Chapter 11

    At the start of the Mao hour (5:00-6:59 a.m.), Tang Xian’s ox cart stopped outside Zhao Ying's house to pick her up. As they left the village, she discussed the possibility of building a new fence and gate for the courtyard, as the old house had been abandoned for many years. The bamboo fence had rotted away, leaving nothing to block outsiders' view into their yard.

    Tang Xian also recognized the issue but had refrained from mentioning it out of empathy for the Lu family's circumstances. In a small village like theirs, everyone knew about the unfair conditions under which the Lu family had separated from the main household. He suspected that the funds being used to repair the house now were likely the family’s last silver reserves, so he advised Zhao Ying, saying, "Building a new fence is simple enough. Once your father-in-law’s health improves, you can cut bamboo from the hill behind your house to make one."

    Zhao Ying understood that he said this out of concern for her family’s financial situation.

    "Understood," she replied calmly. "Once my father recovers, we’ll work together to rebuild the fence."

    She knew that if a poor family were to appear wealthy overnight, it could invite unwanted attention and problems. While she personally didn’t care, others certainly wouldn’t think the same way.

    In under an hour, they reached the inner walls of the township, saving nearly half the time it had taken her to walk the distance on her own previously. After arranging a pick-up time, Zhao Ying and Tang Xian parted ways at the city gate.

    This time, Zhao Ying avoided the Cui Zhu Clinic, as selling lingzhi mushrooms there again so soon could raise suspicion. Instead, she spent the day thoroughly exploring the township, making up for the limited sightseeing she had done last time. By wandering around the various shops, she familiarized herself with the layout of the stores she would need in the future.

    Her first stop was a fabric shop, but she chose a different store this time—one that was less grand. She selected three bolts of coarse cotton fabric in gray, indigo, and a deep red shade suitable for a woman like Madam Zhang. She also picked up sheer fabric for curtains and soft cotton for new bedding for both bedrooms, as the current linens were old and beginning to tear. For the bedding stuffing, she planned to use the existing material for now.

    Before coming, she had asked Madam Zhang about the types of fabrics needed and which styles would be most suitable. With that knowledge, she confidently explained her requirements to the shop attendant.

    Today, Zhao Ying spent twelve taels of silver on fabric and also added some needles and thread to her purchase. Not knowing how much to buy, as she had never done any sewing herself, she appreciated the attendant’s friendliness; he recommended appropriate colors and quantities for her needs. As a result, she didn’t bargain over the price, trusting his helpful guidance.

    After finishing her fabric shopping, Zhao Ying took her purchases outside the store and placed them in her basket. As she did so, she caught the disappointed look of the shop attendant from the store she had visited the previous time—the one who had ignored her and treated her with disdain. But Zhao Ying paid him no mind. She simply walked to a secluded spot, where she discreetly stowed her purchases into her dimension, unwilling to carry the weight all the way back home. With such a convenient tool, she saw no reason not to use it.

    Next, she headed to the butcher’s shop, where she purchased bones, offal, red meat, and additional pork fat to restock her supply from the previous day. She wasn’t concerned about spoilage since her storage kept everything perfectly preserved. It was customary here to treat the workers to a meal once home repairs were completed, so she planned to make a hearty stew from the offal. Though she had hoped to prepare something more elaborate, given her family’s limited financial state, an offal stew would be a suitable choice—delicious and practical.

    She also bought rice and spices and looked for various vegetable seeds. She managed to acquire seeds for mustard greens, pumpkin, cucumber, radishes, and cilantro. Finally, she returned to Cui Zhu Clinic to inquire about herb seeds but found they had none in stock.

    “Madam Zhao, what do you need herb seeds for?” asked Manager Liu.

    “I’m hoping to cultivate herbs for sale,” Zhao Ying replied. “Our land behind the house is small, so growing herbs would be more practical.”

    Just then, Master Fang emerged and overheard their conversation. Finding the idea intriguing, he promised to help source the seeds she needed so she could grow and supply herbs to his clinic. Zhao Ying was thrilled and readily accepted his offer.

    After expressing her gratitude to them both, she made her way back to meet Tang Xian for their journey home. During the return trip, they chatted about house repairs, the well installation, and general matters concerning the village and surrounding areas.

