The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 639 - 628: Jealousy

Chapter 639: Chapter 628: Jealousy

As soon as the voice faded, another roar came from outside, "Uncle Jin, your Four and Manbao are back—"

Not only did Sanya hear this, but Zhou Dalang did too. He was stunned for a moment before he realized, then whooshed to his feet.

Zhou Lixue had already sprung up from the ground and ran out, "Little Aunt is back, Little Aunt is back..."

By this time, the day had not yet completely darkened, but it was no longer bright. Things closer could still be seen, but further away it was obscured in darkness.

Zhou Lixue, dragging his Fourth Brother, ran out and sprinted to the banyan tree, only to find the road in front of them empty and desolate, with nothing there.

He was displeased and grabbed a child to ask, "Didn’t they say my Little Aunt was back? Are they tricking us?"

"No trick, they went to the Bai family. A lot of people followed them there."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lixue immediately pulled Zhou Ligu toward the opposite bank of the river.

The carriage belonged to the Bai Family, and many of the things they carried were from Mr. Zhuang and Bai Shanbao, Bai Erlang. For convenience, it was naturally better to go directly to the Bai Family.

Manbao and the others also brought back a lot of stuff, but the Zhou Family had many mouths to feed.

Sure enough, just as the carriage stopped in front of the Bai Family’s gate, the sounds of shouting from Sanya and the others followed.

Manbao happily jumped off the carriage and jubilantly bounced around with her two nephews. Bai Shanbao followed her out of the carriage and helped Mr. Zhuang down.

Turning his head, he was a little displeased and tugged at the back of her collar, saying, "Hurry up and move the stuff, get ours down first, then you can use the cart to take it back."

"No need," Manbao said with particular bravado, waving her hand, "We can move it back ourselves."

No sooner had she spoken than Zhou Dalang led his family over.

Bai Shanbao glanced at the progressively arriving members of the Zhou Family, and silently said nothing.

Zhou Silang and Zhou Lijun were already quickly taking things off the carriage.

Whether it was items tied to the top, attached to the back, or stuffed in some corner, since each item was tied by Zhou Silang, he knew them best.

Even if there were mistakes or something missing, it wasn’t a big deal—they could just switch them back tomorrow.

In no time, a small pile of items was on the ground, and Zhou Dalang and his people immediately stepped forward to help move them.

Old Master Bai and Ms. Liu arrived even later because they were inside the manor, and the servants were naturally informed later; passing the word took even longer.

As soon as Old Master Bai came out, he first glanced at his younger son and, noticing that he had not lost weight but had actually grown taller and looked healthy and unscathed, was pleased. He grabbed Mr. Zhuang’s hand with a smile, saying, "We’ve troubled Mr. Zhuang with this journey, please, come inside and rest first."

While speaking, Ms. Liu came out with Ms. Zheng, found Bai Shan first, and after giving him a once-over went to thank Mr. Zhuang. After thanking Mr. Zhuang, they also thanked Zhou Silang. The front door of the two families suddenly became bustling.

Everyone greeted each other, with glances and tugs, and Manbao, in a blur, was pulled in front of Ms. Liu and the others. They sprinkled her face with mugwort water, had her step over a brazier, and she was pulled inside the door, only to be swiftly yanked back out by Zhou Erlang, then somehow got wrapped up in the middle of the procession to cross the river.

As the lively crowd at the Bai Family dispersed, Old Master Bai had already disappeared with Mr. Zhuang; Bai Erlang was pulled inside by Old Lady Bai and Mrs. Bai;

Bai Shanbao was also nowhere to be seen. Daji, having been pushed out from the crowd from the start, noticed two carriages left behind as most people scattered. He breathed a sigh of relief, came forward, found his bundle in the carriage, and then instructed the remaining servants of the two families, "The luggage on the carriage with the character ’Da’ belongs to our young master, ’Er’ belongs to the hall young master, and ’Zhuang’ is Mr. Zhuang’s. Make sure to sort it out and deliver it to each household."

He had been tired all day and decided to rest well.

Suddenly crossing the river, Manbao saw a vaguely familiar silhouette standing under the banyan tree. She squinted without making out the face when the person shouted, "Manbao?"

Manbao recognized the voice and ran over excitedly, "Dad—"

"Oh my, my dear girl!" Old Zhou confirmed it, immediately grabbed the rushing Manbao, and examined her under the dim moonlight, "Have you lost weight?"

"No weight lost!" Manbao let him feel the flesh on her face, showing she hadn’t slimmed down at all.

Old Zhou led Manbao home, greeting the countless villagers who came out to watch along the way.

The villagers, seeing the items held by the members of the Zhou family, felt quite envious, "Manbao is back, what did she bring for the family?"

Old Zhou chuckled happily and responded, "Just some things the child bought, it’s the thought that counts, no matter what it is."

It seemed as though it might not be anything valuable.

And since the items were all wrapped up, everyone really couldn’t tell.

When they arrived at the Zhou family’s home, Ms.Qian had long since ordered the lamps to be lit and the stove in the kitchen rekindled for cooking.

Manbao was pulled under the lamp by Ms.Qian for a closer examination; seeing her rosy complexion, though a bit tired, but looking spirited, she was overjoyed. After patting her head and smiling, she said, "You’ve grown taller; we haven’t seen each other for just three months. Did you eat well outside?"

"Full," Manbao replied, smiling sheepishly, "I’ve never gone hungry."

"Then that’s good, that’s good."

"Mom, I bought gifts for everyone; I have one for you."

Old Zhou had already seen them and said, "Next time you come home, you just come home; you’re not allowed to spend this much money again. Buying so much stuff, who knows how expensive it is? Plus, if you want to buy things, buy them in the county town, why bring them from so far away?"

Old Zhou continued, "Didn’t your Fourth Brother say things are very expensive in Yizhou City? We must learn to save, understand?"

"I know, I know, Dad, these things are cheaper than buying in the county town, and some of them are not available there," Manbao countered, "If you don’t believe me, ask Fourth Brother."

Old Zhou looked towards Zhou Silang.

Zhou Silang nodded vigorously.

Digging through the multitude of luggage, Manbao finally pulled out a piece of fabric and said, "Dad, I bought you a piece of fabric and a pair of shoe uppers. When they are made into new clothes, you can wear them when Big Sister gets married."

The gifts Manbao mainly brought home for the family were fabric and shoe uppers.

The fabric from Yizhou City not only had a variety of types and colors but was also somewhat cheaper than in the county town, which is why Manbao bought without reservation.

In the past, when buying fabric for her mother and sister-in-law in the county town, there were only a few colors to choose from, mostly drab, and if ever there was a bright color, people would scramble for it like mad.

Manbao never thought those fabrics were ugly before, but after going to Yizhou City and seeing the cloth shops there, she learned what it meant to be discriminating.

So this time, when Manbao bought fabric for the women in the family, she bought rolls and rolls of it so they could make two sets of clothes.

As soon as the neatly stacked fabric came out, the patterns shone especially bright against the lamplight, and everyone was momentarily stunned.

Ms.Feng and the others couldn’t be happier, especially the youngest, Sanya. She grabbed a piece of fabric and exclaimed, "So beautiful, so beautiful, Mom, I want to make clothes out of this, I want to make clothes with this."

Seeing all the fabrics and then his own, Old Zhou felt a touch of sorrow. The difference was just too great, wasn’t it?

No, no, that’s not right. The real question was how much that must have cost.