CH 34

Chapter 34 – I’ll teach her a lesson!

Man Bao was instantly distracted, and she nodded her head repeatedly, “Open, open!”

Suddenly, there was a screen blackout, but she could still hear Keke’s voice, “It’ll take some time for the mall to open. Please be patient, host.”

Then, even Keke’s voice disappeared.

But Man Bao was ecstatic! She felt she was filled with power!

Immediately, she wasn’t satisfied with moving the stones one at a time. She tried to throw the stone out of the wasteland, but she wasn’t very strong and the stone just plopped down.

Da Tou and gang had stacked up the discarded stones and grass neatly. With Man Bao’s failed shotput, she scattered everything.

When Si Lang saw that, he yelled in anger, “Man Bao!”

Man Bao jumped in fright, turned around and ran off.

Er Ya chased after her. Today was her turn to look after her little aunt.

She walked the muttering Man Bao home. Then, she remained at home and helped to clean the yard. These tasks were much easier compared to working in the wasteland.

Man Bao dashed into the room and complained to Mrs Zhou, “Mother, fourth brother yelled at me just now and almost scared me to death.” (Little tell-tale!! )

“What did you do to provoke him?”

“I didn’t do anything. I was just helping him.”

Man Bao complained, “I was helping him to remove the stones. Since there were too many, I just wanted to throw them out, but he didn’t appreciate my kindness. He shouted at me.”

“It must be because you didn’t manage to throw the stone out, but instead scattered the stones all over the wasteland. Aren’t you giving them more work? You deserve to be yelled at.”

The unconvinced Man Bao pouted.

Mrs Zhou added, “You’re still young, this kind of work is not suitable for you. Go to school, learn from your teacher, learn more characters and calculations, and then you can help the family.” (Isn’t she a wise mother?)

“My sister-in-law is still at home.”

“Your sister-in-law is going to cook; you’re going to study. The objectives are not the same. Which student only goes to school when her sister-in-law goes to cook?”

Man Bao thought about it carefully. Oh, mother was right, so she shook his head.

Mrs Zhou advised, “That’s right. Man Bao, since you’re Mr Zhuang’s official pupil, you must study hard so that you can live up to the expectations of your parents and teacher.

“In the future, don’t run off to the mountains to play. Get up early and go to school. I’ve already told your sister-in-law. When you get up in the morning, she’ll cook breakfast for you. You’ll eat lunch at school. You’ll eat three meals a day just like the other students.”

Mrs Zhou looked at Man Bao intently, “Man Bao, you must not only be clever but also healthy and safe. Do you understand?”

“I know, I know,” Man Bao nodded and said, “Mother had repeatedly said that nothing is more important than being alive and healthy.”

Mrs Zhou smiled, stroked her hair and said, “That’s it. Good. Hurry, go to the school and apologize to your teacher.

“You ran out first thing in the morning, you’re too used to running wild with your fifth and sixth brothers.”

Man Bao stuck out her tongue, and then said, “Mother, fifth and sixth brothers will not be home for breakfast today, so sister-in-law doesn’t have to keep any food for them.”

Mrs Zhou said, “I see. We didn’t cook their portions anyway. Hurry, go to the school.”

Man Bao felt her mother was very calm, as if she knew everything. The guilt stricken little girl ran out.

Mrs Zhou smiled slightly, closed her eyes, and chanted.

She was quite ill and would pant even if she walked slightly faster. So, she just remained at home and spent most of her time chanting and praying for blessings.

Man Bao ran to school. Mr Zhuang was teaching. He couldn’t help but laughed when he saw a familiar little head sticking out of the window. He put down the book, and beckoned Man Bao.

Man Bao rushed in.

Mr Zhuang smiled and said, “Why didn’t you come to morning class today?”

With a guilty conscience, Man Bao bowed her head, whispered, “I’m sorry”, and then asked, “Sir, do I have to attend morning class like Bai Er and others?”

He smiled and nodded, “Yes, I’ve already accepted you as my pupil, and I’ve also discussed this matter with Master Bai. He has agreed to allow you to attend classes, so you should also join the morning classes just like your classmates.”

Mr Zhuang pulled Man Bao to the front of the class and introduced her to her classmates.

Everyone in the classroom was totally familiar with Man Bao!

Those who were friendly with her winked. Even the person sitting in front of the class gave up his seat for her as she was short.

But there were also those who had a bad relationship with her. They didn’t dare to do anything in front of the teacher, but when he looked away, those boys made faces at her.

Bai Er Lang was very angry, but Man Bao was sitting quite far from him. If even he wanted to kick her stool, he couldn’t reach. (Er Lang is Master Bai, the landlord’s second/ youngest son.)

Why does Bai Er Lang hate Man Bao so much? Because Man Bao was really annoying!

Er Lang was thrown into school at the beginning of the year. A seven-year-old kid was naturally mischievous. He was pampered and spoilt at home. His grandmother loved him, his mother loved him, and his father always praised him. Even his elder brother gave way to him.

How could he sit still to study in class?

So, on the first day of school, the teacher hit his palm. Just as he was reprimanded and smacked, he saw Man Bao popping in her head from the window.

So, Bai Er Lang had a bad first impression of her.

But that’s not the worst part. The worst was when he found out that the younger Man Bao who could only squat outside the window to eavesdrop during classes, was way better in studying than he was.

Of course, Bai Er Lang didn’t think he was stupid, but Man Bao was at fault for disturbing him.

Yes, she distracted him. He sat by the window while Man Bao was squatting outside the window. Didin’t this affect him?

He filed many complaints with his father and teacher, but to no avail.

Mr Zhuang’s solution was to move his seat to the opposite side of the class so that he was no longer near the window.

As a result, he couldn’t threaten Man Bao as she was further away, so he could only compete with her across the classroom. To his horror, his grades plummeted.

So, Mr Zhuang moved him back to his original seat. The most aggravating thing was that he didn’t know what the teacher said to his father, but Master Bai allowed Man Bao to keep eavesdropping outside the window.

Now it was even more vexatious! She was formally enrolled in the school!! Bai Erlang was so angry that he couldn’t concentrate in class the entire morning.

His good friend gave him an idea, “Didn’t you say you’ve a very annoying younger male cousin (of the same surname) who is also attending school? Let them fight. If you fight with Man Bao, Mr Zhuang will be very angry.”

Another pal piped in, “Yes, Mr Zhuang seems to like Man Bao very much. She is younger than you. If you hit her, she’s the victim and you’re the aggressor. By the way, how old is your cousin?”

Bai Er Lang felt his friends’ idea was excellent. He added nonchalantly, “It doesn’t matter how old he is. The fella is a real nuisance. Let the two annoying brats fight. It’ll be great if Mr Zhuang punishes them by hitting their palms.”

“How do we make them fight?”

Bai Er Lang said, “We’ll go look for bugs after class. Tomorrow, we’ll put them in Man Bao’s table before class. We’ll say my cousin did it. This way, they’ll fight.”

His two little pals thought that was a great idea.