CH 39

Chapter 39 – Cabbage caterpillars

Even Madam Liu and Zheng were shocked when they saw the cabbage caterpillars in the box. They couldn’t help taking a step back, and then hurriedly pulled the two children over to coax them to stop crying.

Mr Zhuang scanned through the entire class and angrily asked, “Who did this?”

Three boys lowered their heads simultaneously, and with a glance, Mr Zhuang knew who were the culprits.

When Master Bai saw that his son was among the culprits, he stared at him. He was fuming with anger. He snorted, rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to grab his son.

Bai Er Lang was so terrified that he screamed and ran off while crying.

Although Madam Liu felt the little boy was naughty and unruly, she was afraid that Master Bai would hit his child indiscriminately, so she quickly stopped him and said, “It’s not a big deal. Just educate him, don’t beat him.”

Once the dust settled, the three boys were kicked out of the classroom, and were made to stand still as a punishment.

After Man Bao cried for a while, she didn’t feel so scared anymore. In addition, she kept hearing Keke saying, “I’ve done a search. These should be the legendary cabbage caterpillars. The Encyclopaedia doesn’t have their original genes. I recommend that you collect them.”

Once she thought of entering the caterpillars into the Encyclopaedia, Man Bao wasn’t so frightened anymore, so she opened her eyes and peeked at the caterpillars.

When Madam Liu saw that Man Bao’s eyes were shining like obsidian after the rain, she felt affectionate towards the child.  She hugged Man Bao, smiled, and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

When Man Bao realised Madam Liu was hugging her, she embarrassedly broke free, shook her head and said, “I’m not afraid anymore.”

When Bai Shan Bao, who was still slightly afraid heard her words, the little boy also broke free of his mother’s arms and shouted, “I’m not afraid either.”

The adults smiled.

Master Bai quickly closed the box and hid it behind him to prevent the two kids from being startled again.

Man Bao kept a close eye on him.

Her expression was so vivid that Master Bai hesitated for a moment, “Do you want the box?”

He thought Man Bao would still be afraid, but she immediately said, “Uncle, can you give me the caterpillars? I’ll look at them more, so I won’t be scared in the future.”

The surprised Master Bai stared at her, and Mr Zhuang couldn’t help feeling gratified as he looked at his only disciple with satisfaction.

Mr Zhuang stroked his beard and smiled. He couldn’t help saying “Excellent!” several times. Then, he looked at Master Bai and said, “Master Bai, why don’t you give her the box?”

Master Bai turned green with envy as he gazed upon Man Bao who was obviously several years younger than his second son. What an excellent child.

It was a pity that she is a girl.

But it was even more regretful that Man Bao was not his child.

Madam Liu was also pleasantly surprised by Man Bao, and she was extremely pleased when she thought of the two kids being desk mates.

Initially, she felt it wasn’t good to allow her grandson and a little girl to sit together. She relented and agreed with Mr Zhuang’s arrangement only when she took into consideration that Bai Shan Bao was the youngest amongst the boys, a newcomer, and would be bullied should he be seated with an older boy.

But things are different now. She was very satisfied with her grandson’s desk mate.

So, she joined the two kids’ hands and exhorted them, “You are classmates and desk mates, and your relationship should be better than with the other classmates. Since your classmates are considered as your brothers, then your relationship with each other should be closer.”

She smiled and added, “In the future, you should learn from each other, inspire one another, be friendly and humble, and don’t fight anymore.”

Madam Liu exhorted them gently, and the way she spoke was similar to Mrs Zhou, so Man Bao nodded without hesitation, and promised her, “Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll take care of him and wouldn’t let anyone bully him.”

Bai Shan Bao was unhappy after hearing her words, “I’m older than you, so I’m the one who would take care of you.”

Madam Liu was rendered speechless for a moment and then smiled, “Good. That’s the way it should be. Man Bao, you should call me, grandma, like Shan Bao. This is your auntie.”

Man Bao glanced at Zheng, shook her head and said, “She doesn’t like an auntie, she looks more like an older sister.”

Zheng couldn’t help grinning when she heard Man Bao’s words. After all, which woman wouldn’t be happy to hear a little girl calling her, “older sister”?

Madam Liu knew Man Bao has many brothers. Yesterday, she met Man Bao’s mother and eldest sister-in-law. Indeed, her mother was about the same age as her.

But that was not how seniority worked.

With a smile, Madam Liu explained, “You and Shan Bao are desk mates. That means the two of you are of the same generation. Naturally, you should follow the way Shan Bao addresses us. His mother is your auntie, and his grandmother is also your grandmother. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your teacher.”

Man Bao looked at Mr Zhuang.

Mr Zhuang nodded.

This was the first time Man Bao met such a young auntie and grandma. Her father’s seniority was high, and thus, her seniority was also high.

Basically, those she could call grandmothers in the village were old women who were on crutches, those who were almost as old as her mother were aunties, and those who were almost as old as her sisters-in-law were either sisters-in-law or nephews’ wives.

Madam Liu and Zheng led carefree lives, were well maintained, and looked younger than her mother and her sisters-in-law.

But she had always been open-minded, and when she saw that her teacher had nodded, she simply changed the way she called them, “Grandma, Auntie”.  

Then, she happily took the box from Master Bai.

Although she was still slightly afraid, she was not so scared when she thought of Keke’s popular science.

Keke kept repeating in her mind, “I’ve checked it. The Encyclopaedia recorded that cabbage caterpillars are the larvae of Pieris rapae.  Do you know butterflies? When they grow up, they turn into butterflies.”

As soon as Keke said that, Man Bao became braver.

After noticing that the host’s heartbeat and adrenaline were gradually normalizing, Keke continued, “The young larvae mainly feed on the leaves of cruciferous crops. Before the age of 2, they feed on the leaves, leaving a layer of transparent epidermis.

“After the age of 3, they make holes in the leaves and are more likely to eat through small veins. In severe cases, they would consume all the leaves, leaving only the thick veins and leafstalk, thus, destroying the crops.

“Thus, in the late 20th and 21st centuries of the earth’s era, to prevent vegetable pests and diseases, some vegetable farmers used large quantities of pesticides, resulting in a flood of pesticides and the gradual extinction of the cabbage caterpillars.”

The system wasn’t too concerned whether Man Bao understood what he had just said. He just continued reading and then said, “The cabbage caterpillars can also be made into chicken and duck feed, replenishing their protein and making them happier to lay eggs.”

He added, “This is all well documented.”

Man Bao exclaimed with surprise and asked, “If I feed these caterpillars to the hens at home, would they lay eggs every day?”

The system said, “Quite possible.”

Man Bao’s enthusiasm for the caterpillars grew!

As Mr Zhuang was not around, she quietly lifted the cover of the box, and looked at the bugs.

Bai Shan Bao quivered but he couldn’t help watching her.

Man Bao took a peek, her heart trembled, and she closed the cover.

When Bai Shan Bao saw this, he was finally happy, his spirit lifted, he gave her a contemptuous look and sneered, “Coward! And you said you are not afraid!”

Man Bao pushed the box towards him and said, “Go ahead if you dare.”