Xu Zifan hadn't seen Su Qianyun and the others get anything good, so he shook his head and said to his family, "My second sister-in-law said she wasn't feeling well and needed to rest, so she went home early. I offered to check on her, but my second brother didn't trust me, so I left with Zheng Chuan. Did they go to town?"
Mr. Xu frowned deeply, and said in a low voice, his voice filled with anger, "The second son and his wife are becoming more and more outrageous!"
Xu Zifan took the basket off his back and said with a smile, "Dad, Mom, don't worry. It's a good thing if they find something good and make money. Look what I've gathered! This is pine needles. We can all drink tea made from them, especially good for your health. It can help regulate your body and get rid of some minor ailments. This is mushrooms and wood ear fungus. We'll dry them and keep them for later. There are still plenty near the deep mountains. I'll go and gather more later. They're very good for your health. This is wild egg. Let's boil it and eat it. It's very nutritious. These are medicinal herbs. I need to prepare them so that their medicinal properties aren't lost. Dad, let's make a rack for drying the herbs later. We also need to weave two winnowing baskets. Oh, and I also need a small jar."
"Ah, okay." Xu's mother nodded blankly, wiped her hands on her clothes, and said, "Old man, you go and weave a winnowing basket, I'll go and get a jar. Xiaolian, you take care of all this food, don't waste it."
Everyone was astonished by Xu Zifan's bountiful harvest. They hadn't expected him to bring anything back, and for a moment they forgot about the second wife's affairs, all going about their own business. Xu Zifan washed his hands and face, changed his clothes, and then washed them as well. He had been washing his own clothes for over a month. At first, his mother and Xiaolian wouldn't allow it, and his father also disapproved, feeling that a man shouldn't be washing clothes.
But Xu Zifan said that his mother gave birth to him and raised him, and now that he was grown up, he should be filial to his mother. How could he trouble his mother to wash his clothes? He also said that Xiaolian was his younger sister, and she would get married in a couple of years. She should relax at home. Besides, it's not good for a girl's health to always be exposed to cold water, and it can even affect her future fertility. They only agreed to let him wash his clothes himself after hearing how serious it was, but they still felt a little awkward every time they saw him doing it.
Because of the laundry issue, both Cai Shi and Su Qianyun felt resentful. Before, when they went out to work and came home to make purses and handkerchiefs, Xiaolian would wash all their clothes. They hadn't thought much of it then, but after the family separated, Xiaolian stopped helping with the laundry, and they realized how tiring it was to wash clothes for the whole family. The children were mischievous, and their clothes would get dirty very quickly. Cai Shi was a little better at it, but Su Qianyun couldn't stand seeing the children dirty, so she often had to wash their clothes. They weren't her children, so naturally she felt uncomfortable. She was particularly sensitive about Xu Zifan's doting on Xiaolian and her washing the clothes herself, and couldn't help but think, "They're all men in the Xu family, why don't their men know how to be considerate?"
However, they could only sulk in silence. Their men didn't say anything, and they didn't dare ask their men to do the laundry.
When the nosy neighbors saw Xu Zifan return, they came over to take a look and found that he had brought back quite a few things, which tempted them. However, hiring someone to guide them up the mountain would cost ten coins, which was too expensive, and no one was willing to pay that much. They also asked Xu Zifan what good things Xu Erlang had gotten his hands on, but Xu Zifan didn't say much, only that he hadn't paid attention and didn't know.
He didn't mention Su Qianyun faking illness, but the fact that the two brothers who went into the mountains together—the second brother got something while the third brother didn't—already indicated that the two weren't on good terms, or at least not very close. This news spread quickly. Some guessed that Xu Erlang had made a fortune, while others said that Xu Erlang and his wife were too protective of their money. In any case, Xu Erlang and his companions became the focus of discussion in the village during their time in town.
Xu Zifan, oblivious to the world around him, helped his father set up a simple frame, arranging the winnowing baskets in two layers. Then, patiently and carefully, he washed and processed the medicinal herbs, drying them in the shade or hanging them to dry. Standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the first batch of medicinal herbs he had processed in this ancient setting, he suddenly felt a great sense of accomplishment.
[Shaohua, I really want to own my own clinic and pharmacy soon. It's been so long since I've been a doctor, and to be honest, I miss it.]
[It will take some time before he can become a doctor and open a clinic without being detected as abnormal, but as long as he proceeds cautiously, it won't be long.]
[That's right, it won't be long. I already have an idea. We'll just take it one step at a time. Tomorrow we'll continue our ascent into the mountains.]
Xu Zifan rested for a while, and his mother and Xiaolian had already prepared dinner. They both thought Xu Zifan must be exhausted and urged him to eat quickly and eat more. Xu Zifan specially asked Xiaolian to boil four wild eggs, and peeled one for each of them during the meal. Xu's parents didn't want any, but Xu Zifan said, "I work so hard so that our family can live a good life and we can all enjoy ourselves. If you continue to be frugal, what's the point of earning more money? Dad, Mom, you've worked hard for most of your lives. Eat more good food and rest more from now on, so you don't make me worry."
