545: Chapter 534: Scared 545: Chapter 534: Scared Daji led the cart at the front, but the group of one large and three small had stopped moving; they were all looking up at the tavern on the left.
Manbao couldn’t help but sniff the air, her eyes shining.
“It slls so good.”
Bai Shanbao pointed at the tavern sign above the door.
“Ganxiang Pavilion!”
Bai Erlang asked, “We didn’t visit the last ti we were here, have you been there, Teacher?”
“I have,” Mr.
Zhuang withdrew his gaze, “but it’s too expensive.
Let’s find sowhere else.”
Three little ones touched their pouches simultaneously, and Mr.
Zhuang glanced at their pouches, saying, “Save up.
We still have to spend several months in the city.”
With that, he took the lead and walked on.
The three little ones reluctantly took another glance at Ganxiang Pavilion before hurrying to catch up.
“Teacher, then where do you say we go to eat?”
A window on the second floor of Ganxiang Pavilion opened, and Li Erlang watched the four people leave before redirecting his gaze.
An attendant beside him leaned forward with a smile, “Didn’t expect to run into them again.
Master, would you like to go and have a look?”
Li Erlang shook his head with a smile, “No rush.
We’ve just arrived at Yizhou City.
Let’s wander around the city for a couple of days.”
Mr.
Zhuang led them through several turns and found a mutton soup restaurant.
He ordered, “Bring a basket of naan bread, two bowls of mutton offal soup, and three bowls of mutton soup.”
Daji, who was troubled with parking the cart, had just entered when the waiter brought them their order.
The soup, which filled more than half of the bowl with at or mutton offal, was seasoned with so radishes.
Each bowl was as big as their heads, practically a small pot.
The four of them started to divvy up the at, a little here, the offal, a little there, with the majority ending up in Daji’s bowl.
Manbao said, “When I grow up, I’ll be able to eat that much too.”
Bai Shanbao asked, “How fat will you beco then?”
“Daji eats that much and he isn’t fat.” Manbao was confident she wouldn’t get fat from eating so much either.
Mr.
Zhuang coughed lightly, “Talk not when eating.”
The three of them imdiately ate their al dutifully.
Daji liked to bite a piece of bread and then eat a piece of at while the three little ones preferred to tear a piece of naan and dunk it into the soup before eating it.
The mutton soup of this restaurant was delicious, and the bread was made just right.
Manbao ate with great satisfaction and thoughtfully ordered another portion for Zhou Si still at ho.
She figured that if he hadn’t eaten, they could use it for a late-night snack.
Bai Erlang thought it was a good idea and said to Manbao, “I think your brother Zhou Si must have had his al.”
Bai Shanbao suggested, “Order another portion.
What if he hasn’t eaten?
And looking at Daji, their appetites are quite large.
If we order more and they can’t finish, we’ll have it as a late-night snack.”
Mr.
Zhuang chided them, “You just finished dinner and are already thinking about a late-night snack.
Don’t overeat at night.”
“Teacher, we want to light the lamp to read tonight.”
“No need,” said Mr.
Zhuang.
“There are still twenty-five days until the prefectural school examination.”
Not that, we found twelve volus of ‘Comntary on the Water Classic’ at the bookshop today,” Bai Shanbao said, “Manbao and I want to sort them out.”
Mr.
Zhuang couldn’t help but sit up straight, astonished.
“The ‘Comntary on the Water Classic’?”
“Yes.”
Mr.
Zhuang stood up at once, “Let’s go, let’s go back and have a look.
Are you sure it’s the ‘Comntary on the Water Classic’?”
Daji, who hadn’t finished eating yet, could only speed up, drinking all the soup in his bowl before chasing after them.
Now Mr.
Zhuang didn’t care whether there was room in the cart anymore; he insisted that the three little ones get on the car, even if it ant squatting on the shafts.
When they returned to the small courtyard and the gate was opened, Zhou Si, sitting in the darkness, raised his head with a pitiful look towards them.
Bai Shanbao, who bumped into him without noticing, was startled, jumping up in surprise and causing Bai Erlang to collapse to the ground with a startled “Ah!”
Manbao, who was assisting Mr.
Zhuang, rushed over, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”
Zhou Si, holding his leg in the shadows, lanted, “I haven’t even yelled yet, why are you all screaming?”
Manbao rushed over to check on her brother Zhou Si, then looked towards Bai Shanbao who had jumped far off and Bai Erlang, trembling on the ground.
“Brother Zhou Si, why didn’t you light the lamp?”
“Lamp oil is so expensive.
I had nothing to do at ho alone, why would I light a lamp?” Zhou Si said with frustration.
“Where did you all go?
Didn’t you say you’d be back in half a day?
I ca back from the mill and no one was here.
I cleaned inside and out and still, no one was back.
I even went out to look for you and couldn’t find a single person.
I thought you all disappeared.”
“We went to the bookshop,” Manbao said with a trace of embarrassnt.
“Brother Zhou Si, did you have dinner?”
“No, you all disappeared, how could I have the ti to eat?’
Bai Shanbao patted his chest and tried to salvage his dignity, “We bought you dinner, actually, I was just startled by sothing…
that’s why I jumped.”
“Alright, soone light the lamp,” Mr.
Zhuang had already taken a basket of books down from the cart, waving his hand, “Manbao, bring your two Junior Brothers to the study to see .”
Zhou Si rubbed his leg, went to light the lamp, and Daji helped Mr.
Zhuang carry the remaining two heavy baskets of books to the study.
By the light of the lamp, Zhou Si noticed that Bai Erlang was still pale and asked with concern, “Did you get scared?”
Bai Erlang stiffened up and said, “, I wasn’t scared at all.
It was Bai Shan who knocked to the ground.”
Bai Shanbao denied it, “I didn’t bump into you.
I clearly jumped to the other side.”
Zhou Si touched his hand and pondered, “No, you’re still young.
You mustn’t get scared.
Wait, I’ll call back your soul.
Didn’t you guys buy dinner?
Where is it?”
Manbao replied, “There’s no rice, only naan.”
Zhou Si said, “Naan will do.
We’ll make do.”
Zhou Si took out the naan and soup from the food container, served a little into small bowls, and then with everyone’s attention, went to the doorway, knelt down, and mysteriously produced three sticks of incense.
After planting them into the ground, he started murmuring, “Bai Cheng, co back.
Good boy Bai Cheng, co back…”
Bai Erlang had seen this kind of thing before.
It was common in the village for adults to react this way when children were sick or crying inconsolably.
He had witnessed it several tis.
But it was his first ti being the subject of such a ritual.
If he were frightened, his grandmother, his father, and his mother would imdiately force him to drink a bowl of bitter calming soup.
So, when Zhou Si loudly called his na, “Bai Cheng,” he just stared at him blankly.
Zhou Si grew more worried.
“The child mustn’t have his wits scared out of him, right?
Bai Cheng!”
Bai Erlang couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“I’m here, stop yelling.
You’re the one who’s scared stupid.”
Zhou Si, satisfied upon seeing his reaction, smiled.
“Alright, the soul’s called back, nothing to worry about.
I’m off to eat.”
Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang expressed skepticism.
“That’s it?”
Manbao, who had seen and been through this nurous tis, nodded seriously.
“Yes, that’s enough.”
Bai Shanbao still doubted.
“Does this really work?”
Speaking from experience, Manbao said, “Sotis it works, sotis it doesn’t.”
Mr.
Zhuang rubbed his forehead and knocked on the desk, “Enough, let’s not talk of ghosts and spirits.
Hurry on over.”
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