The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 261 - 250: Chance Encounter

Chapter 261: Chapter 250: Chance Encounter

Qili Village is a relatively isolated village; whether coming from the county city or White Horse Pass town, one has to walk along a mountain road.

Therefore, as long as someone guards the mountain path, outsiders generally can’t enter this village undetected.

Local villagers are an exception because there will always be some trails coming through the mountains, though they can be difficult to navigate.

So, Wei Zhi did not hide his movements in Qili Village. After trimming some flower branches at the Bai Family residence and sharing a couple of cups of tea with Ms. Liu, he left with an attendant, strolling through the fields with great curiosity.

In the prime of life, Wei Zhi was currently the Secretary Supervisor, performing the duties of the Prime Minister. Of course, his official rank was not very high, on par with that of the Six Ministries’ Secretaries.

However, before he became Secretary Supervisor, he had been demoted to serve as a county magistrate, and naturally understood agricultural affairs, not to mention he also grew fruits and vegetables in his own yard.

It seemed that the heavens had let all of summer’s rain fall last month, for it had been predominantly clear skies since half a month ago, with only the occasional evening shower that was neither heavy nor long-lasting— barely enough to wet the ground.

Thus, at this time, there was very little water in the paddy fields—barely a shallow layer—while the drylands were even more parched.

Perhaps due to the recent good sunshine, the rice was heading faster, and the residual rice in the water fields slightly bent at the stalk.

Wei Zhi went to pinch a panicle of rice, roughly half of which was empty, while the other half was slowly filling. At this time, there were more weeds in the paddy field than rice grains; looking across, aside from the grass beside the rice being cleared, other aquatic plants were allowed to grow freely.

Wei Zhi sighed. Seeing the condition of the water fields, it was no wonder that the county head of Luojiang County had taken special pains to send someone to perform for him.

"Let’s walk along the river downstream," he said.

The attendant responded with an "Understood."

There were paths on both sides of the riverbank, and occasionally there were channels leading to the fields. The channels were not big, but they were plentiful and deep enough.

Following the path, Wei Zhi saw three channels and couldn’t help nodding in approval, "Although this village is remote and poor, the water management is quite good. Without natural disasters or man-made calamities, the people here could truly live and work in peace and contentment."

They shouldn’t worry about food and clothing, it’s just the lack of money that’s the issue.

The attendant didn’t speak; his only job was to protect his master, and he didn’t understand these matters.

Wei Zhi casually picked a wild vegetable, continuing downstream along the river, and before long he heard clear reading voices from across the river, which made him stop in his tracks and look towards the opposite bank.

From here, he could see Mr. Zhuang standing in the classroom.

Mr. Zhuang was leading everyone in reading the Classic of Poetry, naturally, this was part of Bai Erlang and his fellow students’ lessons. Students near the village side of the two rows of desks were bending over their work, copying out new sections of The Great Learning twice and then memorizing them, before they would discuss the meanings.

Bai Shanbao had already previewed the work, so he was writing at a leisurely pace with full confidence.

However, Manbao was frowning, stumbling through the sections she had separated out silently once and then again before picking up her brush to write.

She was a bit nervous because she had been so engrossed in the Full-Version Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic during the past two days that she hadn’t previewed any of her coursework, nor had she reviewed what she’d learned before.

If the teacher were to call on her to answer a question...

Manbao started writing with even more intensity, planning to ask Bai Shanbao about the interpretation of the new essay once she was done.

As Wei Zhi stood with folded hands on the opposite bank of the river, listening for a long time, he nodded slightly before saying, "With the addition of a school here, life would be even more comfortable. No wonder Old Madam Liu would bring her grandson to move here."

"Does my lord wish to go over there and take a look?" asked the attendant.

Wei Zhi shook his head, "No rush, the teacher is in the middle of a lesson. We shouldn’t disturb them. Let’s wait till a little later."

Continuing along the river, a short walk further down, the river made a slight bend leading to Little Bay.

Zhou Xi and her three siblings were weeding and watering in the vegetable garden.

The crops in the field were growing well; all the seeds that were planted had sprouted. They needed to remove some seedlings to replant them elsewhere to promote faster growth.

But with the sun being so intense, they obviously could not plant right now. They were only loosening the soil, watering the seedlings, and hoeing out any emerging weeds.

Zhou Xi estimated that in about ten more days, some vegetables could be sold in the county city.

Zhou, supporting her back, stood up and took off her straw hat to fan herself. Noticing that Ms. He was also standing with her hands on her back, she said, "Third Sister-in-law, you should head back first."

Ms. Feng also said, "Yes, we are here in the field. You are carrying a child; you can’t be out in the sun too much."

Ms. He hesitated, and then Ms. Fang also smiled and said, "Go ahead, Third Sister-in-law, or else in a while your Third Uncle will come to pick you up."

Zhou Xi and Ms. Feng couldn’t help laughing, and Ms. He blushed and said, "I think you just want Four to come pick you up. That blockhead would never do such a thing."

As they spoke, Ms. He looked up and caught sight of Wei Zhi with a slight surprise.

She quickly signaled her sisters-in-law to look, and when they turned their heads, their gazes met Wei Zhi’s curious eyes. The atmosphere grew a bit tense.

Realizing the caution in their faces, Wei Zhi knew from his attendant that the villagers had recently had a conflict with three men, so it was normal for them to be wary of strangers.

He then introduced himself with a smile, "I am a friend of Old Master Bai, staying here for a while. I was just taking a leisurely walk and hope I haven’t disturbed your work, have I?"

Zhou Xi tightened her grip on the hoe and asked, "You are a guest of Old Master Bai?"

"Indeed," Wei Zhi paused, then smiled, "If you don’t believe me, feel free to ask at the Bai Family residence. I even dined with the two young masters of the Bai family last night."

"Oh, so the banquet the Bai family held last night was in your honor," Zhou Xi and the others relaxed as she said with a smile, "Why has such an honored guest come here? The sun is so intense, and there are so many mosquitoes by the river..."

Wei Zhi was somewhat taken aback and asked, "How do you know the Bai family held a banquet yesterday?"

Zhou Xi laughed, "My youngest sister mentioned it when she got home."

In fact, Manbao, out of curiosity about what a welcome banquet looked like, had specifically asked Old Zhou whether he had ever experienced a welcome banquet.

Old Zhou naturally claimed he had, even providing her with an example—whenever Erlang returned late from the county city and ate the evening meal left for him by the family, it was considered a welcome banquet.

So the Zhou family were all aware that a distinguished guest had arrived at the Bai residence yesterday, and Old Master Bai had specifically held a banquet to welcome the visitor and cleanse the dust of travel.

With a good memory, Wei Zhi thought for a moment and remembered, and he asked with a smile, "Is your youngest sister named Manbao?"

"Right, right, that’s her name, Manbao. Have you met her before?"

He had not met her, but he had heard about her, heard from Old Madam Bai that she was a very clever child, as smart as Bai Shan.

Heard that the two were close in age, not only classmates but also desk mates.

So he always thought Manbao was a boy—could it be that she was actually a girl?

Wei Zhi inquired, "Is ’youngest sister’ her pet name?"