The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 950 - 929 Preparation

Chapter 950: Chapter 929 Preparation

Keke had been with Manbao ever since she was too young to understand anything, and to Manbao, Keke was more than just a parent or a friend—it was like having another self inside her head.

Though Keke said very little, over the ten years, Manbao had come to learn many things through communication and speculation.

She knew that for Keke to continue existing, she had to stay alive; after her death, its points had to be positive for it to return to its own world and then be assigned a new task.

She also knew Keke couldn’t harm her or else it would be judged as having attempted to murder its host and would certainly be destroyed.

Further, she knew that Keke had a main system overseeing it, governing its behavior just as the Great Jin Legal Code governed the people of the Great Jin—if it violated the rules, it would pay a steep price.

There were many things Keke couldn’t tell her, such as how it came into being—many details about its world were off-limits.

Ultimately, Keke feared destruction; although it never spoke of it, Manbao could guess the stakes. System destruction equated to death, a total erasure where nothing remained, where its presence in the world would cease to be and possibly not even a record would exist.

Manbao found this to be a terrifying thought.

She knew what viruses were; she had seen them in the encyclopedia and occasionally heard about them when chatting with Teacher Mo and Doctor D.

Teacher Mo spoke of biological viruses, while the viruses Doctor D referred to existed in the virtual world—both seemed formidable, each causing panic among intelligent life forms since they could be lethal.

But Keke wasn’t human, it was a high-tech product; if a virus were involved, shouldn’t she be the one getting hurt?

The encyclopedia said it was possible for viruses to cause disruptions in brain waves through embedded tech products, potentially leading to brain death...

But she was fine, able to enter and exit the system without issue, while Keke’s consciousness had vanished.

Manbao felt a surge of panic, likening it to being locked away from another part of herself, causing her immense fear.

Manbao sat down and pondered seriously, and finally decided to move all her silver from the system space into her bamboo chest, carefully shifting it outside and shoving it under the bed.

Her silver, Sixth Brother’s silver, Lijun and the others’ silver...

After stuffing everything under the bed, Manbao stared at the books in the system space with concern.

These books, which she had bought from the encyclopedia and occasionally printed out for viewing, were never shown to others.

Although the characters were the same, and the layout followed that of this world, some books were truly not meant to be seen by others.

Because some content blatantly contradicted this world’s understanding.

Scratching her head, Manbao couldn’t bear to leave so many books in the system space. She rearranged the cupboard where she kept her clothes, folded some garments to place near the interior end of the bed, and then started placing books into the wardrobe.

She stacked them high, and once full, stuffed many volumes among the pile of clothes by the bed. Unable to hide them all, Manbao finally cast a regretful glance at the books remaining in the system space.

Sweating profusely while sitting on the edge of her bed, Manbao sighed and wiped away the sweat.

Zhou Lijun peeked in from outside the screen, "Miss, what are you doing in your room in such hot weather?"

Manbao shifted her position, blocking her view, and shook her head, "Nothing much, just thinking."

"The teacher is calling for you."

"I know, I’m coming," Manbao stood up and walked out, saying to Zhou Lijun, "Lijun, don’t go into my room."

Zhou Lijun only glanced at the daffodils on the table, which seemed like garlic, yet not quite, and also a bit like spring onions.

She knew it must be something the young aunt had gotten from who knows where again. She shook her head and agreed, but still said, "Young aunt, flowers have to be planted in the courtyard. You can’t keep them inside the house, there will be soil everywhere."

Manbao then remembered the daffodil that was still on the table and hurriedly agreed.

After Zhou Lijun left, she lowered the mosquito net to cover the bed. Just as she was about to carry the daffodil outside, she thought twice about it and turned to hang up the net.

When something unusual happens, there must be a reason behind it. She wouldn’t be so foolish as to be like the "ostrich hiding its head in the sand."

Although she was very worried after hanging up the mosquito net, it was still better than having it down, allowing anyone to see and immediately become suspicious, right?

Manbao carried the flower pot out and placed it at the base of the wall, in the shade. Since Keke couldn’t get in touch with her now, the plant wasn’t urgent.

Aunt Rong had prepared lunch, and Zhou Lijun helped carry it over. The new helper could only stay in the back kitchen area and was not allowed to come to where they studied and lived.

Mr. Zhuang took the seat of honor and glanced at the visibly unhappy Manbao, "What’s wrong, why are you unhappy as soon as you return?"

Manbao shook her head and changed the subject, "Teacher, after lunch, shall I continue to teach Third Junior Brother the meaning of ink?"

"There’s no rush. Rest for a while after eating, take a nap for a quarter of an hour, and then refresh your spirits. In the afternoon, we’ll talk about poetry," Mr. Zhuang said, glancing at Manbao, knowing that it was hard to control a child of her age, especially a female disciple, and did not press further but continued along her topic, "I’ve come up with a few topics, and after you all give them a try, I will review them for you."

Manbao only liked memorizing poetry and listening to others compose, but she didn’t like composing herself, and asked, "Do I have to compose too?"

"Yes, you do."

Mr. Zhuang said with disdain, "If you don’t study harder, your Third Junior Brother will soon catch up with you."

Bai Erlang: "...Teacher, didn’t you say my poetry was very inspired?"

"Hmm, but it’s completely lacking in sinew, flesh, and blood. It’s not just that you don’t use historical references, there are also a lot of problems with your word choice and sentence construction."

Both Bai Shan and Manbao bowed their heads and laughed.

Mr. Zhuang turned his head and saw them, "Don’t you laugh either, you’re far behind as well. You all need to study hard, understand?"

He said, "It’s often said that poetry can demonstrate one’s ambitions. Someone who writes good poetry is surely not a bad person. If you want to make a name for yourself in the future, you’ll need to excel in poetry and prose, especially you two, Bai Shan and Bai Er, if you want to take exams to become officials, you’ll also have to compose poetry for your submissions."

Bai Shan said, "Teacher, I don’t want to submit poetry."

"If you don’t submit, I’m afraid no one will recognize you. If no one recognizes you, no matter how well you do on the exams, your ranking won’t be high."

Bai Shan: "Even if I have to submit poetry, I want to submit to the most powerful person in this world."

After serving the rice, Manbao said, "Isn’t that the Emperor? He’s the most powerful in the world."

Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and laughed, "If your poetry can reach the Emperor and earn his praise, that would truly make you famous."

Bai Erlang said, "When County Magistrate Yang or County Magistrate Tang return to the capital, I’ll submit to them."

Everyone: ...

Manbao couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up, "That’s a good idea. Teacher, I don’t need to submit poetry."

Mr. Zhuang’s face turned serious, "Even if you don’t submit, you still have to study well. Who does scholarly work by picking and choosing?"

"Alright then," Manbao helplessly agreed.