The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 706 - 695: Inside and Outside the City

Chapter 706: Chapter 695: Inside and Outside the City

Manbao pasted the white paper down, and then squatted beside Bai Shan to grind the ink, requesting, "Make sure the character ’Zhou’ in my name is a bit larger."

Bai Shan agreed without issue. He chose a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote down a particularly neat and attractive "Zhou" character at the top before finishing with the name of Jishi Hall.

Xiao Yuan: ...Who writes it like that?

However, after taking a look, he found that it was quite nice-looking, so he also hurried to bring over the other two signs. "Young Master Bai, could you write on these two signs for our family as well?"

After Bai Shan finished writing, he looked at his calligraphy with satisfaction and generously took the two signs, asking, "Besides Doctor Ji, who is the other doctor?"

Xiao Yuan: "It’s our shopkeeper."

While Manbao helped with pasting paper, Bai Shan put down his brush and assisted, inquiring, "Won’t Doctor Ji come over?"

"Doctor Ji has to watch over the shop," Xiao Yuan glanced around and whispered, "Our shopkeeper said that the diseases carried by these refugees are usually a mix of several, but the medicine list provided by the County Governmental Office is so limited. How to treat them effectively is critical, and Doctor Ji probably lacks the experience, so he will stay put for now."

After finishing, Xiao Yuan looked toward Manbao and said, "Miss Man, the shopkeeper mentioned that if you can’t find substitute medicine when prescribing, you might as well write a note and send it out. I will help you pass it to Doctor Ji and the shopkeeper for their reference."

Manbao indicated no problem with that.

If the prescribed medicine isn’t on the medicine list, then it wouldn’t mean much to the patients.

Because those who can afford to buy medicine are generally not reluctant to spend a few pennies on medical fees.

As evening neared and dusk approached, only then did everyone finish all their work, and Manbao finally climbed onto the carriage, holding her sore back and settling down.

Wei Ting, who was recruited along with other refugees to move things, felt as if his limbs no longer belonged to him.

He climbed into his own carriage, too exhausted to even talk to Bai Shan, and simply waved goodbye before leaving.

Bai Shan sat down next to Manbao, took another satisfied look at the neatly arranged wooden sheds outside, and nodded, "Not bad, do you need my help with anything after school tomorrow?"

Mr. Zhuang, who had settled in the carriage earlier, rubbed his lower back and said, "Yes, come over. You can read, so you’d be particularly useful for checking the medicinal herbs."

He sighed and said, "Didn’t you notice people have already started to wait? Tomorrow is likely to be very busy."

Manbao turned to look outside and saw that quite a number of people were already sitting by the roadside. Some were clad in tatters, covering themselves with a heap of dry straw, while others were wrapped in oversized clothes or curled up in ragged quilts.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also turned to look outside the carriage, and for a moment, both fell silent.

Mr. Zhuang, too, gazed out the window, remaining silent until they entered the city and the people on the road disappeared; inside the city, there was prosperity everywhere.

The shops had lit lanterns by the door, which, along with the crescent moon in the sky, barely illuminated the streets as the carriage trundled along.

The further they went, the more pedestrians there were on the street, but there were far fewer than during the day; these were people out for a stroll or dinner in the evening.

The heavy toll of a bell rang out, signaling the closing of the city gate. It would chime twelve times, with the gates starting to close on the eleventh toll and being nearly fully shut by the twelfth.

There was a pause between each bell toll to give people time to react.

Not a single person waiting along the road outside the city had come in.

A city gate separated the worlds of those inside and outside, and whereas before it was a passive separation, today, the people outside chose not to enter the city.

The three, being young, felt heavyhearted only briefly before soon being distracted by the bustle of the streets.

But Mr. Zhuang kept gazing out the window at the lively scene, silently reflective.

Noticing Mr. Zhuang’s somber mood, Manbao couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Zhuang, what’s wrong?"

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze returned from the window to his three concerned students and he said, "Your teacher was reminded of his youth when the gates of Yizhou City were open all night, only closing in times of war."

The three were surprised. "City gates can be left open?"

Mr. Zhuang chuckled, "Of course, in major cities like Yizhou, Taiyuan, and Luoyang, the gates are generally open all twelve hours. They only close the market quarters to restrict the movement of the market residents. Mid-sized and smaller cities close their gates to prevent thieves."

Manbao: "When did Yizhou start closing its gates?"

"About ten years ago, I’d say. By now, both the citizens within Yizhou City and the merchants passing through have grown accustomed to it." Mr. Zhuang looked out the window, his gaze complex, and murmured, "Before, I never thought closing the city gates was a problem, but just now, your teacher suddenly felt that, once this gate is closed, the inside and outside become two separate worlds. Yet strangely, aren’t both inside and outside part of our Great Jin’s lands?"

Manbao and Bai Shan didn’t speak, and Bai Erlang also didn’t know what to say, so the carriage grew quiet.

Just as the four of them were in this silent state, the carriage stopped, and Daji jumped down from the driver’s seat and lifted the curtain, saying, "Mr. Zhuang, Master Bai, we’ve arrived home."

Mr. Zhuang then smiled and waved his hand, "Let’s get out."

Sitting on the outside, Bai Erlang was the first to jump down from the carriage and was immediately greeted with the tantalizing aroma of meat. Bai Shan and Manbao followed suit and then turned to help Mr. Zhuang descend.

All four of them smelled the delicious scent of meat.

Zhou SiLang, hearing their arrival, ran out of the kitchen and laughed, "You’re finally back; I was wondering if I’d need to go find you."

"Silang, what is that smells so good?"

"Oh, it’s lamb," Zhou SiLang’s eyes twinkled with delight as he proudly said, "On my way back, I ran into some traders from the Western Regions. They were herding a flock of sheep, and a few had worn-out hooves, so they slaughtered them right there to sell the meat. The meat looked good, so I bought a bunch and boiled it with spices. The weather’s getting cooler, and there’s nothing better than lamb right now."

Manbao ran into the kitchen and saw Aunt Rong managing the cooking, while Zhou Lijun was kneeling on the ground tending the fire. There was also a half-chopped lamb leg on a nearby chopping board, clearly Zhou Silang’s handiwork.

Aunt Rong, seeing the three young masters enter the kitchen, promptly shooed them away, "You better get out; this kitchen can’t accommodate any more."

Seeing them eyeing the bubbling pot eagerly, she laughed, "The hot water is ready. The young masters and Miss should wash up first. By the time you’re done, the food will be ready too."

She said, "Actually, I reheated the dishes once already, but since you didn’t come back, Zhou Si brought back two big lamb legs, and I thought I’d add a special dish for you, especially since you’ll be busy these next few days, and could use something hearty."

Manbao nodded repeatedly, "The weather is getting colder; it’s time for fattening up for the autumn."

Bai Shan couldn’t help but look at her, "You think you’re a cow? It’s the dry season of autumn; you’re better off eating less lamb."

Bai Erlang said, "Then you eat a bit less, I’ll take care of your portion for you."

Manbao: "I’ll do the same for you."

Bai Shan huffed and said, "No need, thank you!"

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