Chapter 68 - 68 57 Favoritism

Words : 1474 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

68: Chapter 57: Favoritism 68: Chapter 57: Favoritism Zhou Wulang, in the end, couldn’t get any extra sugar from Manbao. Shaking his head with a sigh, he led Sixth and Erya on their way—yes, Erya. Today, it was Erya’s turn to go to the county town with them. Zhou Dalang and the others, carrying their baskets on their backs, left with them to pick the ligustrum berries their mother had mentioned. Manbao followed them out of the house too—she was off to school! Upon arriving at school, she found that half of the students were already there. Bai Shanbao was sitting attentively in his seat, engrossed in reading, so she too hurried over, placed her book on the table, opened it, and then turned her head to look at her deskmate. Bai Shanbao finished reading this section with a nod and a shake of the head before stopping to look at his buddy, asking with a straight face, “What’s up?” “It’s nothing much, just wanted to let you know that my dad agreed to let my brother help build your house. Have you chosen a location yet?” Speaking of this matter suddenly made Bai Shanbao’s shoulders slump. He said, “My great aunt doesn’t want us to move out. She insists on keeping us, and even my grandmother stopped mentioning it yesterday.” Manbao said, puzzled, “Why keep outsiders living in your own home? That must be so uncomfortable, and it also wastes food.” Bai Shanbao: “...” Waste food? What kind of reasoning was that? Manbao said, “I have an uncle who is incredibly lazy. After he quarreled with my aunt and she kicked him out, he came to our house looking for my mom, hoping to stay with us. But my mom refused to let him. She grabbed him by the ear, made him apologize to my aunt, and sent him back home.” Manbao continued, “My mom said it was for my uncle’s own good, as well as for our family. Living in someone else’s home, you have to be mindful of them—how could that be comfortable compared to your own home? And for the host family, having a stranger live with them is uncomfortable too. When there’s no outsider, you can fight and break bowls if you need to, or be affectionate. But with an outsider present, would you feel at ease?” Bai Shanbao shook his head vigorously and complained, “I used to be able to play with mud, but now my mom won’t even let me do that. Yesterday, I saw a beautiful yellow flower in the flowerbed that I wanted to pick for my grandmother, but my mom wouldn’t allow it. Humph, if it were in my own home, I could pick it if I wanted to, and my mom would never stop me—in fact, she’d praise me for being filial.” Manbao then encouraged him, “That’s why you need to move out. If you want to plant flowers later, I can bring my nephews to help you dig some up from the mountain. Let me tell you, there are so many pretty flowers on the mountain.” Bai Shanbao’s eyes lit up slightly, admiringly looking at her, “You’ve been up the mountain?” Although Manbao had only been up twice, she was immensely proud, as if the mountain was her own backyard, boasting with her small little head high, “Of course, I go whenever I want. There’s also wild fruit to eat on the mountain.” The envy in Bai Shanbao’s eyes deepened. Seeing this, Manbao became excited and puffed up her chest, “If you want to go, I’ll take you with me.” Bai Shanbao’s eyes sparkled, “Really?” What’s so difficult about that? After school, she would just take him to find her fourth brother. Manbao nodded with restrained pride. Bai Shanbao let out a cheer, and as Mr. Zhuang’s figure appeared at the doorway, Bai Shanbao immediately picked up his book. He also nudged Manbao as a signal for her to be cautious around the teacher. Unfortunately, Manbao had never experienced being watched by a teacher, so she didn’t understand Bai Shanbao’s hint. She turned to look toward the doorway, saw the teacher, and flashed him a big smile, greeting him extra warmly, “Good day, teacher!” The other students: ...This is really courting death. Did they not see that the teacher caught you gossiping? Instead of getting angry, Mr. Zhuang suddenly hesitated, unable to express anger at the smiling face of his young student. He could only return the smile and then said authoritatively, “The plan for a day begins with the morning. Shouldn’t you be reading now?” Manbao obediently opened her book and started to read along with Bai Shanbao, nodding and shaking her head. The other students: ...Were they seeing things? They must be seeing things, right? But Mr. Zhuang had let them off lightly just like that. However, during the break, Mr. Zhuang took the two kids aside to the neighboring courtyard. The students thought Mr. Zhuang intended to discipline them, feeling relieved inside, thinking, of course. How could one not be punished for chatting during the morning lessons? After all, the teacher had said you should take it outside if you want to chat, and you can only read books inside the classroom. What they didn’t know was that Mr. Zhuang was asking the two children for their reflections on that day’s reading. Today, they were still learning from The Analects, and Mr. Zhuang had already explained the meaning. Manbao always had many questions. During the class, she hadn’t wanted to interrupt her teacher with questions, but now that she had the chance, she excitedly asked them all. Mr. Zhuang smiled and answered her questions one by one. Bai Shanbao originally didn’t dare to bring up his own questions in fear of being scolded for being troublesome, which would result in being hit on the palms, and next time, the teacher would complain to his grandmother, saying he was not concentrating and thinking about all sorts of irrelevant and crafty things every day. Seeing that Manbao dared to ask anything, he summoned up his courage, his eyes shining as he brought out his questions for Mr. Zhuang, including the ones he had when studying the Thousand Character Classic. There were too many questions, and the break time simply wasn’t enough. Mr. Zhuang patted his little head, smiling, “Don’t rush. After lunch, come to my place for a rest, and I’ll teach you more.” Then, after a pause, he added, “If the other students ask you why you came here, just say the teacher asked you to come clean. Understand?” The two children nodded together, their round little heads and round little faces unbearably cute. Seeing Bai Shanbao look somewhat dazed, Mr. Zhuang gently tapped his small head again and said with a smile, “What are you thinking about? Snap out of it and get back to your class.” Manbao pulled Bai Shanbao around and ran toward the classroom. Bai Shanbao whispered to her, “The teacher actually touched my head.” Manbao stared at him curiously, “Yeah, so what?” Bai Shanbao said, “My previous teachers would never touch my head. They wouldn’t touch other kids’ heads either; they would only hit us.” Manbao was indignant, “Then your previous teacher was a baddie. Mr. Zhuang is so much better. Only naughty kids get hit on the palms. But once a naughty kid starts behaving, Mr. Zhuang touches his head again.” Bai Shanbao felt wistful, “If only I had come here earlier, when I was in the academy before...” Bai Shanbao let slip more than he intended, telling Manbao all about his past experiences in the academy, and by the time Mr. Zhuang returned to the classroom, he had almost failed to hold back. He was left longing for more, pitying that he was sitting right under the teacher’s nose. If he had been at the back of the class, he could have continued talking with Manbao. Manbao, also not having had enough, skipped looking for the teacher after the class and ran to the kitchen to get her meal. She found a patch of grass outside the school and continued chatting while eating. It was only after Mr. Zhuang had waited for a long time in the courtyard and came out to find the two kids sitting side by side on the grass, engrossed in conversation, that he realized why they hadn’t come to see him. Mr. Zhuang was so furious that his beard puffed up. He called out and brought the two kids into the courtyard, deciding to give them a talk that noon about what promises mean and the importance of respecting teachers and valuing traditions!

Chapter 68 - 68 57 Favoritism

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