The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 432 - 421: The Courtyard is Full of Guests

Chapter 432: Chapter 421: The Courtyard is Full of Guests

Eldest Aunt Qian saw her and broke into a smile, pulling her over for a closer examination before laughing and saying to her oldest sister-in-law, "This child has grown up so well, she even looks fairer than before."

Ms.Qian couldn’t help but laugh, "Just praise her, where has she gotten fairer? This year, she’s been out in the fields and gotten a bit tanned."

"Where is she tanned? She’s clearly still so fair." The more Eldest Aunt Qian looked, the more she liked her, and she laughed, "You know, she doesn’t resemble our family, who tan easily – this little face, when it fills out, she’s going to be so handsome."

Ms.Qian agreed wholeheartedly, nodding and laughing, "She takes after her father."

Eldest Aunt Qian also nodded, "Actually, she resembles her grandmother more. I remember her grandmother’s skin was good, not easily tanned."

Ms.Qian nodded and glanced at her book box, asking, "Are you still going to school later? When will you come back to visit?"

"I’ll come back after we’re done with Shanbao’s wheat," Manbao said, "Teacher might not have lessons today; he may take us to watch the weighing."

"Then why are you still carrying your book box?"

Manbao sighed, "Teacher just taught us abacus, and during the weighing, he’ll definitely ask us to do exercises with it. Sigh, I’ve only learned it for a few days and I’m still not very good."

Eldest Aunt Qian was incredibly surprised, "Manbao is learning the abacus?"

Ms.Qian nodded with a smile, unable to hide a hint of pride, "Not just the abacus, she’s started to learn accounting too. In the past, our account keeping was all over the place, unlike now. The ledger is so well-written I can hardly understand it."

Eldest Aunt Qian murmured, "Isn’t that like becoming an accounting teacher?"

Ms.Qian laughed, "Who knows for sure? She’s still young, let’s talk about it in a few years."

But a reputation could be established early on.

The three uncles in the courtyard were also inquiring about Manbao’s affairs, "I heard from people returning to the village that grandma is fully recovered, thanks to Manbao?"

Old Zhou nodded, "Grandma said she dreamed of the Heaven Master who told her that Manbao was a celestial fairy under his command, and due to her commendable caregiving, her health was restored."

Third Uncle Qian was immensely intrigued, "So she really got better?"

Old Zhou nodded.

"Brother-in-law, you’re not fooling us, right? Did big sister secretly take some medicine?"

Old Zhou didn’t mince words with Third Uncle Qian and rolled his eyes, "Her medicine is all purchased by Dalang and the others; how could I not know about it? It’s the same as before, prescribed by the same old doctor, eight coins a dose. Just one night, she said she had a dream, then broke out in a lot of sweat, foul and fishy, with an increased appetite."

Old Zhou continued, "She ate more than Dalang and I could together in one meal, and then after three or four days her appetite began to decrease and her health steadily improved. Her complexion even got rosier. She even went to the Taoist temple to fulfill a vow over this."

Old Zhou now firmly believed the notion of the little girl being a reincarnated fairy, saying, "Everyone in the village knows about this. Tell me, if Manbao wasn’t the incarnation of a fairy, how has my family’s luck been so good since the start of the new year?"

Third Uncle Qian couldn’t help but murmur, "That just can’t be, Manbao is almost eight years old, why would Heaven Master come looking for her now?"

"Why can’t he be busy with something?" Old Zhou said matter-of-factly, "Didn’t they say, one day in heaven is a year on earth? Maybe the other day the Heaven Master went out visiting and was away for six or seven days; it was only on the seventh day that he remembered our Manbao."

"So grandma has been feeling better for half a year now, hasn’t she?" Eldest Uncle Qian asked.

Old Zhou was a bit sheepish and said in a low voice, "After his wife recovered, he got a bit busy."

In fact, they had forgotten to personally inform the in-laws since her parents-in-law were no longer around, and it had been several years since Ms.Qian had visited her parental home, as it was mostly Junior Ms.Qian and Zhou Dalang who went back...

So Old Zhou had simply not thought of it.

As for Ms.Qian, at the time her entire focus was on Manbao, and after the New Year passed, with spring plowing and planting in full swing, she had even less recall of the matter.

The flow of information between villages was also somewhat slow.

Eldest Uncle Qian didn’t press the issue and only shot Zhou Dalang a glance.

The last time he went home for the New Year, Zhou Dalang had mentioned his mother had recovered, but he didn’t say she was this much better.

He’d just seen her, moving briskly, her complexion rosy, breathing steady, able to carry a half-bucket of water without panting.

On others this might seem normal, but on Ms.Qian, it was truly remarkable.

Eldest Uncle Qian watched Old Zhou smoking and couldn’t help but frown, saying, "I vaguely remember Manbao saying smoking is bad, why are you still doing it?"

Old Zhou stiffened; when his older brother spoke, he didn’t dare to ignore it, so he took the pipe down, snuffed it out, and quietly handed off the pipe that he always kept nearby to his eldest grandson, instructing him to put it away in the room.

Eldest Uncle Qian looked on, satisfied, and when he saw Manbao come out, he waved and smiled, "Manbao, come here."

Manbao ran over cheerfully, calling out crisply, "Eldest Uncle!"

"Good, haha, you’ve grown a bit taller since the New Year. Do your legs feel sore?"

During New Year, Junior Ms.Qian had taken Manbao with her when she visited her maternal home; she usually brought Manbao along when visiting.

Manbao also liked going to the Qian Family home because she could collect a lot of New Year’s money just by visiting the Qian Family Village.

"Not sore."

Only then did Third Uncle Qian remember that he had a few flatbreads in his arms, which he quickly handed to Manbao, saying, "Your eldest sister-in-law still needs more time to cook, take these and fill your stomach first."

Manbao joyfully accepted, then ran into the kitchen to give them to Junior Ms.Qian, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Eldest sister-in-law, these are from Third Uncle."

Junior Ms.Qian understood immediately and, after taking them, laughed, "Alright, off you go to play, I’ll re-cook them for you."

With that, Manbao ran out to continue squatting by her uncles to listen to their conversation. Third Uncle Qian then teased her, "So you think your Third Auntie’s cooking is not tasty, huh?"

Manbao giggled and said, "Eldest sister-in-law’s cooking is really delicious."

Third Uncle Qian tapped her head playfully, chiding her, "You cheeky little thing."

Because there were guests, Junior Ms.Qian had a lot to cook, but luckily, she had help from her sisters-in-law, who could take on tasks like kneading dough for her.

Still, she made sure to prepare Manbao’s breakfast first.

Eldest Uncle Qian casually asked Old Zhou, "We aren’t troubling you by staying here? If so, we can go home and wait."

Old Zhou looked at Manbao.

Manbao said, "No need, no need, Eldest Uncle you all can stay here, it’s fine."

Old Zhou then nodded, "It’s fine. Big Brother, you haven’t met Old Master Bai from our village yet, right? Wait until he arrives to meet him."

Eldest Uncle Qian said nothing more.

Junior Ms.Qian’s voice soon rang out from the kitchen, calling Manbao in for breakfast.

She still made her a bowl of egg liquid, mainly because they had good soup today.

Handing her a flatbread, she said, "Eat up quickly and head to school, don’t forget the time while chatting."

Manbao acknowledged.