When Li Laoshi arrived, Old Master Nie, having already arranged a time to meet, tactfully left.

Li Laoshi pulled Errui along and said to Jiang Zhi, "Come on, let's go home. Sister Qin was overjoyed to hear you were here. If it weren't for the sun, she would have come with me to find you."

Jiang Zhi laughed: "Qin Shi has become fussy after living in the city for half a year. She can't even stand the sun. She used to work under the scorching sun."

Li Laoshi quickly explained, "Sister Jiang, don't worry. The doctor said that you should pay attention to protecting the pregnancy in the first three months. Sister Qin is walking very carefully now, afraid of taking a wrong step. It's not that you can't be in the sun."

Jiang Zhi was joking when she said that; she knew it wasn't that Qin Shi couldn't be exposed to the sun, but rather that the tender bud inside her belly couldn't be exposed to the sun.

Seeing that Li Laoshi was getting anxious, he stopped teasing him and told Errui to bring out Qin's bundle so they could go to where Qin and Li Laoshi lived.

Li Laoshi and Qin Shi rented a place in a small alley. Although Jiang Zhi also used alleys to enter the city, they were different from the alleys here.

It was no more than two feet wide, with eaves on both sides. Fortunately, the ground was paved with pebbles, so there was no standing water and it looked clean and flat. There were flowers and plants in the cracks of the walls and along the edges of the tiles.

After turning left and right, we finally saw Qin Shi, dressed in an indigo dress, leaning against the wall and craning her neck to look around, at a corner.

The scene... looked just like a dog with its neck tied, longing for its owner!

As Jiang Zhi turned the corner of the alley past a cluster of flowers and trees, Qin Shi recognized who it was and immediately ran over, lifting her skirt: "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!"

Before Jiang Zhi and Er Rui could react, Li Laoshi, who was following behind them, panicked and rushed over, dragging his large bundle, to support Qin Shi: "My dear aunt and great-grandmother! Why are you running? She's here, she's not going to fly away. If you had waited a few more steps, you would have choked to death!"

Qin didn't even look at him, just chuckled and slapped Li Laoshi away. She stopped running and stood there saying to Jiang Zhi, "I've been waiting for you all. I'm not allowed to go out every day. He keeps me locked in the room like a chicken. I'm so bored."

If you didn't see the radiant happiness on her face, you would think she had suffered a great injustice just by hearing her words.

Jiang Zhi said, "You're lying. If Li Laoshi hadn't treated you well, you would be in this situation now."

Qin pouted: "Hmph, isn't it because he said he wanted to come for treatment! It's all medicine every day."

Sister-in-law, you have no idea how much medicine I've taken in the past few months—more than I've taken in three lifetimes.

Every day, he would obediently prepare the medicine early in the morning and force me to drink it.

The bitterness was so bad that even eating three jujubes couldn't mask it. I only drank it when I bought sugar-coated fruit from the street. That stuff was so sweet and chewy, it was delicious.

Sigh, I've really suffered a lot. I'm never taking medicine again.

Li Laoshi and Errui had already gone ahead to open the door. Jiang Zhi smiled and helped Qin Shi walk behind, listening to her muttering about how bitter her life was, but which was actually full of sweetness.

Li Laoshi and Qin Shi shared a courtyard house with others. There were only two rooms, one for sleeping and one for cooking. There was also a clay pot for brewing medicine under the eaves.

The room was small and damp, and the lighting was poor, but the two of them didn't seem to mind at all and were quite happy staying there.

Jiang Zhi handed over everything she had brought from Xujia Village to Qin Shi: "Lianhua has given birth to a boy, and everything is fine."

She told you to rest assured and recover here, not to worry about home, and that she and Genqing would be fine.

She originally asked me to bring two taels of silver, but I didn't take it. She has two children at home now, and she'll need money for many things in the future.

There's also your favorite dried pickled vegetables in the bag. Lianhua said she added some shredded ginger; just mix them with sesame oil before eating.

Qin Shi listened with tears welling up in her eyes, nodding repeatedly.

Li Laoshi went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, but Errui stopped him: "Uncle Li, don't bother cooking for yourself, let's order from outside!"

It's not as spacious as home, so cooking for several people at once is a hassle, and Mom and Aunt Qin need to have private conversations.

Li Laoshi was used to being casual with Jiang Zhi and Errui, and when he heard that they were going to order food outside, he immediately said, "Okay, we'll go. You didn't get to eat sweet-skinned duck last time you came, so let's buy some to try this time. It tastes great!"

He has lived in Jincheng for more than half a year, which is when you and I started talking.

Soon, Errui and Li Laoshi went out to buy things.

Inside the house, Qin was still asking the villagers in detail if Lianhua and Genqing could manage taking care of the children. Nannan was over a year old and at the age where she couldn't be separated from her and was running around everywhere. Daxiang and Xiaoxiang were only ten years old after all.

Jiang Zhi laughed and said, "You don't know yet, there's a nursery in the village now. When people are busy, they send their children there, and Gengsheng's second sister-in-law looks after them. They can bring their children back after they've finished their busy schedules."

Qin listened with longing, and gently stroked her belly: "I hope my child can go back to the village someday!"

She knew in her heart that since she was pregnant, she probably wouldn't be able to return to Xujia Village, and that others would laugh at Nannan and Xiao Er.

Jiang Zhi said, "Why are you thinking so much now? The future is a future matter. You just need to give birth to the child smoothly, and he will naturally have enough to eat and wear. Li Laoshi will do his best to raise the child. How many months pregnant are you?"

Speaking of the child, Madam Qin became happy again and quickly said, "She was only two months pregnant. As soon as the pregnancy was diagnosed, she went to the street that very day to find someone to write a letter for her, and the next morning she went out of the city to find the post station to send it back."

She spoke with a beaming smile. Although she kept saying that it didn't matter whether she had a child or not, when she actually found out she was pregnant, she was so happy that she couldn't even walk properly and bumped into the wall several times while walking in the alley.

Just as they were chatting about everyday things, Li Laoshi and Errui returned with packed food.

Li Laoshi has now become a semi-local. He doesn't need to go to big restaurants; he can find plenty of cheap and delicious food by just looking for small shops in the streets and alleys.

It wasn't until the meal that Li Laoshi finally brought up the matter of selling medicinal fat.

"Old Master Nie even asked me about this, whether I could give some of the goods to the Nie family to sell, such as mosquito repellent."

This was said by Li Laoshi; he said that Xujia Village was making mosquito coils.

In previous years, Jiangzhi sold mosquito repellent liquid, and the village made mosquito coils. She would definitely use it herself, and the villagers got used to using it as well.

Now that we're in Jincheng Prefecture, we're bitten by mosquitoes every day, so Qin Shi has to keep reminding us to use mosquito coils and mosquito repellent.

The Nie family can sell these goods if they want, but the mosquito repellent has already been handed over to the Huo family for management. It's best if the two families negotiate themselves, since the final money will all end up in Nie Fantian's hands anyway.

Jiang Zhi brought mosquito repellent with her to Jincheng this time, and will give a bottle to Qin Shi later.

In fact, Li Laoshi's method of selling medicinal oils was quite simple. When he arrived in Jincheng, he first went to the Nie family and said that since the people who bought things at the cloth shop were mostly women, he wanted to set up a stall at the entrance of the cloth shop.

The Nie family readily agreed and reserved a spot for him at the entrance of the cloth shop on the bustling street.

Li Laoshi was good with words and generously offered the ointment to people for free. This slippery ointment with a faint medicinal scent was very special, instantly moisturizing the hands and faces of the women who came into the store to buy fabric.

Li Laoshi said proudly, "I asked Master Nie to lend me the best brocade from the cloth shop and spread it on the table. That brocade costs one tael of silver per foot and is not easy to buy."

Then the balm was placed on brocade, with only five jars displayed at a time, each jar costing one tael of silver. The women, hearing it could moisturize the skin and remove blemishes, bought it without even haggling.

Qin looked at Li Laoshi with eyes full of admiration: "Laoshi is really capable. When I saw the brocade spread on the table, my heart trembled."

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but praise, "Lao Shi is indeed clever; this is a good idea!"

The women didn't recognize the ointment at first, but they recognized the brocade.

Packaging is very important, just like wearing designer clothes on a crowded bus, people will just think it's a fake.

If you eat instant noodles while sitting in an expensive sports car, others will assume that the instant noodles are specially made for you.