Chapter 53
In the morning, it started to drizzle outside.
Yu Ying stood at the door and looked at the distant mountains. She saw that the distant mountains were shrouded in mist and rain, and were hazy and not clear.
A cold wind blew, and Yu Ying shrank her neck because of the cold.
Wen Xing, who was busy in the kitchen, saw her sister-in-law across from her and hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, the clothes are ready. I'll bring them to you later."
Seeing that the weather is getting colder, Wen Xing has been busy stuffing linen into her clothes to keep warm these past two days.
Yu Ying responded and looked down at Fu Ning who was also shrinking his neck.
Fu Ning's clothes were rather thin, and she was wearing straw sandals, revealing her little feet.
Yu Ying also took a look at the cloth shoes on her feet.
I wore this pair of cloth shoes when I went up the mountain to collect herbs and went to Yun County. After wearing them for a few months, they were badly worn out and the soles seemed to be worn out.
The elder sister-in-law over there ran from the kitchen to her room wearing a straw hat, then put the clothes made of soft linen in a bag and gave it to Yu Ying.
Yu Ying took out the clothes of Fu Wei and Fu Ning.
After giving the clothes to Fu Wei, she helped Fu Ning put on the clothes.
Yu Ying thought that adding hemp to the clothes would make them very stiff. However, after soaking the hemp extracted from ramie in water, it softened considerably and did not feel as rough as she had imagined when she put it on.
Although it is much softer, it is definitely not as soft as cotton.
Yu Ying also changed into her outer clothes behind the small screen.
There is a screen between the two beds.
Cattails are woven into mats and placed on a bamboo frame, and a simple screen is ready.
There are many more things in the house.
The reinforced bamboo table was covered with a tablecloth, and on it were three bamboo cups. The rims of the cups were smoothed with stones, so there was no need to worry about them pricking your mouth.
There are several different bars engraved on the bamboo cups. The one with one bar is for Yu Ying, the one with two bars is for Fu Ning, and the one with three bars is for Fu Wei.
In addition to the bamboo cup, there is also a teapot.
It is also much more convenient to drink water at night.
There is also a vase made of bamboo tube, with a few bamboo branches inserted in the vase, which adds a bit of artistic conception to the room.
Yu Ying changed her clothes and saw that it was raining outside, so she didn't let Fu Ning go out and let her stay in the house to listen to her uncle telling stories.
We have been living in the same house for almost two months. Fu Wei is no longer as lifeless and indifferent as he was at the beginning. Now he has become more down-to-earth and his expression has changed.
Sometimes he would tell stories to little Funing, and over time, Funing gradually became close to his uncle.
Yu Ying came out of the house, wearing a straw hat and went to the kitchen. Looking at her busy sister-in-law, she asked, "Sister-in-law, can you make cloth shoes?"
Wen Xing shook her head. "In the past, we always wore a pair of straw sandals in the winter. If we were afraid of the cold, we would wear a pair of socks inside. So, I only know how to weave straw sandals."
Wen Xing has lived a hard life since she was a child. Now she is a mother of two children, but she has never worn cloth shoes.
During breakfast, Yu Ying also asked Luo if she could make cloth shoes.
Luo said, "I haven't done it for over twenty years. I don't know if I still can do it."
When she was the wife of a prefect, she would make clothes and shoes for her husband and son by herself, but so many years have passed, she may not still do that.
Hearing what her mother-in-law and sister-in-law said, Yu Ying thought to herself that she could only go to Yu County to buy shoe soles in the county seat. As for the shoe uppers, her sister-in-law and mother-in-law should still be able to make them.
Even if it was to buy shoe soles, Yu Ying decided to wait a few days until she had paid the medicinal materials and had the money before buying them.
After paying for the medicinal materials and receiving the money, she felt relieved and felt at ease spending the money.
After breakfast, Yu Ying told her elder brother that since it was raining today, they would not go to collect herbs and would take a day off.
Fu Zhen first went to He's house to discuss resting, and then went to Song Sanlang's place.
Although they were resting today, Fu Zhen still took the backpack and went into the mountains with Song Sanlang and He Dalang.
Yu Ying entered the herb room and checked to see if there were any rotten herbs.
