Chapter 17 Preparations

Aunt Qin's face flushed red instantly, then turned ashen with shame and anger.

She abruptly ripped off the pair of dazzling gold and gemstone bracelets from her wrist, practically throwing them into Meng Yutong's arms, and shrieked, "Who cares about your worthless junk! Do you think everyone's like your mother, all tacky and covered in gold and silver!"

Having said that, he dared not linger any longer. He stamped his foot angrily, turned around, and rushed out of the moon gate of Xingtao Courtyard, his back view showing panic.

Bai Zhi spat at the disappearing figure, "Pah! What's with the pretense of being high and mighty! If she doesn't like it, she hides it away like a treasure, as if afraid others won't see it, constantly rolling up her sleeves to show it off! Everyone knows her filthy thoughts! Who wants to look at her!"

Meng Yutong picked up the pair of glittering gold bracelets. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the gold threads, reflecting a dazzling brilliance that illuminated her smiling eyes.

She smiled, carefully put away the bracelet, and turned to walk towards the side room on the east side of the courtyard, which had been specially set aside to store her mother's dowry.

Upon entering the side room, one sees a dozen heavy camphor wood chests and a sandalwood box neatly arranged against the wall, which are the dowry items of the mother that were just counted.

Qinzhou has been rich in gold and jade since ancient times, and my mother's dowry consisted mainly of these kinds of items.

Several chests were open at the back, containing various dazzling pieces of jewelry neatly arranged. Gold and kingfisher feather headdresses, white jade bracelets, filigree and gemstone necklaces, pearl necklaces… Meng Yutong glanced at them briefly before closing the chests one by one.

She turned around, her gaze falling on the sandalwood box that sat quietly on the top shelf of the display case.

The box is deep and dark, and feels warm and slightly cool to the touch.

Gently pry open the small brass clasp, and inside is a thick stack of silver notes and a bulging bluish-gray brocade purse.

The silver notes came in various denominations, ranging from one hundred taels to one thousand taels, forming a thick stack that totaled three thousand five hundred taels.

The heavy purse contained various silver ingots and loose silver for easy spending, weighing around two hundred taels.

My fingertips touched the familiar material of the purse, and a wave of sourness rushed to my nose, blurring my vision instantly.

Meng Yutong seemed to see her mother, Liu, sitting there again.

From a very young age, her mother would sit in front of this dressing table every day after finishing her chores, carefully taking out some loose silver and copper coins from her dressing case or sleeve pocket.

Sometimes a few coins, sometimes a few ounces, were carefully placed into this sandalwood box.

The sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating my mother's lowered, gentle, and focused profile.

“Ah Ying, come here,” her mother always liked to take her little hand and touch the bottom of the box together, feeling it get heavier and heavier, with a satisfied sigh in her throat, “The heavier the box is, the more at ease I feel.”

"Are they all for me?" the little girl asked, tilting her head up.

"Yes, it's all saved up for our Ying." Her mother smiled and tapped her nose, her eyes overflowing with tenderness. "Mother wants to save up a mountain of gold and silver for our Ying. In the future, our Ying can do whatever she wants, go wherever she wants, and no one will ever let her suffer the slightest injustice..."

The scene before my mother passed away is still vivid in my mind.

At that time, my mother was already on her deathbed, but she still insisted that someone bring this sandalwood box.

Her cold hands clenched tightly around herself.

“Ah Ying…” Her mother’s voice was weak, as if it would dissipate with a gust of wind, “This box… is still not heavy enough… I don’t know… if it’s enough for our Ah Ying… to open a grand clinic… If it’s not enough…” Tears rolled down her cheeks, “And those gold and jade jewelry that my maternal grandmother left me… those… were all hand-picked by your maternal grandmother…”

She took a deep breath, and with her last ounce of strength, she tremblingly pulled out a brocade purse that she had carried with her for many years from under her pillow, and with one last hurrah, threw it into the open sandalwood box.

"Thump!"

A dull yet clear sound seemed to strike young Meng Yutong's heart.

"Thump!"

While Meng Yutong was lost in thought, a bird knocked the window shut, causing it to close.

The light and shadow in the room were instantly reduced by most.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her turbulent emotions, carefully picked up the sandalwood box, and steadily carried it back to her inner room.

Upon entering the house, she retrieved a slightly smaller lacquered and gilded wooden box from the depths of a rosewood display cabinet against the wall. Inside were her personal savings, which she had previously tallied, amounting to approximately five hundred taels. She carefully counted and combined the silver notes, ingots, and loose silver from the two boxes. Her total cash on hand amounted to four thousand two hundred taels.

As her fingertips traced the cold edge of the silver note, Meng Yutong remained unusually calm. In her previous life, she had assisted in managing several shops owned by the Ji family along Yujie Street, and was intimately familiar with the rent, labor, and material expenses in the heart of Lin'an City.

This amount of money is enough to rent a well-located, square-shaped shop in the middle section of Yujie Street. But opening a clinic is not as simple as just renting a shop.

The purchase and stockpiling of medicinal herbs, especially those precious ones, the hiring of skilled workers who understand medicinal herbs, the custom-made medicine cabinets, the renovation and decoration of the shop... all of these require a lot of money.

