At this moment, the two children looked at Gu Qingli. Gu Qingli shook her head at them, tightly holding their hands to signal that everything was fine.
She trusted her intuition about the shopkeeper's character.
As expected, a few dozen breaths later, the shopkeeper came out holding two silver notes. He placed them in Gu Qingli's hand, smiling, "Miss, your Ginseng is of good quality, with a complete root system, and appears to be around a hundred years old. I'll offer one hundred and twenty taels for it. What do you think?"
"O-one hundred and twenty taels?" Dashuang's eyes widened, his tongue stumbling over the words. That's so much money!
Gu Qingli's mouth twitched. She patted Dashuang's head. This child has no composure at all, she thought. Look at Xiaoshuang; he's even calmer than I am. With such a composed nature, Xiaoshuang is destined to achieve great things when he grows up—silent now, but astounding later.
Gu Qingli smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Shopkeeper."
Just then, Little Six arrived with the carrying basket. He also handed Gu Qingli a string of copper coins, saying, "Your herbs today weigh thirty-two jin, which comes to 192 wen. Do you still need to buy medicine?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Gu Qingli took the string of coins, counted out sixty copper coins, and placed them on the counter.
"Miss, you don't need to pay for the medicine today," the shopkeeper said, pushing the copper coins back to her.
Gu Qingli waved her hand. "Shopkeeper, we can't do that. You've already given us a very fair price for the Ginseng; we can't take further advantage. Though it's not much money, business is business."
Debts incurred by taking advantage must eventually be paid.
The shopkeeper smiled without saying anything, nodded, and accepted the money. Indeed, the price he had offered was very high; it wouldn't fetch such a sum even in the County Town. He was willing to offer it because Gu Qingli had brought the Ginseng just when he needed it, allowing him to turn a quick and larger profit. Thus, he was happy to do her this easy favor, hoping to foster a good relationship. In the future, if this young lady found more good things, wouldn't she bring them to him? Although he was a doctor and never engaged in dishonest practices, he still needed to earn money to support his family.
After putting away the silver notes and collecting the medicine, Gu Qingli put the carrying basket on her back, bid farewell to the shopkeeper and Little Six, and then led the two children out of the drugstore.
Upon leaving the drugstore, Dashuang walked with an awkward, uncoordinated gait, as if he'd forgotten how.
Gu Qingli found it amusing. This little fellow really can't hide his emotions; happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy are all written plainly on his face. Thankfully, he knows how to keep his mouth shut. Only Xiaoshuang... this little one has been calm throughout.
Gu Qingli ruffled the children's hair and asked, "What do you want to eat today?"
"Second Sister, how about we go for noodles?" Xiaoshuang replied this time.
Gu Qingli nodded. "Okay."
They had been eating buns every day; no matter how delicious, anything gets tiresome eventually.
The three siblings found a noodle stall and ordered three bowls of noodles with *saozi* topping. The *saozi* was a home-style stir-fry of pickled vegetables and minced meat, and it smelled very fragrant.
They enjoyed their meal heartily.
"Well, well, if it isn't Second Daughter taking her younger brothers out for noodles?" As the three siblings stood up, preparing to leave, Zhang Qiaozui approached them, chattering incessantly. "Has your grandmother finally become willing to give you money? TSK TSK TSK... After being a lifelong miser, she's suddenly so generous? Three bowls of noodles must cost a fair bit, right?"
Gu Qingli's expression darkened. This woman really does have a long tongue, long enough to meddle in everyone else's affairs. She shot Zhang Qiaozui a disgusted look and said coldly, "Auntie Zhang Qiaozui, from now on, you should just be called Auntie Long-Tongue! We're just eating noodles, and you still have so much to say." Saying this, she shouldered her basket, took the children's hands, and started to leave.
With that awful mouth of hers, once she goes back and tells Ms. Hua, there will be endless trouble again. How annoying these gossips are!
