Chapter 293 Drinking
Mr. Zhuang put away the textbooks and looked down at the group of eager students. Even Bai Shanbao and Manbao, who had always been given special care by him, had sparkling eyes and placed their hands on both sides of the closed books, as if they were ready to put away their textbooks and rush out as soon as he said the get out of class was over.
Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but smile when he saw this, and asked slowly, "Have all your families started harvesting wheat?"
The children nodded and looked at Mr. Zhuang in confusion.
Mr. Zhuang said, "The wheat has been harvested, and the summer harvest has begun."
The students were confused, but Bai Shanbao's eyes became brighter, and it was obvious that he had thought of something.
Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Let's have three days off for the summer harvest this year."
The students were stunned for a moment, and after confirming that the teacher was not joking, they all shouted excitedly, and Manbao also clapped his hands excitedly.
Mr. Zhuang waited until they had finished shouting before lowering his hand. When they quieted down, he said, "You must help with the household work these three days, and don't just think about playing. Farming and mulberry cultivation are the foundation of the people. Whether you choose to be an official, a farmer, or a businessman in the future, these skills will be useful to you. Besides, the elders in the family are all working hard, so how can you just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor?"
All the students stood up, bent down and answered "yes" in unison. Manbao's little head almost hit the table.
Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard with satisfaction and said, "Okay, that's all for today. Let's go home."
"Congratulations, sir!"
Mr. Zhuang looked down at Manbao and Bai Shanbao and said, "Come to the courtyard to see me later."
As soon as Mr. Zhuang walked out of the classroom, the quiet classroom suddenly erupted into cheers and noise, and everyone immediately packed up and went home.
Those who were quick had already stuffed the books into the bookcase and rushed out with them.
Mr. Zhuang, who had just walked a few steps away, heard the noise behind him, shook his head with a smile, and walked back to the courtyard.
Manbao and Bai Shanbao looked at each other and lowered their heads to pack up their books, not excited at all.
The teacher will definitely give them extra homework.
Bai Shanbao invited Manbao in advance, "Do you want to go to my house to do homework?"
Manbao thought about it and realized that everyone in the family had gone to harvest wheat. Obviously, no one would take her up the mountain to look for Fuling, so she nodded and said, "Okay."
Mr. Zhuang did give them homework, and it was quite a lot. Manbao frowned as he took notes and asked, "Sir, if we don't know how to do something, can we ask you?"
Mr. Zhuang thought for a moment and said, "You guys do it first. If you don't know how, you can ask Mr. Bai for help. I need to go into the city for a while."
It is precisely because he is going to the city that he will have a holiday for the summer harvest. You should know that in the past he only had a holiday for the autumn harvest.
Manbao took note and curiously asked, "What are you doing in the city?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "The imperial court has issued a decree exempting all autumn taxes in Mianzhou this year, so I'm going home to visit your brothers and the others."
Manbao's eyes lit up, "Are all autumn taxes exempted?"
Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile. "Soon, the village head will come to inform the village that the autumn tax has been waived. Most people should be able to get through this year. All we have to do is prepare for the tax."
Manbao nodded vigorously.
This was truly excellent news. Manbao hadn't even asked Mr. Zhuang where he got the information. Mr. Zhuang wouldn't lie to them.
Manbao happily ran home with his school box on his back, told his family about it first, and then took his homework to find Bai Shanbao.
Unfortunately, only He, who was preparing dinner, was at home with San Ya and Si Tou. The others were working in the fields, so the good news about Man Bao could only be told to her.
But even so, He was very happy and immediately asked San Ya to ask Qian in the vegetable garden if she could cook some eggs in the evening to celebrate.
When Old Zhou came back with a group of children for dinner and heard the good news, he laughed heartily twice, then asked Zhou Dalang to take out the jar of wine that Zhou Silang had hidden for the wedding in May, and decided to have a drink in the evening.
When Zhou Dalang ran to the utility room and took out a jar of wine from somewhere, the women in the family realized that they and their son had been secretly hiding wine.
Old Zhou was smiling, but when he turned around and met Qian's gaze, his body stiffened and he suddenly felt guilty.
It was a rare good thing, Qian just snorted and didn't settle the score with him immediately.
Old Zhou touched the back of his neck and sighed, but never mind, let's just wait and see after tonight.
Manbao has been interested in wine for a long time, because not only her father likes it, but her brothers, from the eldest brother to the fifth brother, also like it, and she is very interested in all delicious food and drinks.
Manbao sat in her seat and started staring at her brothers drinking. After she finished her meal and her sisters-in-law also finished their meals, she immediately took her bowl and sat between Zhou Silang and Zhou Wulang, pretending that she wanted to eat more dishes, and then glanced at the wine in their bowls.
Of course, they couldn't afford to drink very good wine. This was bought from the people who sold loose wine in the county town. It was said that it was all made from rice, so it was very precious.
After the meat, the second most expensive item at a wedding banquet is wine.
This is the case when they only provide half a jar per table. If they supply it in full, I wonder how much it would cost.
Manbao thinks white rice is delicious, and porridge is also delicious, so the wine made from rice...
Manbao looked around furtively. While Zhou Wulang turned his head to talk to Datou and the others, she secretly reached out and dragged the bowl in front of him. She smelled it and found it very fragrant, so she lowered her head and took a sip...
The bitter, astringent and slightly spicy feeling instantly exploded in the taste buds. Manbao vomited it out directly and then started coughing violently.
Old Zhou just happened to see her drinking secretly, with her mouth open and eyes wide open.
Zhou Wulang immediately snatched back his wine bowl and glared at her, "How old are you and you're already drinking?"
Manbao stuck out his tongue like a dog and turned to look for his sister-in-law with tears in his eyes.
Little Qian was both angry and amused. She poured water for her to rinse her mouth and patted her little butt. "Your sixth brother can't drink at this age, how can you be so brave?"
Old Zhou had already closed his mouth and his eyes had shrunk back. He waved at the little girl and, after calling her over, said with a smile, "If you want a drink, just tell Dad. Come, drink Dad's."
When the father-in-law started talking, little Qian Shi didn't want to interrupt, but Qian Shi glared at him and said, "You're already drunk after only half a bowl of yellow soup?"
Old Zhou immediately shrank his neck, chuckled at Manbao, patted her head and said, "Okay, go have fun. Wait until you're a little older, at least as old as your sixth brother before drinking."
Manbao said, "I won't drink it anymore. It's too hard to drink."
Old Zhou burst into laughter, and the Zhou brothers couldn't help laughing. They all picked up their bowls and took a sip, saying happily, "How can it be hard to drink? It's obviously so delicious."
(End of this chapter)
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