Chapter 7

    “It’s all ready—goji berries, dang gui, Chinese yam, lovage root, heterophylly root, licorice, astragalus, and codonopsis, two qian of each. At fifty wen per qian, that’ll be nine hundred wen altogether. As for the prescription for five days, it’s five taels of silver. Since Madam Zhao has brought such fine ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms to us, we’re happy to give you this price as a token of appreciation,” said Manager Liu as he tallied up the cost and handed over the herbs.

    Zhao Ying happily accepted the discount; she’d earned a substantial twelve hundred taels for her herbs today and had gotten Father Lu’s medicines at a lower rate.

    “I won’t hold back, then. I’ll bring more herbs here in the future,” Zhao Ying replied.

    “Please don’t hesitate. It’s mutually beneficial for both of us, after all.”

    “Well, I’ll take my leave then, Manager Liu,” she said, placing the herbs in her basket and heading for the nearby market streets.

    Zhao Ying planned to buy various ingredients and supplies for cooking, fabric for new clothes for the family, and bedding and curtains. She would hold off on getting anything for herself until she had lost weight—no sense in buying clothes prematurely.

    She visited a few shops selling similar items and was intrigued by the condiments available in this era: salty soy sauce, fermented soybean paste, and rice vinegar. She bought a bit of each since she lacked proper containers; the shops only offered jars or small bamboo tubes. She also picked up sugar, rice, and wheat flour.

    After leaving the condiment shop, her next stop was the butcher. In this era, bones and offal were nearly worthless, as they were unpopular due to the difficulty of cooking them and removing unpleasant odors. Those who could afford meat usually opted for the easier-to-prepare red or fatty cuts.

    Zhao Ying bought bones for soup, took all the offal available, and also selected several jin of fatty pork belly. The butcher, pleased to see her take all the bones and offal, smiled broadly, relieved he wouldn’t have to discard or give them away.

    “For you, Miss, I’ll throw in these extra bones. Just pay for the meat and offal. Come again next time, and I’ll give you more extras!”

    “Thank you, Uncle. I won’t refuse, and I’ll come back to your stall next time for sure.”

    “Ha-ha! Very good, very good!” the butcher laughed in good spirits.

    Zhao Ying had bought a substantial amount of meat, bones, and offal to help nourish the three undernourished family members at home. They were pale, thin, and severely lacking in nutrients. What better way to restore their health than with a protein-rich diet? She intended to fatten them up a bit so they’d look healthier and more robust.

    As she walked through an alley to her next stop, Zhao Ying found a quiet spot where she discreetly stored the heavy items and her money pouch into her mystical space.

    Her final stop was a fabric store. She entered a shop in the middle of a row of three but didn’t buy much as she was unfamiliar with quality fabrics. When she tried to ask a shop assistant for help, he seemed to take little interest, likely assuming she was poor, and answered dismissively. When new customers entered, he immediately abandoned her to greet them.

    Zhao Ying decided that, since she was already there, she’d buy two rolls of cotton fabric and let her mother-in-law pick out the rest later. Or perhaps next time she’d simply go to a different store. It was getting late, and if she continued shopping, she’d likely return home after dark.

    Before leaving the township, Zhao Ying found a secluded spot to place her purchases into her mystical space. She took a deep breath to gather her strength and began walking back along the same path she had taken that morning.

    On the way, she encountered Lu Geng’s ox cart, also heading back to the village. When the passengers saw Zhao Ying walking alone, some looked at her with mild surprise.

    'Is this plump woman really walking all by herself? That’s a bit unusual,' they thought.

    One of the passengers on the cart, who happened to be the Third Aunt-in-law, spotted Zhao Ying and called out to her, “Wenyao’s wife! Did you go to the township?”

    Zhao Ying recognized her as the Third Aunt-in-law, who was known for her affection toward Lu Wenyao and Xiao Bao. The Third Aunt-in-law, the wife of Lu Gaojun—the third son of Grandfather Lu Zhen, the head of Father Lu’s ancestral family—was often called “Third Aunt” by Zhao Ying’s family. Although she didn’t fully approve of Zhao Yingying’s past behavior, she had never openly spoken against her, and Zhao Ying felt warmly toward her for this.

    “Yes, Third Aunt. I went to buy medicine for Father,” Zhao Ying replied politely.

    “Oh! Lu Geng, stop for a moment! Let Ah Ying ride along with us. I’ll cover her fare,” Third Aunt called, patting the cart beside her.

    Zhao Ying, taken aback by her kindness, quickly replied, “Thank you, Third Aunt, but it’s not far. I can walk the rest of the way.”

    Before the Third Aunt could respond, another woman on the cart spoke up with a sneer. “Hmph! Who’d want you to get on? The cart would barely move with all that weight!”

    Zhao Ying looked over and recognized the speaker as Madam Lan, the wife of Lu Gao, the owner of the ox cart. Zhao Ying said nothing in response; she simply gave a nod of thanks to Third Aunt and resumed walking with her basket, not sparing another glance at the cart.

