CHAPTER 1374: CHAPTER 1352 DRUNK

Since our clan is small, opening the ancestral hall is quite convenient. Last night, Old Zhou mentioned it to someone, and the next day he strolled over to find the village chief and the elders to open the ancestral hall together.

Of course, their Zhou family had to prepare the chickens, ducks, and fish needed.

The village chief took out the genealogy book, opened it to the page with Zhou Yin’s name, glanced at Old Zhou, then at Manbao standing honestly below. After getting the elders’ approval, he called over his grandson and dictated to add Manbao’s name after Zhou Yin’s name.

And briefly mentioned the reason.

Old Zhou took the genealogy book and glanced at it. He couldn’t recognize many words, so he handed it over to Manbao.

Manbao quickly scanned through it. In their branch, her father’s name was first, followed by a series of names—all her brothers. Only then was her biological father’s name on a new line, followed by her biological mother’s surname, with her name added after their names.

Manbao nodded, indicating to her father that there were no problems.

Old Zhou heaved a sigh of relief, immediately became cheerful, and invited everyone to his house for a meal.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had nothing else to do, so they wandered around the village and also snagged a meal.

The village chief and elders raised their bowls in a toast to Bai Shan, and they patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Good lad, good lad, so righteous!"

Bai Erlang: ...

He looked left and right, and asked Bai Shan, "Why does everyone say you’re righteous?"

With a grimace, Bai Shan drank the wine in his bowl and reluctantly said without wincing, "Because I’m willing to let my son take the surname Xia."

Bai Erlang asked blankly, "Who is your son?"

Bai Shan shook his head and said, "I haven’t thought of a name yet."

Manbao also sneakily poured a little wine into her bowl, licked it, and made a bitter face. Indeed, it was as hard to drink as the first time she tasted it.

But she also went over with her bowl to clink with Bai Shan’s, joining the fun, "I toast you with a bowl too."

Bai Shan looked at her quietly, glanced at the bit of wine at the bottom of her bowl, then at the half-bowl of wine in his own.

Manbao thought to herself that it was better him than her, so she pretended not to notice his gaze. She directly tipped her head back and, with a bitter face, swallowed the wine, saying, "I drink first as a sign of respect."

Not knowing the inside story, the village chief and elders clapped and said together, "Good! That’s how it should be. In the future, the two of you should always be like this..."

Bai Shan silently finished his half-bowl of wine, and for the first time experienced that dizzy feeling—it wasn’t very pleasant, as his heart was racing a bit fast, but it wasn’t unbearable either since he felt he was still quite sober.

But Manbao was stunned, as Bai Shan’s face was as red as an apple, blushing from his eyes to his neck.

Bai Erlang was also stunned. He waved a hand in front of Bai Shan’s eyes, and seeing Bai Shan look at him with a vacant gaze, Bai Erlang couldn’t help but turn to Manbao, "Is he drunk?"

Manbao immediately returned to her senses, put down her bowl, and said to everyone, "Uncle, several uncles, Brother Village Chief, Bai Cheng and I will take Bai Shan back first."

The group could see it too and immediately waved their hands, "Quickly take him back, quickly, let him sleep it off and he’ll be fine."

Of course, sleeping it off by covering one’s head wasn’t possible. Manbao, though inexperienced with drinking, was, after all, a doctor, and had methods for dealing with intoxication.

She and Bai Erlang supported Bai Shan on either side as they left.

Bai Shan cooperatively let them support him.

Zhou SiLang, still not reassured, followed along. Just as he was considering if he should carry Bai Shan, Bai Shan slipped his hand from Bai Erlang’s support and, clearly sober, said, "I’m not drunk."

The three of them looked at Bai Shan in doubt; his face was still quite red, but his gaze was no longer as vacant as before.

He withdrew his hand from Bai Erlang’s support but didn’t let go of Manbao’s arm, continuing to walk steadily forward with her assistance.

Zhou SiLang had a doubtful expression and said to Manbao, "Manbao, let go and see if he can walk on his own."

Manbao said, "What if he falls? Let’s take him back first. Drunk or not, he still needs to drink sobering soup. Didn’t you see how red his face is?"

Zhou SiLang retorted, "You don’t know much. Some people just have a drinking response, looking completely drunk when they’re not at all."

He suspected Bai Shan was taking advantage of his sister.

Sure enough, when he looked again, Bai Shan’s vacant expression had deepened, and his gaze was again dumbfounded.

Zhou SiLang: ...

Manbao, along with Bai Erlang, scrutinized him and concluded, "He’s definitely drunk, let’s get him home first."

Without further ado, they supported him forward, and Bai Erlang also helped. This time, Bai Shan didn’t let go of their support.

Zhou SiLang stomped his foot in frustration and, with a snort, turned and went home, too lazy to escort them further.

Manbao took Bai Shan back, felt his pulse, and then asked the cook to prepare a sobering soup, which she fed to him before saying, "A nap will fix it, but don’t cover your head while sleeping."

Seeing Bai Shan with his eyes closed, she poked his still soft cheeks and said, "Stop pretending, I know you’re not asleep; I’m a doctor, remember?"

Bai Shan opened his eyes, glanced around the room, and asked, "Where’s Bai Er?"

"He ran home while I was brewing the sobering soup. Old Master Bai and Brother Bai came back, apparently with lots of stuff."

Bai Shan reached out and held her hand, "Can you chat with me?"

Manbao glanced outside and whispered, "Daji is outside."

Bai Shan held onto her hand, "He won’t come in."

So Manbao allowed him to hold her hand and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Bai Shan paused. He didn’t necessarily want to say anything; he just wanted to be with Manbao, even if they said nothing, just sitting quietly together would be fine.

Seeing him looking at her in a daze without saying a word, Manbao’s face warmed slightly. She shook their held hands and asked, "Say something?"

Bai Shan placed her hand on his face and murmured, "Do you think I have a fever?"

Manbao paused for a moment and said, "No, you’re just hot. The wine is warm."

Bai Shan pestered, "But I feel like I have a fever. Can you check again?"

Manbao felt his face and then his forehead, hesitantly suggesting, "How about washing your face with cold water?"

"No, it’s too cold."

Manbao thought he was being too fussy and since he kept holding her hand without letting go, clearly not wanting to cool down, she simply sat by the bed to watch his antics.

Whether due to the wine’s strong lingering effects, at this moment, seeing Manbao’s smiling face, Bai Shan felt dizzy, his face burning as if on fire. He could only close his eyes, holding her hand tightly while murmuring, "I’m really drunk..."

Manbao chuckled softly, "Then sleep quickly, it’ll be alright when you wake up."

Bai Shan opened his eyes to look at her again, "Will you be leaving?"

Manbao shook her head, "I’ll wait until you sleep."

Bai Shan then felt reassured, tightly gripping her hand without relaxing, occasionally opening his eyes to ensure she hadn’t left.

Manbao propped her chin and watched him from the side. If he got too restless, she’d give him a little swat, and Bai Shan would quiet down for a while.