The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 2007 - 1982: Grilled Meat

Princess Changyu smelled the fragrant aroma of meat. She sniffed and asked Manbao, "What’s that delicious smell? It smells like lamb."

Manbao had already spotted the barbecue stall hidden behind a lantern booth and ran over in a few quick steps. Changyu immediately followed and exclaimed excitedly, "It really is lamb."

Bai Erlang, who was lagging behind with his elder brother Bai Shan, saw this and quickly stepped forward to stand beside Mingda.

Bai Shan and Bai Dalang: ...

Mingda turned her head and saw Bai Erlang grinning at her. Even someone as composed as her couldn’t help but blush slightly, her face turning even redder under the hanging lanterns.

Bai Erlang asked, "Do you like the pearls and fox fur I gave you?"

Mingda nodded, "They’re beautiful. I really like them."

"As long as you like them," Bai Erlang walked up to Manbao and the others with her, asking in a whisper, "Do you like eating lamb?"

Mingda nodded slightly and whispered, "I quite like it, but I can’t eat too much."

"No worries, I’ll share a portion with you."

With that, he stepped forward and asked Manbao, "How many portions did you buy?"

"Six, one for each of us."

Bai Erlang then told the vendor, "Add one more portion!"

Manbao: "Even though I promised to treat you to two portions, do you really want to eat it now? There are still many delicious things ahead."

Bai Erlang replied, "It’s for Mingda."

"Mingda already has one."

"Mingda will eat the one I bought. Yours can count as mine too, so you don’t owe me anymore."

Manbao was taken aback, surprised by Bai Er’s assertiveness. But she didn’t mind since it saved her ten coins, so she waved her hand and told the stall owner, "Fine, add another portion for him at his expense."

The stall owner smiled and nodded, slicing another portion of lamb from the leg hanging on the side and grilling it on the iron plate.

He was skilled and quick, aided by his two sons, so it wasn’t long before he wrapped the grilled meat in neatly cut dry lotus leaves, gave them two wooden skewers, and reminded them, "Be careful, it’s hot."

After receiving it, Manbao handed it to Bai Shan and Bai Dalang behind her. Changyu, on the other hand, was a bit flustered, "How do I hold it, how?"

Manbao showed her how to hold it without burning herself.

Changyu was curious, "Why use lotus leaves instead of a plate?"

Manbao: "...It’s just ten coins, a plate alone might cost ten coins. This place is small with no seating. Here, let me hold it for you, so you can try a bite?"

Changyu nodded repeatedly, using the wooden skewer to poke a piece of meat. As she leaned forward to take a bite, she realized it was hard to tear off, so she ended up slurping the whole piece into her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed up as she ate, her entire face radiating happiness. Unable to speak, she nodded vigorously at Manbao, signaling that it was delicious, even better than what they ate in the palace.

Manbao smiled with squinting eyes, took a bite herself, and found the meat tender beyond her expectations. It was juicy, and with every chew, she could taste the richness of the meat juices. She nodded repeatedly and turned to look at Bai Shan.

Bai Shan was pleasantly surprised, having not expected the barbecue to be so delicious, and asked the stall owner, "Where do you usually set up your stall?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The stall owner replied with a smile, "Just so the young master knows, we have a small shop on Dongsheng Street outside the city gate. But during Mid-Autumn, people prefer to stroll outside instead of eating inside the shop, so we’re setting up a stall here, just for these three days. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, we’ll go back to Dongsheng Street."

Bai Shan thought for a moment about where Dongsheng Street was, but Manbao had already taken another bite and asked with her mouth full, "Isn’t there a Jishi Hall there?"

"Yes, there’s a Jishi Hall, not far from our shop."

Manbao turned to Bai Shan and said, "I know, Zheng Gu mentioned it to me before, saying there was a barbecue shop near the Jishi Hall on Dongsheng Street outside the city that was especially delicious. He worked as a little manager there for a few days, but when the new manager took over, he returned to the Jishi Hall in the inner city. I thought he was exaggerating — I’ve eaten a lot of barbecued lamb before, and many were delicious, but now I realize just how good it really is."

She turned to the owner and asked, "Is your shop called Zhang’s?"

The stall owner beamed and nodded, "Yes, it’s Zhang’s. So, the young lady knows Zheng the little manager from Jishi Hall, then I’ll gift you an extra portion."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Manbao straightforwardly bought twenty more portions and said, "Wrap them up. I’ll take them home for my parents to try later."

This was big business, and the stall owner was grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, Changyu continued eating, feeling a bit wistful inside. There were so many delicious things outside the palace, but she wasn’t allowed to leave.

She glanced at Bai Erlang holding the lotus leaves for Mingda and suddenly thought that getting married might not be so bad. After all, she could at least go out freely after marriage, eat whatever she wanted, and go wherever she pleased.

The owner carefully wrapped up the twenty-one portions of barbecue in lotus leaves. Bai Dalang saw everyone marveling at the food and went forward to settle the bill.

When Manbao reached for her purse, he turned back and smiled, "It’s fine, consider it a treat from Senior Brother. You don’t need to count it with me, and my father and others will want to eat them later anyway."

Manbao chuckled and agreed.

With the barbecued lamb bought and nearly finished, they continued walking while eating.

The palace servants cautiously led the way, Manbao and Changyu walked at the front, Bai Erlang and Mingda stayed in the middle, Bai Shan and Bai Dalang followed behind them, and Daji and the guards brought up the rear.

While they were eating lamb, Daji had already coordinated with the palace guards. The guards followed alongside to not only separate them from others but also to prevent their group from being split apart by outsiders.

Daji was experienced in accompanying the young masters shopping and knew that if they didn’t guard the sides, it was easy to have people squeezing in, which could cause them to get separated.

But even if they got separated, there was no need to worry. They had already allocated each guard with a person to protect, focusing on Princess Mingda and Princess Changyu. Each had their charge to follow closely, ignoring everyone else.

The Bai Family’s guards were no different.

Up ahead lay booths and lantern displays from various families and major shops, making the place even livelier, with the crowd getting denser.

Manbao reached out to hold Changyu’s hand, glanced back at Bai Er, who was laughing at something he had said to Mingda, and reminded, "Bai Er, watch over Mingda."

Mingda waved her hand and said, "Don’t worry. I won’t lose her."

Mingda laughed and said, "We’re just a few steps apart. How could I lose her?"

Just as her sentence ended, a sudden scream erupted from an unknown direction, followed by wailing cries, "Child—child—someone took my child, there’s a kidnapper, Er Niu, Er Niu—"