Chapter 37
Yu Ying planned to finish all the things at hand before going to the quarry to pick up Fu Dalang.
She asked Uncle He and Aunt He and learned that it would take at least four or five days to walk to the quarry and back.
It takes so long, so the jelly sent to Wu’s Restaurant can only be handed over to Fu An, Luo Shi, and Fu Wei.
Fu Wei came to make jelly, and then Luo and Fu An sent it to the village entrance together.
Finally, it was the place of Ah Fu, the waiter at Penglai Inn. I don’t know what the situation is like there now.
Today she went to Wu's Restaurant. As soon as she entered the shop, the shopkeeper Chen hurriedly called her over and said, "The young man who came here last time yesterday is looking for you."
Yu Ying hurriedly asked, "What did you say?"
Shopkeeper Chen: "He didn't say anything, but I told him you would be coming today, so he left a message saying he would come to see you today."
As Yu Ying nodded, she heard Shopkeeper Chen say, "But when he came yesterday, he looked happy. The task you entrusted to him is likely to be completed."
Yu Ying's eyes lit up slightly, and she felt more happy.
While waiting for the waiter, Yu Ying thought about going to the quarry. She was unfamiliar with the place and didn't know anything, so she had to learn more about it first.
Seeing that there were no customers in the shop and that Manager Chen didn't seem busy, Yu Ying went to ask.
"Manager Chen, you're well-informed about Yu County, so I'd like to ask, what should I be aware of when redeeming someone at the quarry?"
When Shopkeeper Chen heard that Madam Yu was going to the quarry to redeem someone, he was shocked at first, but then he remembered that the people of Lingshui Village had basically been exiled from other places for generations.
Moreover, the criminals' service terms are longer than those of ordinary people. Moreover, the places they go to are those that are the hardest, most tiring and most dangerous. They are the ones who do almost all the hard labor such as building city walls and quarrying stones.
Some time ago, I heard that there was an amnesty and most of the people in Lingshui Village were pardoned, but because of generations of poverty, I haven't heard of anyone moving out of Lingshui Village.
"Who from Madam Yu's family is at the quarry?"
Yu Ying didn't hide it from him and said, "They are my eldest uncle and eldest sister-in-law. They still have several years of service left. I want to redeem them soon."
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Chen hurriedly asked, "So you're not going to use the ice cream anymore?"
Yu Ying replied, "My husband can make it. He will have it delivered to me after it's done."
Hearing Madam Yu mention her husband for the first time, Shopkeeper Chen was still a little curious: "Why do I only see Madam Yu on weekdays, but not Madam Yu's husband?"
Yu Ying smiled and said politely, "He's a little inconvenienced."
Seeing that Madam Yu did not elaborate, Manager Chen roughly knew what the difficulty was, so he did not say much and instead talked about the matter of redeeming the person.
"Although I haven't specifically inquired about it, I do know that many county officials often eat at this restaurant. Furthermore, the owner has relatives working there, so I've heard a bit about it."
At this point, Shopkeeper Chen lowered his voice and said, "The boss's cousin works in the government office, so our restaurant doesn't have those ruffians causing trouble."
After a moment's thought, he added, "If you want to redeem someone, you'll have to go to the county office and pay the labor service silver first. You'll also have to pay some miscellaneous silver when you get to the quarry, so just the labor service silver isn't enough. But in this world, relationships are important everywhere. If you can get help from someone you know at the county office, you won't have to go through so much trouble."
Yu Ying knew that it was easier to get things done with acquaintances, and it had always been the same, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Then how can I get in touch with them?"
Shopkeeper Chen rubbed his thumb and index finger lightly, and Yu Ying understood what he was doing when she saw this.
She asked, "How much money would it cost to establish connections? I might not be able to come up with that much..."
Shopkeeper Chen asked, "Can you come up with a few hundred coins?"
Yu Ying nodded when she heard this: "This can still be obtained."
Shopkeeper Chen said, "We'll set up a table full of fine wine and delicious food. He'll go with you when he delivers the official documents, and he'll also help you with your connections. The quarry runners wouldn't dare offend the county yamen runners. I reckon another hundred coins will be enough."
Yu Ying looked embarrassed. "I can certainly come up with the money, but my husband is not very convenient, so as a woman, it is not easy for me to set up a banquet to entertain male guests."
Shopkeeper Chen asked: "There are no elders in the family."
Yu Ying thought about it and thought of Uncle He.
If Uncle He could establish good relations with these yamen runners now, he might not have to go through so much trouble to redeem He Erlang in the future.
Yu Ying smiled and replied, "Yes."
After thinking for a moment, he said to Shopkeeper Chen, "I'll probably have to ask Shopkeeper Chen to help arrange the dinner. We can then set up a banquet in this restaurant."
Shopkeeper Chen smiled and said, "Okay, no problem."
Yu Ying thanked Manager Chen repeatedly and said that after she brought her elder uncle and sister-in-law back home, she would treat Manager Chen to a meal to thank him for his help.
Yu Ying knew that Manager Chen was helping her because there was a vested interest involved.
But the so-called interest relationship was just because she sold jelly in Wu Ji Restaurant and did not sell it to others, so it was not a big profit. Manager Chen could have not helped her, but in fact he helped her a lot.
You have to treat people to a meal and give them gifts.
