The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 630 - 619: Poetry Meeting (Extra - as reward for the book friend "Al Pacino")

Chapter 630: Chapter 619: Poetry Meeting (Extra Chapter as reward for the book friend "Al Pacino")

Manbao got excited and asked, "Do you have any raw herbs?"

Doctor Ji glanced at her and said, "Most of them are already processed. Herb shops rarely accept raw herbs."

Although Manbao was slightly disappointed, she quickly cheered up and smiled, "Master, then I’ll head home first."

"Go ahead, go ahead." Doctor Ji couldn’t help but added, "Young Lady Zhou, oh, no, Manbao, if your master has time one day, please ask him to come out. We can have a meal and chat together."

Manbao chuckled, taking it as if he was referring to Mr. Zhuang. She nodded, indicating that she would mention it to her master.

It was already late today. Manbao, carrying her basket on her back, waved goodbye to Doctor Ji. It was only when she reached the front hall that she noticed another doctor sitting there, treating patients, looking much younger than Doctor Ji.

Doctor Ji casually introduced, "This is my son."

With a beaming smile, Manbao greeted him, "Little Doctor Ji."

Patients usually gathered in the morning, so in the afternoon there were only a few sporadic ones, and therefore Little Doctor Ji took over the consultations.

However, Doctor Ji would rest in the back hall and could be called upon if there was an urgent case that Little Doctor Ji couldn’t resolve.

Shopkeeper Zheng was standing behind the counter, smiling and waving at Manbao, watching her and her niece leave.

Little Doctor Ji finished prescribing medicine for the last patient, then looked up at his immobile father, then turned his head to glance at Shopkeeper Zheng standing behind the counter looking toward the door. He couldn’t help scratching his head, "Dad, who is that young lady?"

Doctor Ji withdrew his gaze and glanced at him, "An apprentice."

What kind of lie is that? Would mere apprentices make you see them off like this?

Shopkeeper Zheng walked up to Doctor Ji and sighed, "I wonder who her master is, to have taught her so much about the properties and formulas of medicine, yet didn’t teach her to recognize the herbs?"

"Acquaintance doesn’t justify deeper talk, eh? Let’s wait until they’re more familiar before discussing it."

Shopkeeper Zheng could only nod in regret.

Mr. Zhuang stood at the door, and he sighed in relief when he saw her entering the alley. Seeing her running towards him with the basket on her back, Mr. Zhuang gestured for her to slow down, "Why are you back so late?"

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Manbao said, "Doctor Ji disapproved of my inability to recognize herbs, so he wants me to memorize their properties and formulas. He said he will start teaching me to recognize herbs from tomorrow."

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "You learned all the medical books by yourself without any formal teaching, and you can’t even recognize herbs. You really need to learn properly."

Mr. Zhuang saw that her voice was a bit hoarse, understanding she had talked too much, so he gestured for her to go inside, "I won’t give you any homework today, go and have fun."

Manbao was indeed a bit tired, mainly because she’d been on edge for most of the day, especially while reciting from memory. Now that she relaxed, she felt sleepy and, after having some snacks and water, couldn’t resist going back to her room to sleep.

When Bai Shanbao returned from the government school, she had only been asleep for a short while.

He couldn’t help but circle outside her window, "Taking a nap at this hour, how will you be able to sleep at night?"

The comment seemed to be for Zhou Lijun, who was sitting aside picking vegetables, as much as for himself. After saying this, he immediately went to knock on Manbao’s window, determined to wake her up.

Manbao seldom woke up grumpy, but now that she’d been woken up from a deep sleep, she felt a surge of irritation. She pulled the pillow from under her head and threw it straight at the window.

The pillow hit the window with a thump. After a moment of silence outside, the person became more persistent and kept on knocking, "Zhou Man, I’m doing this for your own good. It’s almost time for dinner, and you’re just taking a nap now. Will you be able to sleep tonight?"

Fed up, Manbao finally got up from bed and ran out to chase and hit him. The two ran around the yard for a couple of laps, and Bai Erlang very amicably handed Manbao a stick.

Bai Shan got angry and shouted, "Bai Er, don’t forget I am your Senior Brother!"

Manbao shouted back, "I am your Senior Sister!"

Then, raising the stick, she chased after him. Bai Shan ran extra fast, nearly bumping into Manbao’s back. She turned around and chased him the other way.

Bai Shan: "Do you see, isn’t it for your own good? Who else takes a nap so late in the afternoon?"

"I don’t care, come here and let me hit you once, or I won’t be able to calm down," she retorted.

The adults in the courtyard didn’t interfere, letting them run around. With the stick, Manbao had the upper hand and finally hit Bai Shan, satisfying her.

She exhaled a long breath and dropped the stick, then sat down on a stool to catch her breath.

Bai Shan was also exhausted, slumping next to her, and asked, "What were you doing at noon that made you nap this late?"

"I went to the herb shop."

Bai Shan: "Jishi Hall actually took you in?"

"Hmph," Manbao said, "I even recorded many pulse cases today."

Speaking of pulse cases, Manbao finally remembered that she hadn’t organized the cases she recorded. She sighed, "Looks like I’ll be busy tonight as well."

Bai Shan suggested, "I learned a new essay today, do you want to hear it?"

Manbao sat on the stool and said, "Can you recite it for me to hear?"

"I haven’t memorized it, forget it. I think I’m better off relying on myself than on you. You still have to check homework at the bookshop," Bai Shan rambled, "They had a poetry contest at the academy today at noon. I went to listen for a bit, it was just so-so. I think my chances of passing the midyear exam are pretty high."

Manbao said, "I took some notes during yesterday’s lecture, do you want them?"

Bai Shan: "Yes!"

Manbao went to the study to fetch her notebook for him, saying, "Here you go. I also noted down two questions that I planned to ask the master today, but I was so sleepy."

Bai Shanbao opened it and laughed, "I know the answers. I’ll tell you."

Bai Erlang found the conversation very uninteresting. He preferred to watch Zhou Lijun pick vegetables rather than get involved with their topic.

Manbao asked, "Since there was a poetry contest, why didn’t you participate?"

Bai Shanbao replied, "They didn’t invite me, and besides, a poetry contest is just about competing in poetry, which is really dull."

Bai Erlang interjected, "I think it’s interesting. Many people gather to discuss and compose poetry, that sounds fun."

"You just want to have fun with others, not really compose poetry, right?" Manbao saw through him.

Bai Erlang just humphed, "I can compose poetry too."

Mr. Zhuang then smiled, "If you like it that much, that’s even better. In a couple of days when we have a day off, I’ll take you to a poetry contest."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, "Master, which poetry contest will it be?"

"The one at Dazhi Academy. You’ve made a few friends there, haven’t you? They should be there too," Mr. Zhuang smiled, "It will be a good opportunity for you to get out and have some fun."

All three happily agreed.

Mr. Zhuang continued with a smile, "Since you’re going to a poetry contest, you should prepare some poems in advance. Hmm, let’s take ’lotus and summer’ as the theme. Prepare two poems each, just in case."

All three: ...Is it too late to change our minds now?