Chapter 274 - 274 263 Proactive

Words : 1421 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

274: Chapter 263: Proactive 274: Chapter 263: Proactive Bai Shanbao and Manbao both had extensive experience with transplanting funguses, okay, even though those were all poisonous mushrooms, but there was a high probability that they could grow repeatedly in the transplanted spot. Now, in Manbao’s home, those two compost heaps would sprout quite a few poisonous mushrooms after the rain, and even if trampled upon, they would still tenaciously regrow, diligently breaking down the difficult-to-decompose leaves and such in the pile. Both of them felt that since China root was also a fungus, it could naturally be propagated in the same way. Moreover, Manbao had another ace up her sleeve; once the distant, future researchers thoroughly studied China root and uploaded entries, she would naturally know how to cultivate it. So, both children were brimming with confidence and quickly shifted their attention to how China root could be eaten. The natural thing to do was to bring it back to the Bai Family and hand it over to the cook. Then, the two children didn’t leave, but squatted down to the left and right to watch the cook handle it. Manbao even reminded her, “The skin can also be used as medicine.” The cook was somewhat at a loss, as the China root they bought had always been processed from the pharmacy, and handling such a large piece for the first time was a novelty. So she pondered for a long time and then said, “Young Master, Miss Manbao, go read or do your homework for now. I need to ponder this carefully.” The two were somewhat disappointed, but indeed, it wasn’t a place to waste time, so they had to return to the study room to read and do their homework. “Do you think the China root from the pharmacy has been sun-dried?” Bai Shanbao nodded, “Definitely, some herbs need not only to be sun-dried but also roasted, and each type of medicine has different handling methods, perhaps there are other processing techniques.” “I asked Manager Zheng before, and he wasn’t very clear. If only we had a book dedicated to the processing of medicinal materials.” Bai Shanbao said with certainty, “We don’t have one at home.” “I know,” Manbao was quite familiar with the serious books in his home, having seen the titles more than once without needing to read the texts, and she naturally knew what books were in the library of the Bai Shanbao’s house. Not only did the Bai Family’s library lack such books, but even the bookstores in the county didn’t have them. Manbao had visited bookstores to search for books of this type in order to facilitate the collection of various plants; unfortunately, they had none. While the bookstore had many works on history, philosophy, and literature, with an abundance of books from Confucian, Taoist, and Legalist schools, as well as various anthologies of poetry, literature, and calligraphy, there were very few assorted books related to agriculture, plants, and animals, especially the latter two. Manbao sighed, “If only I had the chance to take a trip to the provincial capital. Didn’t Uncle Wei say last time that there were more people, more bustle, and more goods in the provincial capital? Maybe a bookstore there would have one.” Bai Shanbao then rolled his eyes suggesting, “Yizhou is the largest, a bit far from us, but Mianzhou is not far. If we take a donkey cart and leave in the morning, we can get there by evening.” Manbao asked eagerly, “What about a horse-drawn carriage?” “Even faster, we won’t even have to wait until the evening,” he replied. “Have you been there before?” Bai Shanbao said with pride, “I passed through there when I came from Longzhou and stayed over for one night.” Although he hadn’t wandered around, Bai Shanbao still felt as if he had been there, saying, “It seemed a bit worse off than Longzhou.” However, both of them were looking forward to Mianzhou now. But one knew she did not have the means to go to Mianzhou for the time being, and the other could not find a reason to go to Mianzhou; the two exchanged glances and sighed deeply, then bowed their heads to do their homework, no longer chatting idly. The Bai Family’s cook might not figure out how to handle fresh China root for a while, so after Manbao finished her homework and went over the next day’s lessons with Bai Shanbao, she ran back home. She wanted to see if Second Brother had come back. Zhou ErLang had not yet returned; the things he brought with him that morning were not few, including the paddy straw mushrooms and other wild fungi Zhou SiLang and the rest found the day before, Junior Ms. Qian’s tofu, vegetables from the garden, and two sizable pieces of China root. It seemed that business wasn’t very good, so he hadn’t come back yet. Junior Ms. Qian started preparing dinner, and upon stepping out of the kitchen, she saw Manbao, along with Third, Fourth, and Sanya seating themselves on small stools at the doorstep in a row, and she couldn’t help but laugh, “What are you all doing there?” The youngest, Fourth, complained, “Brother won’t play with us.” Sanya, being more sensible, said, “The brothers have to work, and we need to be good.” Third said, “Auntie said Second Uncle would bring back something delicious when he comes, so we’re waiting here for Second Uncle.” “Come help mom wash the vegetables; you can wait while washing.” Third was just over a month older than Manbao; a bit lazy, he got up reluctantly. But Manbao had already rushed up with the two little nephews and niece, rolled up her sleeves eagerly to help. Junior Ms. Qian knew she wanted to play in the water, not really to help her wash the vegetables, but looking at the sky, she hummed, “Go ahead and wash, but if you get your clothes wet, I’ll give you a bath right away, and after dinner, you’ll stay at home and are not allowed to go out and play anymore.” Manbao weighed the pros and cons and rolled up her sleeves high, deciding definitely not to get her clothes wet. Seeing Auntie and the others eager to wash vegetables, Third became more enthusiastic, finding washing vegetables quite fun, and squeezed out Fourth to squat by the wooden basin as well. Junior Ms. Qian gave them some water and placed the vegetables to be washed beside them, then rolled up her sleeves to continue busying in the kitchen. Manbao and Third were the main forces in washing the vegetables, and after they were done, they did not stand up immediately but continued squatting by the basin playing with water, giggling and laughing joyfully. When Zhou Er returned with his cart, what he saw was four children merrily splashing around the basin. Zhou Er’s head began to hurt at the sight of their wet faces and clothes, “How come you are playing with water again?” Junior Ms. Qian responded from inside the kitchen, “It’s fine, let them play. I’ve got the hot water ready, I’ll bathe them in a bit.” Zhou Er, hearing this, let it be and put down his cart, removing the goods from it. He asked, “Sister-in-law, where is everyone else?” Junior Ms. Qian wiped her hands and came out, saying, “Zhou Hu’s wife is about to give birth, Mother went to see her. Father and Third have gone to the mountains, and your sister-in-law and the others have gone to Little Bay to water the vegetables.” She glanced at the cart, noticed all the goods had been sold, and couldn’t help but smile, “Did business go well today?” Zhou Er also couldn’t help smiling, “Pretty good, everything was sold.” Zhou Er glanced down at the children expectantly looking up at him, and he decisively grabbed Third and Fourth by the hands, “I’ll go bathe these two first. We can discuss after Father and the others come back.” Junior Ms. Qian nodded. That made sense; otherwise, saying it now would just mean repeating it again once the family returned home, which would be really annoying. The Zhou Family’s meal times were always fixed unless there were special circumstances, and so, before dinner, everyone would always return on time. Except for Ms. Qian.

Chapter 274 - 274 263 Proactive

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