The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 829 - 807: Various Families

Chapter 829: Chapter 807: Various Families

Perhaps worried that they had just learned of their birth parents and felt uneasy at heart, County Magistrate Tang sat on a stone, chattering with them until he was so hungry he couldn’t bear it any longer. He patted his clothes and stood up, "Let’s go, we should go down and eat something. The sun is about to set, and later on, we’ll have to disguise ourselves to make a trip to your house."

Manbao then led County Magistrate Tang down the path, only to come across Daohe carrying a vegetable basket to pick vegetables. Seeing them, he stopped, first respectfully saluted County Magistrate Tang, and then turned to Manbao and Bai Shan, "Daoxu said you had come, but I never saw you go to the front hall to worship. I guessed you must have been running about everywhere. How did you end up here?"

Manbao replied, "We were having a private chat."

County Magistrate Tang looked at Manbao.

Daohe didn’t ask what the private chat was about, but changed the subject, "Do you want to ask for an amulet for protection?"

Manbao shook her head, "My mother will certainly have asked for one for me."

Daohe, not disappointed, took out two amulets from his pocket, gave one to her, and one to Bai Shan, saying, "These two are for you. I gave one to Bai Er as well. Why aren’t you playing together today?"

Bai Shan replied, "He arrived earlier than us, so we missed each other."

Daohe nodded, stepped aside, and said, "He is on the front lawn playing with others right now. You should go find him."

Manbao and Bai Shan nodded, one of them spoke, "I have copied a medical book for you, but today I left in haste and forgot to bring it. I’ll have someone bring it to you tomorrow."

Bai Shan also said, "You were looking for ’The Liezi’ last time. Manbao and I found it in the Book Collection Tower at the government school, but we only copied a small part of it for you. We’ve brought that back. Tomorrow, we’ll have someone deliver it along with the rest. The remaining part will have to wait until I return home next time, or when Fourth Brother Zhou comes home before we can bring it to you."

Daohe’s eyes lit up, he nodded, "Thank you both."

Manbao and Bai Shan responded with smiles, bid farewell, and County Magistrate Tang followed Manbao and Bai Shan as they left. Walking a good distance, he turned back to look at Daohe and asked the two, "At his age, he is reading ’The Liezi,’ does he understand it?"

"Whether he understands or not, it’s reading first," Manbao said, "Our teacher said that after reading many books, the meanings will naturally become clear."

"Has he finished reading ’Dao De Jing’?"

"Of course, I’m not a Taoist, and I have finished it." Manbao pointed at Bai Shan, "He has finished it too."

County Magistrate Tang asked with a smile, "Do you understand it?"

Manbao shook her head, "I dare not say I understand even half of it; I only grasp one or two parts. The teacher said that he has spent his lifetime reading Zhuangzi, and now he has only come to grasp five or six parts of its meaning."

County Magistrate Tang then exclaimed, "Understanding five or six parts is quite impressive. If everyone in the world could understand just one or two parts of that philosophy, then there wouldn’t be so many troubles."

Bai Shan turned his head curiously and asked County Magistrate Tang, "Isn’t Lord Tang a nonbeliever in Taoism? Why are you reading Zhuangzi then?"

"If I don’t believe in Taoism, does it mean I can’t read it?" County Magistrate Tang looked down at him and replied, "Likewise, I don’t exclusively follow Confucianism, Military Strategy, or medicine; don’t I still read their books?"

Manbao laughed, "Then you must be a follower of Legalism."

County Magistrate Tang smiled and then said, "I suppose you could say that, and you could also say not. But my father was a follower of Legalism. Do you consider yourself one of the school of medicine?"

Manbao shook her head, "I wouldn’t say that. I like medicine, and I also think many of Zhuangzi’s sayings make a lot of sense. I am particularly fond of Heaven Master, but Confucius also makes some good points. I learn whatever is right. For the things that they cannot convince each other of, I also think about them and then find answers that I like. But these answers sometimes lean towards Legalism, or Confucianism, or Military Strategy, and over time, the answers can change. What school would you say I belong to?"

Bai Shan replied, "You belong to the eclectic school, and moreover, a very indecisive one."

Hearing this, County Magistrate Tang burst into hearty laughter.

Manbao said, "Our teacher never labeled himself as one school or another; why must I?"

"Everyone wants to sing praises of your talent, but you’re not even there yet," Bai Shan said. "How old are you, anyway? Better stick to your books."

"I’m reading just as many books as you are now."

"That’s not necessarily true. Want to have a competition?"

"Let’s do it. I’m not afraid of you. When we get back to Yizhou City, we’ll compete. We won’t ask the teacher to set questions, we’ll just battle it out with our writing, and see who can come up with something the other can’t follow."

"Good, it’s not just about one victory. Let Bai Er be the judge. He’ll mark each point until we see who has the most in the end, and who loses."

The two bickered all the way to the front hall of the Taoist temple, where the incense was burning strong and people constantly came in and out to pray to the immortals.

Manbao looked at County Magistrate Tang, "Do you want to say a prayer?"

County Magistrate Tang tucked his fan into the back of his waistband and said, "Since we’re here, I might as well offer a prayer. Later, I also need to meet with a Taoist priest here."

How could one meet with the temple master without first praying to the temple’s gods?

Manbao and the others were accustomed to this; every time they visited the temple, they would pray to every single immortal.

Of course, back when Manbao was just a little girl with short legs, her mind free of distractions, it was Ms. Qian, who brought her and had many requests, who prayed to each immortal for peace of mind.

Manbao simply followed her mother in offering prayers.

Later on, Bai Shan also grew fond of coming to the temple to pray, following Manbao to pray to each immortal in turn. His wishes were simple: for his homework to be easier, for his teacher to give more holidays, to be able to go to the county town to play, and so on.

As they grew older, their wishes grew more numerous: for their families and friends to be healthy, for success in their studies...

Even though they knew the immortals couldn’t bless and fulfill everyone’s wishes, they still made a habit of praying to each one.

County Magistrate Tang, however, was used to praying only to the main deity.

Since the temple belonged to Laozi, he only prayed to Laozi, watching the pair pray to each immortal in turn.

He shook his head with a smile and followed them, and eventually, they finally met with the Taoist priests of the temple.

Two Taoist priests were seated on either side, interpreting fortunes for people. After watching for a while, County Magistrate Tang noticed that their fortune-telling was free. Some people gave money, others did not, and still others took out a couple of eggs from their pockets to give to the priests...

County Magistrate Tang: ...

No matter what the devotees gave, the two priests accepted it all, placing money in a box beside them and eggs and other items in a basket at their feet.

Whether they received offerings or not, they responded with smiles, showing no difference in their demeanor.

County Magistrate Tang stroked his chin, turned his head, and asked Manbao, "Have the Taoist priests here always been like this?"

"Yes," said Manbao, stretching on her tiptoes to get a better look. "This year’s business is much better than last year’s."

A long duster suddenly swept over, and Manbao turned around to see Shoucai standing behind her. With a smile in his eyes, he glared at Manbao and said, "You’re here and didn’t come to greet the temple master? The chief priest has been sitting here for quite a while, just waiting for you to come and draw lots."

Manbao chuckled and said, "I’m not going to draw lots this year, there’s already plenty of people getting their fortunes told."

But Shoucai shook his head, "Still, draw one. You’ve drawn one every year at the temple fair, why break the tradition? Draw one and take it to Senior Brother for interpretation."

Then he looked at Bai Shan with a smile, "Little Layman Bai, why not draw lots as well?"

Bai Shan nodded, "Alright."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.