Shopkeeper Chen smiled and said no, then he talked to her about some things to pay attention to when hosting a banquet.
As they were talking, Ah Fu, the waiter from Penglai Inn, also arrived.
Yu Ying also came out of the restaurant to talk to him.
Ah Fu saw her and said happily, "The day before yesterday, I told that drug dealer Wu about the business that Madam Yu was doing with drug dealer Zhao. He was very interested. I told Madam Yu that you were still looking for a new drug dealer. He said that if Madam Yu wanted to find a market, she could bring some herbs for treating colds and febrile diseases to show him."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying breathed a sigh of relief.
Since you have agreed to look at the herbs first, it means there is hope of reaching an agreement.
Being able to finalize this deal before going to pick up my eldest brother will also give Uncle He and Aunt He some peace of mind.
"Madam Yu, what do you think?" Ah Fu asked.
Yu Ying pondered for a moment and replied, "Okay, talk to the medicine dealer surnamed Wu, and I'll bring some herbs over the day after tomorrow."
*
Yu Ying planned to go into the mountains to collect some herbs for treating colds and febrile diseases. Even if the drug dealer named Wu did not want them, she could keep them for next use.
She went to Uncle He and Aunt He's house and asked them to accompany her into the mountains the next day, and also told them about the dinner invitation.
The two heard that they still needed to find connections to successfully redeem the person, and they also heard Liu Niang say that if they made connections now, they would have a way out if they redeemed Erlang again in the future.
When Uncle He heard this, he immediately became concerned and said that he would call his eldest son back to go together, so that the atmosphere would not be dull if there were more people.
Yu Ying also agreed and repeated what Manager Chen had told her to do to Uncle He before going back.
After washing up in the evening, Yu Ying lit the newly bought oil lamp.
At night, the house, which had always been dim, suddenly became bright.
She sat at the bamboo table and sewed a small cloth bag for each of Fu Ning and Fu An so that they could go out to pick wild vegetables and fruits.
Fu An and Funing lay beside him and looked at his aunt quietly. The scene was peaceful and warm.
Because of the oil lamp, Fu An loved to stay in this room at night. He would not go back to sleep until Mrs. Luo came to urge him several times.
After Fu Wei drank the medicine, he couldn't help but look towards the warm candlelight.
The dim light shone on her facial features, and her cheeks were covered with a layer of soft light, making her look very gentle.
At this time, Fu Ning suddenly turned around and looked at his uncle.
Seeing that her uncle was also staring at her aunt, she tilted her head in confusion.
Fu Wei met his little niece's gaze, smiled faintly, then placed his index finger on his lips and made a shushing gesture.
Fu Ning withdrew his gaze and continued to look at his aunt.
Fu Wei looked at the two children, one big and two small, and suddenly, he felt that it would be nice for him to be in the same room with her.
Then I thought about it.
So what if the bamboo bed is made?
His elder brother and sister-in-law, whom he had never met, were coming back, and there were only two rooms in the house, which was definitely not enough for them to live in.
It will take several days to build the new house, so she probably won't be able to move out in the short term.
Thinking of this, Fu Wei felt inexplicably happy.
*
The next day, Yu Ying, Uncle He and Aunt He went into the mountains to collect herbs.
Because the mountains are dangerous, the few of them cannot go too far away.
After Yu Ying found several kinds of herbs, she explained to them in detail the characteristics of the herbs and what they should pay attention to when digging for herbs. Only after she had explained everything did she let them take the samples to find herbs.
After they pick them, Yu Ying will screen them again.
But since it was Uncle He and Aunt He's first time to go herb picking, they were very unfamiliar with it. So after the whole morning, the two of them collected less than two kilograms of herbs, while Yu Ying dug about three kilograms by herself.
The two of them were a little depressed. Yu Ying smiled and said, "We dug up so much for the first time, which is already pretty good. Once you are familiar with these herbs, you won't have to identify them carefully."
Aunt He felt a little better after hearing this, but she still worried, "Will the drug dealer really want these herbs?"
Yu Ying analyzed the situation with her, "The herbs collected by the medical clinics in Yu County are mostly collected from suppliers, so the quality varies. Furthermore, they may not have the patience we have to wash and dry them. That's why the herbalists who previously signed deals with me only decided to purchase my herbs again after seeing them."
After hearing what she said, Uncle He and Aunt He also started to think about it secretly. With comparison, they would not have to worry about not having a market for this good thing.
Everyone will have some illness or pain in their life, and naturally they will need medicinal herbs. If you think about it carefully, the medicinal herbs business is really worth seeing.
Those villagers wanted to learn from Liu Niang and sell herbs, but they couldn't last for a few days. Firstly, they didn't know how to identify herbs, and secondly, they were cheated by the clinic, so they couldn't make much money.
Now that they have Liu Niang to lead them, why would they still worry about not making money?
After the couple separated from Yu Ying, on their way home, Aunt He said, "If this herbal medicine business can really make money, why not call Dalang back to pick herbs together? After all, Dalang is just being treated like a slave by those nobles, without any dignity at all."
Uncle He fell silent upon hearing this.
Yes, if it wasn’t for the sake of food, who would be willing to be a slave to others without dignity?
But integrity is no match for money. Dalang is the biggest earner of the family, so he naturally cannot just quit this job blindly.
After thinking for a moment, Uncle He sighed and said, "Let's take a look first."
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