SLH | Chapter 24

Selling Herbs

Song Tingzhu noticed the bruise on Liu Xiaomei’s face and frowned with concern, “Did someone bully you outside?”

Liu Xiaomei picked up a tea bowl and drank half of it, then wiped her mouth, “No, Qian Shuang’er got hurt worse than me.”

Hearing this, Song Tingzhu was momentarily stunned.

Qian Shuang’er was Xiaomei’s good friend, but ever since the Qian family came to their home to collect debts, the two had stopped seeing each other. These past few days, when Xiaomei went to the mountain to dig wild vegetables, she didn’t call her, only Xu Xiaoman and Zhao Jinzhuz.

Xiaomei is someone who knows her manners and boundaries. Even if she can’t be friends with someone, she wouldn’t resort to physical confrontation without reason.

Song Tingzhu handed her a wet towel that had been soaked in water and asked, “Why did you get into a fight with her?”

“Because she has a filthy mouth!” Liu Xiaomei gripped the towel, gritting her teeth in anger, “I treated her as a good friend, but she talked bad about our family behind my back and even insulted my sister-in-law’s husband right in front of me!”

You can talk about anyone, but not my sister-in-law’s husband. Anyone who dares to badmouth him in front of me will get scratched up!

Song Tingzhu couldn’t help but laugh, surprised that the source of the trouble was himself.

While helping the young girl tidy her messy hair, he gently said, “Let’s not go to the mountain to gather herbs tomorrow. The herbs that can sell for a good price haven’t matured yet. Picking plantain and goosefoot won’t earn us much copper, and everyone has nearly stripped the back mountain bare these past few days, right?”

Liu Xiaomei’s shoulders slumped, looking dejected, “Yeah, they just can’t stand to see us doing well. They clearly don’t know how to handle it, yet they insist on following the trend and digging, turning the mountain into a hornet’s nest.”

“The back mountain is ownerless. There’s no reason to stop them from digging if they want to.” Song Tingzhu gathered the dried herbs into a pile, “These herbs at home are almost dry. Tomorrow, we’ll go to town to sell them, and maybe take a stroll around. We’ve been in Yunxi Village for quite a while and haven’t visited the town yet.”

Liu Xiaomei’s eyes curved with a smile, “I’ll go with you, sister-in-law’s husband!”

Song Tingzhu smiled and nodded, “Alright.”

In the afternoon, the two of them organized the herbs. Song Tingzhu then went to the miscellaneous room to pick out a few books, intending to use them as teaching materials to teach some kids how to read.

Liu Xiaomei tilted her head and asked, “Sister-in-law’s husband, I remember you took two books with you when we went to grandfather’s house.”

“They were two poetry collections for Mingchuan. He can use them for his studies at the academy.”

Liu Xiaomei nodded, “Cousin’s studies are good. He’ll definitely pass the provincial exam next year and become a scholar.”

Song Tingzhu also hoped Ruan Mingchuan would pass. Having someone with a title in the family would make things easier.

Song Tingzhu took some paper and pen and copied a few pages of the “Three Character Classic.” The paper brought from the Song family was running low, so they would need to buy more in town the next day. They also needed to keep an eye out for the herbs used in making wine yeast. Although they couldn’t afford it now, they could at least compare prices.

The spicy smartweed was available on the mountain, but it could only be harvested after the Grain in Ear season. Verbena and perilla leaves would be available even later.

The method for making wine yeast he learned from the books was incomplete. It needed to be verified to determine the exact amount of each herb. Making wine yeast required herbs and grains, and just experimenting would consume a lot of silver.

Tomorrow, they would have to look around in town to see if there was a suitable way to make money.

Song Tingzhu was deep in thought when Liu Xiaomei called him several times before he snapped out of it.

Xia Ge’er was also there, looking up at him with a worried expression.

Song Tingzhu bent down and gently pinched the young boy’s smooth, fair cheek.

“Uncle is fine, just thinking about something.”

The little guy finally relaxed, his small hands behind his back, and asked sweetly, “Aunt said we’re going to town tomorrow. Can Xia Ge’er go with you? Xia Ge’er will be good and won’t run around.”

Song Tingzhu picked up the little guy and smiled, “Of course, Xia Ge’er will come along. Uncle wouldn’t feel at ease leaving you home alone.”

“Yay, going to town to play~” Xia Ge’er cheered, dancing with excitement.

The Liu family had a simple dinner, just a pot of thin porridge where you could see the bottom, along with some pancakes and pickled vegetables from the morning, which filled their stomachs.

Song Tingzhu ate the same. After his health improved, he no longer had the family prepare special meals for him. Except for occasionally having a bowl of brown sugar water to offset the bitterness in his mouth, he ate the same as the Liu family.

“I heard someone say that Liu Yushu passed the child scholar exam.”

