Yu Xiaolian held two taels and five coins of Silver in her arms, and left the medicine shop. Upon leaving, Laishun deliberately reminded her to return the next day to sell more ginseng.
Yu Xiaolian rolled up the empty cloth bag in her hand and tucked it under her arm.
Afraid that Yu Changhe would worry, she dared not linger in town, and hurriedly made her way home.
The herbs she had been drying out these past few days were counted. The dried wolfberries weighed around four pounds, and although she picked a lot of gold and silver flowers, they shrunk when dried, probably weighing only a bit more than five pounds.
Yu Xiaolian calculated in her mind and decided to hand over four hundred Copper Coins to Mrs. Sun. In this way, it wouldn't be too conspicuous, and it would help her pay off some debts. If she handed them all, she would probably face Yu Changhe's questions and doubt again.
Yu Xiaolian had only reached the village entrance when she saw Yu Changhe leaning on his wooden stick, craning his neck to look toward the road. Only when he saw Yu Xiaolian's figure did he reveal a relieved smile.
Yu Xiaolian had indeed considered leaving the Yu Family and finding a secluded place to live a beautiful life on her own. However, thinking about the kind-hearted Yu Changhe who might die because of her, she couldn't bring herself to abandon them.
In this lifetime, she's determined to protect them completely. If Jun Mobai dares to disrupt their life, she wouldn't hesitate to electrocute him with a stun rod.
"Dad." Yu Xiaolian ran over briskly, having walked an hour; her forehead was covered in sweat as the sun blazed fiercely at noon.
Yu Changhe noticed the empty bag under Yu Xiaolian's arm, "Hey, did my daughter really sell the goods?"
Yu Xiaolian proudly raised her head, "Of course! Just look at whose daughter I am. Soon, you'll be living the good life with me!"
"Wow..." Yu Changhe laughed, "Then I should be at home enjoying blessings?"
"Of course. Once I have money, I'll buy you ten or eight servants to serve you around the clock!"
"Bragging, not ashamed!" Yu Changhe smiled and tapped Yu Xiaolian's forehead.
As soon as they made it inside, Yu Xiaolian took out four hundred Copper Coins from the bag and proudly went, "Ta-ta-da-ta!"
"Oh my, how is there so much money?" Yu Changhe was shocked, thinking those herbs would only fetch ten or so coins, unexpectedly they made more than he does making baskets all day.
"Today, I met a good person. Coincidentally the Young Master of the medicine shop was there, and he agreed to buy my herbs. If it were up to that clerk, he wouldn't have accepted them!"
"Which medicine shop was it?"
"Hmm..." Yu Xiaolian thought for a moment, "Huichun Hall!"
"Oh, so you went to Dr. Zheng's medicine shop. Dr. Zheng and his son are known as good people in town, our Lian'er sure has good luck!"
Yu Changhe paused, "But how did you know it's Huichun Hall?"
Yu Xiaolian herself was illiterate, so she couldn't have recognized the characters on the sign.
"Um...I heard the clerk say how the prices at our Huichun Hall were fair, so I remembered it."
With such a careful dad to face every day, Yu Xiaolian really worried sometimes that her secrets would get busted one day.
Afraid that Yu Changhe would continue questioning, Yu Xiaolian hurriedly said, "Dad, someone in the Pan Family is sick and it's serious; people all over town are talking about it. They say the disease is contagious, lots in the Pan family have caught it."
"Surely karma, they've done so much evil, serves them right!"
Yu Changhe cursed a few times, seemingly quite relieved, then quickly added, "But surely it isn't an epidemic? You should avoid going to town for a while."
Yu Xiaolian already promised Laishun to deliver ginseng tomorrow, she definitely had to go.
Forget it, she'll make an excuse to go dig for vegetables and sneak over once. Otherwise, Yu Changhe would ramble on endlessly.
"It shouldn't be an epidemic. I heard people in town say that those who are sick in their family have half their body looking like a birthmark, quite scary."
"That sounds like poisoning, but what poison could be contagious?"
"What are you two talking about? Poisoning or not poisoning?" Mrs. Sun walked in carrying a basket of embroidery, looking in high spirits.
"Nothing much." Yu Changhe mentioned the string of Copper Coins, "See, daughter's herbs fetched so much money back, we can repay Dr. Che a good amount and other families' debts too."
Mrs. Sun grabbed the string of Copper Coins, "Are you both trying to fool me into feeling good? Is this really the money Lian'er made from selling herbs?"
"Of course it's real. Tomorrow, I'll go gather herbs with Lian'er, need to get more back."
Yu Xiaolian promptly said, "Dad, the place where I gather herbs is deep in the valleys, you'd fall in and never climb out. No need for you to come, I can do it myself.
But, about our family making so much from selling herbs, you better not tell Grandma or them. Otherwise, they'd all go gathering and we wouldn't stand a chance against them."
Yu Changhe nodded, "Won't say, won't say, just say you sold herbs to buy yourself candy."
Yu Xiaolian pouted, is she really that gluttonous?
Mrs. Sun placed the money on the kang, climbed onto it, and closed the shutters, muttering, "Owe Dr. Che the most, one hundred fifty coins, Old Wang family fifty coins, Old Sun family thirty coins..."
Mrs. Sun was busily calculating, when suddenly Mrs. Cao's shrill voice shouted in the yard, "Yu Xiaolian, come out! You dare hit my son, you little brat, gone lawless, haven't you?"
Yu Changhe asked, "Did you hit Yu Ziyi?"
Yu Xiaolian certainly couldn't admit, "No, he tried to snatch my herbs. I refused to give them, and he said he'd tell his mother."
Hearing this, Yu Changhe patted Yu Xiaolian's shoulder, "Don't worry, dad will go talk to your Auntie, just stay in the house."
Mrs. Sun quickly stuffed the Copper Coins under the bedding, putting on shoes while saying, "What good is you going? You don't speak well, both of you stay in; I'll go out."
Mrs. Sun gallantly raised the curtain and went out, ready to clash with Mrs. Cao.
"Eldest auntie, my child Lian'er is skinny like a monkey, bones poke when touched, how could she beat Ziyi, such a big boy? If you're looking for an excuse to fight, just say, we'll have a brawl!"
Mrs. Sun's barrage of words left Mrs. Cao dumbfounded.
Indeed, her son is a head taller than Yu Xiaolian, more robust, and he's a boy. There's no way Yu Xiaolian could bully him.
"Yi boy, tell me, how come Yu Xiaolian beat you?"
Yu Ziyi felt humiliated inside and out, he merely complained to Mrs. Cao, not expecting her to make a scene. As a man, losing to a ten-year-old girl and then running home to his mom was too embarrassing.
"I...felt weak all over, body went limp and fell on the ground, perhaps I was unwell, so...it wasn't really Yu Xiaolian who beat me."
Yes, blaming his body spared him from total disgrace.
Mrs. Sun spat, "Little rascal, next time you dare falsely accuse my Lian'er, I'll truly hit you."
Mrs. Cao pushed and shoved Yu Ziyi, "You troublemaker, go home and stay."