The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 804 - 782 Friends

Chapter 804: Chapter 782 Friends

Heaven Master easily fulfilled her wish, because even with willingness, County Magistrate Yang, who was far on the road to the capital city, was powerless to discover anything.

But after receiving a letter from County Magistrate Yang, County Magistrate Tang organized his belongings, paid a visit to Governor Ming for a chat, and then got a pretext for official business in Luojiang County.

Before leaving, County Magistrate Tang thought it over and decided to meet with Manbao, intentionally delaying his departure time and waiting in front of the pharmacy. From a distance, as soon as Manbao arrived at the corner with her small basket on her back, County Magistrate Tang got out of the carriage and waved to her from afar.

Zhou SiLang had returned home the day before, and Manbao knew everything was fine at home. Seeing County Magistrate Tang now, she scurried over and looked up at him, asking, "Lord Tang, are you looking for me? You’re not going to ask about my father and my little uncle again, are you?"

County Magistrate Tang smiled at Manbao, "Manbao, in your heart, what kind of people are your father and little uncle?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "I’ve never met my little uncle, but from what my parents, brothers, and villagers mention, my little uncle is a loyal and good person."

"And your father?"

Manbao replied, "My father is timid, kind-hearted, loving, and protective of the family. He’s even more of a good person."

County Magistrate Tang looked at Manbao, sure that she wasn’t lying, but he was equally certain that Lai Tou, mentioned in Yang Heshu’s testimony, lied. So he sighed and said, "Manbao, people are the most complex things in this world, especially human hearts. He might be loving and kind to you, but that’s not necessarily the case elsewhere. Have you ever considered that your father could be a bad person?"

Manbao shook her head, confidently saying, "My dad wouldn’t be a bad person. Lord Tang, are we friends?"

County Magistrate Tang hesitated for a moment, fearing that Manbao would beseech him with sentiment at this point, and also fearing that she would not bring up anything. But in the end, he nodded slightly and said, "Of course."

"Then tell me, what has my father done wrong?" Manbao insisted, "My father hasn’t left the house recently. My fourth brother came home and asked; my father hasn’t even left the village. Whatever Lai Tou has said cannot be trusted. He’s a gambler. Can a gambler’s words be believed?"

County Magistrate Tang then looked at her neck and asked, "Do you have a longevity lock on you?"

Manbao was startled, then nodded.

County Magistrate Tang asked, "May I see it?"

Manbao vaguely guessed something and, after hesitating for a moment, still took out the longevity lock and undid it for him to see.

Yang Heshu had already attached a description of the longevity lock in the letter sent to him, but County Magistrate Tang still carefully inspected the lock. Indeed, as Yang Heshu had said, this was not something that an ordinary silversmith could make.

Upon looking up and meeting Manbao’s bright eyes, County Magistrate Tang pondered for a moment and asked, "How did you come by this lock?"

Manbao answered, "I’ve worn it since I was little."

County Magistrate Tang then returned the longevity lock to her, saying, "Manbao, this lock isn’t something your family could afford, especially the Zhou Family eleven or twelve years ago. Out of respect for our friendship, this is all I can tell you."

County Magistrate Tang knew that Manbao and Bai Shan were intelligent, so he rarely treated them like children, mostly interacting with them as equals.

He didn’t have the same meticulous caution as the Zhou Family and Bai Family, who thought that such matters shouldn’t involve children. Thus, he was willing to inform Manbao, while also hoping that she might be able to work on Zhou Jin.

He didn’t trust Zhou Jin, but Zhou Man’s integrity could still be trusted. He didn’t believe that Zhou Man, knowing his father’s wrongdoing, would still defend him without limits.

County Magistrate Tang boarded his carriage and whispered to his attendants, "Let’s go."

He didn’t tell Manbao he was off to Luojiang County on official business, and naturally, Manbao wouldn’t have guessed. She watched in a daze as County Magistrate Tang’s carriage disappeared into the distance, until it was out of sight before she lowered her head to look at the longevity lock in her hands.

She had worn it around her neck since she was little; her parents had said that they had it made especially for her because she wasn’t in good health. It was their way of hoping she would live a long, healthy life—so it must never be taken off, let alone lost.

As a child, she had even found it too heavy and had sneakily hidden it under her pillow, only to be scolded by her mother several times.

Manbao turned the longevity lock in her hands over and over, but couldn’t discern anything particularly different about it; at most, the silver patterns on it were more unique and pleasing to the eye...

Silver patterns...

A thought struck Manbao, and she scrutinized the longevity lock carefully.

Gu, seeing that Manbao was still standing at the doorway without coming in, poked his head out to see her staring off into space and called out to her a couple of times. When she didn’t respond, he ran to the backyard to find Doctor Ji, "Doctor Ji, you must come and see, Manbao has gone silly after talking to County Magistrate Tang."

Doctor Ji set down the pestle he was working with and went out to check. Manbao had already put the longevity lock back on and lethargically greeted the doctor with a wave of her hand when she saw him.

Doctor Ji asked with a smile, "What’s the matter?"

Manbao thought for a moment, took out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from her bamboo carrying basket, and drew the silver pattern of the longevity lock she had just memorized, asking, "Doctor Ji, have you ever seen a longevity lock with a silver pattern like this?"

After a glance, Doctor Ji laughed and said, "It looks quite nice. Are you thinking of having a longevity lock made? You’ll need to find a good silversmith for that; such a unique pattern might be difficult to craft."

It was then that Manbao remembered, since it was a silver pattern, she naturally should ask a silversmith. For consultations, one sees a doctor, for learning, one seeks a teacher and to inquire about a longevity lock, naturally, one should ask a silversmith.

Manbao crumpled up the paper and threw it away. Taking advantage of the fact there were no patients yet, she leaned over the table and carefully drew the entire design of her own longevity lock.

After seeing all the patients at noon, Manbao headed to the silversmith’s as soon as she had finished, her bamboo basket strapped to her back.

Manbao showed the design to the shopkeeper at the silversmith’s. After a glance, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "This is a ’Double Happiness’ longevity lock. While difficult to craft, our silversmith indeed has the skill to create it. If the young lady wishes, it can be custom ordered from our shop, though the labor cost will be high."

"How much more?"

The shopkeeper replied, "Depending on the quality you desire, the labor alone could cost anywhere from seven to eight taels to as much as twenty to thirty taels."

The amount of silver required for a longevity lock was small; less than a tael for a small one, and only two to three taels for a larger one. So, the labor cost alone would amount to this much?

Manbao thought it over, then took off her own longevity lock from under her clothes and showed it to the shopkeeper, asking, "What if it’s made like this one?"

The shopkeeper took the longevity lock for inspection, and with a surprised look, he glanced up at Manbao, then reverently handed the lock back to her with both hands and said with a smile, "Miss, if you could acquire a longevity lock made by Xia Dajiang, why not buy another one from him? Our silversmiths would have difficulty crafting such a piece."

Manbao replied, "It doesn’t seem much different from other longevity locks to me; I thought you might be able to craft it."

The shopkeeper chuckled, thought for a moment, and then retrieved one of their longevity locks, similar in size to Manbao’s. He placed it in the palm of Manbao’s hand and asked with a smile, "Miss, can you feel the difference? They’re not quite the same, are they?"

After carefully feeling it, Manbao replied while weighing it in her hand, "Mine seems to be heavier?"

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