"Okay!" the stall owner replied happily, seeing that he hadn't made a mistake.

He readily took the bamboo basket, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "This bamboo basket looks new. I'll put a lotus leaf on top and bottom to prevent the hot buns from sticking to the bamboo strips and breaking."

After spending eighty coins, my purse was empty.

Ke Lin still had things to buy.

After leaving the steamed bun shop, she turned into a general store after walking a few steps. She first picked out six small black earthenware jars with lids, spoke kindly to the shopkeeper, and asked him to clean them. Then she bought two catties of oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from each jar.

Upon hearing that there was still business to be done, the shopkeeper's long face finally showed a hint of a smile, and he immediately ordered his assistant to move the earthenware jar to the backyard to wash it.

Turning his head, he saw Lin Momo looking around at the dazzling array of goods in the shop, and the shopkeeper immediately put on a fawning smile, "Sir, what else would you like? Just pick whatever you like, and I'll give you a discount later."

To put it bluntly, Lin Momo is currently lacking everything and wishes she could empty the entire general store, but she hasn't earned a single penny yet and is currently in a miserable situation of living on debt, so she can only buy the essentials first.

My eyes fell on a stack of bowls and plates, some coarse porcelain and some fine porcelain. I thought about it and realized I really needed some. It would be good to buy a few to keep in my space.

"How much are these bowls and plates?"

"Oh, bowls and plates are the same price, five coins each for coarse porcelain and ten coins each for fine porcelain."

Where are the tea sets?

"A teapot with five cups costs fifty coins a set for coarse porcelain, and one hundred and ten coins a set for fine blue and white porcelain. The shop also has a set of famille rose porcelain, which is of excellent workmanship and costs one tael of silver a set."

Lin Momo couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.

Dr. Ma should have finished preparing, so there was no time for her to think it over. He immediately made the decision: "Five coarse porcelain bowls and plates, five fine porcelain bowls and plates, a set of blue and white porcelain tea set, and a stack of straw paper. How much will it cost, including the previous items?"

"Alright! I'll calculate it for you right away, sir." The shopkeeper smiled and took out an abacus, quickly turning the abacus up and down with a few clicks, "It'll be three hundred and forty coins in total."

Lin nodded silently, took out a silver coin weighing about five taels from the bag of silver Fan Chongyang had given her, placed it on the counter in front of the shopkeeper, and said with pursed lips, "Hmm, it seems like something is missing?"

"Please feel free to choose whatever you need."

"I have a bowl but no chopsticks, how about you give me ten pairs of chopsticks, shopkeeper? If that's okay, then pay the bill; if not, then..."

Before Lin Momo could finish speaking, the shopkeeper immediately agreed: "Alright! Isn't it ten pairs of chopsticks? I'll get them for you right away!"

They acted as if they were afraid she would turn around and leave.

At this moment, the young waiter came in carrying a cleaned earthenware jar, and weighed out oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar as instructed by the shopkeeper, and carefully put them into the empty bamboo basket that Lin Momo handed over.

After paying the bill, Lin Momo carried the heavy bamboo basket out of the general store.

Turning her head, she once again entered the deserted alley, changed to an empty bamboo basket, and carried it on her arm, covering it with a lotus leaf to conceal it from view.

*

It was already late afternoon when we returned to Linjia Village.

Grandpa Lin was waiting at the village entrance when he saw Doctor Ma, whom he had invited back. He was very excited and greeted him warmly as soon as they met.

The town doctor had stopped prescribing medicine for his second son, who was lying unconscious on the kang (a heated brick bed). Now that a doctor from the county was willing to come all this way, did it mean that his second son could still be saved? How could he not be excited?

When the mule cart arrived at the mud and straw house of the Lin family's second branch, a number of villagers had already followed to watch the spectacle.

"I heard that the doctor this time was invited back from the county by the eldest son of the Lin family."

"I heard that doctors in the county charge much more for their consultations than those in the town. Li Laohu's family from the south end of Shangmen Village took his mother to the county for a checkup, and they spent all the money they brought. The doctor even told her to come back for a follow-up appointment in ten days, but Old Lady Li refused to go no matter what. Tsk tsk, the Lin family really knows how to spend money!"

"It seems that Er Ya and her sister really did manage to borrow some money from the village that day. I wonder who was so wasteful. They should have lent the money to my family instead. At least when my son becomes successful in his studies, he will not only be able to repay the money, but he will also benefit from it."

Lin Momo got off the cart at the village entrance, and Grandpa Lin got on instead. She followed behind the mule cart. When she heard that shout, she knew without turning around that it was Fan Chongyang's stepmother, who loved to watch the drama unfold.

He couldn't help but think to himself that if his stepmother found out that his stepson was the spendthrift son she was talking about, it would definitely be a disaster. It would be like stirring up a hornet's nest, and there would be no end to the uproar.

There was no time for her to overthink things. Seeing that Grandpa Lin had accompanied Doctor Ma into the courtyard, Lin Momo also hurried a few steps, picked up the bamboo cage from the mule cart and entered the courtyard. She then closed the gate, shutting out the curious gazes and buzzing discussions from outside.

Hearing voices in the courtyard, Xu, heavily pregnant, moved out of the house and heard her father-in-law calling to the doctor: "Doctor Ma, please come in and sit down. You've been traveling for most of the day, have some water and rest your feet first."

She quickly stepped aside to let the person in.

"No, saving a life is urgent. Let's check on the patient's condition first." Dr. Ma, with his medicine box slung over his shoulder, immediately assumed the role of a doctor with professionalism.

Old Master Lin was also quite worried about his son. He originally wanted to first show some hospitality as a host, but since this Doctor Ma didn't like formalities, it suited him perfectly. So he treated Doctor Ma with even more respect: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Doctor Ma. This way, please!"

The two entered the kitchen one after the other.

"What are you carrying in your hand?" Only then did Madam Lin notice that Lin Momo was also carrying a new bamboo basket.

They stared longingly at the bamboo cage, their eyes just like those of a child with a craving for food.

Lin Momo didn't know what to say. Your man's life is hanging in the balance, and you still have the mind to think about food. She gave a very perfunctory "It's nothing" and went into the kitchen.

She wanted to see how skilled Dr. Ma was and whether he could save Lin Musheng.

There's a saying that goes, "A great reputation is often undeserved."

This person seems to have good medical ethics; hopefully, he is someone with real medical skills.

The room was unusually quiet. Doctor Ma was already sitting on a stool in front of the kang (a heated brick bed) taking Lin Musheng's pulse, his expression extremely serious.

Lin Momo quietly entered and gently placed the bamboo cage on the cutting board, trying not to make a sound so as not to disturb the doctor's pulse diagnosis.

Turning her head, she saw Xu Shi peek in, glance at her, and then fixate on the bamboo cage on the chopping board.

This foodie!

Lin silently cursed in her heart.