Taking advantage of the drizzle that stopped, she called her sister-in-law and went to check on the vegetables and herbs in the field.
Because Lingshui Village had no oxen for plowing and almost all the land was cultivated by manpower, four people were hired.
After picking herbs in the morning, my eldest brother, He Dalang and Song Sanlang would come to help in the afternoon.
With so many people, it took more than ten days to plow the land and plant seeds on these five acres of land.
Fortunately, after more than half a month, many seeds in the field sprouted and grew into small green seedlings.
The whole morning passed by in a hurry.
When lunch was ready, her elder brother and the others still hadn't returned. Yu Ying asked her elder sister-in-law in some surprise.
Wen Xing told her brother's wife that they were going into the mountains to hunt.
Yu Ying asked in surprise, "Why go hunting at this time?"
Wen Xing explained, "The weather is getting colder, and it's raining, so the wild animals won't come out. Besides, it's easier to find rabbits by digging rabbit holes."
Yu Ying glanced at the gloomy weather outside and was somewhat skeptical that she could catch any prey.
Obviously, Yu Ying's intuition was wrong.
In the evening, several people returned, bringing with them the prey they had hunted.
Two fat rabbits and a pheasant weighing about two kilograms.
Although the weather has cooled down, it was still autumn a few days ago, so it is not surprising that the animals have gained weight.
Since Song Sanlang lived alone, He Dalang and Fu Zhen both invited Song Sanlang to their homes for dinner.
Song Sanlang couldn't refuse anyone, so he just said he would just have a simple meal at home.
After discussing it, they all unanimously decided to have dinner at Fu's house.
He Dalang took the smaller rabbit and left the largest rabbit and the pheasant at Fu's house.
For so long, the meat dishes Yu Ying had eaten most were pork and eggs, and she had eaten fish twice occasionally. She hadn't eaten chicken for a long time, and she was also craving rabbit meat.
But the pheasant weighed less than two kilograms, which was definitely not enough for so many people. After thinking about it, Yu Ying decided to stew a pot of chicken soup with yam.
As she went into the mountains more often, Yu Ying not only collected herbs, but also discovered some mountain products, such as yam, wood ear mushrooms, and some fungi.
Late autumn is the season for mushrooms, so Yu Ying picks whatever she sees, dries it, and stores it. She now has about ten kilograms of dried mushrooms.
Unlike the red mushrooms she picked the first time, this time no one questioned whether the mushrooms she picked were poisonous.
The sister-in-law killed a chicken and a rabbit, while Yu Ying soaked half a bowl of black fungus, took out a cabbage and washed it, and then went to the yard to cut a bunch of leeks to prepare for scrambled eggs.
The several vegetable plots in the courtyard were well taken care of by Mrs. Luo and her sister-in-law.
On weekdays, my sister-in-law and Mrs. Luo help dry herbs at home, and in their spare time they make clothes and take care of the vegetable garden.
Cabbage, leeks, sunflowers and onions are planted in the vegetable garden, but now only leeks and onions are edible.
For this meal, we made yam stewed with chicken, rabbit meat braised with wood ear and mushrooms, stir-fried cabbage and stir-fried eggs with leeks.
The dining table couldn't seat so many people, so Yu Ying opened two tables so Fu Wei didn't have to come.
They moved the small table in the room over, with one table for the women and one table for the men.
Although the small room was crowded, it was filled with laughter and joy.
Yu Ying poured a bowl of chicken soup for Luo and said, "Chicken soup is nourishing. Mother, drink two more bowls."
Luo drank a mouthful of chicken soup and felt warm all over.
Yu Ying glanced at Luo's face. After more than two months of treatment, the old age and vicissitudes of her face had faded a lot, and she looked several years younger.
She shifted her gaze to her sister-in-law's face again.
Because I have been applying the herbal facial mask for about a month, and I do chores at home every day, I don’t need to be exposed to the sun, so my skin has become several shades whiter and my sunburn has healed.
My sister-in-law looks young to begin with, so now she looks like she is seventeen or eighteen years old.
After all, it was her own achievement, so Yu Ying still felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart.
Turning his gaze to the man's table, he saw that Fu Wei also had a smile on his face. Although not as happy as the others, he also looked more lively.
