Secretly

Mrs. Liu stood at the door of the study for a long time, watching the two children as they began searching for books on the ground. However, there were very few books that children of their age could understand, especially those that were not punctuated. After flipping through a few books, they would put them back and continue to search through one book after another.

Fortunately, both children cherished books and knew that they were precious, handling them with care.

Mrs. Liu stood and watched for a while before turning to leave. She was also pondering the words of Man Bao, her thoughts fluctuating.

After searching for a while, the two children became frustrated because they couldn't find any books they could understand. Man Bao stopped looking at books and began to walk around the bookshelves with his hands behind his back. He noticed the bamboo and the beautiful cloth on the high bookshelves and curiously asked Bai Shanbao about them.

Bai Shanbao glanced at them and said, "Those are bamboo slips and brocade." In the past, paper was either unavailable or of poor quality, which led people to use bamboo slips and brocade for writing purposes. "Grandmother said that these were left by our ancestors and are very precious."

Man Bao curiously asked, "May I take a look at them?"

In fact, Bai Shanbao had never seen them either because his grandmother did not allow him to handle them carelessly. She deliberately placed these items in a high place.

He looked around and said, "Sure, you are my friend."

The two little friends then brought over a chair. Man Bao helped him with the chair, and Bai Shanbao climbed up and reached out, but still couldn't reach.

The two children looked at each other and finally started rummaging around the room, eventually examining the books at the bottom of the bookshelf.

Man Bao and Bai Shanbao brought the books over, stacked them together, and then Bai Shanbao took off his shoes and socks. He climbed onto the chair, then stepped on the books, tiptoeing to reach the bamboo slips on top.

The bamboo slips were very heavy, and Bai Shanbao almost fell. Man Bao supported his back with his tiptoes. After a slight sway, he managed to pull out the bamboo slips and handed them to Man Bao.

Man Bao placed the items on the ground and then moved the chair to reach the brocade on the other side.

The brocade was lighter, and Bai Shanbao quickly grabbed hold of it. Upon first opening the bamboo slips, they examined the characters inscribed on them.

They found that they didn't recognize any of the characters.

They stared at the characters, and Man Bao excitedly pointed to one and said, "This looks like a person!"

"Oh," Shanbao quickly identified a pattern and pointed to a character, saying, "This looks like fire..."

The three of them found it interesting and felt that it was more fun than reading books. They enthusiastically searched for the pictorial meanings of the characters.

When they heard the voices of the servants and the head servant outside, they realized that time had passed, and it was getting dark.

But they hadn't finished looking at the brocade yet.

The two children felt guilty. Bai Shanbao grabbed the brocade and climbed onto the chair to put it back. He realized that it was not easy to put it back because it was too heavy to lift and place back properly.

The servants and the head servant were already urging them from outside, as the study was not a place they could enter. So they could only call out to the two children from outside.

Man Bao quickly responded and pulled Shanbao aside, whispering, "Hide it here."

Bai Shanbao and Man Bao carefully placed the books back on the shelf one by one, and then concealed the bamboo slips behind the books. At first glance, it was not noticeable.

After finishing their mischief, the two children dragged the chair back and looked at each other, unable to hold back their laughter. Then they ran to open the door.

The cheerful scene was observed by the servants and the head servant, who believed that the children were happily engrossed in their studies.

Upon seeing this, the head servant and the other servants also became happy.

The head servant was particularly happy because he had indulged in plenty of snacks in the afternoon and had admired various beautiful flowers in the garden.

Bai Shanbao and the servants escorted the two children outside. Bai Shanbao held Man Bao's hand and said, "You should come to my house again tomorrow."

Man Bao agreed and then advised him, "Think about it whenever you have time." If you don't understand something, ask the teacher. The teacher knows a lot.

Shanbao nodded.

Then everyone went their separate ways.

Back at the Zhou family, Mrs. Qian was busy preparing dinner. The atmosphere in the Zhou family was particularly warm, and everyone appeared happy.

As Man Bao entered, he put down his book box and then followed his mother in and out like a rabbit, asking, "Mother, do we have any good news at home?"

Mrs. Qian tapped his nose and said, "You are so clever." The privet leaves have been steamed and sun-dried all day, and they are starting to take shape. Your older brothers also found several privet plants in the woods, but they are not very familiar with them yet. They plan to wait until these privet leaves are dried and then bring them back.

Mrs. Qian estimated the quantity and thought that they should have a good income for the winter. It was just right, as the families of the eldest and second sons also needed to change their bedding, and Man Bao also needed a warmer outfit for school.

Everyone in the family was earning money; even the second and third sons had gone to collect a lot of snow herbs today. Zhou Sirlang's mood was a bit low.

Man Bao happened to be squatting next to him and comforted him, "Fourth brother, don't worry." "When your land produces next year, you will make a lot of money."

Zhou Sirlang felt that hope was very slim.

Mrs. Qian didn't have much time to comfort her son's troubled heart because she had many tasks to attend to.

Realizing that privet leaves could be sold and having devised a method for drying them, she had already determined that they would become a significant source of income for the family in the future.

She then instructed her second son, "While you have some free time in the next few days, make a rack and a few larger winnowing baskets, round ones that can be placed on the rack, specifically for drying the privet leaves in the future."

Zhou Erlang agreed.

After arranging this, she turned to her eldest and second sons and said, "In the next few days, be more diligent. Not only should you watch over the privet plants in the mountains, but also search around for more." If you find any, please note down their locations.

Man Bao interjected, "Elder brother, second brother, if you see any plants that we don't have outside, bring them back for me."

Zhou Dalang smiled and agreed, but to his companions, all the flowers and plants in the mountains looked the same, and they couldn't understand why their sister enjoyed picking them. So, they agreed, but it was uncertain whether they would actually follow through.

Man Bao didn't realize that she was being placated and happily continued to talk to her depressed fourth brother, annoying Zhou Sirlang.

After sorting out the main family matters, Mrs. Qian called the head servant to inquire about the situation at the Bai family.

Knowing that he had eaten snacks all afternoon, Mrs. Qian glanced at him and sighed, "If your little aunt goes to the Bai family in the future, just drop her off at the door and come back to pick her up when it's time for dinner."

The head servant regretfully agreed, not daring to disobey his grandmother.

Mrs. Qian then instructed her daughter-in-law to prepare some cabbage and eggs for the head servant the next day. She asked him to take the gifts to the Bai family along with Man Bao as a return gesture.

Her daughter-in-law agreed.

With everything arranged, Mrs. Qian leaned back in her chair and called her youngest daughter over, smiling as she asked, "What did you learn from the teacher today?"