The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 649 - 638 Abundance (Extra update for the reader "Mo Yan" as a reward)

Chapter 649: Chapter 638 Abundance (Extra update for the reader "Mo Yan" as a reward)

Mr. Zhuang rarely spoke of his youth, but this time he was unrestrained, leaning back and sharing some amusing anecdotes from his school days.

Mr. Zhuang laughed, "When your teacher was studying, I was alone, not like you with companions at your side, and so mischievous, which is why you have so many funny stories. The only thing I remember is that we had to compete for books; as soon as classes ended each day, we would rush to the Book Collection Tower to reserve our books, and then ask someone to help fetch some food from the canteen. We’d read for half an hour, and when hunger became unbearable, we’d return the books to go eat..."

Bai Shan said, "You must have had a good friend in the academy to do that."

From what he had seen, there were few in their class who would fetch food for others in advance.

Mr. Zhuang paused before nodding, "Indeed, we took turns doing it. There was also a classmate who accidentally lost their card and couldn’t enter the Book Collection Tower. In the end, we quietly opened the window near the back door of the tower so that he could climb through."

Bai Shan’s mouth fell open in surprise.

Mr. Zhuang just laughed, "You haven’t visited often, have you? Didn’t you notice that window?"

Bai Shan nodded, "Aren’t the windows in the Book Collection Tower always shut tight?"

"Yes, except for specific times, the windows in the tower are generally not opened, nor can they be. But that window is an exception, because it’s right around the corner from the back door, where there are no bookshelves," Mr. Zhuang chuckled: "Without any books there, the academy doesn’t really mind the loose window. I’m not sure if it’s been fixed by now."

Whether it had been fixed or not could be confirmed with a quick look upon returning.

As the three disciples talked, Daji, who was driving the carriage up front, listened to the conversation inside and felt overwhelmed.

By noon, Zhou Silang found a particularly suitable shady spot to rest and stopped, unhitching the carriage to let the horses rest.

Meanwhile, Manbao and the others started to prepare their lunch with a small stove provided by the Bai Family for boiling water, ordinarily used for making tea.

But now, it could be used to heat up their midday meal.

Bai Shan opened the food box and took out neatly stacked bamboo baskets, while Daji placed a pot on the stove, filled a bamboo tube with soup, and started a fire...

Bai Shan then placed the bamboo baskets on the pot.

Manbao was stunned for a moment before reacting with excitement, exclaiming, "This is great, this is great. We should always bring food like this when we travel."

Manbao praised him, "How did your family come up with this?"

Bai Shan proudly replied, "My mother thought of it, saying that I always come back from trips thinner. She was sure it was because I got hungry on the road, so she spent several days with the family cook to come up with this. Isn’t it elegant?"

Manbao nodded repeatedly, "It’s extremely elegant."

Zhou Lijun had already opened the loosely covered jar, poured some cool boiled water into it from the water sack, and then fished out the noodles.

Although a morning had passed, the noodles had not become sticky or broken, still clearly separate and intact.

After serving the noodles in a bowl, he opened a small jar and poured out the minced meat. Since the jar was airtight, and it hadn’t been long, the contents were still hot.

As soon as the jar was opened, everyone smelled an aromatic fragrance that was even more tantalizing than the broth that had already come to a boil.

Involuntarily, those who were surrounding the small stove shifted towards Zhou Lijun.

Zhou Silang secured the carriage and tethered the horses before turning around to help.

Each bowl received some minced meat, topped with a bit of sweet sauce. After stirring and tasting, the flavors were fresh and savory. Manbao was delighted, and everyone else was also quite content.

As Daji ate his noodles, he watched the fire. Before long, he removed the bamboo basket and served everyone a bowl of soup, then grabbed another bamboo tube to pour in a pot of cold soup, continuing to heat it.

After finishing the noodles, having a half bowl of soup, and heating up the small steamed buns in the bamboo basket, everybody shared the food.

Besides the small steamed buns, there were also steamed vegetables in the food box, which could be heated in the steamer to eat. However, Mr. Zhuang glanced at the noodles they had already eaten and decisively said, "Even if heated, we wouldn’t be able to finish them. Let’s save them for dinner."

Bai Erlang, who was intently eating his noodles, heard this and nodded repeatedly, reaching out his bowl to Zhou Lijun, "I want more."

Zhou Lijun shifted aside and said, "Serve yourself."

Manbao asked Bai Erlang curiously, "Bai Er, what about your food?"

Bai Erlang waved his hand, "No need to bring mine out, my grandmother had some snacks prepared for me, and the only filling food is naan."

Manbao then lost interest.

However, Bai Shan asked curiously, "What kind of snacks do you have?"

"I have your favorite osmanthus cake, do you want some?"

Bai Shan nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, give me some later."

After glancing at Manbao, he asked, "Do you have any glutinous rice cakes?"

"No, my grandmother said eating glutinous rice in the summer can make one feel lethargic and isn’t good for the stomach. But she had chestnut cakes made."

Chestnut cake was Manbao’s favorite; she looked up at Bai Erlang with a smile.

Bai Shan put the two small steamed buns from his bowl into Manbao’s, saying, "Chestnut cake is not as good when cold. Let’s wait until we’re back in Yizhou City and have the cook make some."

Bai Erlang said, "Osmanthus cake is even worse when it’s cold."

"If you’re not eating, give them all to me," Fourth Brother Zhou said. "I wouldn’t mind at all."

Bai Erlang retorted, "Fourth Brother Zhou, you’ve eaten too much already. This is your third bowl of noodles."

Fourth Brother Zhou replied, "I’m still growing."

Everyone: ...

Seeing their disbelief, Fourth Brother Zhou stood up, "Haven’t you noticed that I’ve grown taller?"

Manbao examined him carefully and shook her head, "I don’t see it."

Mr. Zhuang then laughed and said, "He has grown taller. You didn’t notice because you’ve grown too, so it doesn’t stand out."

Fourth Brother Zhou squatted back down and said, "I’m in the midst of growing, so I need to eat a bit more."

After finishing her steamed buns, Manbao thought for a moment and reached out her bowl, "I’m also growing."

Fourth Brother Zhou knocked her bowl, "That’s enough. Before we left, my wife specifically told me not to let you eat too much on the road, in case you get sick from vomiting, what then?"

Manbao patted her stomach and regretfully withdrew her hand.

Everyone happily ate their lunch and rested a while before continuing their journey by carriage.

Unlike the journey home, this time they needed to enter the city gates, so they couldn’t rest for too long. Otherwise, they would miss the entry time and have to spend the night outside the gates.

Manbao didn’t mind sleeping outdoors but despised the idea of spending the night outside the city gates, where the smells were truly...

Daji and Fourth Brother Zhou, of course, knew this too, so they silently sped up, managing to enter the city before the gates closed.

The cook who stayed behind in the small courtyard knew they would return today, so she had warmed up the rice and water in advance. Although it was only a day’s journey, the rough ride made Manbao feel exhausted, especially since the afternoon was so hot, she had no appetite at all.

Fourth Brother Zhou had anticipated this, "Rest a while and have some hot water. If you really don’t feel like eating, I’ll make you some noodles in a bit."

Bai Shan looked at her, "Think about the frozen treats at Honey Heart Hall."

Manbao’s eyes sparkled, and the heavy feeling in her chest lightened, "I’m just too hot."

Bai Shan suggested, "So, shall we visit Honey Heart Hall tomorrow?"

Manbao’s eyes smiled, "Yeah, let’s do that."

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