The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 682 - 671: Changes

Chapter 682: Chapter 671: Changes

Five large gold ingots, each weighing around ten taels; Manbao’s mouth fell open as she and her friends exchanged astonished looks.

Bai Shan’s face darkened, and after closing the box, Manbao pondered for a moment before saying, "Unearned rewards are not to be accepted; let’s return them."

Bai Shan nodded in agreement. "Mine can be sent back directly by Daji. How will you return yours?"

Manbao thought for a moment and said, "Take them to Jishi Hall, let Shopkeeper Zheng handle the return."

She looked down at the box of gold. "After sending the gold, we have to at least inform Shopkeeper Zheng about it."

After all, she had been able to enter because of Doctor Ji, who was a physician at Jishi Hall. What the gold signified, she did not know, nor did she want to.

Manbao picked up the box and called over Zhou Silang and Zhou Lijun. "Silang, take all the gifts out, we’re going to Jishi Hall."

Zhou Silang reluctantly tore his gaze from the box of gold, knowing it was too hot to handle, and hurriedly moved the other gift boxes out.

Bai Shan and Daji also carried their gift boxes out, with Bai Erlang and the cook hurriedly lending a hand.

Fortunately, the cook knew not to mix up the gifts, so although their gifts were piled in the living room, they were in two separate heaps, which made moving them less chaotic.

After placing all the gifts on the cart, Bai Shan wrote a note to send back, expressing that he felt ashamed accepting such unearned rewards.

"If they refuse to take the items back, just leave them and walk away, just as we did with the Ying Family." Bai Shan was quite ungracious and even a little annoyed with the Ying Family, which at this time should have been preparing for a bath, then going to the river to wash clothes while playing in the water.

They were supposed to come back, read some books, practice writing, or play against the wall before preparing to sleep.

But with the Ying Family’s stunt, their schedule was completely disrupted.

Bai Shan was always quite direct with those who troubled him.

Manbao was even less at ease. He could just hand over the note and be done, but Manbao had to personally accompany Zhou Silang on a trip to Jishi Hall.

After all, compared to Zhou Silang, Shopkeeper Zheng would surely trust her more, and besides, the matter was not a trivial one. Manbao was somewhat worried about Doctor Ji.

She climbed onto the carriage, and Zhou Silang’s vehicle set off first.

Leaving the alley, the two carriages went their separate ways, one heading north, the other south.

Upon reaching Jishi Hall, Shopkeeper Zheng was not in the front shop. Manbao asked Gu, who was behind the counter, "Brother Gu, where is Shopkeeper Zheng?"

Gu quietly pointed to the backyard.

Manbao paused, then leaned in and whispered, "What’s wrong?"

"Shopkeeper Zheng is in a bad mood," Gu whispered back. "Why have you come at this time?"

"I have something to do," Manbao vaguely replied, then asked, "Why is he upset?"

Gu shook his head. "At lunchtime, someone delivered a very generous gift to the shopkeeper, and since then, he has been unhappy."

Manbao frowned slightly and took the box containing the gold from Zhou Silang, heading to the backyard.

Despite containing only five ingots, it was actually quite heavy.

In the backyard, Shopkeeper Zheng and Doctor Ji sat in silence facing each other.

Seeing Manbao come in, both looked surprised. "Why have you come at this time?"

Manbao set the box on the table between them and opened it. "It’s from the Ying Family."

Recognizing the familiar gold ingots and box, Doctor Ji slammed the table with his hand and stood up, ready to storm out.

Shopkeeper Zheng swiftly ordered, "Stop right there, where do you think you’re going?"

Doctor Ji, his chest heaving with anger, replied, "Where else? I’m going to dump these things on the Ying Family’s doorstep."

"Nonsense," Shopkeeper Zheng scolded. "Do you want to make things even more chaotic? How do you compare with the Prince of Yizhou’s House or with the Ji Family?"

Zhou Silang stood to the side, dumbfounded by their conversation.

Shopkeeper Zheng saw him, but treated him as one of their own, not minding his presence. He sighed deeply and said, "We should return these items, but not in this way."

Furrowing his brows, he added, "Later you bring your gifts, and along with Manbao’s, I will personally deliver them back to the Ying Family."

Manbao glanced from one to the other and scratched her head. "It’s just a matter of returning gifts, why get so angry? Though I admit, forcing gifts upon someone is indeed annoying."

Doctor Ji clenched his fists and retorted, "What do you know? The Ying Family also gave me a note."

"What note?"

"A note for the Imperial Hospital!"

Manbao exclaimed, "Wow," then scrutinized him doubtfully. "Just having the note gets you into the Imperial Hospital?"

Doctor Ji, his face turning red, insisted, "Of course, there’s an exam, but even if you fail, you can still start at the Imperial Hospital as an assistant, and then slowly learn from the imperial physicians."

"Then why was it given to you, not Doctor Ji?" Manbao paused, then touched her chin and added, "Even if the note had to be given, it should have come from the Ji Family. What’s the Ying Family’s rush in this?"

Her mouth fell open slightly as she asked, "Did Ji Hao die?"

Shopkeeper Zheng glanced at her and warned in a low voice, "Keep your voice down."

He hesitated and then said, "He’s not dead, but he’s running a fever. With such trauma, once a patient runs a fever, the chances of survival are no more than twenty percent. The Ying Family is looking for a scapegoat in advance."

Manbao shivered and inquired, "Are they planning to use Doctor Ji as the scapegoat?"

"I don’t know which one. The Ying Family is not going to discuss it with us. But there are four doctors treating him, one of whom is an imperial physician. Apart from him, Doctor Ji is the most skilled."

Manbao angrily declared, "The Ji Family won’t agree to this."

"As long as the court rules that way, it doesn’t matter if the Ji Family agrees or not," Shopkeeper Zheng noted, then gauging Manbao, he suggested, "You’d better leave the city if you have nothing else to do here. Go home, or go anywhere you like. Didn’t you say you wanted to see what the medicinal herbs look like when they are fresh? How about I give you the addresses of a few herb farmers, and you visit them?"

Manbao turned and left. "Silang, let’s bring in the gifts."

Shopkeeper Zheng let out a scoff. Speaking to Doctor Ji, he said, "This kid really doesn’t appreciate our concern. If it weren’t for her being dragged into this whirlpool by old Ji, I wouldn’t bother myself with this."

Manbao and Zhou Silang moved all the gifts inside, where Shopkeeper Zheng’s stack of gifts was mixed in. She asked, "When will you send them?"

Shopkeeper Zheng responded, "Sooner rather than later, I will send them now."

Manbao said, "Well, if you’d told me earlier, I could have just left them outside. Now we had to bring them in only to carry them back out again."

"You didn’t ask me," Shopkeeper Zheng retorted, accustomed to their playful bickering. After a bit of grumbling, he felt a little better, as if the weight that had been pressing on his heart had lightened somewhat.

Manbao and Zhou Silang dutifully moved the gifts back outside again.

Gu, who watched from behind the counter, seemed to regard their moving things in and out as if they were fools. It wasn’t long before Shopkeeper Zheng and Doctor Ji also carried items out, and Gu could no longer sit still, hurrying from behind the counter to help.