At last, Zhou Silang managed to stuff everything into the carriage, making sure everyone was comfortable as they sat.
The group set out on their journey early in the morning.
Aunt Rong didn’t leave but stayed to look after the house.
When their carriages arrived at the city gate, dawn had just broken, and under the gaze of the crowd, the gates slowly swung open.
The usually quiet street became noisy in an instant, with people carrying or pulling their possessions or driving their carts through the checkpoint to leave the city.
The city gate was split into two, one side for those going out and the other for those coming in.
Being a large city, Yizhou had many people entering and leaving, creating long queues. Manbao and the others took the opportunity while their carriage was in line to hop down and buy some breakfast from a street vendor near the gate.
Such as delicious-looking buns and pastries.
Zhou Silang couldn’t stop them in time, so he could only scold them while craning his neck to keep an eye on them, worried they would get lost in the crowd.
Daji, who was leading the carriage at the front, also couldn’t help but look on for quite a while, and Mr. Zhuang peeked out behind the curtains too.
He shook his head and said, "Aunt Rong has prepared plenty of food for us, why do you still need to buy more?"
Upon seeing them return with their purchases, Daji let out a sigh of relief and said with a laugh, "Just trying something new. They’re young and always think the food outside is better than at home."
After buying their food, Manbao and the others climbed back into the carriage. Zhou Silang, annoyed at their mischief, pointed at Manbao and Bai Shan and said, "You two, go to the front carriage. Didn’t you see we’ve also got a lot of things here? If the horse gets tired later, you’ll have to get off and carry some of the load."
Manbao, holding his food, said, "Silang, you’re not the brother I knew."
Zhou Silang rolled his eyes and replied, "That’s right, do I also need to abandon the carriage and run off with you to buy food to be the brother you know? If you could just be responsible for something, I wouldn’t have to worry."
He continued to grumble, "Aunt Rong is a servant; she only takes care of kitchen matters and nothing else. Daji is even simpler; he only cares about safety and asks nothing else. Even if you guys fought in front of him and didn’t bleed, he wouldn’t even blink an eye."
"Mr. Zhuang has his hands full teaching you, so it wouldn’t be right to bother him with mundane household affairs. You guys are old enough, yet you don’t take care of anything. You don’t even know where to buy horse feed. If I were like you, not caring about anything, imagine the state our home would be in..."
After being nagged at relentlessly, Manbao had no choice but to pick a few of her favorite items and climb down from the carriage to head towards the front.
Bai Shan looked around and found a package from somewhere, then he too climbed down from the carriage.
The space inside the carriage suddenly felt larger, and Zhou Lijun and Bai Erlang were immediately happy, quickly claiming the seats by the windows and settling comfortably.
Bai Erlang invited Zhou Lijun, "Let’s play the beanbag toss game later."
"The carriage is too shaky."
Bai Erlang: "That’s the challenge, dare you play?"
"What’s there to be afraid of?" Zhou Lijun said, "I’m better at tossing beanbags than you."
When Manbao and Bai Shan reached the front carriage, Daji saw them and cracked a smile, feeling relieved as he pulled them up with a hand.
After Bai Shan climbed onto the carriage, looking at his face, he said, "If you want to laugh, just laugh, don’t hold it back."
Daji’s eyes curved into smiles and he gestured towards the carriage, "Young Master, get inside, we will be up soon. Once we leave the city gate, there might be a lot of dust."
Hearing this, Bai Shan promptly climbed back into the carriage and began to share with Manbao the tasty treats they had brought along.
Of course, before they started eating, they politely offered some to Mr. Zhuang.
But Mr. Zhuang declined, shaking his head. He had eaten breakfast not long ago and at his age, he couldn’t afford to gorge himself recklessly.
Watching the two pinch the fat, white buns and devour them in just three bites, he envied their hearty appetites.
But it was exactly the time for them to be growing, so being able to eat well was good. For this reason, Mr. Zhuang never stopped Aunt Rong from feeding them four or five times a day.
Kids this age seem to never get full.
It was almost their turn, so Mr. Zhuang closed the window and said to them, "Eat quickly, if you can’t finish, put it away properly. Once we’re out of the city, it’ll be dirty and smelly, be careful not to get filthy."
Indeed, it was dirty and smelly outside the city gates. Due to the traffic of people and vehicles, dust filled the air, and with many animals around and prolonged stays, the air was laden with a pungent odor.
Manbao and the others had stopped eating and followed the traffic as Daji gently tapped the horse, encouraging it to gradually pick up speed.
Only after walking two or three miles did the odor begin to fade, but there was still plenty of dust on the road, so they didn’t open the windows.
Bai Shanbao revealed the package he had brought along, and upon opening it, they discovered a cloth with a chessboard drawn on it, wrapped around some stones.
Several of the stones were marked with an ink line for distinction. Bai Shan called Manbao over, "Come on, let’s play chess."
Mr. Zhuang: "...Are you short of money?"
Can’t even afford a proper chess set?
"We’re not," Bai Shanbao said, "but Mr. Zhuang, we’ve just started learning chess and still don’t know how to play properly. Let’s not spend money on a chess set yet."
Manbao nodded vigorously, "We might not continue to like it."
The main reason was that their recent studies were so intense that the two beginners weren’t forced to commit, so they decided to muddle through.
How could Mr. Zhuang not know what his two disciples were thinking?
He gave them a look and thought to say something but eventually held back. Finally having a holiday, he planned to let them have their fun for a while before getting serious again after the break.
Chess, as one of the important means of communication among scholars, was something they both had to learn.
Not just them, even the most mischievous Bai Erlang would have to learn.
Of course, at this moment, Mr. Zhuang thoughtfully didn’t inform them.
Playing with the stones was quite fun, and Manbao and Bai Shan could play back and forth in the carriage for most of the day.
Now during the peak of summer heat, they would rest for a while at midday, have lunch, and then continue traveling after the hottest part of the day.
So by the time they arrived back in Qili Village, it was already quite late.
But similarly, although it was already the 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. hour, it wasn’t dark yet.
However, as it was late, people in the village had already eaten their dinner, and some families were already washed up and getting ready for bed. Only a few, unable to sleep because of the heat, were sitting under the big banyan tree at the village entrance, chatting and enjoying the cooler air.
When the carriage was still a fair distance from the village entrance, the villagers sitting under the banyan tree squinted for a while before they recognized Manbao sitting on the carriage shaft.
An elderly man, because he could see further, recognized her first. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Isn’t that Zhou Jin’s eldest girl? Hey, Manbao is back!"
Once these words got out, the children and teenagers who were reluctant to sleep under the banyan tree immediately jumped up, yelling and running towards them. One of them shouted toward the village, "Zhou Lixue, Zhou Ligu, your cousin is back―"
Just after bathing and stepping outside to fend off mosquitoes, a young boy’s ears perked up and he said, "Dad, I think I heard someone calling me, saying my cousin is back."
"Nonsense, I didn’t hear anything. Quit running around. If you’ve got nothing better to do, mend that hole-ridden pair of trousers of yours. With your mother and sister not home, you should be able to handle these small tasks yourself."