The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 648 - 637 Unintentional Guidance

Chapter 648: Chapter 637 Unintentional Guidance

Junior Ms. Qian knew that Manbao had poor health, feared cold in winter, and heat in summer.

Her appetite waned with the heat, hardly craving foods like flatbreads or stuffed pancakes, and now they were on the road...

Although it was just for one day, Junior Ms. Qian was also very distressed.

So she rose before dawn to roll out dough and boiled a large pot of noodles, which she then soaked in cool boiled water, before adding a little water to a crock and pouring the cooled, drained noodles into it.

She minced several pieces of leftover chicken and a fried fish from the night before, stir-fried them with oil and salt, and then packed them into a small jar.

Only then did she make a bowl of tofu pudding and a bowl of egg noodles for Manbao. The rest she handed over to Zhou SiLang to tuck away in the carriage, saying, "At lunch, just lift the noodles out, add some minced meat from the small jar, and a bit of sweet sauce, and that’ll do."

Zhou SiLang was doubtful, "Will the noodles be alright after a whole morning?"

"It’s fine, they’ve been cooled with water already. Naturally, they can’t compare to freshly made noodles, but they’re certainly better than gnawing on flatbreads along the way, right?"

Zhou SiLang thought about it and agreed, taking the food. When he received the small jar, he caught a whiff of a very fragrant meat aroma.

He immediately hugged the jar tightly and said, "Big Sister-in-law, rest assured, I’ll take good care of Manbao and make sure she eats well on the road."

Junior Ms. Qian gave him a sidelong glance, "Don’t let her eat too much. The cart jostles, and what if she vomits? Just a small bowl is enough. Besides, Mr. Zhuang and the two young masters are traveling with you, right? Both you and Daji have hearty appetites..."

Zhou SiLang nodded repeatedly, indicating he understood.

With the Zhou family prepared with food, it was natural that the Bai Family also made preparations.

Mr. Zhuang had returned to Qili Village from the county town the day before yesterday, and he had a detailed discussion with Old Master Bai and Ms. Liu about Bai Erlang and Bai Shan’s future development directions, so they set off together from the village.

After packing everything into the carriage, Zhou Lijun turned to wave goodbye to his brothers and sisters, and also took the opportunity to quietly instruct Sanya, "You should study hard and learn from your little aunt; if you become half as impressive as her, that would be amazing."

Sanya said, "Our teacher says I’m smarter than Silang."

"Don’t compare yourself with Silang, compare with your little aunt," Zhou Lijun said with frustration, "What’s the point of comparing with your brothers at home? Even if you don’t compare to your little aunt, aiming to be the best in your class would be fine, too."

Sanya grudgingly accepted the advice.

Quite a few people came to see them off, apart from the three families, the school’s new teacher also came to send them off, of course, mainly to send off Mr. Zhuang.

As a friend, he naturally had to give Mr. Zhuang some gifts as well. Knowing he couldn’t compete with the Bai and Zhou families in terms of food, he gave Mr. Zhuang two hand-copied books.

Mr. Zhuang was very surprised to receive them and said, "Last time when I went to Yizhou City, my two students fortuitously obtained several volumes of the ’Commentary on the Water Classic.’ Later on, I’ll send you a hand-copied volume."

Now it was Mr. Zhao’s turn to be surprised, "Really?"

"Of course."

Once they were in the carriage, Mr. Zhuang said to Bai Shan, who had the best handwriting, "Shanbao, from now on, each day after school, copy two pages of the ’Commentary on the Water Classic.’

Bai Shan: "...Master, what about Manbao?"

Manbao glared at him secretly.

After thinking it over, as their study progress and busyness were almost the same, Mr. Zhuang said, "Manbao, you too should copy two pages every day."

Manbao responded listlessly and stealthily shot Bai Shan another glare.

Bai Shan grinned at her, narrowing his eyes.

Manbao decided to temporarily "break up" with him, but the carriage hadn’t traveled far before the two began chatting again, putting the thought of "breaking up" on the back burner.

"...Our school’s Book Collection Tower has so many books, I have only visited it three times. Alas, I’ve been too busy to even look for the ’Commentary on the Water Classic.’

"Isn’t there a catalog?"

"There is, but I haven’t checked it much. Moreover, the master in charge of the Book Collection Tower doesn’t like giving us the catalog. If you need to find a book, you just tell him, and he directs you," whispered Bai Shan. "I asked if they had ’Commentary on the Water Classic,’ even an incomplete version would do, but he just gave me a cold laugh."

"So does it exist or not?"

Bai Shan: "Only heaven and he would know that."

Manbao: ...

After thinking for a while, she finally found a reason, "It must be because you don’t know how to speak properly, you must have offended that master, if it were me, surely it wouldn’t have happened that way."

"Humph, you can’t even get into the school, let alone the Book Collection Tower," Bai Shan retorted with pride. "Haha, and I won’t let Wei Chen or any of them take you there either. Let’s see how you’ll get in now."

Mr. Zhuang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and said with a smile, "Going in and out of the school isn’t limited to just the main gate."

Manbao immediately sat next to the teacher and asked, "Where else is there then?"

With a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, Mr. Zhuang smiled, "I remember during our school days, the western wall near the Book Collection Tower was a bit low, and most importantly, there was a deserted alley right behind it, so merchants would often smuggle in some private goods for the students there."

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "Some students even used it to skip school."

Bai Shan looked puzzled, "If one doesn’t want to study, just ask the teacher for leave, why skip classes?"

And Manbao nodded, "Besides, if you don’t want to study at the prefectural school, then don’t pass the exams. There are so many people who want to study there and can’t get in. Why bother entering only to skip out again?"

Mr. Zhuang simply laughed, "There are always some who didn’t get in by passing exams, and there are always some with other urgent matters. Not all students’ requests for leave are granted by the teachers. But so many years have passed, the school has been repeatedly renovated, and that place has probably been fixed."

Manbao appeared thoughtful and quickly asked, "Teacher, did you also skip school through there?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled faintly, "Only once."

Manbao’s eyes sparkled and Bai Shan was eager, "Why did the teacher skip school?"

Mr. Zhuang paused, then said, "To drink?"

Both were stunned; they never expected this answer. Their teacher had actually scaled the wall to skip class just to drink?

Mr. Zhuang sighed, "In the blink of an eye, it’s been so many years. That was my only time skipping school, and not long after, the teacher left the prefectural school."

Manbao’s mouth fell open, "Just for skipping class once, you were expelled?"

Mr. Zhuang patted her head, laughing and scolding, "You mischievous girl, I graduated, I wasn’t expelled."

Manbao touched her head, sticking out her tongue.

Manbao moved closer to Mr. Zhuang, "Teacher, tell us more stories about when you were studying?"

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