    By the time they arrived, it was already afternoon. Tang Xian went straight to work on preparing the roof with tiles so the family could have a comfortable night’s rest. As for the well, they would need to wait, as Tang De, who handled well digging, was still occupied with another job outside the village, but this wasn’t a significant concern.

    Seeing Zhao Ying return with so many supplies, Madam Zhang and Xiao Bao quickly came over to help her carry everything into the kitchen. Once they were alone, Zhao Ying whispered to Madam Zhang that she had managed to sell the lingzhi mushrooms for six hundred taels—a figure she chose to mention instead of the actual twelve hundred taels she had earned, since part of that income was also from selling ginseng. She felt justified in withholding some money as an emergency reserve.

    Zhao Ying handed over five hundred taels to Madam Zhang, but Madam Zhang immediately pushed it back, refusing to accept it.

    “Ah Ying, please, don’t leave me with so much money! I’d constantly be anxious about it going missing,” Madam Zhang said, visibly distressed at the idea.

    Seeing Madam Zhang’s reluctance to keep the money, Zhao Ying finally insisted that she hold onto fifty taels.

    “Then, please keep these fifty taels on hand, Mother, so you can cover any expenses the workers or Father might need immediately,” Zhao Ying said, gently pressing the pouch of money into her mother-in-law's hands.

    Madam Zhang accepted the fifty taels with a sigh, tucking the pouch securely into her clothing and patting her chest lightly to make sure it was still there.

    "Mother, if something needs to be paid for, go ahead and spend it," Zhao Ying encouraged. "I have other ways of earning money. With this remaining amount, I plan to send sixty taels to my husband and use the rest for the repairs and well. We earned this money to improve our lives, after all. Holding on to it without using it is just as wasteful as not having it.”

    Madam Zhang nodded slowly, understanding her daughter-in-law’s point. While she still felt a natural urge to save the money for security, she realized Zhao Ying was right—the hardships and humiliations they had endured while living with the main family would soon become memories. This money was for ensuring a better future, and not using it would mean living as if they hadn’t gained any freedom at all.

    "Very well, I’ll do as you say. With the tiles on the roof completed, the repair work should be finished today, and we can return to our own rooms. But we’ll need to provide dinner for the workers this evening,” Madam Zhang reminded.

    “Yes, Mother. I bought rice and offal for a stew, along with a variety of greens to make side dishes.”

    “Offal? We have the funds now; shouldn’t we serve pork or something more respectable?” Madam Zhang protested.

    Zhao Ying smiled gently, unfazed by Madam Zhang’s straightforwardness—a characteristic of someone unaccustomed to hiding her thoughts.

    “Mother, we may have money, but others don’t know that,” Zhao Ying explained. “If word got out that we suddenly came into wealth, wouldn’t that invite trouble from ill-intentioned people?”

    Madam Zhang’s eyes widened in alarm, and she stammered, “Oh no, you’re right. If the main family finds out, we’ll never see a penny of it. I was far too careless—it’s good that you’re cautious, Ah Ying.”

    Thinking of the main family they had recently separated from, Madam Zhang felt a chill. Zhao Ying noticed her mother-in-law’s face pale and decided to change the topic to ease her worries.

    “Yes, Mother. Outwardly, we’ll continue to appear as we did before—just scraping by. Once Gege returns, we can decide what steps to take next. Now, could you help me with the stew? We’ll need a large pot today.”

    Madam Zhang composed herself and immediately joined in to help. Zhao Ying explained each seasoning, passing her a muslin cloth to bundle the herbs for the stew. Madam Zhang, who had a fair knowledge of spices and a natural talent for cooking, listened intently to each of Zhao Ying’s instructions. Zhao Ying happily shared her methods, putting Madam Zhang in charge of the kitchen.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Ying took the cleaned-offal and a large bundle of ash to the river to rinse them. Xiao Bao, who had been quietly nibbling on a dried persimmon while waiting for the adults to finish their conversation, eagerly jumped up to follow her to the water’s edge.

    Finally, Zhao Ying could see her plans unfolding smoothly, with real progress beginning to take shape in her new life.