Desk Mate

Early the next morning, while the family was busy, Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang sneaked into the house and took Manbao to the backyard. They quietly gave her the money they earned from selling candy yesterday. "It's a total of forty yuan, including the deposit." Miss Fu really likes to eat them. She said she will buy from us next time. "Little sister, could you please ask Mr. Zhuang where he purchases his candy and whether it is expensive?"

Zhou Wulang obviously considered reselling the candy. Manbao counted out twenty wen for herself and gave the rest of the money to the two of them, saying, "I asked Mr. Zhuang to introduce me to the person." Now I am friends with him. Don't worry, I will buy a lot of candy to bring back for you in the future. This kind of candy is exclusively available from us. Next time you go to the store, let her know that we want one in exchange for a piece of candy.

Zhou Liulang thought it was too expensive. "What if we can't sell it?"

"We will definitely sell it." Miss Fu's father is the county magistrate. You see how many people enter the county every day. How much does he earn?

Zhou Wulang thought Manbao made a good point and whispered, "When I left the city today, I chatted with the soldiers guarding the city for a while." They said the magistrate is going to implement a new rule. "In the future, anyone entering the city, whether carrying a basket or not, will have to pay one wen as an entrance fee."

Manbao was shocked.

She then said, "So it's not profitable for us to enter the city empty-handed." You two should go into the mountains and find some beautiful flowers. Let the second brother make small bamboo baskets for you, place a piece of candy inside each one, and sell them for five wen each. "It will definitely sell."

Zhou Wulang thought the idea was good and took out ten wen from the money she gave him, saying, "Manbao, buy some more candy with this money." Consider it as Sixth Brother's and my contribution.

Manbao took the money willingly and said, "No problem!"

Mrs. He came out with a bucket of water and couldn't find Manbao. He called out, "Manbao, where did you go?"

Manbao raised her two little arms, and Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang quickly carried her away.

Manbao laughed joyfully and exclaimed, "Faster, higher!"

Mrs. He saw the two brothers carrying Manbao and couldn't help but pat their backs, urging them to let her go. "It's still early in the morning, and there's fog outside." If you make her laugh too much, she might catch a cold. "Be careful, or your father will scold you."

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang left Manbao and ran away.

Manbao thought it was fun and spoke up for them, "I think it's fine." "Sister-in-law, please don't scold them."

Mrs. He asked her to drink the egg water and said, "Sister-in-law will make breakfast for you." After eating, go to school and bring the big characters you wrote yesterday.

Manbao agreed and ran back to find her masterpiece from last night - a large piece of dark paper.

This was Manbao's first time writing with ink on paper. Before, she had only used a stick to draw on the ground.

Since it was a long and thick stick, she naturally used it because it was convenient. Manbao had observed people using pens multiple times and knew how to hold one, but when it came to doing it herself, it was still a bit challenging.

The most important thing was that she didn't grind the ink well. It took her a long time yesterday to grind the ink.

Despite this, she remained confident in her writing. She believed that she could write on her first day of school, and no one could compare to her.

After admiring her ink masterpiece for a moment, Manbao carefully put it away, sandwiching it between two hand-copied books, before heading to have breakfast.

By the time she arrived at the school, the sun had risen significantly, and many students had already arrived, engrossed in reading books in the classroom.

Manbao rushed into the classroom with her books and noticed someone sitting at her desk. It was Baishan Bao.

Manbao wanted to chase him away, but she remembered that she was in the wrong yesterday. She had already promised her mother that she would apologize to him, so she couldn't chase him away.

She could only go up and greet him.

Baishan Bao saw Manbao coming towards him and immediately straightened his back. His small hand rested on his knee. He had knelt for a long time last night, and his knees were still a little sore.

Baishan Bao stared at Manbao, but he knew that his grandmother and mother were probably still in the next-door yard. He didn't dare to argue with her, nor did he want to quarrel with her.

Who knew that Manbao would come over and apologize, saying, "I'm sorry for hitting you yesterday."

Baishan Bao: ... Is this the same bad person he met yesterday?

Upon seeing him staring at her without speaking, Manbao thought he was still angry. She took out a piece of candy wrapped in oil paper from her pocket and held it out to him, saying, "Here, I invite you to eat candy. Can you not be angry anymore?"

Baishan Bao looked at the candy in her hand and remained silent.

The adults outside the window witnessed Baishan Bao being ungracious in this scene. The little girl apologized to him, but he didn't accept it.

Mrs. Liu's expression appeared strained, while Mrs. Zheng seemed worried as she observed her son in the classroom.

Mr. Bai explained quietly, "Shan Bao is still young and has a fiery temper." "It's also possible that he's embarrassed to talk to a little girl."

How can he be embarrassed to talk when he's not embarrassed to fight?

Manbao assumed that he had accepted it when she saw him not speaking. She unwrapped the oil paper and stuffed it directly into his mouth, saying, "This is my favorite kind of candy. It's not too sweet, not greasy, and it's fragrant."

Baishan Bao tasted the sweetness and finally came to his senses. He looked down at the book in front of him, then glanced up at Manbao, and finally let out a soft "hmm" sound.

Manbao was stunned for a while before realizing that he was answering her previous question.

Manbao couldn't help but sigh, "You're really slow to react."

Baishan Bao just grunted.

Manbao put her book on the table and looked at him.

Baishan Bao also looked at her. The two of them stared at each other, and just as the adults outside were about to intervene, Manbao said, "You've forgiven me, so should you leave now?"

Baishan Bao was confused and asked, "Where should I go? I'm here to study!"

"I'm here to study too, and this is my seat!"

Baishan Bao was not happy and placed his hand on the table. "Clearly, this is my seat." The teacher asked me to sit here.

Manbao also placed her hand on the table, saying angrily, "The teacher asked me to sit here too." "I arrived before you, so this seat is mine!"

A classmate couldn't help but speak up, "Two people at one desk, you each take one side." "This is the teacher's arrangement."

Baishan Bao and Manbao looked at the other students and realized that they were indeed supposed to share a desk. Reluctantly, they both said, "I don't want to sit with him (or her)."

The classmate said, "There's no other way." You two are the shortest and the youngest in the class. "If you don't sit together, who else would want to sit with you?"

The two of them looked at each other and finally pouted, reluctantly accepting it.

Manbao sat down, placed "The Analects" on the table, and then set aside the "Thousand Character Classic" and her homework. She then noticed a box in the corner of the desk.

She said to Baishan Bao, "Move your box; this is my spot."

Baishan Bao looked at the box and said, "This box isn't mine."

Manbao's eyes lit up as she boldly dragged the box over. When she opened it, she saw a dozen bugs inside.

Manbao was stunned.

Baishan Bao also curiously leaned over to take a look, and he was also stunned. The two children were shocked for a moment. Then, they both exclaimed, "Wow!" They closed their eyes and cried loudly.

The adults outside the classroom were startled and rushed in.