Chapter 794 Friends
Lord Tianzun easily helped her realize this wish, because even if County Magistrate Yang, who was far away on the way to the capital, wanted to, he was powerless to find out anything.
But after receiving the letter from County Magistrate Yang, County Magistrate Tang packed up his things, went to chat with Governor Ming, and then got an excuse to go to Luojiang County on official business.
Before leaving, County Magistrate Tang thought about it and decided to go see Manbao, so he deliberately postponed his departure time and waited in front of the drugstore. From a distance, when Manbao arrived at the intersection carrying her small backpack, County Magistrate Tang got off the car and waved to her from afar.
Zhou Silang returned home yesterday. Manbao knew everything was fine at home, so when he saw County Magistrate Tang, he ran up to him, looked up at him, and asked, "Sir Tang, do you want to talk to me about something? Are you going to ask about my father and my uncle again?"
County Magistrate Tang looked at Manbao and smiled, "Manbao, in your heart, what kind of people are your father and uncle?"
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "I've never met my uncle, but from what my parents, brothers, and villagers have said, he's a good man who values loyalty."
"And your father?"
Manbao said: "My father is timid, kind-hearted, loving and protective of his family. He is a good man."
Magistrate Tang looked at Manbao, certain she wasn't lying. But he was equally certain the bald man in Yang Heshu's confession was lying, so he sighed and said, "Manbao, people are the most complicated things in the world, especially their hearts. He may be kind and loving to you, but not necessarily to others. Have you ever considered that your father is a bad person?"
Manbao shook his head and said affirmatively: "My father is not a bad person, Lord Tang, are we friends?"
County Magistrate Tang hesitated for a moment, fearing that Manbao would try to show him favors, yet also afraid that she wouldn't mention anything. But in the end, he nodded and said, "Of course."
"Then tell me, what has my father done wrong?" Manbao said with certainty, "My father hasn't left the house recently. My fourth brother has already gone home to ask about it, and he hasn't even left the village. Even if the bald man says something, it's not credible. He's a gambler, and how can you trust a gambler's words?"
County Magistrate Tang looked at her neck and asked, "Do you have a longevity lock on you?"
Manbao was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
County Magistrate Tang asked, "Can you show me?"
Manbao vaguely guessed something, hesitated for a moment, and then took out the longevity lock and untied it to show him.
Yang Heshu had already sent him the pattern of the longevity lock with the letter, but County Magistrate Tang still took a closer look at the longevity lock. As Yang Heshu said, it was not something that an ordinary silversmith could make.
He lowered his head and met Manbao's sparkling eyes. County Magistrate Tang pondered for a moment and asked, "How did you get this lock?"
Manbao said: "I have been wearing it since I was a child."
County Magistrate Tang returned the longevity lock to her and said, "Manbao, your family couldn't afford this lock, especially not the Zhou family eleven or twelve years ago. For the sake of our friendship, I can only tell you this much."
County Magistrate Tang knew that Manbao and Baishan were intelligent, so he seldom treated them as children and mostly treated them as peers.
He was not as cautious as the Zhou and Bai families, and felt that such matters should not involve children, so he was willing to tell Manbao, and at the same time hoped that she could do some work on Zhou Jin.
He didn't trust Zhou Jin, but he could still trust Zhou Man's character. He didn't think Zhou Man would cover up for his father without any bottom line when he knew that his father was doing evil.
County Magistrate Tang got into the carriage and whispered to his followers, "Let's go."
He did not tell Manbao that he was going to Luojiang County on official business. Manbao naturally would not guess it. She stared blankly at County Magistrate Tang's carriage going away, and only when it was out of sight did she look down at the longevity lock in her hand.
She has been wearing this around her neck since she was a child. Her parents said that they made it specially for her because she was in poor health. They hoped that she would live a long life, so she must not take it off, let alone throw it away.
When she was a child, she thought it was too heavy and secretly took it off and stuffed it under her pillow, and her mother scolded her several times.
Manbao looked at the longevity lock in his hand over and over again, but he couldn't see any difference between this longevity lock and the others. At most, the silver pattern on it was more unique and beautiful...
Silver streaks...
Manbao's heart moved, and he stared at the longevity lock in his hand carefully.
Seeing Manbao standing at the door without coming in, Xiao Gu peeked out. Seeing her in a daze, he called her twice. Seeing that she didn't respond, he ran to the backyard to find Doctor Ji, "Doctor Ji, please go out and take a look. Manbao has become stupid while talking to County Magistrate Tang."
Doctor Ji put down the pestle in his hand and went out to see. Manbao had already put the longevity lock back on. When he saw Doctor Ji, he raised his hand and greeted him listlessly.
Doctor Ji asked with a smile, "What's going on?"
Manbao thought for a moment, then took out his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his backpack. He then drew the silver pattern of the longevity lock that he had just memorized, and asked, "Doctor Ji, have you ever seen silver patterns on a longevity lock like this?"
Doctor Ji took a look and smiled. "It looks nice. Do you want a longevity lock made? You'd have to find a good jewelry store. The silver pattern looks unique, but I'm afraid it's difficult to make."
Manbao then remembered that since it was a silver pattern, he naturally had to ask the silversmith. If he wanted to see a doctor for treatment, he would go to a doctor; if he wanted to study, he would go to a teacher; if he wanted to ask about the longevity lock, he would naturally have to ask the silversmith.
Manbao crumpled up the paper and threw it away. Before any patients came, Manbao lay on the table and carefully drew the entire pattern of his longevity lock.
After seeing the doctor at noon, Manbao went to the silver shop early with a basket on his back.
Manbao took the pattern to the owner of the silver shop. The owner took one look and smiled, saying, "This is a double longevity lock. Although it's difficult to make, we have a master craftsman in our silver shop who can make it. If you want it, you can order one from us, but the cost will be higher."
"How high?"
The shopkeeper said, "It depends on how good you want it. Seven or eight taels is the minimum, and twenty or thirty taels is the maximum."
The silver used in a longevity lock is less than one tael for a small one and only about two or three taels for a large one. But the labor cost alone is so much?
Manbao thought for a moment, then took out her longevity lock from her clothes and showed it to the shopkeeper. She asked, "What if it's beaten like this?"
The shopkeeper took the longevity lock and looked at it. He looked up at Manbao in surprise, then returned the longevity lock with both hands and said with a smile, "Miss, since you can buy a longevity lock made by Master Xia, why don't you buy another one? It's not easy for our silversmith to make a longevity lock like this."
Manbao said: "It looks no different from other longevity locks to me. I thought you could beat it too."
The shopkeeper smiled, thought for a moment, and then took out one of their longevity locks. It looked about the same size as Manbao's. He placed the lock on Manbao's palm and asked with a smile, "Miss, can you feel it? How are they? Are they different?"
Manbao felt it carefully, weighed it, and said, "Mine seems to be heavier?"
(End of this chapter)
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