"You—! You shameless hussy!" Zhang Qiaozui, enraged and humiliated, shrieked, "What's wrong with me saying a few words? Am I not allowed to speak now?" She lunged forward and grabbed Gu Qingli's carrying basket. Gu Qingli lost her balance, stumbled back a step, and fell hard onto the ground, pulling the two children down with her.
Immediately, several people stopped to watch. A woman pointed at Gu Qingli and said, "Isn't that the Gu family's Second Daughter from Qinghe Village? She looks like a decent girl. How could she do such a thing?"
"What's there to doubt? We have girls in our village who married over there. They say she's a shameless woman who lost her virtue before marriage."
"Exactly. I heard she's engaged to the Xiao family's Third Son from their village. TSK TSK... One is a man whose wives always die, and the other is a shameless woman. But this shameless woman is surprisingly resilient; how come she hasn't been jinxed to death yet?"
"She isn't dead now, but I'm afraid she'll be jinxed to death one of these days!"
The onlookers spewed all sorts of vile comments. In contrast, Zhang Qiaozui, the instigator, had fallen silent, now looking down at Gu Qingli with a triumphant sneer.
Gu Qingli turned a deaf ear to them. She couldn't possibly gag everyone. She quickly asked the two children, "Are you hurt? Did you fall hard?"
The two shook their heads. Dashuang's eyes swept over Gu Qingli's accusers with hatred, as if memorizing each of their faces. He stood up, pointed at them, and shouted fiercely, "All of you, shut up! You're the shameless ones! Your whole families are shameless! I won't allow you to slander my Second Sister!"
"Hey, you little brat! Such poor manners! Watch out, or I'll give you a thrashing!" a woman threatened, raising her hand as if to strike Dashuang.
Seeing this, Xiaoshuang let go of Gu Qingli, stepped in front of Dashuang, and stared at the woman. "You talk about manners? If you have any, why are you gossiping about my Second Sister here? Did my Second Sister eat your family's rice or drink your family's water? You're really meddling in things that don't concern you!"
The little boy's tender voice carried an unexpectedly intimidating aura, silencing the woman. Her face flushed beet red with anger and embarrassment.
"You—!" the woman began, but ultimately said nothing more, pushed her way out of the crowd, and left.
The others, seeing that these children were not to be trifled with, also fell silent. Some left directly. Others, who had some sense of shame, felt chided. Even a child knows it's meddling in things that don't concern them; what business was it of theirs anyway?
Xiaoshuang rolled his eyes at the remaining onlookers, then took Dashuang's arm to help Gu Qingli up.
Gu Qingli smiled faintly. She liked the spirit of these two; they weren't pushovers at all. Especially Xiaoshuang's sharp tongue—at such a young age, he could already deliver such cutting and precise retorts. This child will be incredible when he grows up...
She looked up at the smug-faced Zhang Qiaozui and said coldly, "One day, you'll die because of that wretched mouth of yours."
Those who knew Zhang Qiaozui cast meaningful glances at her. Zhang Qiaozui was left speechless...
Gu Qingli was helped up by the two children. They pushed through the crowd of onlookers and headed out of town.
"Second Sister, I've memorized those people," Dashuang said, clenching his small fists and looking up at her after they had left the town. "When I grow up, I will definitely avenge you!"
"Yes, Sister believes you can," Gu Qingli replied. "But the prerequisite for revenge is that you must first have the capability. You can't pit an egg against a stone, and even more, you can't act in a way that injures the enemy by a thousand while you suffer a loss of eight hundred. You must ensure you emerge unscathed, understand?"
Gu Qingli didn't mind if the two developed a fiery spirit. If a person constantly yields and endures, they'll eventually become like Second Brother Gu and Ms. Wu—so cowed that if someone told them to stand, they wouldn't dare to sit. With her around, she wasn't worried about them going astray as they grew up.
The two children looked at her. Only Xiaoshuang nodded immediately.
Dashuang thought for a moment, then also nodded. "Mhm, Second Sister, I understand. We will definitely study hard."