    Seeing this, Third Aunt didn’t insist, and the cart moved on ahead of Zhao Ying, entering the village before her. Watching Zhao Ying continue on foot, Aunt Hua, who was still staring back at her, finally spoke up.

    "Aren't you finding Zhao Yingying a bit... different? Normally, she’d be yelling back at you by now," Aunt Hua said in surprise. "Today, she was unusually quiet and even went to buy medicine for her father-in-law! Am I mishearing, or has heaven finally changed her?"

    Hearing this, Madam Lan, Lu Gao's wife, scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "There’s no way that fat woman’s truly changed. Most likely, she’s hoping to become an official’s wife now that Lu Wenyao has gone to take the exams."

    "Exactly! She’s probably just exhausted from walking all that way, which is why she couldn’t yell back. Ha-ha!" added another woman sitting beside them.

    Meanwhile, Third Aunt-in-law simply listened to the gossip without joining in, though she didn’t defend Zhao Ying either. She remained silent, lost in her own thoughts.

    Zhao Ying, who had excellent hearing, caught bits and pieces of their gossip from a distance. She could hear the criticisms clearly but chose not to let it bother her.

    Quickening her pace, she made her way back to the house, knowing it was already time to start preparing dinner. She was hungry, too, having only eaten breakfast. To save time, she hadn’t stopped for food at the market, instead snacking on a few grapes from her mystical space as she walked home.

    When she arrived at the gate, Zhao Ying noticed that no one was around. They were likely still working in the back garden. Seeing the coast was clear, she hurried to the kitchen, took everything she’d bought out of her mystical space, and arranged the items. She set a large pot of water to boil for bathing and another pot for Father Lu’s medicinal brew before heading to the back garden.

    Just as she’d guessed, all three family members—Grandfather Lu, Grandmother Lu, and Xiao Bao—were pulling weeds from the garden plot, and it seemed they’d been working there for some time. Looking around, she noticed they didn’t even have any drinking water nearby.

    Zhao Ying paused, deciding not to approach them just yet. Instead, she went back to the kitchen, poured some hot water, added sugar, and stirred until it dissolved. Then she carried the sweetened water to the back garden.

    "Father, Mother, please have some water. Xiao Bao, come drink, too," Zhao Ying called out.

    Xiao Bao, hearing her voice, immediately brushed the dirt off his hands and ran to her. "Mother, you’re finally back! You were gone for so long."

    "Xiao Bao, why don’t you take the water to your grandfather and grandmother first, like a good boy?" she said, lifting the hot kettle out of his reach to avoid any accidents. Holding his hand, she guided him to Father Lu and Madam Zhang with the sweetened water.

    "Thank you. How did it go?" Madam Zhang asked in a tone that was still somewhat cold and distant.

    "Everything went smoothly, Mother," Zhao Ying replied with a smile. "I bought medicine for Father’s prescription to last five days, as well as rice, flour, and a treat for Xiao Bao."

    "Mother, you’re the best!" Xiao Bao beamed, hopping around happily, drawing smiles from everyone.

    "Alright, let’s go start dinner," Madam Zhang said, standing up.

    Zhao Ying quickly intervened. She wanted to prepare a nourishing medicinal meal for the family.

    "Mother, you've been working all day. Please allow me to cook tonight. Why don’t you take Xiao Bao to bathe instead? I’ve already heated water for it," Zhao Ying offered.

    Madam Zhang looked at Zhao Yingying for a moment, then nodded and took Xiao Bao by the hand, guiding him over to Father Lu. She, too, was curious to see if her daughter-in-law had truly changed.

    "Take a break for now; you can clean yourself up properly afterward," Madam Zhang said to Father Lu.

    Father Lu grunted in acknowledgment and slowly began to rise with the support of Madam Zhang and Xiao Bao, who steadied him to his feet.

    “Today, the doctor at Cui Zhu Clinic showed me how to properly tend to wounds, as your condition needs careful attention. After dinner, I’ll help redress your injury, Father,” Zhao Ying said.

    “No need,” Father Lu replied immediately. “Just drinking the medicine is good enough.”

    “But I told the doctor about your symptoms, and he warned that if we don’t treat the wound properly, you might risk losing the leg altogether, Father,” Zhao Ying insisted.

    Xiao Bao’s eyes widened, and he asked fearfully, “If Grandpa’s leg is taken off, how will he walk?”

    Madam Zhang didn’t say anything, but her face visibly paled.

    “If Grandpa lets Mother apply the medicine, then he won’t lose his leg,” Zhao Ying assured Xiao Bao with a comforting smile.

    Madam Zhang’s eyes reddened with tears threatening to spill. “Dear…”

    Seeing the worry all around him, Father Lu glanced left and right, finally giving in.

    “Alright, alright, apply the medicine if you must. I’ll go wash up first.” With that, he limped off toward the bathing area.

    Madam Zhang, relieved but still anxious, decided to have Xiao Bao stay with Zhao Ying while she went to the kitchen to fetch more hot water for her husband’s bath.