Xu Zheng listened to his daughter laughing outside. He felt a little awkward as he toasted her inside the house. Before coming, he had prepared an explanation for asking the Lady Hou to take Qiu Shui with her for a few days. However, looking at the woman in front of him who had embarrassed him so much because of the military rations incident, Xu Zheng gave up on the idea.

My daughter is doing well now, so I shouldn't let her come to the Lady of the Marquis's place to learn. What if... she learns that mouth of hers again? It wouldn't do me any good.

"I heard that the Hou family's younger sister is now in charge of the Hou family? And she even opened a paper mill?" Xu Zheng took the initiative to break the ice. He had known Old Master Hou for so long, and the Hou family's wife could be considered his half-sister. There was no need to make their relationship too strained.

“I am a widow, so I naturally have to do some things when I go back to my parents’ home. I can’t rely on my parents to support me for the rest of my life. But I am different from the head of the Xu family, who is only thinking about how to dig out other people’s recipes.”

Xu Zheng poured a full glass of wine for Lady Hou and said...

"What happened before was my fault, I hope you won't mind, sister."

Lady Hou glanced at him, then picked up her wine cup and clinked it against his, before saying...

"Let bygones be bygones. If the Hou family encounters any difficulties in the future, I hope Brother Xu will lend me a hand."

"Of course, I hope we can do business together in the future."

Having said all that in public, Xu Qiushui, upon returning home, saw her father's face, which was darker than the bottom of a pot, and covered her mouth with a handkerchief, smiling as she said...

"How is it, Dad? Isn't the matriarch of a wealthy family exceptionally good?"

Xu Zheng remained silent for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence.

“Look at their manners and their attire. They are so elegant and proper. You should learn from them, Aunt Hou.”

After saying that, the man walked out of the room, and Miss Xu followed behind, mimicking her father's words.

"So elegant and poised~ I almost died from how impeccably poised you were at the dinner table today, so elegant and poised~ Hahahahahaha."

I can tell from her eyes that Miss Xu is a seasoned master of yin and yang.

During the mining period, Huo Xiaolong still needed to use ice, but he was no longer as timid as before. Xiao Tuanzi took out her money and exchanged it for a lot of saltpeter, which attracted Gu Shilin to come to her door.

"Long'er, why did you buy so much saltpeter? Buying a lot is one thing, but shouldn't you leave some for our clinic? Right now, all the clinics, big and small, in the border town are struggling to find saltpeter. We don't need much either, so what's wrong with leaving some for us?!"

Huo Xiaolong was stirring with a small wooden stick. In the past few days, He Yi had a lot of molds made for her. All the flower pots and potted plants in Fengyue Tower were moved away and replaced with beautiful large ornaments. Ice cubes were placed inside, making the whole building feel cool. The same was true at home. Huo Shuwen put several large vats in the room, just in case his wife and daughter got too hot.

What about the son?

His son is already married, but he can't take care of his wife?

"Grandpa Gu, you can take some, it's right there, take whatever you want."

"This isn't about taking a little or not," Doctor Gu said earnestly.

This spendthrift has driven up prices in the border town! When will they return to normal?

"What's going on?" Huo Xiaolong stopped what he was doing and asked.

The little girl finished this pot and prepared to work on the next one.

"Now saltpeter is two taels of silver a pound! It's twice as expensive as before."

You can afford it, but we can't. We don't have two super-rich mothers, a father who's a general, two brothers who shower us with rewards, or a sister-in-law who brings in a thousand taels of silver with a single sword dance.

"It's alright, Grandpa Gu, it will be fine in another month."

"really?"

Dr. Gu was a little skeptical. This child had been going further and further down the path of squandering money for quite some time now.

"real."

Grandpa Gu is too noisy. Huo Xiaolong reached into his small crossbody bag, poked around in it a couple of times, and pulled out a handful of Thousand Red Fruits, placing them in the old man's hand.

"Grandpa Gu, do you want some?"

"..."

The old man really wanted to say with great pride, "I don't want that. You should just cut back on your spending, that would be better than anything else," but he couldn't do it.

The fresh, hawthorn-like jujubes were in his hand, tempting him to remain silent against his conscience, especially since Huo Xiaolong's small hand held the largest one to his lips, saying...

"Try it, it tastes good even when eaten dry, and it's quite sweet."

Doctor Gu didn't know what was wrong with him. Normally, this kind of high-quality Thousand Red Fruit would be used in medicine, but today Huo Xiaolong put it right in front of him, and the old man opened his mouth and swallowed the Thousand Red Fruit.

It's delicious; no wonder he often sees his little disciple taking one out and munching on it.

"Is it delicious, Grandpa Gu?"

Doctor Gu nodded, then said clearly

"This is such a good thing, we can't just waste it like this, you know?"

Huo Xiaolong nodded perfunctorily and said...

"Okay, I got it. One more, please?"

The little dumpling gave him another handful, but the child's hands were too small to hold many, so they stuffed him with more. These things would rot on the ground if they weren't eaten, which was such a waste.

It was another sunny day, and the summer willows were lush and green. Doctor Gu carried a bunch of red berries in the hem of his robe as he left the Fengyue Tower. When he stood on the street, he hadn't realized how many times he had been fooled by Huo Xiaolong.

It seems like it was like that from the beginning. Are there still any elixirs left?

Yes, but not many.

Then each time, the brothel could produce some.

"Are there any thousand-year-old ginsengs left?"

How many of those rare items could the entire Great Yan Dynasty possibly have?

Then each time, Huo Xiaolong would pull out one or two sticks from somewhere.

Anyway, don't ask. The answer is yes, there is some, not much, but enough.

Needless to say, the Thousand Red Fruits had just been digested after Ping'er and Yousheng had taken a bath with them. Now, the surviving city guards were all lively and energetic.

The old man was eating as he walked, carrying the hem of his coat. To be honest, it was really delicious.

until……

"Master! Why are you causing trouble for people? It looks like the advisor is going to lift the coffin lid and beat you up!"

This was the apprentice whom Doctor Gu had hastily summoned. He arrived on the third day after the war in Pingyang County was quelled. He had heard from his master that Pingyang County had many medicinal herbs, so the man rushed over without stopping.

Upon arriving, he found that this was not a place with many medicinal herbs. In his master's medicine-refining room, thousand-year-old ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms were thrown on the ground like radishes and cabbages, which broke his heart.

As they picked them up, they wrapped them in cotton cloth. The man couldn't blame his master, as that would be disrespectful; he could only mutter a few words about the little medicine boy.

“You silly child, why don’t you try to persuade your master? He’s getting old and doesn’t understand things. You have to keep reminding him when you’re with him. This is a thousand-year-old ginseng! Anyone who is lucky enough to see it in this lifetime is blessed.”

The young apprentice picked his nose a few times, but he was used to it; these things came in batches. The boy didn't argue; he just listened to his senior brother, since it wasn't anything unpleasant.

Now that the man saw his master eating the thousand-red fruit tucked into his robe as he walked, he couldn't help but step forward and say something.

"Master, why don't you go eat in front of the ancestral tablet and see if he can appear in your dream tonight?"

"You unfilial disciple! I am your master!" The old man's beard bristled with anger, and he practically roared out the words.

"My master can't be this wasteful!!"