This kind of thinking is dangerous, Yu Tingwan painfully vetoed it.
She started running up the mountain again.
She left at dawn and ca down the mountain when it was already dark. She couldn’t spare a mont to return to the old house and ran to Old Man Qian’s place.
Old Man Qian, who was about to sleep, was quite puzzled.
"You want to sell dicinal herbs?"
Yu Tingwan nodded.
Old Man Qian was just about to chase her away. What nonsense, what do you know about dicinal herbs?
But Yu Tingwan dumped the whole basket of dicinal herbs from her back, and not a single weed was among them.
His expression suddenly changed.
"You understand these?"
Yu Tingwan: "No, but I rembered them."
"Last ti, in the mountains, the ones you showed Aunt Hui Niang looked like this."
But last ti I only pointed out three kinds, and here you have six!
Before he could ask, Yu Tingwan was especially honest.
"The last ti I ca over to get dicine for my uncle, the ones drying outside your house were these."
Wasn’t that three years ago?
She sure knows how to observe, her mind works quite well.
But Old Man Qian had a strange temper and said unkindly, "I can dig up dicinal herbs myself, why would I take yours?"
Yu Tingwan sincerely marketed herself, "You’re getting old, you surely can’t move as fast as I can."
Is this the attitude when asking for a favor???
Yu Tingwan persisted, "The price for each herb is different. Regardless of the pricing between Doctor Qian and the dical hall, I only take sixty percent of my share, leaving the remaining forty percent as Doctor Qian’s hard-earned money."
"Anyway, Doctor Qian, you sell dicinal herbs to the county’s dical hall regularly. Bringing more won’t be a loss for you."
This was quite sincere.
Yu Tingwan was not greedy; she understood the principle of accumulating small amounts.
Old Man Qian was disdainful, "Take them away, take them away, don’t stand here being an eyesore."
He’s used to being alone, enough to feed and clothe himself, occasionally drinking so wine, what use is there in earning more money?
Yu Tingwan was puzzled.
"Why... aren’t you more ambitious?"
Old Man Qian: ...
He was puzzled too.
"Can’t you carry them yourself to the dical hall?"
Yu Tingwan shook her head calmly, "The county is far, I don’t want to walk."
"Then take a carriage at the village head."
Yu Tingwan was stingy, "One trip costs three coins."
Moreover, Old Man Qian had been trading with the dical hall for a long ti; familiar people are easy to talk to. But she only knew a little about these things, and the dical hall workers might lower the price if they saw her as a stranger.
Old Man Qian: ...
"By the way."
Yu Tingwan suddenly thought of sothing. Her eyes lit up, making Old Man Qian’s scalp tingle inexplicably.
"There’s another thing."
He hadn’t even agreed to the dicinal herbs, and now there’s more!
Yu Tingwan: "Doctor Qian often sees patients, so he should know many people."
She cast a wide net.
"If there is soone around who is unmarried, please help introduce them to ."
Old Man Qian: ??
He was left speechless.
He looked at Yu Tingwan in disbelief, not seeing a hint of joking intent.
Yu Tingwan: "Thank you for your trouble."
"When the ti cos, I will invite Doctor Qian to sit at the main table at the wedding banquet."
Returning from Old Man Qian’s place, Yu Tingwan clutched the four coins she had earned tightly.
Old Man Qian said the herbs she picked were not needed at the pharmacy, so he bought them cheaply.
Yu Tingwan then asked what the expensive herbs looked like.
Old Man Qian didn’t tell her.
Those grow in the deep mountains where wild beasts often appear; what’s a girl like her asking for?
Having been busy for nearly a day, she had saved up ten coins!
-----
Wei Family.
Hui Niang was sitting and making shoes, while Wei Shouzhong was brewing dicine.
The couple occasionally glanced up at Wei Zhao on the bed.
He hadn’t slept and just stared blankly at the peace charm, much like a lifeless shell.
