The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1006 - 985 Initiative

Chapter 1006: Chapter 985 Initiative

"Sure, I’ve got it right here," Bai Shan said. "I’m relieved that my Junior Brother really has a kind heart, but distressed that my Junior Brother really is quite dense."

Bai Erlang: ...

He couldn’t help but let out a whoop of disbelief, his hands shaping into claws as he lunged at Bai Shan, "I’m going to hit you—"

Bai Shan turned and ran. "You won’t even admit you’re dense, and when it comes to fighting, why give a heads-up?"

So, he really couldn’t afford not to run. Bai Shan sprinted away in a flash, Bai Erlang giving chase only to the doorway before stopping. Nearby in the courtyard, Mr. Zhuang and Bai Dalang, who were sitting and drinking tea, were so startled by Bai Erlang’s yell that they almost dropped their cups.

Mr. Zhuang was fine, but Bai Dalang accidentally spilled his tea and scalded his hand. He couldn’t help but bellow in anger, "Bai Cheng!"

Bai Erlang turned and dashed back inside, flinging one door shut with his left hand and blocking the other with his body, slamming it closed with a thump and his back.

The Bai Family’s backyard was bustling with activity. Scoldings and shrieks intermingled with the occasionally loud and sometimes soft sounds of reading - it was hardly any quieter than a vegetable market.

By contrast, Yin Huo’s courtyard was so tranquil that it lacked any trace of liveliness. His servants tiptoed away with the dishes while Fushou brought tea for Yin Huo to rinse his mouth. Daya, who was in charge of decocting medicine, brought over the steaming brew.

Yin Huo glanced at it before averting his eyes. Changshou quickly took the medicine and set it on the table, telling Daya, "Wait for it to cool down before drinking."

The maid had no reason to be suspicious. The young master had never caused any worry regarding taking medicine; he obediently drank whatever the imperial physician prescribed.

Once all the servants had left the room, Changshou looked at Yin Huo before intending to dispose of the medicine, but suddenly Yin Huo said, "Leave it, I’ll do it myself."

Bewildered, Changshou set down the medicine bowl, watching as the young master got up, picked it up, and walked over to the rear window. Pushing it open, he poured the contents outside.

Changshou watched incredulously. It was just disposing of medicine; the bowl was even scalding hot. Why do it himself?

Yin Huo seemed quite pleased, though, a slight smile curling his lips as he brought the bowl back to the table.

Changshou hastily closed the rear window and wiped away the few drops of medicine that had spilled.

Leaning back on the soft couch, Yin Huo was about to slip into sleep when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, do you know if there’s someone named Zhang Jinghao at the Highest Institute?"

Changshou thought carefully before shaking his head. "Young Master attends the Imperial Academy. I only remember the young masters from there."

"Find some time to inquire about him. Ask who he is, what kind of person he is, and what his reputation is like."

Changshou acknowledged the request.

After giving this instruction, Yin Huo had no other questions and, feeling drowsy, simply leaned on the soft couch to sleep.

The next day, Bai Shan brought him medicine again, along with a pouch of sugar, "Here, have a piece of sugar after you take your medicine."

Yin Huo accepted it, "Thank you."

Bai Shan waved his hand nonchalantly and settled back into his own seat.

Manbao had said that next time they had a break, she would give him acupuncture, a method she invented herself. Bai Shan felt that before that happened, he needed to nurse the person back to health a bit.

The teachers at the Imperial Academy were particularly amiable. Learning that Bai Erlang had been hit by his teacher, they didn’t ask what he’d done wrong and generously excused him from assignments until his hand fully recovered.

Mr. Bai Erlang almost didn’t want his hand to heal too quickly, but then he thought of the books his teacher was punishing him to copy, and he suppressed those thoughts deep in his heart.

Every day after school, Yin Huo would sit in the Bai Family’s carriage, drink some medicine, and have a chat. Later, when Bai Erlang’s hand healed, he had to hurry to copy books. Since he would always be disturbed upon returning home, he simply holed up in the Imperial Academy to copy them.

He would find a quiet spot to sit and copy as soon as school was over. When Yin Huo saw this, he too stayed behind to read, hmm, reading the storybooks that Bai Erlang had scrounged from Manbao.

Yin Huo had never read storybooks before, and once he started, he couldn’t stop. If it weren’t for knowing that staying up late was bad for him, he would have lit a candle to read through the night.

Seeing this, Bai Shan would get the medicine and bring it to him every day by the gate, then turn around and go to the Book Collection Tower to read or look for books.

The books from the Imperial Academy could be borrowed and taken outside; it didn’t have as many rules as the Prefectural School, but the required deposit was also not small.

Bai Shan took out the list of books written by Manbao and searched for them one by one. In the end, he only found two for her, so he borrowed three books at once, keeping one for himself to read.

The teacher who was registering looked at him and said, "When reading books, don’t be greedy for quantity. You should also focus on mastery."

Bai Shan acknowledged this and didn’t offer an explanation.

Right until the setting sun dipped below the horizon and the Imperial Academy was about to close its doors, the three of them finally packed up their things and left.

Yin Huo’s face was flushed as he waved goodbye to both of them, then with the help of Changshou, he boarded the carriage. Seeing both of them sweaty, and then looking at Daji who had just driven the carriage out of the shadows, he asked, "Why didn’t you guys take shelter in the shade?"

"The servants were afraid of delaying the young master," Changshou said. "If the young master had to wait too long, catching a chill or being under the sun would be the servants’ fault."

Yin Huo then let down the curtain and said, "Next time, you should also move into the shade. I’ll wait for you by the gate when I come out, so I won’t be under the sun or in the wind."

Fushou was about to decline when Changshou pulled him aside and happily agreed, his voice going up several notches in excitement.

After hearing that, Fushou could only lead the other servants to agree.

Yin Huo could hear their happiness in their voices and couldn’t help but slightly lift the corners of his mouth.

Changshou walked on the left side of the carriage, with Fushou by his side. Glancing at the still curtain, he reached out to tug at Changshou and asked in a low voice, "Why do I feel like the young master has been much happier and more lively these past few days?"

"Making friends, naturally he’s happy."

Old Madam Yin also felt that Yin Huo was happier than before, so regardless of how many concerns her granddaughters expressed in her ear, she did not confine Yin Huo and let him come back right after school.

Old Madam Yin’s demands were simple, "You must come home before sunset. As soon as the sun goes down, it gets cold and foggy, and getting sick would be bad."

Then she continued, "Take some easily digestible pastries to the school, and eat some after class if you get hungry."

Yin Huo declined this suggestion, saying, "Grandmother, after school, I eat something in the dining hall and am not hungry."

Anyway, students at the Imperial Academy just needed to pay or provide food in exchange for meals. Now he was spending more and more time at the Imperial Academy, and it was best to eat something before taking his medicine, so he planned to eat a bit in the dining hall before having the medicine.

Seeing that he wouldn’t go hungry, Old Madam Yin was even more satisfied, "Our Qilang can now take care of himself, good, good, very good."

Yin Huo smiled faintly with lowered eyes.

Old Madam Yin was immensely relieved. In the past, her grandson taking medicine felt just like completing a task. If the servants didn’t brew the medicine, he wouldn’t remind them. And to eat after meals or remembering to take medicine afterwards required constant reminders, otherwise, he could deliberately forget. He never proactively took care of his body.

But now, Old Madam Yin truly felt it was different.