CHAPTER 1333: CHAPTER 1311: STAYING UP LATE

Although they said they would take care of him, the three of them weren’t staying up all night. They just kept Bai Dalang company for a while. Once the needles were removed, Manbao checked Bai Dalang’s pulse to confirm there were no immediate problems, and they all went to sleep.

Old Master Bai sent someone to the Zhou Family to deliver the news, so the Zhou Family learned that Manbao wouldn’t be coming home tonight.

Ms. Qian frowned but didn’t say anything.

Old Zhou saw her tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and said, "Alright, just go to sleep."

Ms. Qian replied, "You don’t seem worried at all."

"What’s there to worry about?" Old Zhou said. "Aren’t they at the Bai Family’s place? It’s close by."

Ms. Qian responded irritably, "Your daughter is thirteen, not three."

Old Zhou said, "What can we do? You know what your daughter is like. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, she would have surely come home. I don’t even know what illness Young Master Bai has that’s this serious."

Ms. Qian grew concerned as well, saying, "Exactly. Didn’t you go to the village entry yesterday to pick her up?"

"I didn’t notice anything. After picking up Manbao, I came straight back."

Ms. Qian thought about it for a moment and said, "Wake up early tomorrow and go take a look."

Old Zhou had no objections.

In Bai Dalang’s room, the servants spread bedding on the wooden couch, where Bai Erlang and Bai Shan slept. Manbao slept in the adjacent side room instead.

Manbao calculated the time in her mind and instructed Keke to wake her in two hours.

Keke agreed.

It was always punctual. After two hours, Manbao woke up, put on a coat, and went to check on Bai Dalang.

Sure enough, Bai Dalang’s stomach hurt again shortly after he woke up. His face was pale as he clutched his stomach, and Manbao gave him more acupuncture.

Bai Shan woke up groggily, threw on a coat, and came to look. "How is he?"

Manbao said, "We need to change a couple of the herbs. Replace White Atractylodes with Anemarrhena Rhizome..."

Bai Shan memorized this and turned to fetch the herbs.

Bai Erlang hugged his quilt on the couch and watched his brother, worriedly asking, "What can I do?"

"Bring him some warm water."

Bai Shan went to the storeroom to get the herbs. After showing them to Manbao, he put them in a pot to brew.

Manbao needed to perform two acupuncture methods, which would take more than half an hour, so she sat by the brazier and waited.

Bai Shan didn’t go back to sleep. He sat nearby to keep them company.

Bai Erlang somehow found a plate of steamed buns. He heated them over another brazier and ate them—the aroma wafted out, tempting Bai Dalang, who’d barely eaten anything earlier due to lack of appetite.

But Manbao didn’t let him eat.

He could only watch them eat by his bedside with a sour feeling in his heart. "Can’t you eat somewhere else?"

Bai Shan said, "It’s cold outside."

Bai Erlang added, "Brother, if you want to eat, you’ll have to get better quickly. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to have liquid food."

Bai Dalang: ...

Frustrated, he picked on Bai Erlang, "What were you talking about with Chen Bo today?"

Bai Erlang, while tearing apart his bun to eat, replied, "He wants to open a fabric shop and borrow silver from me."

Bai Dalang said, "Since you agreed, you should stick to your word. If you didn’t intend to, you never should’ve promised."

Bai Erlang pouted in grievance, "How was I supposed to know he wasn’t reliable? Last night, all he said was that he wanted to start a business, claiming fabric shops in Mianzhou City are easy to run. So, he asked me to lend him some silver."

Bai Dalang said, "Then lend it to him."

"But today, upon asking more, we found out he picked a shop that costs 850 taels, and for stocking fabrics, he only plans to use 200 taels."

Bai Dalang was confused, "And then? How much did he ask you to lend him?"

"800 taels!"

Bai Dalang immediately said, "Forget it, don’t lend it to him. By the way, do you even have that much money?"

Bai Erlang nodded.

Bai Dalang’s eyes widened. "Where did you get that much money?"

Bai Erlang said proudly, "Of course I earned it. You know the three of us have a small manor, Brother."

Indeed, he knew. But it was just a hundred acres or so. Their family had manors even larger than this, but none seemed to make such a profit.

Bai Dalang looked at them suspiciously. "Are you saying it’s really the manor’s earnings?"

The surprise was enough to distract him from his stomachache.

The three of them nodded. Bai Shan explained, "It was actually good timing. A few years ago, we planted newly developed wheat seeds, so farmers bought them as seed wheat, and we earned a lot. But now it isn’t as profitable; aside from some high-quality seeds, the rest is sold at regular wheat prices."

Though Bai Dalang didn’t handle household affairs, he knew enough about their family’s operations. Occasionally, he’d hear his father mention that new seed wheat did indeed bring in significant profits a couple of years ago.

They just hadn’t publicized it.

Bai Dalang sized up his younger brother and nodded approvingly, "Impressive. No wonder you were so generous when in the capital."

After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you don’t want to lend him the money, then don’t. I’ll talk to Chen Bo."

"No," Bai Erlang said, "Chen Bo already misunderstood Bai Shan and Manbao. If you bring this up again, he’ll think I’m going back on my word. Actually, I could lend it to him. After all, it’s just borrowed money. Even if he loses it, my uncle would pay me back. The reason I don’t want to lend it is that he’s not reliable, and lending it out is like throwing it away."

Bai Dalang frowned. "So, what are you suggesting?"

Bai Erlang said, "Since he’s determined to start this business, then lend it to him."

Bai Dalang: "...He’ll lose it."

Bai Erlang said casually, "You learn from your mistakes. Our teacher says that if he loses once, he’ll know better next time. It’s a form of experience."

Even Bai Dalang, Bai Shan, and Manbao stared at him in shock, all looking incredulous.

Bai Erlang glanced at them in confusion, "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

The three shook their heads in unison and said, "Nothing wrong. It’s just surprising to hear those words from you."

Bai Erlang huffed, "That’s exactly how our teacher treats us. Several times he saw us make mistakes and didn’t point them out. He waited until we hit a wall to realize it ourselves."

Manbao sighed and said, "You Bai Family people must really be rich, treating losses of over a thousand taels as buying a lesson."

If it were her family, they’d have beaten someone until their legs broke.

She remembered how her fourth brother lost a bet once, costing 15 taels, and almost getting beaten to death by their father.

Bai Erlang said nonchalantly, "This isn’t my money; it’s borrowed. He has to pay it back."

How he would repay it didn’t concern him.

Bai Dalang, hearing this, couldn’t help but pity their uncle deeply.

Given the extended family hadn’t yet split their assets, Bai Dalang hesitated, saying, "This might not be wise. If Uncle can’t find the money..."

Bai Erlang retorted confidently, "How could he not? It’s just 800 taels. Is that so much?"

Bai Dalang said, "Your uncle’s family is still under your grandfather’s management."

Bai Erlang boldly replied, "Then let Grandfather repay it. My cousin is his biological grandson; he wouldn’t refuse to repay the debt, right?"

Bai Shan chimed in, "You’re also his biological grandson. What if he decides to let the money ’stay in the family’ and doesn’t repay it, leaving your cousin to figure out how to pay you back himself? How long do you think it would take?"

Bai Erlang: ...