The Lucky Farmgirl

Old Zhou received the festival gifts from Manbao and Bai Shan, and the servant who came in also took Mr. Zhuang’s note together, after loading them onto the cart, they were about to leave. However, Old Zhou still waited for the old man, and after he came out, they walked shoulder to shoulder, with two carts leaving the imperial city together.

The old man was very envious of him, "Has the land in your manor been harvested?"

Old Zhou replied, "More than half has been harvested, still missing some, but it won’t be long, after Mid-Autumn Festival it’ll only be a few days to gather everything."

"Was the weather favorable this year?"

Old Zhou’s face almost couldn’t hide his smile, "There was a bit of drought just during the rice planting, but it rained soon after, can be considered favorable weather."

The old man’s family was also landlords, but smaller ones. Though he didn’t personally farm the land, every year he watched the farmhands and tenants plant the land, so he knew about farming.

"A bountiful harvest is good, after Mid-Autumn, your family will have a large income again."

"Ah, doesn’t your family also have that?"

"How can our family compare to yours?" the old man said, "Our son’s official land is managed by the Ministry of Revenue, every year we just get a fixed rent."

Old Zhou then suggested, "Why don’t you apply to manage it yourselves?"

The old man shook his head, "Our family is not like yours, I only have two sons, one is an official and the other is still studying, that official land is not easy to manage, so it’s better just to take a fixed rent."

Otherwise, how could he be so envious of Old Zhou?

It’s truly because his daughter is promising, and he has many sons, no matter how many things his daughter builds out front, there are people in the back to guard them.

After leaving the imperial city, the old man and Old Zhou bade farewell, he and Old Zhou took different paths, his son rented a two-entry courtyard near the inner city, while the Zhou Residence is right at the third neighborhood after leaving the imperial city, just walk forward and take a right, it’s very close.

They were both outsiders, yet his son arrived in the capital a year earlier than their daughter, but they already had a house.

Old Zhou returned home under the envy of others, instructing his servants, "Quickly take Mr. Zhuang’s festival gifts to his courtyard."

Then selected several items from Manbao’s gifts and put them together, treating them as from Manbao to Mr. Zhuang.

The Zhou Family showed the utmost respect to Mr. Zhuang, as everyone knows, if it hadn’t been for Mr. Zhuang teaching Manbao literacy, Manbao wouldn’t have reached this point in life.

The Bai Family received the festival gifts, Old Madam Liu inquired about the extra items Old Zhou added to Mr. Zhuang’s gifts, then smiled and added the same.

By the time Manbao and the other three returned from their posts at school, the family was already noisily preparing for the festival.

Manbao supported Mr. Zhuang inside, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang carried things behind them, Ms. Lu saw them as she came out and laughed, "Teacher and Manbao are back, teacher, have dinner with us tonight, my mother-in-law said the dishes will be placed in the main hall."

Mr. Zhuang smiled and asked, "How many tables do we need then?"

"There will be five tables," Ms. Lu said, "Old Master Bai and Mrs. Bai are invited as well, tonight everyone will have a reunion dinner together. Our family has many children, so we’ll split into two sections to avoid them getting rowdy."

Today is the thirteenth, everyone will first noisily have a reunion dinner, on the fourteenth each family will eat separately, as for the fifteenth, of course, we’ll go out and have fun.

Living in the capital, especially in the inner city, it would be a waste not to visit the lantern market and spend Mid-Autumn with the citizens.

Mr. Zhuang himself has appointments with colleagues on that day to dine, drink, and compose poetry.

Actually, Bai Shan also has appointments, all from the Hanlin Academy, it’s hard to refuse outright, so he decided to walk around and contribute some money then leave, having too many friends is indeed a hassle.

Zhou Man doesn’t have such worries, "Our Imperial Hospital seldom socializes externally."

Bai Shan glanced at Manbao, no, they do socialize, they just don’t invite you.

Just like when Zhao Liulang and the others socialize at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, they never invite her.

The two families’ kitchens prepared together, after finalizing the menu, each kitchen took responsibility for certain dishes, that’s why the food was quickly made and served hot, especially Junior Ms. Qian’s steamed meat, its aroma was very dominant.

Ms. Qian, with Junior Ms. Qian and several others, shared a table with Old Madam Liu, Ms. Zheng, and Mrs. Bai, leaving no spot for Manbao. She could only turn around and sit with Bai Shan and the others.

Bai Dalang, being the eldest, first placed a piece of steamed meat in Bai Erlang’s bowl, saying amiably, "Erlang, exams are next month, eat more today."

Bai Erlang also gave him a piece of meat, "Big Brother, you eat more too, I heard you were just two places short of making the list last year."

Last year there were few successful candidates, only twelve were selected. Generally, unsuccessful ones don’t receive rankings, but with connections at the Imperial Academy, they found out about the prospective students’ exam performance, hearing examiners say it was a pity for Bai Dalang, as he was just two places short of being selected.

However, Bai Dalang wasn’t very sad, because there was someone in front even more unfortunate, just one place short, that person named Wang Yi, was a student from the Highest Institute, and in the same cohort as Bai Dalang, when the news spread, the two were almost driven to tears.

Though Bai Dalang ultimately did not tear up, because he saw the even more unfortunate Wang Yi.

Seeing that, Bai Shan and Manbao immediately began enthusiastically putting various meats in their bowls, filling them up, "You need to eat more; this time you must both strive to pass."

Bai Shan believed Bai Dalang shouldn’t have much problem, as last year he barely missed, after a year of growth, he should be even better, moreover...

Bai Shan lowered his voice, "This year, the number of people recruited will be slightly higher than last year."

Each year, the number of successful candidates varies, determined by the Ministry of Personnel based on current data and changes in the official arena from last year to this year.

For instance, after Prince of Yizhou’s faction was purged, the number of successful candidates in the first and second rounds was higher than usual to replenish the official ranks.

Bai Shan, in service before the emperor, often heard officials and the emperor discussing these matters, knowing plenty of insider information. However, he also knew what could be said and what couldn’t.

Regarding the exams, that’s the only encouragement he could give.

Bai Dalang and Bai Erlang understood, stopping the topic, but inside they were excited, more successful candidates meant greater chances for them, especially Bai Erlang, who was self-aware; he knew he was still far behind his big brother.

Zhou Lijun shared their table and, seeing they were done chatting, brought up her own topic, "Aunt, I saw a shop in East Square that I want to buy."

Manbao was surprised and asked, "Are shops there expensive?"

Zhou Lijun nodded, "I’ve been negotiating for a while, but it still costs eight thousand six hundred and seventy taels, not a tael less."

Bai Shan and the others were also shocked, asking, "What kind of shop is so expensive?"

"Mainly because it’s in East Square, that street sells silks, rouge, and powder, and famous silver shops in the capital are also there, hence it’s very pricey."

Manbao asked, "What’s the purpose of buying it?"

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