Chapter 9: Should I copy the medical book? When will I return the fifty silver dollars? ...

What happened?

Wenrou looked at her daughter, who had been silent since returning home, and asked softly.

"have no idea."

Zhou Chunhua shook her head. Her granddaughter had told her that she wanted to eat stewed pork with peas when she got back, but after meeting a flower seller on the way and buying the girl a big pancake, she hadn't said a word.

"This is pork I bought on the way. I'll cook it with peas later, and add plenty of salt."

Zhou Chunhua handed over the lotus leaf package. She didn't know what her second granddaughter was thinking, but when she was in a bad mood, eating some meat would make her happy, and Xiaoyu should be the same.

This wasn't a few years later when prices were skyrocketing. One silver dollar could buy eight catties of pork, which was equivalent to sixteen copper dollars per catty of pork. Lean meat was even cheaper. Although three copper dollars was a bit little, most people could only afford to buy a few ounces of meat as a treat. Zhou Chunhua was not particularly noticeable among them.

For three copper coins, I bought two ounces of minced meat. The meat was not very fresh because it had been sitting for a long time, but it was not lymph nodes or blood neck.

As Yao Xiaoyu listened to the conversation between Zhou Chunhua and her mother-in-law, her hand trembled, and the ink she had just filled in her fountain pen dripped directly onto the table. She subconsciously sucked the ink that hadn't seeped in back into the pen tube, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that not too much ink had been wasted.

The ink spots on the table were the size of fingernails. Even though Yao Xiaoyu promptly absorbed the wasted ink, the moisture that had seeped into the table continued to spread outwards in all directions along the wood grain, creating radiating patterns. Yao Xiaoyu was looking at the smooth dots turning into bursting, fuzzy balls with a pained expression, wondering how many words the wasted ink could have written, when she suddenly laughed.

When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when rich, one should help others. Given her financial situation, where she would be heartbroken for half a day if she lost a drop of ink, she should pity herself first. In the current state of the Yao family, even if she were to disappear overnight, her family would still have to eat salted cabbage soup. [1]

Yao Xiaoyu continued copying the test paper, looking much more relaxed. Zhou Chunhua, who was shelling beans, didn't know what had happened, but she didn't regret buying pork—it was the first time her child had earned money, and buying some pork to celebrate wasn't excessive.

"Dinner's ready."

Wenrou brought out the dishes, and Yao Xiaoyu ladled herself a bowl of thick porridge, picked up a piece of pork from a pea and ate it. Her body, which had been lacking in oil and water for a long time, was very hungry. Yao Xiaoyu resisted the urge and refrained from turning her chopsticks into chickens pecking at rice.

Actually, this meat wasn't particularly delicious. The Yao family had nothing to offer right now, and Wenrou's cooking consisted of simply putting peas and meat together, steaming them in a large earthenware pot, and then adding a little salt and mixing it well. But for someone who had been starving for a long time, even grass tasted delicious, let alone meat.

"This meat is too lean. It would be much more flavorful if you bought large slices of fatty meat."

Zhou Chunhua squinted as she ate. She had been in debt since birth until she got married. She had lived a good life with Yao Daniu for decades, never having to worry about food or drink. Her eating habits had gradually changed, but after two months of driving a rickshaw, she had regained her craving for fat.

"Once we finish copying these papers, we'll buy a pound of fatty meat."

Yao Xiaoyu painted a rosy picture for Zhou Chunhua, and seeing her grandmother's eyes light up, she nodded in satisfaction, while also thinking about finding Zhou Chunhua a new job in a while.

A good life certainly requires the efforts of every member of the Yao family, but striving and simply enduring hardship are not the same thing.

In the afternoon, Yao Xiaoyu continued copying the test papers, but after copying each one, she would stand up and stretch her body. She would either close her eyes directly or open them and look into the distance. Having finally gotten rid of her glasses temporarily, she did not intend to put them back on.

The Yao family didn't really believe that doing this was good for their health, but their younger sister/daughter/granddaughter was already weak and couldn't keep copying things, so they tacitly allowed Yao Xiaoyu to stretch her muscles from time to time, but they didn't follow along with her.

The three of them copied the twenty-one exam papers. Even though they used traditional Chinese characters, the number of papers was not large. The three of them finished copying all the exam papers before dusk. Yao Xiaoyu hesitated whether to send them over now, but Zhou Chunhua stopped her.

"It's too late, it's not safe."

Now that the sun is already setting, many unscrupulous people will come out in the darkness. In this era, money is considered a virtue. Some people rob people of their money and then sell them off, leaving those who cry out to heaven and earth in utter despair.

The Huangpu River is very deep, and no amount of people can fill it; the coal mines are very poor, and many people cannot be fed; the madam has many indentures, and many fingerprints can be pressed on them.

"I'll do as you say."

Between information and the survival experience of locals, the latter is naturally more credible. Yao Xiaoyu immediately abandoned her plan to go out, borrowed a notebook and pencil from her sister, and copied down all the little wishes she had listed in her mind.

Yao Xiaoyu had a lot to write, and the ink in her fountain pen was from copying books. She didn't intend to use public resources for private purposes. Since she had to hand in her test paper the next day, Yao Xiaoyu asked her younger sister for her opinion and then happily requisitioned the elementary school student's notebook.

"Sis, you promised to buy me a new notebook tomorrow."

Yao Xiaoli chattered on the side. Exchanging a half-filled old notebook for a new one that hadn't been filled in was certainly a good deal, but it would be terrible if her sister forgot. She had to remind her from time to time.

Yao Xiaoyu's train of thought was interrupted again. She slapped her forehead in frustration and asked her sister, with little hope:

What do you want me to believe that I will actually remember to buy a new notebook?

She told me several times that she would remember, but this girl just wouldn't believe her.

Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, whoever the deity is, please show your power and make this little girl stop asking questions!

"Pinky promise".

Yao Xiaoyu had only asked the question out of habit, but she didn't expect to actually get something out of it. Looking at the little girl in front of her who was solemnly extending her hand, she tentatively extended her little finger, and Yao Xiaoli immediately wrapped it around her finger.

"Pinky promise, hang yourself, for a hundred years, no changing your mind, whoever changes their mind will..." (Swallow a thousand needles)

When the song got to the punishment part, Yao Xiaoli was a little stumped. When she was learning embroidery from her mother, she would cry from the pain of being pricked by a needle. What if her sister really forgot? She would have to swallow a thousand needles... Yao Xiaoli shuddered, her mind raced, and finally her eyes lit up!

"Whoever transforms into a puppy will bark all the way to the front door."

Yao Xiaoli thought she was so clever, and even set a time for punishment. Yao Xiaoyu looked at her sister's smug little face and still didn't understand what the little girl was thinking, but after seeing Yao Xiaoli give her thumbs up and then skip away, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, no one will bother us anymore.

Yao Xiaoyu quietly filled in the pages until it got dark and the Yao family was about to have dinner. She then stopped writing. That evening, she had bean curd porridge, which she found easier to swallow than sweet potato porridge.

I hope to receive the full payment smoothly tomorrow, and ideally, I can also land a book copying job with quick returns.

Before falling asleep, Yao Xiaoyu prayed devoutly to God.

***

“These are all qualified. Each one is worth three and a half copper coins, for a total of 112 copper coins. Subtract the eleven coins given yesterday, and there are exactly one hundred and one copper coins left.”

Manager He checked the copied exam papers one by one and quickly counted out the exact number of copper coins. Yao Xiaoyu was about to ask if there was anything else that needed to be copied when Manager He spoke first:

"I have a medical book here that I can copy. I can pay 30 cents per thousand characters. Do you want to copy it?"

My wish came true?!

After confirming that Manager He was not joking, Yao Xiaoyu was completely stunned.

"...Any requirements?"

After the initial joy, Yao Xiaoyu began to suspect that there might be a trap involved. She was past the age of fantasizing about a windfall. Just like she used to think that the orphanage heroine being with a rich man was just a stroke of good luck, her first thought now was about organ matching.

"have,"

Manager He didn't hide it from him.

"They need the first copy the day after tomorrow, and they must finish copying the whole thing within twelve days."

The original delivery time was three months, but yesterday my younger brother came back in a panic, saying that because those doctors are famous, they would be taking the train together to treat important people in half a month, and they demanded that the delivery time be brought forward. He tried his best to negotiate and only managed to get a twelve-day deadline.

Yao Xiaoyu opened her mouth again and again, reluctant to give up the money she had just received, yet unable to handle the enormous workload, so she could only resort to delaying tactics.

"Manager He, could you give us some time to think about this?"

Two hundred and fifty thousand words, averaged out among the three members of the Yao family, even excluding the paper wasted due to typos, meant that each person would have to write seven thousand words, and they would still be using traditional characters.

The price of three cents for a thousand characters was too tempting. The other party only required that the handwriting be neat and error-free. Once the order was completed, even with the exchange rate of one hundred and twenty-eight copper coins to one silver coin, I could still get a lot of money!

Yao Xiaoyu simply couldn't make a choice!

"I'll wait until the shop closes today at the latest. If you still don't take over, then I'll have to find someone else."

The delivery deadline seems tight, but actually, hiring more people wouldn't be too much work. The price of 30 cents per thousand words is also very attractive. If this book, "Tianhua Jingyan," weren't a gamble, this kind of order would normally only be given to the copyists employed by He Family Bookstore.

"Today is counted in the twelve days."

Manager He thought for a moment, then added that Yao Xiaoyu's predicament was now tinged with anxiety, and then a thought flashed through his mind:

"Can I just copy one or a few books?"

If 250,000 isn't enough, making a few at 25,000 would be good too; each one would still be worth a few silver dollars.

"Sure, but it will take a few days to get the book."

There was only one copy of the book that was sent over. If they were to copy it from both sides, the Yao family would have to wait until one copy of the medical book was completed before they could take it away.

Yao Xiaoyu was once again caught in a dilemma. She discussed it with Zhou Chunhua and Yao Tianrui for a while and finally decided to go back and ask Yao Pingan about the amount of work he could handle—there were only three people in the Yao family who could copy books, and they didn't have the ability to help clean up the mess.

"Yao Ping'an, don't think you can hide inside and avoid paying back the money!"

The three hurried to their vicinity and saw someone banging on the gate, with several onlookers nearby.

When Yao Xiaoyu walked in, she realized that it was Manager Zhen from the silk shop who had previously scolded Yao Tianrui.

"Manager Zhen, come in and speak."

Zhou Chunhua didn't want to be made a fool of, but Manager Zhen didn't care. Seeing that the person in charge had arrived, he raised his voice even louder.

“Madam Yao, we’re already so familiar with each other, there’s no need for formalities. I just have one question for you: when will you return those fifty silver dollars?”

A note from the author:

----------------------

[1] Salted cabbage soup: Quoted from the writer "Turgenev's" "Cabbage Soup", the story is about a poor mother whose child died. The rich mother went to comfort her, but found that the poor mother was eating cabbage soup. The rich mother recalled that after her daughter died, she refused to go on vacation to the castle and thought that the poor mother was hard-hearted.

The rich mother asked the poor mother why she could still eat. The poor mother said that the cabbage soup had salt in it and couldn't be wasted. But the rich mother thought this was just an excuse, shrugged, and left—in the rich mother's eyes, salt was a worthless thing.

I recommend you read the original text; it's only a few hundred words long, but it's very concise.

————

————