LOT – Chapter 203 Lin Mo Leads the Young Lords and Ladies to Become Refugees

Lin Mo wasn’t the least bit bothered about falling into the lotus pond—in fact, she was thrilled.

The lotus pond wasn’t very deep, just up to her waist, and beneath the muddy water were lots of lotus roots.

Lotus roots were good stuff! Delicious, too. She only planned to pick a few lotus flowers today, but who knew she’d get such a pleasant surprise.

“Xiao Bai, hurry and come down! Let them pick the flowers while we dig up lotus roots!”

Standing at the edge, Bai Xiao looked horrified. “Can I not dig lotus roots? I really don’t like that muddy stuff.”

Wei Zheng’an and Qin Zheng heard someone had fallen into the water and rushed over. For some reason, the first person they thought of was Lin Mo.

And sure enough, seeing her standing in the pond gave them that “as expected” feeling.

“This mud is clean! Hurry up and get in. Lotus roots are delicious—good for stir-frying, cold dishes, soup… You usually have to pay good money for them. Today we can dig our own!”

“We came in carriages anyway. Just toss whatever we dig onto the carriage. Don’t be afraid of getting dirty.”

While talking, Lin Mo bent down, fumbled around, and pulled out a huge lotus root.

After much hesitation, Bai Xiao finally surrendered. As for the two blockheads, they were already barefoot in the water by then.

“Hahaha! Today my dad can finally taste lotus roots dug up by me!”

That single sentence from Wei Zheng’an actually moved quite a few hearts.

The young ladies and lords nearby suddenly looked tempted. Honestly… they wanted to try too. They’d never done something so improper before.

But doing something wild out of the blue felt kind of exciting—and came with a reward.

A young lady in a pink dress whispered, “Why don’t we go dig, too? Little Lord Lin is here anyway.”

What face? What reputation? If even Little Lord Lin could do it, what were they afraid of?

The two girls beside her nodded, and the three carefully climbed down.

One person led to two, two led to three. Before long, every young lord and lady who had come to meet up had gone down into the pond.

Passing villagers: ???
What are these wealthy young people doing?? Why are they all in the pond??

Lin Mo looked up and was stunned to see a whole crowd in the water.

“Whoa! Why did you all come down?! Xiao Bai, hurry and dig! With so many people, it’s a competition now. If we don’t dig fast, they’ll get all the good ones!”

Bai Xiao had already found the fun. “Don’t worry, they’ll never dig more than us!”

Oh? You say we can’t beat you?
Well then, we have to beat you. Just wait!

Everyone’s competitive spirit was ignited. They all bent over and dug like their lives depended on it.

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After an hour, Lin Mo looked proudly at her mountain of lotus roots.

“I got the most! None of you can compare!”

Her pile was the largest—others had maybe ten to twenty roots. She alone had a whole heap.

Bai Xiao chuckled helplessly. “Yes, yes, no one is as amazing as you. You even went underwater to dig! You really don’t mind the dirt, huh?”

Just look at her hair and her clothes—others were only dirty from the waist down. She was dirty all over, like she’d rolled in mud.

Lin Mo grinned and found a patch of clean water to wash her face.

Just as they were about to leave, a panicked voice shouted:

“Bad news! Our horses got loose! Some naughty kids untied the reins!”

Everyone: !!!

“Wasn’t there a groom watching the horses?!” a young lord cried. “How did they run away under supervision?!”

The groom looked miserable. “All you young lords and ladies called us in to dig lotus roots with you… so we tied the horses to the tree. Then some kids untied them and everyone’s chasing them right now!”

Lin Mo: “Ohho! So how are we going back?”

She didn’t feel flustered at all. She walked everywhere anyway. The distance back was only a bit farther than her usual wanderings—nothing like the pampered young nobles who barely walked anywhere.

But… this was awkward.

Everyone was filthy, with piles of lotus roots at their feet.

Bai Xiao sighed. “We’ll just have to carry them home.”

He’d gotten too into digging and hadn’t paid attention to what was happening outside.

There were over twenty young ladies and lords, some acquaintances, some strangers.

Lin Mo enthusiastically went to a nearby village and bought dozens of sacks—big burlap bags.

“Come, come, don’t panic! It’s just a short distance—we’ll walk it. Put the lotus roots in the bags first. If we start now, we should make it home before dark.”

Everyone felt as if thunder had struck their heads.

Before dark?! They had taken carriages to get here—it was not a short trip! Walk back?!

But seeing Lin Mo so cheerful somehow eased their hearts.

Little Lord Lin’s mentality was truly admirable. At a time like this she was still smiling.

Their fleeting comfort was shattered the moment Lin Mo’s inner voice floated by:

Lin Mo: 【Hahahahaha! This is too funny! I can’t wait to see the guards’ faces when a whole group of us show up at the city gate carrying sacks of lotus roots like refugees!】

Bai Xiao: 【They’ll definitely be mistaken for beggars—more likely a group of refugees. Filthy clothes, carrying sacks… Where do they look like nobles?】

Hearing the two talk, everyone… didn’t even know what to feel anymore.

You’re still laughing?! Both of you?!

But no matter how miserable they felt, they still had to go home.

Soon everyone hoisted their sacks and set off.

Why didn’t they just abandon the lotus roots? Because they had dug them themselves! Two hours of hard work—no way they were throwing them away!

Even crawling, they’d still carry them back. And Little Lord Lin hadn’t suggested abandoning them anyway.

And honestly… the whole group really did look like refugees. Lin Mo happily led the way and even started singing folk songs.

Of course, no one understood what she was singing.

Just then, a carriage passed by. The person inside poked out their head and asked in confusion:

“Why are there suddenly so many refugees? There wasn’t any disaster recently… Where did you all come from?”

Lin Mo cheerfully waved. “Hello! We’re not refugees—we’re residents of the capital! We went out to dig lotus roots!”

The moment she opened her mouth, the person recognized her.

“Little Lord Lin! What are you doing here?!”

An old man stepped out of the carriage.

Lin Mo: “Heh! Grand Preceptor!”