The Whole Village Thrives After Adopting a Lucky Girl

“Of course.”

Chunniang curled her lips in a smile, pulling her young daughter into the room for a chat.

Yingbao relayed the entire story to her mother, reassuring her that Master Wu was very kind, and would definitely teach Xiaojie well.

There was no reason for Chunniang to worry. It was a tremendous fortune bestowed by previous generations on her son, a farmer with no background or connections, to be chosen as Master Wu’s apprentice.

“Bao’er, do you think we should make a pair of shoes for Master Wu and his wife as a gift?” Chunniang asked.

Yingbao thought for a moment, “But we don’t know their shoe size. How about I prepare some Health Preserving Pills for them instead, so you won’t have to worry, Mother.”

“That works too.” The medicine pills her daughter made were famous throughout the village and very precious, and they’d also make fitting gifts.

Chunniang put her heart at ease and went to the kitchen to prepare egg noodles for the father and son.

Not long after, Old man Jiang found out about Xiaojie becoming an apprentice and immediately came to inquire from Jiang Sanlang.

“Sanlang, is it true that Xiaojie has gone to the county town to become an apprentice? Could Yuanbao also join him?”

Jiang Sanlang was somewhat troubled, “Father, I’m not sure. Master Wu is not a private school teacher, it might not be appropriate to abruptly suggest that Yuanbao join him.”

Seeing his father’s gloomy face, Jiang Sanlang added, “Why don’t I ask him when Xiaojie has some free time?”

Old man Jiang nodded, sighed, “If all else fails, you go to the county town to find out which school is good, and we’ll send Yuanbao there to study instead.”

Jiang Sanlang originally had this in mind as well, and promptly promised, “Sure! I’ll ask the next time I’m there.”

The store run by Yingbao’s family was located just across from the county school, so students and servants often came to buy fruit.

Who better to ask for information on schools, than the scholars from the county school?

Early the next day, Jiang Quan got up to pick grapes. This time, he planned to bring six baskets to the county town, so he wouldn’t have to continuously return for more.

The two girls, Yingbao and Dani, each grabbed a pair of scissors to help cut grapes. Each held a small bamboo basket, selecting the ripest ones to eat while they worked.

The grapes were now large and sweet, with incredibly inviting white frost covering their purple skins.

However, recently, birds had started pecking at them, often leaving entire bunches of grapes ruined.

Jiang Quan, upon seeing the damaged grapes, would curse in frustration and angrily tear off the spoiled ones, but the undamaged ones would be placed back into the basket.

These were all money and not to be wasted.

Not only did the birds peck at the grapes, they also had a particular fondness for the ripe red pepper.

Luckily, Chuchu was always there to help watch over them. Whenever a large flock of birds flew by, she would wave her long bamboo pole and run over to scare them away.

Chuchu came to scare away the birds this morning as well, swinging her bamboo pole around.

There were a few cloth strips hanging from the end of the pole; the wave of the pole would frighten the birds away.

“Sister Chuchu, come in and have some grapes.” Yingbao waved to her.

Chuchu looked a bit shy, but she eventually came in to help pick grapes and put them into the baskets.

Yingbao handed her a large, purple cluster, urging her, “Sister Chuchu, try these and see how good they taste.”

Chuchu took the grapes and popped one into her mouth, nodding repeatedly, “Delicious.”

Yingbao giggled, “Take some for Chuyan and the others to try later.”

“Okay.” Chuchu nodded, finished the grapes in her hand, and quickly resumed picking.

“Yingbao, those peppers have turned red, and the birds eat them every day. What should we do?” asked Dani.

She had never seen peppers before, and had no idea how they turned into the dark pepper grains.

Yingbao replied, “We’ll pick the red pepper fruits, put them all in a sack, and soak them in the river for a few days. After that, we’ll pour them into a basin and stomp on them to remove the pulp, then rinse them with water. The remaining seeds will be dried in the sun for a few days.”

This was what Lady Wen had told her.

“Alright. Later, I’ll go call some people to help.” Dani said, “We can just give them some grapes as payment.”

The grapes grown in Third Aunt’s family were coveted by everyone in the village, but few dared to come in and pick them secretly.

Unmarried girls were even too embarrassed to approach the garden, afraid of being accused of having a gluttonous mouth.

Dani was friends with several local girls and knew they all wanted to try the grapes from the Western Region, but she couldn’t just give them away privately.

Peppers in the pepper garden were ripening one after another. Why not invite them to work and pick some grapes for them to taste?

“Of course.” Yingbao had no objection.

There’s a large area of pepper garden, with strong and dense vines. The peppers are hidden under the leaves, making it very difficult to pick. Her mother alone can’t manage it all.

Being short and small herself, she could hardly pick the peppers, let alone reach those on the higher vines.

Dani put on a smile, then ran home with two baskets full of grapes. She was going to invite some of her friends over to pick peppers.

Jiang Quan, overhearing this, was annoyed. He shot a glance at his little cousin and muttered lowly, “Wasteful!”

These grapes were money, why was she being so generous.

Yingbao glared back at him, “So many have ripened and fallen to the ground, it’s better people taste them than go to waste.”

Jiang Quan snorted, promptly snipping away the good-looking ones one by one and gently placing them in the basket.

Finally, six baskets of grapes were picked. Jiang Quan drove the horse cart and loaded all the baskets onto it.

“I’m taking off now, you keep an eye on the house.”

Jiang Quan instructed his little cousin, “There are still quite a few peaches and apricots on the tree. If you want to give some away, use those.”

The prices of peaches and apricots were not high, only a few coins per pound. Even if she gave them all away, he wouldn’t mind.

Grapes were a different matter. They were a rarity. Many people came seeking them, which made Jiang Quan feel very prominent.

If he wasn’t afraid of bringing too many and not being able to sell them before they went bad, he would have liked to bring a few more baskets.

“Got it!” Yingbao waved at him, suddenly asking, “Are you going to the county town by yourself?”

Jiang Quan thought for a moment and said, “Shall I invite Li Dao along? I’m a little bit scared on my own.”

The journey is over a hundred miles. If he ran into bad guys, it would be troublesome.

Having one more person would provide extra security. Jiang Quan decided he would also invite Wang Dashan along.

With Li Dao and Wang Dashan accompanying him, he felt braver.

As she watched her cousin drive away in the cart, Yingbao picked another two full baskets of grapes.

She would give one basket to Lady Wen and her daughter, and let Chuchu take the other one for Chuyan and Master Zhang Meng to taste.

As Yingbao walked into the classrooms with the baskets, she saw two horse carts parked in the yard of the study hall.

These were just bought by Wen Fu from the county town for Lady Wen and the others to use on their return to Yuzhou.

Yingbao handed the basket to the nanny, then ran into the inner room to find Lady Wen.

“Master, are you leaving already? But I still haven’t learned everything.” She looked at Lady Wen, who was packing, with a face full of grievances.

Lady Wen patted her head gently and said softly, “I have taught you all that I know. The rest is up to you.”

She took a letter out of her makeup box and handed it to Yingbao. “This is a letter of recommendation from Shushu’s grandfather. If you want to continue your studies, take this letter to the Medical Bureau in Luzhou.”

Yingbao held the yellow-sealed letter, trying hard not to cry.

The prefecture city was so far away. How could she possibly leave her father, mother, and brother to study on her own?

Wen Shu came over, noticing that Yingbao looked depressed. He whispered, “Didn’t you already know that we were going back to Yuzhou? Why are you unhappy now?”

Yingbao pouted, but tears still fell.

Although she knew, she just didn’t want them to leave.