After looking away and taking a sip of the hot chicken soup, he sighed softly. He really hoped that life would stay like this, peaceful and comfortable forever.
But knowing the future, she knew that this comfort would not last long.
Because of this, she cherishes the present day even more.
*
In the evening, Yu Ying went to her sister-in-law's room to help add linen to the quilt.
Since the weather was not particularly cold, I only put on a thin layer.
Fu Wei slept alone, so before autumn came, Yu Ying asked her sister-in-law to make a quilt for one person.
Besides, Fu Wei took advantage of the time when Fu An was helping to put the hemp into the quilt in the room, and used his crutches to take a bath in the bathroom.
There is a bamboo stool in the bathroom, so you don’t have to worry about falling.
An oil lamp was lit in the room. As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were preparing the quilt, Fu An suddenly asked, "Aunt, my uncle's leg is almost healed. Why are you hiding from me and not letting me know?"
As soon as he said this, the people who were chatting suddenly fell silent.
Yu Ying looked at him and asked, "How did you know?"
Fu An said, "My aunt said that it takes a hundred days for a broken bone to heal, and she also said that my uncle's leg will be healed soon."
At this point, he sighed in a pretentious manner, "I'm not a child of three or four anymore. Besides, my uncle didn't have shoes before, but now he has shoes. And the bottoms of his crutches are badly worn and covered in mud. It's obvious that he's been out of the house. How could I not see that?"
Yu Ying and her sister-in-law looked at each other, surprised at Fu An's observation ability.
Fu An continued, "I know my aunt is afraid that I will tell others about it, but I have been holding it in for more than ten days. Not only have I not told anyone else, I haven't even told my father, mother, or grandmother. I have been holding it in for so long. If I hadn't been so tired of seeing my uncle avoiding me, I wouldn't have said it."
Everyone: ...
You've been holding it in for so long, are you sure you didn't mean it?
Yu Ying came back to her senses and warned him, "Don't tell anyone else that your uncle's leg has healed, okay?"
Fu An nodded: "I am almost nine years old, I understand the truth, don't worry, aunt."
After the quilt was ready, Fu An helped to carry it back.
After entering the house, Yu Ying glanced at Fu An, then said helplessly to Fu Wei: "He knows that your leg is healed."
Fu Wei looked at Fu An.
Fu An repeated what he had just said.
Upon hearing this, Fu Wei just smiled faintly, as if he was not surprised at all.
Fu Wei could see that Fu An was also smart, but no one had enlightened him, otherwise he would also be a smart student.
Fu An was not in a hurry to go back to the house, but instead pestered his uncle to tell him stories about knights.
After listening for a while, Yu Ying, Fu An and Funing packed their clothes and went to take a shower.
When they came back from bathing, both children were already sleeping soundly on the big bed, covered with linen quilts.
Yu Ying and Fu Wei looked at each other and smiled.
Fu Wei explained, "Just now, the two children were tired of listening, so I called Fu An to go back, but he refused to leave, saying that he wanted to sleep with you."
After saying that, he looked towards the big bed, his eyes falling on where Fu An was lying.
A month ago, that was where he slept.
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying lowered her head and tucked the quilts of the two children. Looking at the two sleeping children, her smile softened.
"It's so cold outside and it's drizzling, so let Fu An sleep in this room tonight. I'll go talk to my sister-in-law."
Yu Ying opened the door and was about to go out when she saw her sister-in-law coming over wearing a straw hat and holding an oil lamp.
Yu Ying told her sister-in-law that Fu An was sleeping in her room.
After talking to her sister-in-law, Yu Ying also returned to the house.
She patted Fu An, who was sleeping outside, and when he was half asleep, she said to him, "You should sleep inside. It's easy to fall if you sleep outside."
Fu An, who was still half asleep, turned over obediently and crawled to the innermost part to continue sleeping.
Yu Ying also lay down, but she wasn't sleepy yet. She asked Fu Wei outside the screen, "Is the quilt warm?"
Fu Weiying: "It's warm enough."
Yu Ying glanced at the two sleeping little faces and said in a low voice, "The closer the delivery date gets, the more uneasy I feel. Everyone is looking forward to selling these herbs. What if something unexpected happens and these herbs can't be sold?"
