The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 816 - 794 Accident

Chapter 816: Chapter 794 Accident

The Zhou Family hadn’t expected Manbao and her company to return at this time, given they had only left thirteen or fourteen days ago, and the atmosphere at home was currently anxious and tense.

As soon as Manbao and Zhou Lijun hopped through the front gate, all the adults in the courtyard fell silent.

The children, however, were delighted, especially the fifth and the sixth, who, with their little legs, dashed towards their little aunt, diving into her arms for sweets.

Manbao pulled a handful of candy from her pocket and gave it to them, then ran towards her father...

Old Zhou looked at her with a headache, "Why have you come back now?"

Manbao became unhappy, "Dad, don’t you want me to come home?"

Old Zhou quickly said, "No, no, it’s just that you didn’t say a word, and Dad was a bit startled."

Manbao then looked toward her mother.

Ms.Qian, although surprised, did not show it on her face, she nodded and said, "Go wash up, I’ll have Daya tidy up your room."

"Eh, is Daya at home?" After saying this, Manbao noticed her sister-in-law was also there, and asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law, isn’t the shop open?"

Junior Ms.Qian glanced at her mother-in-law and smiled, "We are home for the Dragon Heads-raising Day; we closed the shop for a few days, are you hungry? I’ll cook, what would you like to eat?"

"Anything, as long as sister-in-law makes it, I will love it."

The Zhou Family had already eaten their evening meal since it was already dark, and everyone was preparing to wash up and go to sleep, but when Manbao and Zhou Lijun arrived, everyone sat in the hall watching them eat.

Ms.Qian asked, "How come you have come back?"

Zhou Lijun looked towards his little aunt, and Manbao said, "Dragon Heads-raising Day, we wanted to come back for the temple fair, and both the district school and academy are on holiday too."

"How many days will you be back?"

Manbao replied, "We’ll go back on the fifth."

Old Zhou couldn’t help but exclaim, "That long?"

Manbao turned to look at her father, becoming even more certain that something was going on at home.

She glanced at her brothers and sisters-in-law sitting in a circle but did not ask immediately, instead, she waited until after she had finished eating noodles, washed, and changed clothes, and then she headed to the main courtyard.

By that time, everyone had gone back to their rooms, and the courtyard was silent except for the unusually lit lamp in her parents’ room.

Even though the Zhou Family’s days were better than before, Old Zhou and Ms.Qian were still very frugal, and certainly wouldn’t light a lamp unless absolutely necessary.

Manbao walked to her elder brother and sister-in-law’s room, hesitated for a moment, but didn’t knock, and went straight to the main house.

She knew that, even now, her parents were still in charge of the household, and if she and Bai Shan were right in guessing that she truly wasn’t their child, even if her sister-in-law knew, she loved her too much to tell her, so she had to ask her parents.

Manbao knocked on the door.

The couple inside, who had been whispering quietly, paused; Old Zhou got out of bed to open the door, and seeing Manbao outside, he curiously asked, "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"

"Dad, I have something to tell you."

"Can’t it wait till tomorrow?" Old Zhou said, "You’re a grown girl now, so you can’t sleep with your parents anymore."

"I don’t want to sleep with you," Manbao squeezed into the room, stubbornly pushing past her father’s broad body to get inside, "Mom, I need to talk."

Ms.Qian then smiled and said, "Come here."

Manbao immediately ran over and even shot a triumphant glance back at her father.

Sitting beside her mother and holding her arm, Ms.Qian reached out and touched her head, asking, "What is it, speak up."

But Manbao hesitated for a moment, her mind filled with countless questions, yet not knowing where to start, or what to say.

Seeing Manbao with her head bowed in silence, Old Zhou couldn’t resist asking, "Did you get into trouble outside? Did you fight someone, or..."

"No," Manbao lifted his head in denial, glanced at her father, and then took out the longevity lock she had always worn from inside her collar, "Dad, Mom, where did this longevity lock come from?"

Old Zhou and Ms. Qian were startled, not understanding why she was asking about this, and said, "It’s what your parents made for you, what’s wrong?"

Manbao lowered her eyes and asked, "How much did it cost?"

Old Zhou thought for a moment and said cautiously, "Not much, just two or three taels, why did you suddenly ask about this?"

Manbao felt a pang in her heart, and her eyes began to redden. She tried to hold back her tears but couldn’t, and they started falling in a rush. Old Zhou was shocked and quickly tenderly wiped her tears, "What’s wrong? Did someone bully you outside?"

His rough hand stroked Manbao’s tender face, and she could feel the pain, but it made her feel even more aggrieved, and the tears fell even faster.

Old Zhou became anxious and quickly looked toward his old wife.

Ms. Qian felt a stirring in her heart, her mouth moved, but in the end, she also simply reached out to embrace Manbao.

Manbao then burst into her mother’s arms crying, and after crying for a while, the knot in her heart loosened significantly, and looking up at her concerned parents, she pouted and said in grievance, "You’ve both been lying to me; I know everything now."

Old Zhou asked, "What have we lied to you about? What do you know now?"

Manbao wiped the remaining tears on her face and said with a sobbing voice, "Dad, do you know how much this longevity lock is worth?"

Old Zhou was stunned, "How much?"

Manbao initially wanted to say it was worth a hundred taels, but seeing her father’s expression, she said instead, "It’s priceless!"

Old Zhou’s legs went weak, and he steadied himself by holding onto her shoulders, "That much?"

Ms. Qian was also shocked and quickly asked, "Who told you that?"

Manbao replied, "Lord Tang said so; he mentioned that this longevity lock isn’t something ordinary people can wear. I also asked the manager at the silver shop, and this silver lock was made by a very famous silversmith, so it’s particularly expensive."

"This expensive, it’s just a piece of silver, how could it possibly be worth so much?" Old Zhou muttered, "They didn’t have that much money either..."

Manbao, with keen ears, asked, "Who are ’they’? Is it, is it..."

Manbao’s tears were welling up again, and she asked, "Is it them?"

Ms. Qian saw and knew that she had figured it out, her heart pounding uneasily, half embracing her and asking, "Does the County Magistrate Tang also know?"

Manbao looked at her mother without speaking.

Ms. Qian then sighed.

Manbao tugged at her sleeve and cried, "Mom, just tell me."

Ms. Qian looked toward Old Zhou.

Old Zhou just sat down on a nearby chair, silently not saying a word.

The room suddenly fell quiet.

At this time, Bai Shan had just finished his dinner, bid farewell to his grandmother and mother, and returned to his room.

Old Madam Liu smiled as she saw him off, and once he was out of sight, the smile on her face finally subsided.

Ms. Zheng, confused, carefully asked, "Mother, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing much, just didn’t expect them to come back at this time. Go back and rest; I’ll sit alone for a while."

Ms. Zheng then performed a bow and excused herself.

After Ms. Zheng left, Old Madam Liu, leaning on Nanny Liu’s hand, said, "Let’s go, have Daji come to see me."

"Yes."

The sudden return of Bai Shan was also unexpected for Old Madam Liu, and this child seemed very committed to keeping his promise to Manbao, as he hadn’t told Old Madam Liu anything, so despite speaking with him for a long time, she still didn’t understand why he had come back at this time.