Chapter 14

Old Zhou looked at his daughter and asked, "What are you going to the county town for?"

Manbao couldn’t say she was going to sell candy, because her family had always guessed that her candy came from Mr. Zhuang or the students at the school. She was afraid they might mention it when they went to pay respects to the teacher tomorrow.

So she had to find another excuse, "I want to broaden my horizons."

Zhou Erlang said, "You’re just a little girl, what horizons do you need to broaden? Wait until you grow up a bit more before you go."

But by the time she grew up, the family wouldn’t need money anymore. And today, Manbao had a pretty good harvest. She felt she needed to verify her conclusions.

So she insisted, "No, I want to go the day after tomorrow. Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother are going too, they can take me. Big Brother and Second Brother won’t have to worry."

Old Zhou gave her a stern look.

Was Manbao afraid of him?

Of course not. She slid off Zhou Dalang’s lap to the ground, pounced on Old Zhou, and clung to his arm like a twisted rope, "Dad, Dad, just agree, please."

Seeing that he was unmoved, Manbao started to pound his shoulders with her small fists, "Dad, I’ll buy you candy if you agree."

Would Old Zhou be swayed by candy?

He wasn’t a child.

But, "Where will you get the money?"

"I’ll earn it, Dad. If you let me go to the county town, I’ll earn money." Manbao had already pounded from his left shoulder to his right shoulder.

Zhou Dalang couldn’t help but laugh and speak up for her, "Dad, why don’t you let her go? We have to take eggs along with the grain the day after tomorrow. Second Brother got a lot of eggs, and they can’t be put on the cart, so we have to carry them."

Zhou Erlang thought about it and agreed, "Little Sister hasn’t been to the county town yet. Since Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother are going, I want to take some baskets and baskets with us. The prices in the county town are a bit higher than in the market, so we might earn some extra money."

Old Zhou didn’t say anything.

Manbao pounded his shoulders even harder, "Dad, just agree, please."

She nagged from his left ear to his right ear. Old Zhou, unable to bear it, waved his hand, "Alright, alright, you can go. But your brothers will leave before dawn. Can you get up?"

"I can, I get up very early!"

Old Zhou didn’t believe her, "If you can’t get up, we won’t call you, and you can’t cry if you miss it."

Manbao was confident, "I’ll definitely get up."

She then mentally instructed the system, "Keko, you must wake me up the day after tomorrow, got it?"

Keko hadn’t expected to have to serve as an alarm clock, but it also wanted the host to go out and see the world, so it nodded in agreement.

Qian had already assigned the tasks of cutting clothes and making shoes. The clothes made by farmers weren’t as delicate, so they just needed to be cut and sewn, as long as the stitches were fine and even.

The best person in the family for cutting clothes was Third Sister-in-law He. She took the task and started cutting the fabric. Mr. Zhuang’s measurements were similar to Zhou Erlang’s, so she could cut the clothes based on Zhou Erlang’s measurements.

To finish the clothes by the next day, He didn’t do anything else in the afternoon, just cut and sewed. Qian was unusually generous and even lit an oil lamp for them after dark.

But it didn’t take long to finish the clothes.

Qian was responsible for making the shoes. The soles were already prepared, using the same ones made for Zhou Erlang. Since he walked a lot, Qian had made the soles extra thick, which made them very comfortable to wear.

The shoe uppers were made from cotton fabric bought specifically, which was much better than the homespun fabric they made themselves.

The next day, Old Zhou and his two sons put on their best clothes, washed up, and had Little Qian wake up Manbao to prepare for the visit to the teacher.

Manbao had peeled candy for a long time the night before and was reluctant to get up, lying on her stomach with her buttocks up.

Little Qian saw her burrowing deeper into the blankets, so she took her outer clothes, lifted the blanket, and patted her little buttocks, "Little Sister, if you don’t get up soon, you’ll be late. You’re going to pay respects to the teacher today, so you need to be good."

She helped Manbao put on her clothes and carried her to a chair, wringing out a towel to wash her face.

The water was warm, but Manbao still shivered, barely waking up.

It was Feng’s turn to cook. She brought a bowl of egg water from the kitchen and placed it on the table, "Little Sister, remember to drink the egg water before you go."

The sun had just risen, and Old Zhou led his two sons and Manbao to the school.

Mr. Zhuang knew Manbao would come to pay respects today, so he got up early and was practicing boxing in the yard.

When Old Zhou saw Mr. Zhuang, he instinctively bent his back, always respectful of scholars.

Mr. Zhuang smiled, "Old Zhou, you’ve come? Please come in."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Zhuang, please go in first." Old Zhou bowed and let Mr. Zhuang go in first.

Manbao, however, was very familiar with Mr. Zhuang. She helped him sit down in the study first, then helped her father. She looked around and saw the familiar stove, so she eagerly went to fetch water for them.

Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang quickly took over, worried that Manbao, who never did such things at home, might get burned.

Mr. Zhuang, however, was very pleased. He stroked his beard and smiled at Old Zhou, "Old Zhou, you’ve raised a good daughter. In the whole village, I haven’t seen a more clever child."

"That’s all thanks to Mr. Zhuang’s teaching," Old Zhou knew that Manbao had been secretly learning by the window. At first, he felt heartache, but after that, he could only endure and let her learn as much as possible.

Because he knew that the more skills one had, the better one could live.

As long as Mr. Zhuang didn’t drive Manbao away, he wouldn’t restrict her.

So Old Zhou had always been respectful and grateful to Mr. Zhuang, bending his back even more.

Mr. Zhuang, however, smiled and said, "It’s the child who is good. She’s not only smart but also filial. She knows how to clean the yard and thinks of her parents and family. It’s clear that your family has good morals. I’ve decided to take this child as a disciple, but I can only teach her personally. Whether she can enter the school still needs to be approved by Mr. Bai."

After all, the school was opened by Mr. Bai, and Mr. Zhuang was invited by him.

Old Zhou’s spirits lifted, and he immediately said, "Just being able to learn from Mr. Zhuang is enough. Whether she enters the school or not doesn’t matter."

Old Zhou was afraid that Manbao would have to pay tuition to enter the school, so he blushed and said, "Mr. Zhuang knows, my family is poor..."

Old Zhou stammered, but Mr. Zhuang understood. He laughed and said, "Don’t worry, Old Zhou. Since I’m taking Manbao as a disciple, I’ll treat her like my own child and won’t charge any tuition."

He paused and continued, "I also know that your family has difficulties, and Manbao is still young. You don’t need to buy her anything. In the future, when she reads and writes, she can copy the textbooks from me."

Actually, before the Zhou family came, Mr. Zhuang wasn’t sure if they would agree to Manbao paying respects to him. Now that they had come, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but sigh, "The Zhou family truly loves and dotes on Manbao."