Chapter 1326: Chapter 1304: The Small Farm
Sunlight streamed through the window, and Manbao finally turned over and stretched lazily before getting up.
The family had long finished breakfast. It was a quiet winter day; most of them had gone out to play, leaving only a few people still at home.
Junior Ms. Qian was busy preparing New Year’s gifts for each family, as per Ms. Qian’s instructions. With the holiday approaching and Manbao and the others just returning from the capital, the gifts for relatives had to be a bit more extravagant.
Especially for Uncle Qian’s family.
Seeing Manbao come over, Junior Ms. Qian wiped her hands and asked, "You’re awake. Are you hungry? I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles."
Manbao had already slipped into the kitchen, lifted the pot lid, and saw a white bun. She said, "No need, I’ll just eat the bun."
Ms. Qian glanced over and said, "Boil her an egg to go with the bun. No need for noodles."
Junior Ms. Qian acknowledged but ended up not only boiling an egg for Manbao but also stir-frying some greens.
Manbao was delighted.
She chuckled, "Wulang was grumbling earlier that in the capital, you rarely get fresh leafy greens. Once winter starts, you’re stuck with cabbage and some dried vegetables. This year the weather’s been relatively warm, so the vegetables in the garden survived, and I brought back more."
Holding the bun, Manbao munched on it as she watched them sort through items. She asked, "Mom, where’s Dad and the others?"
"Out," Ms. Qian replied. "They’re probably wandering around the village bragging about things, wearing that fox-fur coat you gave him."
Say what you will, but the fox-fur coat was indeed warm—soft and windproof. Qili Village, nestled in the mountains, remained chilly even when the sun was shining. In winter, the only time you felt truly warm was huddled around the fire pit.
But burning firewood for the pit was costly, and with a large family, it wasn’t practical to light it often. That coat allowed him to walk outside without freezing.
Ms. Qian loved it, and Old Zhou cherished it even more.
Manbao also wanted to visit the village. She gobbled up the bun quickly, clapped her hands, and dashed out. Junior Ms. Qian tried to catch her for a shoe fitting but missed.
Ms. Qian laughed, "I think she’s about as tall as Daya now. Just use Daya’s foot measurements to make hers."
Junior Ms. Qian agreed, then carried the sorted gifts back to the main house to store.
Manbao was about to head to the Bai Family to find Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, but she only got as far as the bridge before she saw the two of them coming from the other side. The three met on the bridge.
Bai Shan said, "We were thinking of visiting the small farm. Do you want to come?"
Manbao promptly changed her plans. "Sure!"
Daji had already driven out the cart, though instead of horses, it was pulled by a mule. On these uneven rural roads, mules were steadier than horses.
Manager Bai joined them, riding in the cart and giving them a rundown on the farm’s situation this year.
This year, the farm hadn’t benefited from selling new wheat seeds, so profits were much lower. Still, they made a decent amount because of the bumper grain harvest, which sold well.
Besides grain, the farm also produced ginger, fruits, and raised chickens and ducks, all of which brought in income. Manager Bai knew the small farm was a major source of funds for the three young masters’ expenses outside, so he paid extra attention to it.
Bai Shan didn’t care about the bumpy ride and started reviewing the accounts right on the cart. Bai Erlang, feeling dizzy, opted not to look. Instead, he asked, "Do you have enough money to pay me back?"
Manager Bai glanced at their young master curiously. Typically, it should be the main house borrowing from their master, shouldn’t it?
Why was it reversed now?
Bai Shan mentally calculated the total revenue from various sources and nodded. "Enough to repay you."
Bai Erlang brightened. "When will you pay me back?"
"Once the profits are distributed," Bai Shan replied, then asked, "Do you need money urgently?"
Bai Erlang answered, "Not particularly, but my cousin asked me for a loan last night. He wants to start a business but lacks capital. I thought his idea was good, so I agreed."
Bai Shan and Manbao were intrigued. "Your cousin?"
Bai Erlang nodded. "My cousin and his sister are at my house. You haven’t met them yet, have you? I’ll introduce you when we go back in the afternoon."
Even Bai Shan hadn’t seen Bai Erlang’s cousins before. Usually, it was Bai Erlang visiting his uncle’s house, and the cousins never came over. His uncle had occasionally visited, so Bai Shan and Manbao had met him.
Bai Shan asked, "Are they here for the New Year?"
Bai Erlang: "Not sure."
He thought for a moment before saying, "Probably here to borrow money? As soon as I got back to my room last night, my cousin came over to ask for money."
Manbao exchanged a glance with Bai Shan and commented, "You don’t think your cousin might be tricking you, do you?"
"No way," Bai Erlang said confidently. "I got all the details. He really wants to start a business. He even found a storefront, but he didn’t have enough money to secure it or stock up on goods."
"Why didn’t he ask your dad for money?" Bai Shan felt something was off. "Your uncle’s family isn’t exactly poor."
"You know how grown-ups think," Bai Erlang replied. "Whatever we want to do, they believe it’ll fail, so they won’t give money. That’s why my cousin came to me after my dad refused."
Manbao said, "My mom always says, ’Old folks’ wisdom lights the way.’ Why don’t you ask your dad for his opinion? You don’t have to follow it, but you can think it over after hearing him out."
Bai Shan also nodded. "Your father’s much sharper than you. He’s never meddled despite you managing so much money, proving he’s quite open-minded. You should ask him why he refused your cousin."
When others said this, Bai Erlang might not listen. But coming from Bai Shan and Manbao—two who had grown up with him and whom he knew were smarter—he took their words to heart.
As they chatted, the cart reached the farm. Bai Shan jumped down and helped Manbao down. The three turned to look back at the road, deep in thought. "This road seems wider and smoother now."
Manager Bai smiled and said, "We dried and threshed all the wheat and rice here this year. Plus, we often go out to sell eggs, so traffic increased, making the road harder to use. During the farming lull, the matriarch hired temporary laborers to fix it up for better access."
Bai Shan nodded, and the three walked ahead together.
At the foot of Zhou Silang’s mountain, an untamed patch of rocky ground had been transformed. Five small courtyards now stood there. Manager Bai explained, "During busy seasons, we hire two households as long-term laborers. They built these houses themselves. This one is a storage house for farm produce, overseen by an elderly gatekeeper from our household."
The gatekeeper also kept an eye on the four long-term laborers.
Elsewhere, three large fenced areas enclosed open spaces filled with chickens. The yards were relatively clean; each one had low straw-roofed chicken coops where the chickens stayed at night.
The three even spotted a goose that looked very familiar.
The goose had once chased all three of them back at Manbao’s house. Now, it made their spines tingle simultaneously. They froze in place and turned to ask, "Why are there geese raised here too?"