At the dinner table, Liu Hu shared the news he heard in town with the family.

Ruan Xiulian showed little reaction, breaking off a piece of pancake and saying, “Just wait, tomorrow old lady Liu will definitely come to show off.”

“Tomorrow no one will be home. Grandma won’t find anyone to show off to, and who knows how mad she’ll get.” Liu Xiaomei bit her pancake, secretly pleased.

Sure enough, the next morning, Liu Cuie came to the Liu family’s courtyard to boast, praising Liu Yushu as if he were a deity, while belittling Liu Dasheng’s family.

She shouted for a long time without any response from inside, thinking the eldest family was regretting and trying to make amends. Only after hearing from neighbors did she realize the eldest family had gone to town, leaving at dawn.

Upon hearing this, Liu Cuie almost fainted from anger.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Lianxi Town.

Liu Hu handed the basket to Song Tingzhu and asked with concern, “Wife, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”

Lianxi Town is even farther than Xiahe Village, and it’s the first time his wife has walked such a long way, so he’s understandably worried.

Song Tingzhu took the basket, smiling reassuringly, “Just a bit weak in the legs, but it’s nothing serious. A little rest will do.”

Only then did the man feel relieved, pointing to the alley, “I’ll go to work then. You and Xiaomei don’t shop for too long. If you get tired, take an ox cart home.”

“Okay.”

“Brother Zhu, I’m going to the market with your sister-in-law to sell the vegetables. Can you and Xiaomei handle Xia Ge’er?” Ruan Xiulian asked with a basket in hand.

Song Tingzhu glanced at Xia Ge’er, who was being obediently held by him, and nodded, “Mother and sister-in-law can rest assured, I’ll take good care of Xia Ge’er.”

“Alright, we’ll meet at the noodle stall in an hour.”

With that, Ruan Xiulian hurried to the market.

Though they set off early, they walked slowly to accommodate her husband, delaying them a bit. If they didn’t hurry, the good spots at the market would be taken.

After the two left, Liu Xiaomei asked, “Sister-in-law’s husband, should we sell the herbs first or what?”

Song Tingzhu replied, “Let’s go to the clinic first. It’s only reassuring to have the money in hand.”

“Got it.” Liu Xiaomei led the way, introducing, “There are four clinics and two small pharmacies in town. The clinic on Fu’an Street has a dedicated herb picker, so they probably won’t take our herbs. I’m not sure about the small pharmacies. The doctor at the clinic on South Street is easier to talk to, so we can check there first.”

“No rush. We don’t know the market prices. What if we sell too cheap and regret it? Let’s ask around at other clinics first and then decide.”

Liu Xiaomei looked at him with admiration, “Sister-in-law’s husband, you think things through.”

Song Tingzhu chuckled. He’s just newly out of confinement, unfamiliar with the outside world, and thus more cautious in dealing with people and matters.

Author’s Note:

———————-

Tomorrow we’ll go VIP, look forward to my big fat chapter [confetti][confetti]

By the way, let me sneak in a preview of my next historical BL story “Returning to the Famine Year to Raise a Husband”

Pei Xuanzhao first met He Yizhi on the road while fleeing famine,

At that time, Pei Xuanzhao was ten, and He Yizhi was four.

The little boy was as thin as a stick, without even a name, so Pei Xuanzhao gave him one and kept him by his side every day.

This went on for ten years, and even when he topped the imperial exams and had his wedding night, He Yizhi was the only one by his side.

In the capital, everyone knew that Pei Xuanzhao loved his husband dearly, but unfortunately, heaven did not favor lovers, and his husband fell ill with epilepsy at a young age.

After his husband’s death, Pei Xuanzhao was despondent and passed away a few years later, going to the underworld to find his beloved husband who had been by his side since childhood.

–

In the tenth year of Chongli, a severe drought struck south of Xunyang Prefecture, leaving the people destitute and corpses everywhere.

To survive, people were forced to leave their homes and flee.

Four-year-old He Ge’er was one of them, abandoned by his parents, but he met an older brother from the Pei family who protected him as if his life depended on it. But the brother was acting strange today, holding him tightly and muttering incomprehensible words.

“Thank goodness, Yizhi, you’re still alive! And your arm is still here!”

He Ge’er was both angry and aggrieved, “Brother, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m He Ge’er, not one or two.”

Ten-year-old Pei Xuanzhao held him, crying tears of joy, “Yizhi is the name I gave you, and I swear, in this life, I won’t let you suffer any grievances!”

He Ge’er didn’t understand, clutching his empty stomach, he weakly said, “Brother, He Ge’er is so hungry.”

“Brother will go beg for food to feed you!”

[Reading Guide]

1. Slow-burn farming story, with equal focus on the young and adult periods.

2. The gong is reborn, both gong and shou are original residents.