That night, Xu's mother tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Xu's father knew what was bothering her, sighed, and said softly, "Don't think about it. The second son is cunning, but he's not a truly evil person. He won't do anything illegal. With his clever schemes, he'll either make money or lose money; he won't end up badly. There's nothing to worry about."
Xu's mother said angrily, "So we're just going to ignore him? He's keeping it from even his own brothers and parents now, like the eldest daughter-in-law said, like we're on guard against thieves? How can that be? And that Su woman too, she talks a good game all day long, but she never tells the truth. How can we just ignore her?"
"It's not that I don't want to get involved, but think about it, can we even manage it? The second son and his wife have such strong opinions. Now that the family has separated, they've become so independent. If they're not going to be managed, what's the point of us going to bother them? Besides, haven't you noticed? The third son is also annoyed with the second son and his wife. If we live with the third son and focus on managing the second son's affairs, aren't you afraid of upsetting the third son? Have you forgotten that it was the second son's family who insisted on separating the family and not taking care of the third son?" Mr. Xu turned over, his back to Mrs. Xu, and sighed again, "If you're not deaf and dumb, you can't be a good father-in-law. At our age, we can't manage anything anymore."
Looking at the ceiling, Xu's mother's eyes welled up with tears. "When we were young, we worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk to raise these six children and support our parents. Now that we're old, we can't even control the children when they're not doing something right. What's the point of life?"
"You're just being stubborn. Think about it carefully. What's wrong with that? The eldest son is useless. He should just buy more land and support his son's education when he has a son. The second son is shrewd and ambitious. He's made a lot of money lately and we can eat meat now that things are better. Apart from being a little selfish, what's the loss? The third son is sensible now and is better than his two older brothers. None of the children are good-for-nothings or good-for-nothings who loaf around or commit robbery. Isn't that enough? I think you're just not satisfied with your life."
"I'm not satisfied? What am I not satisfied with? Explain yourself." Xu's mother pulled on Xu's father, insisting on getting to the bottom of things.
Mr. Xu waved his hand and pushed her away, saying, "You can figure it out yourself. From now on, don't meddle in their affairs unless the children are starving. They're all managing their own lives now, who has the patience for you to interfere?"
Xu's mother knew this too, but it was hard for her to let go of her feelings. She had been arguing with Xu's father, which relieved her anger, and she fell asleep soon after.
The next day, Xu Zifan went to find Zheng Chuan to go into the mountains early in the morning. Before leaving, he asked Xiao Lian to help him turn over the medicinal herbs twice. Xiao Lian was a little nervous and didn't dare to touch his herbs. After Xu Zifan demonstrated a few times and she turned them over herself, she finally mustered up the courage and was very happy to be able to help. She guarded the herbs very carefully. Su Qianyun wanted to take a piece of the herb to the clinic to ask how much it was worth when no one was looking, but she couldn't find an opportunity.
Xu Zifan didn't plan to venture deep into the mountains this time, but rather to circle around the edge and collect as many medicinal herbs as possible. This location wouldn't interfere with Zheng Chuan's hunting, and since both were fast walkers, they went together. While Zheng Chuan hunted, Xu Zifan would rest, and vice versa. They had a very fruitful trip.
Upon reaching a stream, Xu Zifan reached out and touched the water, his eyes lighting up: "Zheng Chuan, why is the water a little warm?"
Zheng Chuan glanced around and pointed into the deep mountains, "There's a cave not far from here, and the water in the pool inside is hot, which might be affecting this area."
The pool is hot? That must be a hot spring! Xu Zifan immediately got up and headed over there. "Take me there quickly. If it's hot, it'll be a great place to take a bath."
Zheng Chuan grabbed him, frowning in disapproval, "There are wild animals inside. There's nowhere to run in the cave. We can't go."
Xu Zifan possessed a built-in "youth radar," but he couldn't tell anyone, so he could only look in the direction of the hot spring and sigh regretfully. He glanced back at the slightly warm stream, put the bamboo basket on the ground, and unbuttoned his clothes. "Let's wash here then. We're all sweaty from walking all this way. Zheng Chuan, why don't you wash up too?"
Zheng Chuan immediately took a few steps back, frowned at him, and said, "I'll go over there and keep watch for you. I don't like to wash outside, and it's not safe in the mountains. Hurry up." After saying that, he walked nearly a hundred meters away, sat behind a tree with his back to Xu Zifan, and kept watch for him.
Xu Zifan shook his head, muttering as he took off his clothes, "Zheng Chuan is too cautious, but it's normal. His master died in the mountains, so being cautious is a good thing. No wonder he's so skilled at such a young age compared to other hunters."
[You were just as cautious before we became friends; you two are very similar. Congratulations on making your first friend.]
Xu Zifan stripped naked, swam a bit, and stood by the rocks washing himself. He laughed and said, "[You know how we became friends? He's not talkative, and I don't know what to say to him. Is it some kind of spiritual connection? Speaking of which, isn't Zheng Chuan's personality a lot like the male protagonists in novels? He's skilled, physically fit, and takes good care of himself, which means he can do housework. What do you think about introducing him to Xiao Lian? He'd be close by, so I could take care of him easily. It should be a good idea, right?]"
[Based on the analysis of the village's roster, Zheng Chuan is the worst candidate. 90% of the other men are chauvinistic and look down on women, including your father and brother. 50% of the men would physically assault women, and 63% are blindly obedient to their parents, yet both men and women here are accustomed to this and don't see anything wrong with it. Furthermore, 85% of families have conflicts between mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, or aunts and uncles. 48% of families are very poor, and the women don't have enough to eat.]
