The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 741 - 730: The Letter is Right (Supplement for October 1)

Chapter 741: Chapter 730: The Letter is Right (Supplement for October 1)

Ms. Qian also emerged from the house and sat beside him.

Old Zhou sighed, stroking his smoking pipe, "My heart’s been feeling uneasy, not knowing if it’s because Manbao isn’t by my side."

Ms. Qian said, "Manbao is in Yizhou City, and this was all arranged by her, so you can rest assured."

"How can I rest easy, our entire savings were emptied to exchange for a roomful of wheat seeds. If it fails or something happens on the road, my old heart will probably collapse."

Ms. Qian said, "I have asked the Heaven Master, and he assured that tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that will all be clear days."

Old Zhou looked up at the stars filling the sky and after a moment of silence said, "I’ve also figured that out, tomorrow will definitely be a clear day."

Ms. Qian glanced at him and said, "If you’re so capable, why not predict the day after tomorrow’s weather?"

"I’ll calculate that for you tomorrow evening, but since tomorrow’s going to be clear, the likelihood is the day after will be clear too."

Ms. Qian harrumphed, stood up, and said, "Let’s go back to sleep, tomorrow they are loading the carts, and we also need to pack up the medicinal herbs from home to bring to Yizhou City. There’s a lot to be done."

Old Zhou acknowledged her with a response, but he couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning all night until he dozed off hazily at the crowing of roosters.

After consulting with the family, Zhou Erlang asked ten more men from the village to help escort the carts and brought along Datou and Second Son. With two men per cart, even if they did encounter robbers on the road, they wouldn’t be cowards with so many hands.

This time, all the Zhou brothers were going together, with each cart, the front, middle, and rear, accompanied by people.

In half a day, they had the carts loaded, and to keep the wheat seeds dry, they covered the tops with tarpaulins. Zhou Dalang also brought out the family’s ox cart, primarily to carry the processed medicinal herbs.

With many carts and both mules and oxen on the move, the pace was definitely slower. Now with winter days shortening, they set out just after lunchtime.

After spending a night outdoors, they resumed their journey early and, after two hours, they saw the county officers leaning against trees by the roadside.

Seeing Dason, Zhou Dalang heaved a sigh of relief and whispered to Zhou Erlang, "There really are county officers on patrol, then the rest of the road should be safe."

Zhou Erlang nodded repeatedly.

Arriving at the city gates, seventeen carts lined up. Zhou Erlang presented a letter given to him by Zhou Silang, and they passed through the city gates smoothly, without having to pay any entrance fee or tax.

Zhou Erlang was thrilled, asking Zhou Dalang, "Shall we go find Four directly?"

No sooner had he spoken than Zhou Silang’s excited voice rang out, "Big Brother, Second Brother, I’m here."

Zhou Silang looked around and, protecting his left arm, ran over, excitedly saying, "I guessed you’d arrive today, thought it would be closer to evening. Didn’t expect you so early; did you start out yesterday at lunchtime?"

Zhou Erlang nodded, "About that."

Worriedly looking back at the seventeen carts queuing up behind him, he asked, "Have you found a place to store all these wheat seeds?"

"Store? Renting a warehouse costs money, and every lift costs money. Let’s go, I’ll take you to the County Governmental Office," said Zhou Silang, protecting his left arm and turning around, "Manbao is at the office speaking with County Magistrate Tang as we speak. You can unload the goods as soon as you arrive, and it’d be best if you can settle the payment immediately."

Zhou Dalang’s eyes lit up, and he repeatedly nodded, "That’s good, that’s good. Let’s go now."

Zhou Silang led them to the County Governmental Office.

Sitting in the last ox cart, Ms. Fang looked forward, only able to see the tops of the carts, completely unaware of what was happening ahead.

Seeing the carts had stopped for such a long time without moving, she grew anxious, "Did something happen up front?"

"Not likely," said Zhou Liulang, craning his neck and watching for a while but discerning nothing, then handed her the oxen’s reins and jumped off the cart, "Sister-in-law, keep an eye on the cart. I’m going to check out the front."

"Okay."

Zhou Liulang ran off, and just when he had gone a little way, the convoy started moving again. He hesitated but continued forward, finally reaching the lead to see Zhou Silang and immediately waved, "Fourth Brother, what are you doing here?"

Zhou Silang climbed atop the first mule cart, seated himself, and laughed at Zhou Liulang, who was following on foot, "If I’m not here, do you know where to go? All right, hurry back to your cart; we’re almost at the County Governmental Office."

"Oh, it’s quite far back, and Sister-in-law knows how to drive the cart. Maybe I’ll stay and ride with you."

"What? Your sister-in-law?"

Seeing Zhou Silang’s eyes nearly popping out, Zhou Dalang, who was driving the cart, finally remembered and said, "I forgot to tell you, your wife was worried about you and came along."

Zhou Silang looked around, realizing that though the mule cart wasn’t fast, with his condition of only having one good arm, jumping off would be difficult, so he shouted, "Stop the cart first, stop. Big Brother, I’m going to sit in the back."

Zhou Dalang didn’t stop the cart; instead, he patted Zhou Silang’s right hand and scolded, "Stop what stop? With so many carts behind, is it that easy to stop? And if you go back, who will lead us to the County Governmental Office? Just sit tight."

He then reprimanded Zhou Liulang, "You stay put by the road. When your sister-in-law comes along driving the cart, hop on with her. How does it look for your sister-in-law to be driving the cart?"

Then reconsidering, he hurriedly said, "No, that’s not right. Our ox cart doesn’t have wheat seeds; it’s got things from home, so you don’t need to go to the County Governmental Office. Hurry up, get on the cart, and take your sister-in-law back to the house they’ve rented. Six is still on the cart."

"What?" Zhou Silang couldn’t help exclaim, "My son’s come along too? Big Brother, just stop the cart for a moment, let me go down and see them..."

Zhou Dalang cracked his whip, making the mules walk even faster.

Zhou Liulang could only stand by the side of the road, watching them move further and further away.

Zhou Silang looked back for a good while, feeling a mix of sadness and anger, "Big Brother, why can’t you just let me take a look at my wife and kid?"

Zhou Dalang rolled his eyes and said, "You’ve only been apart for ten days, are you that longing? Before, you wanted to stay single and let your big sister raise children for you."

Zhou Silang: "...I’ve grown up since then; do you think I’m Six?"

Zhou Dalang said, "All right, let’s focus on the business at hand."

After a long journey, they finally arrived at the entrance to the County Governmental Office. Manbao, having heard the news, came out with County Magistrate Tang.

Seeing the long line of carts, even Lord Tang was taken aback, then he turned to Manbao in surprise, smiling, "Well done, quite the grand operation. Your family really has the nerve, bringing in so much wheat seed at once?"

Manbao flattered him, "That’s because we trust Lord Tang."

County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and replied, "Your trust was well-placed this time."