Chapter 1408: Chapter 1386: Sorting (October Monthly Ticket Bonus 2)
“Auntie, you’re out?”
Manbao stood at the door and curiously asked, “How much stuff did you buy?”
Zhou Lichong (Datou) said, “Not much, all picked from the second-hand market, the wood used is average, so not expensive.”
Manbao asked, “Where did you find this place?”
“Fifth Uncle took us there.” Zhou Lichong paused as he moved a chair in, “Auntie, are you really okay?”
Manbao shook her head, “I’m fine, why do you ask?”
Zhou Lichong looked at Manbao’s face, and after a while slowly shook his head, “It’s nothing.”
Erya and Sanya personally carried their treasured desks inside, Datou stood in the middle to help. As everyone entered the backyard and saw Manbao, they were shocked. Datou spoke quickly, “Auntie, it’s only been a few hours, how did you become so haggard?”
Bai Shan and others, carrying stuff from outside, were also stunned.
Manbao, seeing their bundles, was equally stunned, “How much stuff did you buy?”
Bai Shan and others: “What’s wrong with you?”
Manbao sat in front of the copper mirror, leaned closer and only then did she notice her haggard complexion and slightly dark circles under her eyes.
Bai Shan was a bit worried, “You were fine when you went out this morning, did something happen again?”
Manbao shook her head sadly and exclaimed, “So this is what it feels like when you can’t learn! I won’t complain about Bai Er anymore.”
Beside her, Bai Erlang: …
He said angrily, “What does this have to do with me?”
Manbao sighed, “I tried learning a new medical technique today, couldn’t grasp it, and it wasn’t until now that I barely touched the basics. It’s so hard.”
This tone was too familiar; every time Bai Erlang couldn’t memorize a new lesson or understand it, he would say the same.
Bai Erlang hesitated, suspecting she was mocking him, but seeing her indeed looking sluggish, he believed her a bit, and grumbled, “Now you know my pain, huh?”
Manbao nodded, knowing it, indeed it was painful.
Bai Erlang coughed lightly, asking, “What illness is so hard to treat?”
Manbao didn’t answer, stuffed the notebook on the table into Bai Shan’s arms, and said, “Take a look, maybe come up with an imaginative formula for me. It’s fine if you can’t, I think ‘cough cough’ was right, words can be replaced by anything that makes sense.”
Bai Erlang beside her “cough coughed” twice and asked, “Who is that?”
Bai Shan knocked on his head, “You’re sharp now, didn’t you see her coughing?”
Then he walked off, holding the book.
Bai Erlang followed him out, complaining, “Who are you fooling? This ‘cough cough’ is clearly a person. You’re hiding something from me again.”
Probably understanding that Manbao was exhausted, Bai Erlang went to bother Bai Shan.
Manbao glanced at herself in the mirror, rubbed her face, and then ran off to watch the commotion, clearing her mind.
Zhou Wulang and the others brought back quite a few things, and placed two beds in the front yard’s two legitimate wife rooms, side by side, making the back bed very wide.
The room could easily accommodate five or six people lying down.
Because the capital was cold, Zhou Wulang also purchased three blankets, along with various miscellaneous items like wooden basins, buckets, and shelves.
Knowing that Lixue and Ligu were going to study, they also got three desks, one placed in Erya and her siblings’ room, while the other two were placed in the study, directly behind Bai Shan and Manbao.
Not pleased, Bai Erlang saw this, feeling he was going to be alone on the other side.
Initially, Bai Shan and Manbao were on one side, with him alone on the other side. Now with all four of them there, how could it be?
Moreover, their desks were large, meant for two people, not like theirs which were single. So he protested.
Wanting his desk moved out, to join Zhou Lixue and his brothers.
Previously he played well with Datou in the village, although two years of separation made them distant, living together for ten days rekindled their friendship, so he wanted to sit with Datou.
Zhou Lixue winked at him, not wanting to sit in front of Auntie and Bai Shan, feeling too much pressure.
Mr. Zhuang was standing by the study door, hearing their noisy arguments going unresolved, and said, “Let’s modify this study.”
Then he stood by the door directing Bai Erlang and the others to move tables and chairs out, and take books off the shelves, moving the bookcase to the right tea room.
Originally a place for tea drinking with a wooden couch, with a low table on it, leaning against a window where Mr. Zhuang liked to rest while reading, having tea.
When Bai Shan and the rest went out, Xiang Ming would accompany him here, chatting over tea.
After all, though the yard was nice, cold weather made it unbearably cold, better to be inside.
Zhou Wulang rolled up his sleeves to help, and the bookshelves were originally surrounding the walls, making the room appear spacious.
Now, he took down the curtain separating the tea room from the study area, directly moved the bookcase on the left against the wall, acting as a screen, leaving only a passageway for entrance and exit.
Then arranged the desks against the left wall like a classroom.
Mr. Zhuang specifically instructed, placing two long desks in the front two rows, Bai Shan and Manbao’s side by side in the third row, while Bai Erlang’s small desk was put at the back.
Bai Erlang barely had time to be happy when Mr. Zhuang told him, “You and Lixue sit in the first row, Ligu and Liru (Sanya) sit in the second row.”
Not only the people in the study, but even Bai Shan, who just ran over after putting down his medical studies, couldn’t help but lower his head to stifle a laugh, telling the shocked Bai Erlang: “This is called trying to gain an advantage only to end up worse off.”
Bai Erlang could only bitterly move his things to the second desk now, not wanting to be right under the teacher’s watchful eyes.
Zhou Lixue didn’t want to either, but he looked forward and back, deciding to comply.
Bai Erlang slowly moved things while grumbling in protest, “Datou and Sanya are younger than us, why aren’t they sitting in the first row?”
Mr. Zhuang said with a sense of humor, “Liru wants to learn medicine from Manbao, naturally she needs to sit closer.”
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Bai Erlang, saying, “Plus, you and Bai Shan Manbao fight often, separating you is just right.”
He didn’t believe that, separated by Zhou Ligu and Zhou Liru, they could still quarrel?
As it turned out, if they truly wanted to, they could argue even if separated by a room.
Just after dinner, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang started arguing across the corridor. Manbao was exhausted, yet still had to think of how to present herself to the Crown Prince tomorrow, so she pushed open the window and said to the two, “If you keep fighting I’ll give you both Huanglian.”
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang: …
Seeing them subdued, Manbao was satisfied, closed the window and muttered, “Hmph, having eyes but failing to recognize gold inlaid jade, Huanglian cures anger!”
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang exchanged a glance and both snorted at each other before turning back inside.
Bai Erlang went to sleep, while Bai Shan tried to think of a prescription.