Chapter 147 - 147 136 Eat, Eat!

Words : 1532 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

147: Chapter 136: Eat, Eat! 147: Chapter 136: Eat, Eat! Manbao and Zhou Xi hadn’t been to the county city for quite some time and, thinking that Zhou Dalang and the others wouldn’t arrive so soon, they didn’t turn towards the front of the County Governmental Office but continued along the street and found themselves back at Jishi Hall. Zhou Xi stood at the entrance of Jishi Hall and said to her younger siblings, “You go have fun, I’ll go see the doctor first.” She then reminded Zhou Silang and Zhou Wulang, “Make sure to keep a close eye on Manbao.” Zhou Silang, with a slick tongue, said, “Big sister, don’t worry, even if we lose ourselves, we won’t lose our little sister.” Although Manbao was also very concerned about her elder sister’s health, she was equally enthusiastic about strolling the streets. After weighing her options, she took out a piece of candy from her pocket and placed it in Zhou Xi’s palm, saying, “Big sister, you go see the doctor first, and if he gives you bitter medicine, eat a piece of candy first.” Zhou Xi laughed and agreed. In fact, she hadn’t gone to get medicine in a long time, mainly because there wasn’t much money left, but now there was some income. Zhou Xi really valued her life and still wanted to get her health back on track. With big sister no longer there to interfere, Zhou Silang went wild, suddenly hoisting Manbao onto his back and charging toward the crowd with a roar. Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang also shouted loudly as they followed. Some people on the street looked at the four of them as if they were yokels, but even more looked on with kindness. Many of the young villagers who had come to the streets today, like Zhou Dalang and the others, had come bringing their grain taxes. The county city wasn’t so large, only having three main streets, and the busiest was the one right through the middle by the County Governmental Office. Zhou Silang didn’t run far before finishing his tour of the street, then he stopped in front of a bun shop, lowered his head and asked Manbao, who was standing by his side, “Are you hungry?” Manbao nodded; they had eaten breakfast before coming out, but now it was nearing lunchtime. How could she not be hungry? Zhou Silang eyed the fragrant buns and swallowed hard, but in the end, it was Manbao who couldn’t resist the temptation and took out money from her own pocket to buy them. However, she wasn’t foolish; she looked at her three brothers and said, “Dalang, Second Brother, Third Brother, and big sister are all hungry too.” Her ten coins definitely wouldn’t be sufficient. Upon hearing this, the other three made a quick decision, “If your money is not enough, we’ll use ours to make up the difference.” Only then did Manbao cheer up and move forward to choose the buns. The buns were quite large and came in two varieties: vegetable and meat. The vegetable buns cost one coin each, while the meat buns were two for three coins. Manbao weighed her options, deciding to buy half of each variety. She calculated the number of people and decided to buy eight vegetable buns and eight meat buns, exactly twenty coins in total. Manbao contributed her own ten coins and then glanced at her three brothers. Decisively, she drew four coins from Zhou Silang’s share, clarifying, “Silang, you put in four coins because you’re the oldest, so you should contribute more, and you still have four coins saved with me.” Zhou Silang’s eyes widened in dissatisfaction, “What can I do with the remaining four coins? You might as well count it for me.” With four coins, he could buy two meat buns and one vegetable bun on his own. Manbao secured the money and shook her head in refusal, “No, saving money is about accumulating little by little, how can you not save it just because it’s only four coins? If you save four coins today and four coins tomorrow, that’s forty coins in ten days, and four hundred in a hundred days.” “Didn’t you say that money is only money when it circulates, and when it’s not circulating it’s just copper plates, so...” “You’re really silly,” Manbao looked at him with scorn, “this is to prevent risks. The copper coins saved can become circulating money when there’s a big issue, right? Otherwise, if you spend it all now and later need money for an emergency, where will you get it from?” Zhou Silang felt disheveled by the wind, frustratedly saying, “How come all the talking is done by you? That’s not what you just said to big sister.” Manbao matter-of-factly said, “You’re not big sister.” Zhou Silang: ... Manbao, ruling decisively, waved her small hand and declared, “It’s settled just like that.” She took the money and approached the stall, giving the owner a sweet smile before asking, “We are buying so much, could you give us an extra vegetable bun?” The stall owner had noticed them early on; it was still a bit before lunchtime and there weren’t many people eating at this time. Four people standing in front of his stall were eyeing his steamer baskets, and it was difficult for him to pretend he didn’t see them. So he heard everything that Manbao had just said. He always thought he was clever enough, but Manbao’s calculation gave him a headache. After counting with his fingers, he found that sixteen buns indeed cost twenty coins. He hesitated but then decided to give her an extra vegetable bun, saying, “Alright, I’ll give you one more.” Manbao gave him a sweet smile in response. The buns were wrapped in lotus leaves, sorted into four bundles. Each of the four held a bundle and couldn’t help but swallow their saliva before unanimously deciding to go back and find the others. Manbao, with her little steps, led the way, first looking for Zhou Xi in Jishi Hall, and then dragging her towards the County Governmental Office to find Zhou Dalang and the others. Zhou Dalang and his companions were standing in line, slowly moving forward. There were quite a few people who had come to pay their taxes today, so it took a long time to move forward without reaching their turn. The clerk in the front was checking the grain taxes with his subordinates, while others were weighing them. Only after submitting the qualified and exact amount of tax grain could one receive a token, which was exchanged at the side for a receipt, signifying the completion of their grain tax payment for the year. Zhou Wulang, clutching the buns, rushed forward to find Zhou Dalang. Shortly after, Zhou Dalang and Zhou Er emerged, and upon seeing the lotus leaves in their hands, Zhou Dalang felt a pang of heartache, “If Manbao wanted to eat, you should have bought her two, why did you buy so many?” Zhou Wulang said, “Silang told us to.” Zhou Silang shot him a look, but Zhou Dalang then glared at Zhou Silang and asked, “Whose money? Where did you get so much money from?” Zhou Silang said, “Dalang, we earned some money selling ginger; it only happens once a year. Everyone was exhausted after the autumn harvest for two months, what’s wrong with enjoying a good meal? Besides, Manbao feels sorry for us, right Manbao?” Manbao nodded and squatted down to open the lotus leaves, picking a particularly large bun and handing it to Zhou Dalang with eager eyes, “Dalang, eat quickly.” Zhou Dalang couldn’t help but soften his heart, took the bun, tore it in half to see it was a meat bun, and handed it to Manbao, telling her to eat the filling inside. Taking it, Manbao began to nibble on one in each hand, then stuffed the lotus leaves into Zhou Dalang’s hands. They all squatted down to eat, knowing that the buns alternated between vegetable and meat, and divided them between themselves accordingly. Zhou Dalang didn’t eat much, having only two before getting up, “I’ll go and switch with Third.” Manbao was still busily munching on the bun in her hand; she thought it was delicious, but it seemed her stomach was a bit small, and after eating one, she couldn’t finish another. She looked on regretfully, so she turned her gaze to her siblings. While eating, Zhou Silang laughed and teased her, “You need to grow a bit more; in a couple of years, you’ll be able to eat two buns.” Zhou Xi glared at him, telling him to stop teasing Manbao and causing her to get upset. She broke her meat bun in half and scooped out the filling for Manbao to eat. Manbao took a bite and then shook her head, “I can’t eat anymore, I’m so full.” Zhou Xi felt Manbao’s protruding little belly and smiled faintly before she finished eating the rest herself.

Chapter 147 - 147 136 Eat, Eat!

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