The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 559 - 548: Obsession

Chapter 559: Chapter 548: Obsession

So Mr. Zhuang was in no hurry to have his evening meal and sent the three children back to the riverbank with their clothes and wooden basins.

The water in the river was very clear, with people not only washing clothes in it daily but also washing vegetables.

Mr. Zhuang took a thin stick and sat down on a large rock by the river. He pointed the stick at the large rocks used for washing clothes and said, "Come on, take out the clothes."

As a poor scholar who had studied away from home for many years and a widowed single male teacher, Mr. Zhuang had plenty of experience with washing clothes.

All this experience was accumulated from his life.

"Rinse them first, then rub them on the rock, paying special attention to the sleeves and the bottom of the clothes..." Mr. Zhuang tapped Bai Erlang and Bai Shanbao with the stick, "Both of you, be more careful. It’s just washing clothes, not going to war."

Bai Erlang and Bai Shanbao slowed down their movements as a result, and when Mr. Zhuang saw they were being more gentle, he said, "Don’t get all your own clothes wet just from washing one set. What’s the point of that? You should learn from your Senior Sister."

The two looked over at Manbao.

Manbao proudly watched them.

Mr. Zhuang tapped the stone slab next to Manbao with his stick and said, "You move to a different spot to scrub. You three spend all day either climbing trees or squatting on the ground playing, dirty everywhere..."

Under Mr. Zhuang’s guidance, the three struggled through their first laundry day, wrung out the clothes, put them back into the basins, and let out a huge sigh before sitting down beside their teacher.

Mr. Zhuang knocked on Bai Erlang’s head, who was sitting closest to him, and shook his head with a smile, "Are you this tired from washing just one set of clothes?"

By this time, the sun had set, and the last hint of the rosy twilight stubbornly clung to the horizon, refusing to disappear, but half of Yizhou City was already welcoming the night.

Perhaps because the people in the city were busy, most families were only now starting to have their evening meals, with the faint smell of rice drifting from homes by the river, along with the voices of adults calling children home for dinner or scolding and coaxing them.

Yet some people, because of their busyness, were only now hurriedly coming out with baskets of vegetables to wash in the river.

The master and his disciples said nothing for a while, set their wooden basins by their feet, and quietly watched the unseen but heard bustle on both riverbanks.

It was only when the last trace of twilight had vanished and they could only see the ground beneath their feet that Mr. Zhuang led his three disciples back.

Mr. Zhuang said to Bai Shanbao, "When you become an official in the future, you will be serving the people of this area."

To Bai Erlang and Manbao, he said, "Even if you don’t become officials in the future, whatever you do can be for the benefit of the people here."

The three disciples were somewhat bewildered, and Mr. Zhuang strolled home leisurely with his hands behind his back, continuing, "This is your teacher’s foolish wish. You may not understand it now, but I hope that you will come to understand it in the future."

As he was speaking, a soft cough suddenly broke the silence. Mr. Zhuang was startled and squinted into the darkness, only then making out a figure standing at his doorstep.

The person was standing in the shadows; Mr. Zhuang had completely failed to notice him.

Daji said softly from behind, "It’s Mr. Lan."

As the words were uttered, Lan Cheng stepped out of the shadows.

Mr. Zhuang was surprised, "Zhongcheng, what brings you here?"

Lan Cheng answered, "I only found out today that there was a commotion involving ghost-catching at your place. I was worried, so I came to check on you, only to find that none of you were at home."

Lan Cheng asked, "You haven’t had your evening meal, right? I’ve brought some wine and dishes with me."

Having said that, he glanced over the disciples holding their wooden basins and gently laughed, stepping aside to let them pass.

Mr. Zhuang quickly invited him in with a laugh, telling the three disciples to take care of drying the clothes by themselves.

Zhou Silang was in the midst of steaming rice. Hearing the commotion, he immediately ran out to report, "Mr. Zhuang, you’ve returned. Mr. Lan has come to see you."

He added, "The food from the restaurant has also arrived. It got a bit cold because you were late, so I’ve reheated it. Should you and Mr. Lan have a separate meal, or would you dine with us?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "Bring a portion to the study. I’ll have a talk with Mr. Lan."

"Understood."

Zhou Si briskly went to the kitchen to separate the food. Daji glanced at the three who were now dutifully drying their clothes in the yard and decided to help Zhou Si in the kitchen.

Zhou Si smiled at him and handed over all the wine and dishes that Lan Cheng had brought.

Although Zhou Si was bold, he didn’t know why he always felt intimidated in front of Mr. Zhuang, so whenever a task could be passed to Daji, he would never do it himself.

Zhou Si then took a portion of the restaurant dishes, placed it onto a tray, served some rice, and gave it all to Daji to carry.

Daji looked at him silently, took the food, and left.

At last, Zhou Si began to arrange their own meal. As he carried the dishes into the hall, he chided the three in the yard, "You’re just washing a set of clothes. One would think you had taken all the family’s clothes for three days to wash, taking so long to come back."

Manbao, having finished hanging the clothes, retorted, "Teacher said we didn’t wash them clean enough, so we had to wash them slowly."

"Well, that’s slow enough. Come on, it’s time to eat; I’m starving to death here. Who else hasn’t had their evening meal this late?"

"There are quite a few families," Bai Shanbao interjected. "When we were coming back, several households had just started to wash their vegetables."

"Can our family be compared to others?" Zhou Si replied. "We don’t work in the fields or have jobs in the city. People do not eat because they are busy, but what about us?"

All three chorused, "We are busy too."

"Yes, so busy, busy washing a set of clothes, right?"

Daji came back as well, silently sat down, took up his chopsticks, and Zhou Si began to serve, first giving Manbao a piece of meat. Then, everyone started their meal.

In the study, Mr. Lan, listening to the bustling next door, looked up at Mr. Zhuang and smiled, "To have taken in three disciples like this must be a dream come true for you, right?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled back at him.

Lan Cheng fell silent for a while, poured a glass of wine for himself and Mr. Zhuang and drank it in one gulp before saying, "After all these years, you’re still the same old idealist."

Mr. Zhuang sipped from his cup and smiled at him again.

Lan Cheng sighed and turned to look outside at the now completely darkened sky and murmured, "Aren’t you afraid he won’t make it as an official?"

Mr. Zhuang dismissively said, "If he can’t make it as an official, there are other uses for him. Haven’t I also taught many students over the years? At least I’ve given them a skill."

Lan Cheng knew that all those years of stubbornness wouldn’t easily be dispelled by anything he might say, so he smoothly changed the subject, "What was this ghostly fuss all about? If my family hadn’t mentioned a strange case at the County Governmental Office during dinner, I wouldn’t have known that there was a commotion over here."

At this, Mr. Zhuang burst into laughter, cheerfully saying, "It was just the kids making a mess, and they managed to scare the one pretending to be a ghost."