These four thousand two hundred taels must be carefully calculated.

She pulled out three one-hundred-tael silver notes from a thick stack of banknotes and called out in a raised voice, "Granny Gui!"

Granny Gui entered in response, her face showing some worry.

"Granny, is there any news about Sun Sheng, the matchmaker we asked you to find before?"

Meng Yutong knew this Sun Sheng, the horse-drawn horse, from her past life.

This man was known throughout Lin'an City for his extensive local connections, keen information, and connections with all sorts of people.

What's most remarkable is his keen eye, quick wit, and deep understanding of human relationships. He can often find shops and properties that suit his clients' tastes and are reasonably priced. Moreover, he is very discreet and reliable.

Granny Gui nodded quickly: "Reporting to Miss, Sun Yalang has sent word that he has noted down all the requests you made. There are a few shops that have become available on Imperial Street, and the location and layout are quite to your liking. He asked when would be a convenient time for you, so he can personally take you there to have a look."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yutong turned her gaze to the window.

It was dusk, and the sky was ablaze with a vast expanse of golden-red sunset, turning half the sky crimson and bathing the courtyard in a warm, golden glow.

A gentle breeze caressed my face, carrying the warmth of the day mixed with a refreshing coolness, instantly lifting my spirits and making me feel brighter.

She felt a surge of exhilarating energy rising in her chest, and she stood up abruptly: "There's no time like the present, Granny, call Baizhi, let's go now."

Looking at the bright and cheerful look on Meng Yutong's face, Granny Gui felt uneasy.

Her lips trembled slightly. Seeing the girl's rare enthusiasm, she was about to swallow her words of dissuasion, but in the end, worry overcame her concerns, and she couldn't help but step forward, earnestly advising:

“Young lady…you…you must think this over carefully! Opening a clinic…is no child’s play. Not to mention the money invested, if anything goes wrong, it will be a huge loss. Just the reputation of ‘showing one’s face in public and practicing medicine in one’s clinic…”

Granny Gui's voice trembled, "Miss, you are an unmarried young lady. In Lin'an, gossip could drown you in an instant. And that marriage with the Ji family... Although the old lady allowed you to cancel it, but... but if the marriage is really canceled, you won't be able to open your clinic. What will you do then? It's truly... a loss that outweighs the gain!"

Two days ago, not long after Meng Yutong returned from Songfeng Courtyard, Granny Wu stormed into Xingtao Courtyard and berated Granny Gui, calling her a "senile old fool" and a "heartless old hag"!

She was scolded for bringing up the old lady's old stories and gossiping, which made the young lady "wander her mind". Now, even the Ji family, a good marriage that is hard to find, is being called off. She even has the wild idea of ​​opening a clinic!

Granny Gui was terrified and ashamed after being scolded, feeling that she had harmed the girl by being too talkative.

She found Meng Yutong, wiped away her tears, and pleaded with her heart, wishing she could tear her heart out to him.

No matter how much she pleaded, Meng Yutong just listened with a smile, and finally replied softly, "I understand your intentions, Granny, I know what I'm doing." Her expression clearly showed that she hadn't heard a single word!

She wanted to persuade Bai Zhi to help her, but when the girl heard that she wanted to open a clinic, her eyes widened. Instead of being worried, she clapped her hands and cheered, pestering the girl to ask when they could choose a shop and that she wanted to be the first apprentice!

Granny Gui was so angry she almost fainted.

Thinking of all this, Granny Gui felt a heavy weight on her chest, as if a huge rock was pressing down on it.

Meng Yutong had already reached the door when she heard this and stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn around immediately, but stood quietly for a moment.

The evening glow slanted in from outside the door, outlining her slender and upright back.

Then, she slowly turned around.

His face showed neither anger nor excitement, only a calm. Yet, his eyes, illuminated by the glow of the sunset, shone with a bright hue.

She looked into Granny Gui's worried eyes, and her voice was clear and firm:

“Granny, what you fear is that the money will be wasted, the gossip of the world, and that A-Ying will be left with no one to rely on in the future.”

She paused slightly, her gaze passing over Granny Gui, as if piercing through time to see her mother's expectant face.

"But what Ah Ying fears is that she will fail to live up to the 'confidence' and 'possibility' that her mother has accumulated for her with her whole life's blood in this box. She will fail to live up to the slight expectation that her grandmother had for her when she made the bet."

It also betrayed his own unwillingness to accept his second chance at life and his desire to take control of his destiny.

Her words carried immense weight, striking deep into Granny Gui's heart:

“If a person lives in this world and loses the courage to even try because of fear of what others say and the unknown failure, how is he any different from a caged bird trapped in this courtyard?”

"Granny, would you be willing to watch Ah Ying become a caged bird, forever dependent on others and living at the mercy of their whims?"

"Granny, let Aying give it a try."

Granny Gui was slightly dazed. The young lady's appearance just now was seven or eight parts similar to the old lady when she was young!

That's it, this family is all stubborn, you can't reason with them or they won't listen!

Granny Gui finally gave in and moved her feet. "This old servant will go and prepare the carriage right away."

A note from the author: