Chapter 96 - 96 85 Delicious

Words : 1540 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

96: Chapter 85 Delicious 96: Chapter 85 Delicious The sight of many classmates gathering around to join in the excitement wasn’t rare; after all, their siblings were also among those serving in the army. But even the boldest and the most mischievous among them wouldn’t dare to suggest following the grown-ups to see the place of service. So when everyone heard Manbao’s idea, they scattered in an instant, leaving only Manbao, Bai Shanbao, and Bai Erlang at the scene. The three children exchanged glances, and Bai Erlang stood up, patting his bottom, “I’m heading back too.” Bai Shanbao tugged at him, “They’ve run off without knowing the way, why are you running too?” Bai Erlang stiffened his neck, “I’m not running. I think you two are being silly. We need to attend school. How can we go to White Horse Pass?” As soon as Manbao heard his concern, she immediately said, “Don’t worry about it. Mr. Zhuang will give us a holiday in a few days.” Bai Shanbao nodded, “Mr. Zhuang has to return home for some matters, and this time we’re getting a five-day holiday. Manbao and I have already decided, one day to White Horse Pass, one day to play in the reeds by the river, one day to play in the mountains, one day at my place, and one day at Manbao’s.” Their schedule was packed to the brim. At the mention of a holiday, Bai Erlang perked up, counting on his fingers excitedly, “I remember, I remember. Last winter we had a five-day holiday too, but I just can’t recall the specific time.” Manbao looked down on him, “It’s the anniversary of Mr. Zhuang’s wife’s passing. He’s going back home to spend time with his son. I’ve committed it to memory a long time ago—ah, you really have a poor memory.” She too only remembered the event, and not the timing. Last year, when the school had a holiday, Junior Ms.Qian had told her about it. Bai Erlang was unfazed by her mockery as his mind was filled with the prospect of the holiday, “White Horse Pass is not fun at all, the county town is much better. I’ll take you guys to the county town to play.” Perhaps it was because they now shared a common secret that Bai Erlang found the two of them more to his liking. But Bai Shanbao was someone who stood by his decisions, “No, we’ve made plans already and we can’t change them. Are you leading the way or not?” Manbao doubted him, “You don’t actually forget the way there, do you?” “Who, who said I’ve forgotten?” Bai Erlang quickly tried to recall how to get to White Horse Pass. As he thought about it, he became somewhat uneasy. Seeing Bai Shanbao and Manbao looking at him with doubt, he immediately pointed in the direction the workmen had left shouting, “Just follow this road straight, and keep going—you’ll get there. Of course, I know the way.” Manbao and Bai Shanbao were satisfied, “Good, then we’ll all go together when the time comes.” Bai Erlang didn’t really want to go, but he was afraid to say so, lest they realize he didn’t know the way and look down on him. He lamented, “What if the wolves carry us off, the three of us kids?” To prevent the children from running wild, the adults would often scare them about wolves in the mountains and monsters in the water, claiming that anyone who got near would be taken away. Even the families of the landlord class, like the Bai Family, were no exception. Manbao replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll ask my Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother to protect us.” Manbao even took out a piece of candy from her pocket and offered it to him, “Here, I’ll treat you to some candy. You have to lead the way for us that day, for sure.” Bai Shanbao also took out a piece from the pastry pouch he carried especially for snacks and placed it in his hand, “I’ll treat you to some pastries too.” Bai Erlang looked at the items in his palm and swallowed. He could forego Bai Shanbao’s pastries since he had his own, but Manbao’s candy... Bai Erlang decided to eat first and talk later, so he ate and naturally had to agree. Manbao and Bai Shanbao both felt assured and together, hand in hand, they headed back—ah, back to school they go! Mr. Zhuang watched a crowd of children come running from a distance and glanced inside the classroom. Mmm, his most problematic and his proudest students were missing. So he continued to stand at the entrance and wait. Manbao and Bai Shanbao walked hand in hand from a distance, and upon seeing the teacher, they immediately ran up to him excitedly, feeling not the slightest bit guilty about their plan. Seeing the joy on the faces of the two children, Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but feel a bit happy himself, but he still maintained a serious expression and asked, “Where’s Bai Cheng? Did you bully him?” Manbao said, “We’re friends now, I didn’t bully him.” She confidently added, “I even gave him some candy to eat.” Bai Shanbao pointed behind him and said, “He’s back there eating candy.” Mr. Zhuang then patted their little heads and let them inside. Bai Erlang came back dawdling, and Mr. Zhuang frowned at his lack of enthusiasm, but in the end, he didn’t scold him and began the lesson once everyone had arrived. The matter of Mr. Zhuang taking a holiday was temporarily only made known to Manbao and Bai Shanbao, of course, he didn’t deliberately tell them; it simply slipped out when he was giving them a private lesson. The school was only notified the day before it closed for the holiday; of course, the students’ parents had known for a while. So, after Mr. Zhuang announced it, the students cheered and the classroom filled with laughter and joyful voices, clearly, no matter the era, a vacation is something that makes students very happy. Mr. Zhuang smiled, gathered his books, and took his two most talented students next door; he took out a thin booklet from his desk and handed it to them, saying, “This is a small story I’ve translated during this period, you should read these few small stories over the next five days, memorize them well, and when I return, I shall ask you what you’ve read.” The private lessons Mr. Zhuang gave often consisted of highly entertaining stories of all sorts. Once, after noticing Manbao reading a medicine book, he enthusiastically led the two children up the mountain after school, pointing out which plants could stop bleeding, which could promote blood flow, and which could calm the nerves... Bai Shanbao confidently took the booklet and assured Mr. Zhuang that they would study hard. Mr. Zhuang was pleased and stroked his beard before letting them go play. He was going home early the next morning, so he had to start packing some things now. Bai Shanbao took the book and ran out with Manbao. The two found a soft patch of grass to sit down on and opened the book to read together. The two children recognized quite a few characters. Even if they weren’t quite able to write them yet, they had no problem reading, and their favorite pastime was reading storybooks. Manbao had already finished reading the stories about the ten worst fathers and had even graciously let Bai Shanbao read them. Usually, they loved listening to Mr. Zhuang’s stories the most, so they were engrossed in reading at the moment, but this in no way interfered with their plan to go to White Horse Pass the next day. Early in the morning, Manbao slipped into the kitchen and asked Junior Ms. Qian to make her pancakes; she was going out to play with Bai Shanbao. Junior Ms. Qian was also afraid that her niece would be mistreated at the Bai Family’s house, so she made her a big pancake. Manbao then took the big pancake to find Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother. Zhou Wulang had no idea what she was up to, but still followed her out. They had a five-day holiday, and their little sister might have come up with a new money-making idea. Manbao arrived in front of the school to find Bai Shanbao already there with a small bundle, tugging at Bai Erlang, waiting for them. Upon seeing Manbao, Bai Erlang had a bitter look on his face, but Bai Shanbao excitedly ran up, “We’ve been here early, you’re so slow.” Manbao then presented her big pancake, “I was waiting for my sister-in-law to bake pancakes. Here, please have some.” Bai Shanbao also set down his small bundle, opened it to show Manbao the goodies he’d taken from the kitchen, “I’ve brought lots of food too, please help yourselves.” Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang eyed the pancakes, steamed buns, and pastries, swallowing in unison. So, it wasn’t about making money, but they loved it too.

Chapter 96 - 96 85 Delicious

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