These past days, seeing him not having any extre behavior, the couple was already quite content.
Hui Niang: "Tomorrow, I’ll use radishes to stew bones; Lang should drink several more bowls."
Wei Zhao didn’t want to speak.
Wei Shouzhong: "He will."
Hui Niang: "There are still plenty of pig intestines left, no one wants to buy them, so I brought them all back. I think I’ll fry half and marinate the other half for later. What does Lang think?"
Wei Shouzhong: "He thinks it’s excellent."
Wei Zhao: ...
It’s really noisy.
Wei Shouzhong: "Tomorrow, I’ll go seek the Village Chief."
Hui Niang suddenly looked at him.
Wei Shouzhong: "All these years, I haven’t had the ability, making you suffer along with ."
Hui Niang shook her head; she knew Wei Shouzhong was also enduring.
Wei Shouzhong raised his hand to wipe Hui Niang’s moist eyes, only to notice Wei Zhao looking over.
No one knew how long he had been watching.
And with such a strange expression.
Wei Zhao was indeed puzzled and lost.
He was used to seeing the ugliness and hypocrisy of human nature. How few couples in large, prestigious families were truly joined at heart?
Those filthy types perform admirably on the surface, just to cover up their unspeakable dirtiness behind the scenes.
It is said that a poor couple is sorrowful in everything.
But how had the Wei Family couple not had a single quarrel?
Hui Niang suddenly thought of sothing, "Why is there still no sound next door? Early in the morning, Wan Niang went out with a basket; I hope nothing happened."
Wei Shouzhong: "Maybe she ca back early and is resting."
Hui Niang felt uneasy.
"No, I have to go check."
The moonlight was dim.
Yu Tingwan walked the path in the dark.
The snow was thick, her shoes were already soaked, and she shivered from the cold.
Yu Tingwan was both hungry and tired, struggling to take each step forward.
From a distance, she heard soone calling her.
Hui Niang held a lamp, patting the old house’s door.
"Wan Niang, are you ho?"
"Wan Niang?"
Without hearing a response for a while, Hui Niang furrowed her brows.
No, she must have her husband find the Village Chief, and the whole village should find her.
"Auntie?"
Just then, soone called softly from behind.
Hui Niang heard and quickly walked toward her. Using the oil lamp to see Yu Tingwan’s tired eyes.
She sighed in relief, but still spoke, "It’s not safe for a girl like you; no village lacks hooligans. It’s not safe to walk at night; it’s better to return ho before sunset next ti."
Hui Niang touched her hand and exclaid, "It’s like ice; hurry back in."
Yu Tingwan blinked.
She wasn’t that familiar with Hui Niang, was she?
Hui Niang’s gaze went down, seeing her cloth shoes that were not only worn through but also soaking wet.
She was so cold she wished she could curl up tightly. Only her pair of pitiful eyes peeked out.
Hui Niang felt uncomfortable inside.
"Wait a mont."
She returned to the Wei Family and quickly brought a pair of slightly worn cotton shoes.
"If you don’t mind, just wear these."
Yu Tingwan didn’t move.
Her eyes took on a layer of scrutiny.
"Auntie, what do you want from ?"
Hui Niang saw her caution and couldn’t help but laugh.
"It’s good to know to guard against people."
She pushed the shoes into Yu Tingwan’s arms.
"These were Lady Xiao’s shoes before she passed."
"Auntie wants nothing from you."
"Just feels that..."
Her voice grew lower and lower, "Just feel that if soone had been willing to help Lady Xiao back then, she might not have ended up..."
She paused and didn’t continue, only saying.
"Cold air entering the body can cause suffering in the future."
"You’re still young; the days ahead are long."
"We live close by, so if anything happens, don’t be embarrassed to ntion it; Auntie knows you young ladies are shy."
Yu Tingwan remained silent.
She clutched the cloth shoes, her head slightly bowed.
The last ti soone nagged softly in her ear like this, it was her mother.
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