These medicinal herbs were collected by several families over a period of two months and are the hope of several families.
It is Uncle He and Aunt He's hope to redeem their son, it is their family's hope to live a good life, and it is also Song Sanlang's hope to get married.
If this hope is gone, Yu Ying doesn't dare to imagine whether everyone can accept it.
Fu Wei was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "If the drug dealer really breaks his promise, then we'll have to find another sales channel."
Yu Ying looked troubled. "For 500 kilograms of medicine, a small drug dealer can only buy 100 or a few dozen kilograms at most. Besides, with winter approaching, there won't be many drug dealers buying the herbs. Even if there were, if I were to go out and look for drug dealers, I'm afraid other medical clinics would suppress me before I could sell them all."
After a pause, he continued, "We want to export, but the roads are rough and difficult to travel. Besides, there are only a few of us, so we might run into thugs. Furthermore, we don't have carriages to transport the goods. These two routes are too difficult."
Outside the screen, Fu Wei sat up, his black hair falling on his shoulders. He said slowly, "I'm not talking about these two paths."
Yu Ying asked in surprise, "Then what other options are there?"
"Take the official route."
When Yu Ying was puzzled, he heard him say, "Every year, Yun County sends grain and taxes to the Cangwu County government, and a large number of yamen runners escort them along the way. If we can also escort the herbs to the county government, it will solve the problem of the long and dangerous journey."
After Yu Ying pondered for a moment, she asked, "Will the magistrate agree?"
Fu Wei replied thoughtfully, "Yun County is poor. Even if the magistrate doesn't take a little money, it's not enough to support his family. If we share the profits with the magistrate, it won't be a problem."
From the fact that the yamen runners repeatedly asked for tea and travel fees when he went to redeem his elder brother, to the fact that yamen runner Huo helped to scare Aunt Cuilan for a hundred coins, and the fact that the magistrate posted a notice after knowing about Aunt Cuilan's incident, Fu Wei could vaguely guess what kind of person the magistrate was.
He is not a corrupt or evil person, but he is also a corrupt official.
Although he is a little greedy, he also gets things done.
Yu Ying thought carefully about Fu Wei's suggestion. After a while, she said, "Even if it's not just this one deal, if we have a large amount of medicinal herbs in the future, we can try your method. By partnering with the government, no one will dare to cause trouble."
When the two were discussing a solution, there was a loud "bang" suddenly coming from outside, like the sound of something big collapsing.
The sound came from the eldest brother's room.
A loud noise startled Yu Ying, and even Fu An and Funing were awakened by the noise.
Yu Ying said to them, "You guys continue to sleep, I'll go out and see what's going on."
Fu Wei also put on his clothes and planned to go out with Yu Ying to take a look.
Yu Ying carried the oil lamp and walked out of the house with Fu Wei, who was walking with a cane.
Because the sound came from his eldest brother's room, Fu Wei suddenly remembered that when his legs were crippled, he had been lying on the bamboo bed in his eldest brother's room.
At that time, he could feel that the bed was not stable. If he moved too much, there would be a risk of the bed falling.
Fu An didn't sleep with his father and mother tonight, so there were only the couple in the room...
Fu Wei seemed to understand something in an instant, and quickly held his crutches and reached out to grab Yu Ying's wrist: "Don't go."
Yu Ying turned to look at him in confusion. Luo Shi also came out of the room to check. Seeing the two of them, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Wei glanced at his elder brother's room with a slightly complicated expression.
After a few breaths, he tactfully explained to his biological mother and nominal wife, "The bamboo bed in my eldest brother's room is quite old and may be a little unstable. It's normal for it to collapse."
Mrs. Luo, who was also an experienced person, immediately understood what was said. Her face flushed and she said, "I'm going back to sleep. You guys should go to bed early too."
After a moment of confusion, Yu Ying finally understood and touched her earlobe embarrassedly.
The moment their eyes met, they seemed to have touched something and looked away instantly.
Yu Ying's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said uncomfortably, "Then, let's go back to the house."
Fu Wei responded with a slightly hoarse voice: "Okay."
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