Mr. and Mrs. Xu were deeply moved. They nodded repeatedly and carefully ate the wild eggs that Xu Zifan had peeled for them, bite by bite. With their son's thoughtfulness, they felt that all their hard work over the past half-life had been worthwhile.
They had just finished eating when they heard a noise in the yard. Going out to check, they saw Xu Erlang and Su Qianyun returning looking dejected, covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled. Xu's mother frowned and asked, "Where have you two been? What happened?"
Xu Erlang said irritably, "Don't even mention it! It was so dark I couldn't see the road, and I fell several times!" He rubbed his shoulder, glanced at Su Qianyun, snorted, and slammed the door shut as he went inside.
Su Qianyun lowered her head and was about to follow when Cai suddenly said, "Second sister-in-law, everyone in the village is saying that you two found something good in the mountains. Are you in such a hurry to go to town to sell it for a lot of money? What did you sell?"
Su Qianyun suddenly looked up, her face changing color. "Sister-in-law, what good stuff? We don't have any. I'm just feeling unwell and rushing to town to see a doctor. This is all..."
Who spread this rumor?
"That's what everyone in the village is saying. You're sick, why don't you go home to see Doctor Hu? Why do you go all the way to town? What's wrong?" Cai looked her up and down, her eyes like searchlights, and laughed, "Second sister-in-law, we're all family. Why are you keeping this from us? Are you afraid we'll worry? You must have made a lot of money, right?"
Su Qianyun said urgently, "Really, there's nothing!" She emptied the contents of the large basket onto the ground, revealing some mushrooms, wild vegetables, and farm tools. Pointing to these items, she said, "I'm not hiding anything from you. I only picked this much when I went into the mountains, and Lao San knows. Later, I had a stomachache, so I went down the mountain. Erlang was worried and took me to town to check, but there really wasn't anything good there."
There was only one stalk of glutinous rice grass that hadn't been processed yet. She'd damaged the roots when she dug it up, and after asking three clinics, she only managed to sell it for 10 coins. But she couldn't say she was there to sell medicinal herbs; who would believe she'd only gotten 10 coins? Even if they did, it would be obvious she'd misjudged it as a treasure and tried to sell it, which wouldn't be good for her reputation. She'd already agreed with Xu Erlang that she wouldn't mention selling medicine, only saying she was going to see a doctor—she was using a stomachache as an excuse. She hadn't expected that what she'd intended to tell her family would now have to appease the entire village. Why were these people so nosy? They must have nothing better to do!
Madam Cai looked at her with suspicion, then suddenly thought of something else. "Your stomach hurts? Why are you so worried, Second Brother? Do you think you're pregnant? What did the doctor say? Are you alright?"
"without..."
Before Cai could ask any more questions, Xu Dalang frowned and said, "Alright, are you done yet? Go inside and check on the children!" With that, he pulled Cai inside.
Cai shook him off, saying resentfully, "Can't I even ask? We're living under the same roof, and the second son and his wife treat us like thieves. What's wrong with me asking a few questions?"
Cai's voice was quite loud, and everyone outside heard it. Su Qianyun lowered her head awkwardly, feeling as if her face had been stripped bare, and was extremely ashamed. Xu's mother frowned and looked her over a few times, but lost interest in asking any more questions. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, you can go back to your room now."
Su Qianyun tidied the baskets and placed them against the wall before silently entering the room. Xu Erlang was still angry with her. He hadn't done any proper business, insisting on going hiking, and now, exhausted, he wanted to go to town to sell ginseng. And what was the result? Ginseng, my foot! The apprentices at the clinic all laughed at them, telling them it was just something to strengthen the spleen and aid digestion, worthless!
To earn those 10 coins, they rushed to three clinics in town, then hurried back, falling several times in the pitch black. Now, every part of them aches and hurts, and they obviously can't sell food tomorrow. After all that trouble, they didn't even get enough to pay for the journey, and not only did they get injured, but they also lost two or three days of business. He must be crazy to let Su Qianyun act like this.
Seeing Su Qianyun enter, Xu Erlang said coldly, "Don't cause any more trouble in the future, and don't be so frivolous!"
Su Qianyun pursed her lips, lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and said softly, "I know. I didn't expect to make a mistake. Don't be angry. Take a rest at home for the next couple of days. I'll also try to come up with some new snack recipes."
When the topic of snacks came up, Xu Erlang's expression softened. "Hmm, that's more like it."
Su Qianyun felt deeply humiliated, using the act of changing clothes to conceal the anger on her face. After today's events, for the first time, she felt a great dissatisfaction with her husband. She was capable; if she had the chance, why didn't she leave the child with the Xu family and find someone else to marry?