The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 1900 - 1875: Differences

Manbao replied without a second thought, "I don’t lack money."

Changyu, looking unconvinced, glanced at her, "And yet you can’t even build a proper wooden bridge? That’s not lacking money?"

Manbao said, "I’m being thrifty."

With a serious expression, she said, "Thriftiness is a virtue."

"What virtue?" Bai Erlang and Bai Shan, who were a few steps behind with their baskets, hurried over the wooden bridge and handed them a basket, "Why didn’t you wait for us?"

Manbao took the basket and turned around, "We sent someone to call you two hours ago, you must have been lying in bed."

The group walked towards the mountain, with guards and attendants clearing the way in front, though it wasn’t necessary at all.

Near Pu Village, there was only this one mountain, and since large timbers often came from this mountain, it was frequently trekked, creating clear paths that weren’t difficult to walk.

But what wasn’t difficult for Manbao, Bai Shan, Bai Erlang, and the guards, was a bit slippery for Yu Mingda and Changyu.

There were no paved stones or steps; it was completely different from the Dragon Head Plain behind Daming Palace. Along the roadside were many wild fruits and flowers that the two had never seen before.

Manbao picked a split wild roseleaf bramble fruit from a tree and gave it to Mingda, teaching her how to eat it.

Mingda took a gentle bite, and her eyes immediately welled up. She couldn’t help but make a hissing sound, swallowing twice, and with tears in her eyes, said, "So sour."

Manbao couldn’t help but laugh heartily and said to her, "There’s delicious fruit on the sunny side, there are roseleaf brambles there, they’re sweet."

"Hey, there’s some right here." Bai Erlang saw a cluster of thorny bushes under a tree, with several red roseleaf brambles on it. He picked them and opened his palm to Mingda, "Here, for you to eat."

Mingda looked at the roseleaf brambles in his hand but didn’t take them immediately. She looked at the fruit and then at him.

Manbao carefully inspected them, saw no bugs on them, and told Mingda, "You can eat them."

Changyu, who had already gone ahead, heard this, turned back, and stood by Manbao, staring at the roseleaf brambles in Bai Erlang’s palm, swallowed, and asked, "Are they good?"

Manbao nodded, "Sweet, clear sweet."

Changyu reached out to grab one, but Bai Erlang closed his palm around the fruit.

Changyu looked up at him, and Bai Erlang said, "These are for Princess Mingda."

Changyu: "... I can’t eat them?"

Bai Erlang picked up Mingda’s hand, poured all the roseleaf brambles into it, and said to Changyu, "Then you’ll have to ask Princess Mingda."

Although if she asked Mingda, Mingda would definitely give her some, but it still displeased her. Pointing at Bai Erlang, she said, "I remember you, Little Fatty. I even saved you two years ago, yet you’re so ungrateful."

Bai Erlang jumped and said, "It was Princess Mingda who saved me, wasn’t it? And when was I ever a fatty? Am I fat now?"

The guards and palace attendants all turned to look.

Bai Shan and Manbao hurriedly stepped in, naturally siding with their own family. "Princess Changyu also saved you, you have to pick some fruit for her later."

Mingda also reacted, directly picking a roseleaf bramble and stuffing it in her mouth. Then she said, "Sister, why make things difficult for him? Didn’t Manbao say there are many on the mountain?"

Changyu originally had a lot more to say, but after eating the fruit, she stopped talking. She just turned her head to Bai Erlang with a hum, but soon turned back to mention to Mingda, "It’s delicious, you should eat too."

Everyone made up and continued forward. As they reached the mid-mountain, they saw several pear trees, with no other trees around them, so sunlight fell directly on them, revealing small pears hidden among the leaves.

Manbao pulled Mingda and Changyu forward, pointing down the mountain, "Look, from here you can see the villages and fields below."

Mingda looked down and indeed saw the view. Then she pointed to their village and laughed, "Your family didn’t choose the location well, anyone trying to spy can see the whole thing from here."

Manbao nodded, "Luckily, there’s nothing secret at my home, but my fourth brother and eldest brother were discussing planting a big wutong tree or building a scenic tower there to block the view."

Bai Shan explained, "We hadn’t thought of this when choosing the place; it was only discovered this year when my fourth brother went up the mountain to find mushrooms."

Bai Erlang said, "Are you going to pick pears or not?"

He continued, "I think we shouldn’t worry about it. We don’t live here often; the two courtyards here are for us, and usually, whatever we do is indoors. Apart from a stroll or planting some flowers, or having some snacks, what else can we do? If someone wants to look, let them look."

Changyu was already under the tree, looking up at the pears and asked, "Are they good?"

She turned to hear them still discussing the property and glanced down, then said, "What’s so hard about this? Just fence this mountain as your own and don’t let outsiders up."

This statement left Manbao, the other three, and even Mingda stunned, "Can land just be fenced like that?"

"Buy it," Changyu said, "How much could this barren mountain cost? Send someone to ask at the county office, and if you’re still being thrifty, I’ll pay for it."

Manbao said, "Even if this mountain becomes ours, I can’t stop people from coming to collect firewood, mushrooms, and wild vegetables."

Changyu asked confusedly, "Why not? Isn’t it yours?"

Manbao said, "At Qili Village, we have many mountains, but nobody ever says others can’t go up them."

She added, "We have less flat land there, and many plots are mountain plots, divided by rough estimates. If someone claimed a mountain as theirs and shut others out, wouldn’t even roads be blocked?"

Bai Shan also said, "That wouldn’t be proper conduct; besides, we’re outsiders here in Pu Village and need to maintain good relations. In winter, everyone collects firewood from this mountain. If we sealed it off, wouldn’t that create conflicts for no reason?"

Manbao nodded repeatedly.

Changyu didn’t expect a single sentence to elicit such a discussion, so she couldn’t help but put her hands on her hips and said, "I just wanted to ask if we’re going to pick pears..."

"Yes, yes, yes," Manbao rolled up her sleeves, hugged the tree, and climbed up...

Changyu watched her climb up in a few swift moves, eyes wide with astonishment. Manbao looked around and picked a pear that seemed ripe, tossing it to Changyu, who caught it and had her handkerchief ready to clean it before eating.

The palace attendants were alarmed and rushed up to stop her, suggesting the pear should be washed first.

Manbao picked several more, tossing them toward Mingda and Bai Shan, laughing as she asked, "You can see better from below; is there another big one?"