Dragon Boat Festival to cut some. So the good ones near the village were all cut by your family?"

Manbao blinked, "They’re wild, first come, first served. Why didn’t they cut it two days earlier?"

"But the stuff grows everywhere around the village. On Dragon Boat Festival, bringing the fresh ones in to put up is so nice. Why cut them early?" Bai Shanbao said, "Who would have thought your family was selling mugwort?"

Manbao hummed, "Lots of people in the village know..."

Bai Shanbao said he certainly didn’t know, otherwise, he would’ve taken a sickle to cut lots of it early, and put some on every doorframe around the house.

After buying masks, the four of them watched some fun things on the street, then slowly headed home.

It wasn’t early today; they decided to come out earlier tomorrow to play.

Bai Erlang was very relieved, "Lucky Mr. Zhuang didn’t assign me any homework. I’ll sleep early tonight, come out earlier tomorrow, and stay out longer."

Manbao also nodded in agreement.

Bai Shanbao: "... I have homework."

Manbao and Bai Erlang looked at him sympathetically, indicating there was nothing they could do to help.

But Bai Shanbao stared at Manbao, "We had agreed to study together, to face difficulties together. You can’t go back on your word."

"Helping with homework is unethical."

"You choose, either help me with half, and I’ll copy it; or do all the problems I’ve done, you promised to study with me."

Manbao thought about it and decisively chose the unethical first option, "We have to hide from the teacher then."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.