The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 781 - 770: New Year

Chapter 781: Chapter 770: New Year

Old Zhou’s eyes shone with light, and he couldn’t help but straighten his stooped back as he said, "Mr. Zhuang said that our family’s future is boundless and, in the future, we might even surpass old Master Bai. It all depends on you."

Manbao had a vague sense of foreboding. She knew that before the teacher left, he had visited their home and stayed for quite a while, supposedly having a long conversation with her parents. But since there were only a few people at home at the time, and those few were eventually sent out, no one knew what was discussed.

Wiping her forehead, Manbao asked, "Dad, what exactly did Mr. Zhuang say to you?"

"Never mind that, you just focus on learning your skills from Mr. Zhuang. You don’t need to worry about household affairs. If we’re short of money..."

Old Zhou, with fond concern, said, "I’m keeping my portion of the money for you. If you ever find yourself short, have your Fourth Brother come and ask me for more."

"Right, tomorrow is the first day of the lunar month, and you’ll need to join us in paying respects to our ancestors, so you’ll need to get up early... "

Manbao nodded blankly, still uneasy, "Dad, what did Mr. Zhuang say to you?"

Old Zhou looked at her with a face full of affection and stroked her head as he said, "Mr. Zhuang mentioned that you’re the smartest child in our family. Basically, if you don’t learn anything, it would be a total waste of the good brain your parents gave you. Your mother and I both agree with Mr. Zhuang."

In reality, Mr. Zhuang had said a lot that day, but it was this particular statement that moved Old Zhou profoundly and made it impossible for him to refuse.

In Old Zhou’s heart, no matter how capable a girl was, she would eventually marry and have children, and the family’s affairs would still rest on sons and grandsons.

So, he had never been very interested in granddaughters; in fact, he never interfered with them. Whatever they were taught by their sons and daughters-in-law was good enough. If the situation was dire, his wife was there; she could deal with it if she wanted, or not.

As for Manbao, Old Zhou had only one goal before: to raise her well, so that she could grow up healthy and safe, to find her a good family in the town or county to marry into, preferably never needing to do farm work for her entire life, just to be a good wife and mother. Then her life would be fulfilled.

Even when he went to the world below, he would have the face to meet his parents and brother.

But Mr. Zhuang’s remark, "Manbao is very smart, I’ve never seen a young girl as insightful and clever as her. If she doesn’t continue her studies, it would be such a waste of the brain her parents have given her," really resonated with him.

Old Zhou would even dream of things that happened over twenty years ago when he went to sleep at night. At that time, Two truly was brilliant.

He was only twenty years his senior, but whenever they met, he still got picked on. Back then, he really hated Two’s brain, feeling life was so unfair. Though they had the same parents, it seemed like all the brains went to Two.

The sentence his mother repeated most often was, "The smoke rises green from our ancestral grave; the intelligence of generations has endowed Erlang. When he grows a bit older, we have to send him to school to become a scholar and official. Then our family will finally prosper."

To ensure his younger brother could study, his mother even cajoled him in front of his face, saying, "Once Erlang becomes an official, he must remember his big brother’s kindness. Your big brother and sister-in-law are the ones supporting your education."

Back then, Old Zhou felt reluctant but also harbored some hope, thinking that Two might truly be their family’s turning point.

Unfortunately, his parents died before Two could attend school, and with two people gone, the family’s fortunes fell sharply. Life became harder than before, and the prospect of sending Two to school was out of the question.

The brother he had always disdained became like a son because he was young and forgetful; within less than a year, he nearly forgot his parents entirely, toddling after him and happily calling him Dad...

It took quite an effort for the couple to change this habit, making him refer to them as big brother and sister-in-law instead.

He thought that learning to read and write was a thing of the past, but to his surprise, when the boy grew older, he sneaked off to the county town and started hanging around schools, even learning to read a few characters from outside the classroom windows.

Later, he even married a scholar’s daughter and began studying and reading again.

So, upon hearing Mr. Zhuang’s words and looking at Manbao’s dark little head, Old Zhou also felt that not allowing Manbao to continue her studies would be too great a waste of the brain her parents gave her.

Especially that of her father—that was a brain the Zhou family had seen only once in several generations.

Particularly after seeing that none of his grandchildren measured up to Manbao, Old Zhou became even more convinced of Mr. Zhuang’s view.

Perhaps sensing that Manbao wouldn’t be home for long, and not knowing when she’d return next, Old Zhou showed her more affection than usual, putting a large chicken drumstick on her plate the moment they sat down to eat.

Manbao also placed a large piece of meat on her father’s plate, and father and daughter exchanged a glance, both smiling with narrowed eyes.

Ms. Qian, unable to bear it, kicked Old Zhou under the table and said, "Come on, eat up."

Old Zhou felt she was jealous of him, but he still picked up a piece of meat for her with his chopsticks.

Ms. Qian gave him a sideways look, took a bite, and with the parents starting to eat, everyone else began as well.

After dinner, Junior Ms. Qian and her siblings began cleaning up the dishes and organizing the leftovers. While doing so, she noticed something amiss, "How come we have leftovers this year?"

Ms. Feng was taken aback for a moment before laughing, "Indeed, apart from during banquets, no matter how much we cook, we always finish it. This is the first time we’ve had leftovers."

Ms. He laughed, "And there are still some meat dishes left."

"That’s because life has improved," Ms. Fang chimed in with a smile. "Who would have expected Sixth to bring back so much food? That’s why there’s some left over."

With the table cleared, the whole family began to chat in the courtyard. It was still daylight with a warm sun above, so no one went inside.

Third Brother glanced outside and pulled Fourth Brother along to play. Seeing this, Sanya, who was busy with the younger ones, immediately dropped her stuff and followed.

Third Brother, full of disdain, said, "You’re a girl, don’t play with us."

Sanya retorted, "If you don’t take me, I’ll tell Third Sister to not bring you any gifts next time she comes back."

Fourth Brother tugged at Third Brother, who had no choice but to bring her along.

Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother, seeing that their playmate Third Sister had left, immediately chased after her with their little legs, also eager to join in.

Third Brother complained, "See, I told you, taking one means dragging along two more. How are we supposed to have any fun?"

Zhou Silang passed by and smacked him on the head, "Brat, when you were just learning to walk, I was the one playing with you. I never complained about you, so who are you to complain about my son?"

Third Brother grumbled, "You were clearly playing with your little sister, and I just happened to tag along!"

"Tagging along is still playing. Hurry up, take Sixth out to play. Keep a close eye on him and make sure no one bullies him, got it?"

Datou and the others glanced outside and, after grabbing some candies, dashed out to play with their own friends.

Since they were now considered "adults," their friends were also adults. They looked down on playing with Third Brother and the others, who were still at school.

With the grandchildren gone, only the seven Zhou siblings remained in the courtyard. They gathered to talk.

The focus of attention was Zhou Liulang, but he didn’t shy away at all. He quickly diverted the conversation to Manbao, "...You have no idea, Manbao is so impressive now. Many customers who come to our restaurant know all about Manbao."