Xu Zifan paused, frowned, and became serious. "This is indeed a problem. Zheng Chuan is a good candidate; I need to observe him carefully. By the way, Xiao Lian is only fourteen; she can stay... maybe for another three years. I need to hurry up and open my clinic to take the imperial examination; that way, she'll have more options. No wonder ancient times placed such importance on..."
In feudal society, male heirs truly carried the hopes of the entire family. Even the wives' marriages and future support largely depended on their brothers. Unfortunately, I couldn't change feudal society or achieve gender equality. If I couldn't control others, I could at least control Xiaolian. I haven't met my two older sisters yet; I need to find out how they're doing when I get the chance."
[You've said quite a lot; you and Zheng Chuan shouldn't have nothing to talk about.]
Xu Zifan smiled slightly. [It's not that we have nothing to talk about, it's just that we can't chat casually. Besides, Zheng Chuan is very sensitive and doesn't like insincere, polite small talk. We'll be fine once we get to know each other better.]
Zheng Chuan listened to Xu Zifan splashing water incessantly, his brows furrowed, clutching his bow and arrows, feeling somewhat annoyed. He looked around, saw nothing, and simply closed his eyes, feigning sleep as a form of rest.
Xu Zifan found it inconvenient to bathe at home; most people would just wipe themselves down. But now, with the slightly warm stream, he could finally take a good bath, feeling refreshed and invigorated. With this natural bathing spot, he could bathe every day from now on. When he built a big house, he would definitely build a bathroom and an urinal—these were the two things that caused him the most suffering in ancient times.
Xu Zifan climbed ashore and got dressed, only to discover another painful problem: his long hair was still wet! He hated tying his hair up every day; after washing it, he didn't have a hairdryer, and it would take forever to dry. He dried it with a handkerchief for a while, then walked towards Zheng Chuan, saying, "Zheng Chuan, can you do me a favor? I don't have a comb and I'm not very good at doing my hair. Could you help me tie it up?"
Zheng Chuan opened his eyes and coldly uttered two words, "No."
Xu Zifan choked for a moment, smoothed her hair, and looked him over. "Are you alright? Why do you seem angry?"
"It's alright, may we go down the mountain now?"
"Oh, I'll leave as soon as I've fixed my hair." Xu Zifan thought it was understandable that the other person didn't want to help. In ancient times, it seemed like you couldn't just help someone else with their hair? Besides, this seemed like a rather intimate situation, and their relationship wasn't that good, so it was normal to be rejected. He clumsily tried his best to fix his hair, painfully pulling at his scalp countless times until his face scrunched up in pain.
Do you need 108 hair braiding and styling techniques?
[Thank you for being a life system before. I really need it. I'll go back and learn how to style hair properly. Maybe I can be a hairdresser in the next world.] Xu Zifan smiled through gritted teeth, fixed his hair, patted his clothes, and said, "Alright, let's go."
Zheng Chuan hunted a total of three rabbits, four pheasants, and two badgers. Xu Zifan collected six kinds of medicinal herbs, two kinds of sweet wild fruits, and a bunch of mushrooms and wood ear fungus. The two carried a lot of things down the mountain. Xu Zifan looked at the badger, which was covered in treasures, and asked, "Zheng Chuan, are you planning to sell this badger or keep it for yourself?"
"Sell."
"Do you sell just the meat or the whole animal? How much?"
"Whole one, 300 coins each."
Xu Zifan said in surprise, "Only 300 coins for one? You're underselling it! Badger skin can be used to make fur coats, which are both beautiful and warm. The meat has medicinal value and can replenish qi and blood and strengthen the body. The fat can be rendered into oil to treat burns and scalds. If you clean it properly, it should be worth at least 800 coins per one."
Zheng Chuan stopped, glanced at the badger in his hand, then looked at Xu Zifan, "You want it?"
"I really want it, but I've just saved up some money, and buying it will probably make my parents worry again..."
"Here you go, this one's 200 coins. Thank you for telling me all this." Zheng Chuan placed a badger in Xu Zifan's hand, looking at him earnestly and asking, "In the future, if I hunt any prey, could you help me estimate its value?"
Xu Zifan paused for a moment, then immediately nodded, "Of course."
"Alright, let's go." Zheng Chuan said, then strode down the mountain.
Xu Zifan picked up the badger in his hand and looked at it. He figured he hadn't taken advantage of Zheng Chuan, so he accepted it without any qualms. He quickly caught up with him and asked, "Zheng Chuan, do you know how to tan leather? My family doesn't know how."
Zheng Chuan reached out and took the badger back, saying, "I'll take care of it and then give it back to you."
"How much?"
"No need, 200 coins is enough."
"Oh, okay, thank you." Xu Zifan glanced at Zheng Chuan, inexplicably sensing that he seemed a little happy. Was it because he knew that a badger worth 300 coins could sell for 800? He had a premonition that the badgers in the mountains were in trouble, and Zheng Chuan might become a badger killer. There were quite a few of these, but they weren't easy to catch. If Zheng Chuan caught a lot, five would be four taels of silver. Wouldn't he become rich quickly? He'd be even more suitable to be a brother-in-law.
Xu Zifan smiled at Zheng Chuan and said, "Zheng Chuan, you're going to take your pheasants and rabbits to town to sell, right? Let's go together tomorrow. I'm going to sell medicinal herbs too."
"good."