Chapter 1614: Judge Others by Yourself
Manbao and Baishan frowned and asked, "When did this happen? How come we don't know about it?"
"Just now."
Manbao and Baishan looked up at the rising sun in the sky and asked, "It's so early in the morning, and isn't today a day off?"
"Huh? That was yesterday afternoon."
Three people: ...Can you be more serious?
Bai Shan sighed, turned around and said to Man Bao: "It seems that this matter is not over yet."
Manbao waved his little hands and said, "It has nothing to do with us. Let the adults deal with their own affairs. Zhuangyuanlou, right? Did you invite me?"
Liu Huan said happily, "He's spread the word that anyone in Chongwenguan can go if they want, and that naturally includes you. Speaking of which, you've been pretty unlucky this time. I heard you were singled out for criticism and even had your salary fined."
It's really annoying that you're bringing up things that are not related to the topic.
Manbao turned around and handed the basket to Daji who was waiting at the side, then he pulled Chiji over and jumped on the horse, "Let's go eat at the rich man's house."
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also handed their luggage to Daji, then rode on their horses together and asked Yin Huo, "Are you going?"
Yin Huo thought about it and realized that if he went back he would get "sick", and this meal would probably be the only one he could eat out for the next period of time, so he nodded, turned around, got on his own carriage, and went.
A group of students from Chongwenguan went straight to Zhuangyuan Building after leaving the palace without even going home.
Adults like Cheng Er would not bother to attend such gatherings. Although they were not much older than Zhao Liulang and the others, they subconsciously split into two factions in Chongwenguan.
One group consists of the prince's confidants, all of whom were recruited by him, mainly to gain experience and do work; the other group consists of people like Zhao Liulang, Feng Zongping, and Bai Shan, who were either selected or forced in, mainly to accompany the prince in his studies.
Cheng Er and his friends don't like playing with Zhao Liulang and his friends, and Zhao Liulang and his friends don't like playing with them either.
So including Manbao, there were only ten people attending the banquet, all of whom went there to study.
Zhao Liulang was delighted to see that everyone had arrived, and he waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, please feel free to order whatever you want to eat. It's my treat, so don't hesitate."
Bai Shan laughed and without even glancing at the menu, he directly listed the names of two signature dishes of Zhuangyuanlou. Zhao Liulang patted his shoulder happily and said, "Yes, just like Bai Shan. You're welcome."
No one wanted to be polite to him and ordered a lot of food and drinks, regardless of whether they could finish them.
Although the food in the palace is not bad, it is definitely not very considerate. They are not princes or princesses. If they want to eat delicious food, they have to spend money to buy it from the Shangshi Bureau. Not only is it expensive, but it may not satisfy their appetite.
So every time they leave the palace, everyone wants to have some fun.
It's just that this time it's more extravagant.
When the food and wine arrived, everyone raised their chopsticks. Zhao Liulang poured wine for everyone and raised his glass to say to them, "We have been through thick and thin together this time. We must work together again in the future. We can't let outsiders bully us. Don't think that we can be bullied just because we are students of Chongwen Hall."
Everyone raised their glasses noisily. Manbao didn't like drinking, so he just clinked glasses without drinking. Yin Huo even just raised his glass.
Zhao Liulang knew that Yin Huo couldn't drink, so he didn't force him. However, he had some opinions about Manbao. "It's not strong liquor. You're already so old, what's wrong with drinking a sip?"
Manbao said, "It's bitter and not tasty at all."
Everyone burst into laughter. Yi Ziyang drank and laughed, "You haven't realized the taste of wine yet."
Everyone let her go.
The group ate from morning to noon, and only dispersed when their families came.
After eating and drinking his fill, Manbao rode his red horse back home under the scorching sun.
The people at home were not too worried about them because Daji had brought their things back early in the morning and told everyone that they were going to a restaurant to have dinner and were being treated to a banquet by their classmates.
So when Manbao came back, Old Zhoutou asked her, "Did you eat well?"
Manbao nodded and said, "It's great. I feel like I don't need to eat dinner at night. Dad, their braised pork and steamed meat are really delicious. I'll treat you guys to a meal next time."
Old Zhou's mouth was watering as he spoke. He turned around and said to Little Qian, "Old man, do you have any meat at home? How about we have steamed meat tonight?"
Xiao Qian smiled and agreed, "Yes, but it's a little short. Lijun and I will go buy some more later, steam more, and put it in the well to keep it cold so we can eat it tomorrow."
If you were to ask what makes Xiao Qianshi most satisfied with this home, it would be the many wells.
Almost every courtyard has a well, and there are two ancient wells in the garden. The water is very good. It is ice-cold on hot days and is perfect for cooling meat or fruits. And you don't have to carry water outside, how great is that?
After listening to this, Manbao felt that she could actually eat a little more in the evening.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also felt that they could eat more, so they looked at Manbao together.
Manbao was very clever and invited the two of them together, "Come to my house for dinner tonight."
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang nodded together.
After Manbao had been eating at their house for several months, they were finally able to come to her house for a meal.
It was a rare occasion for Manbao to come home, so Old Zhoutou showed off his achievements over the past eight days to her. "Your eldest brother and I have walked through many streets and markets in the capital and finally found all the fruit trees you wanted to plant. You can see that the fruit trees are all planted in the garden. In three or two years, they will bear fruit. When the time comes, you can just walk around and pick the fruit and eat it."
Manbao nodded repeatedly, and suddenly felt that her stomach was a little small, but overeating was not good, and she had already made a mistake today.
Old Zhou asked, "But I forgot to ask you. I heard you say that the official land will not be given to you after you stop being an official. And this house, if you stop being an official in the future..."
"Don't worry, Dad. Even if I'm no longer an official, this house will still be mine," Manbao said. "It wasn't given by the court or the emperor, but by the prince. The title deed is in my hands."
Old Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was worried that if I planted these fruit trees, they would become a bargain for others in the future."
He looked around and then asked quietly, "Have you asked the masters in the palace? Can we cultivate the official land ourselves?"
Manbao: “…”
She didn't dare to admit that she had forgotten, so she said calmly, "Dad, it's only August now. I was given the official land after they finished farming this year. They have to wait until they have harvested all the crops before they can give it to me. The land will only belong to me after September."
Old Zhou expressed his understanding. "That's right. After all, the previous master provided the seeds and labor, so it's indeed his responsibility. I heard that Yongzhou suffered a disaster this year. Many crops were destroyed by drought, and the harvest was poor."
Manbao nodded.
Old Zhou said, "So you have to take care of this land yourself. If you leave it to the palace masters, they will definitely be more concerned about their own family. How can they have the time to worry about your family's fields?"
He used his own mind to guess other people's thoughts, giving an example: "For example, if a place is hit by a disaster and everyone needs to water it, should they water their own water first or yours first?"
Without waiting for Manbao to answer, he said directly: "Of course you water your own fields first, then your relatives', and then your neighbors' and friends'. Finally, when it's your turn, there's no water left. Do you think you can still make a profit?"
Manbao opened his mouth wide, and it took him a while to find his voice. "Dad, you are very smart, but it seems that the officials in charge of official farmland in the Ministry of Revenue don't have any official farmland."
See you at 4 p.m.
(End of this chapter)
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