"Is this twenty taels of silver really for me?"
"I have requirements," Jiang Hua finally said.
"What are your requirements?" Upon hearing this, the young man felt the silver in his hand was no longer so hot to handle.
How did you get to Qing Shi Town?
"I came with a caravan from the village. We just happened to be passing by here. The fish in the bucket were almost dead, so I set up a stall here," the young man replied somewhat embarrassedly.
"How far is Yangcheng from here? Do you have a place to stay now?" Jiang Hua asked after hearing this.
"It's not far, only four or five days' journey, just over two mountains. I haven't decided where to stay yet, since it's sold out. I'm planning to buy some dry food and head back later." The young man answered every question.
"Would you like to stay at my house first? I'll go back to Yangcheng with you in a couple of days."
Having spent so much time in the mountains, I've developed a longing for the sea.
"No, my parents are sick, and my sister is taking care of them alone at home. I'm worried about them. Now that I have some money, I want to take it back to take them to see a doctor," the young man said with some difficulty, as two days was too long.
"Then we'll go back tomorrow," Jiang Hua changed her mind.
"Don't worry, my sister Jiang is a miracle doctor. She even cured the plague in Jiangnan City before."
Seeing that the young man was still hesitating, Qingyue quickly spoke up.
The young man looked at Jiang Hua with some suspicion; he couldn't see any sign of her being a miracle doctor.
"Alright, alright, don't look at Sister Jiang like that. I told you, Sister Jiang will help you cure your parents, so you can rest assured." Lin Zhi patted the young man's shoulder and also advised him from the side.
"Is this really a good idea? Won't it bother the young lady?" The young man looked at Jiang Hua with some hesitation.
"No, it won't make a difference if we stay up half a day. Let's get some rest tonight and set off early tomorrow."
Jiang Hua had the others take the three buckets of squid and yellow croaker. The yellow croaker was delivered to Mingyue Tower, and the two buckets of squid were taken back to the village by herself.
On the way back by carriage, Jiang Hua had already found out the young man selling squid's surname and what his family did for a living.
The young man's surname is Yang, Yang Hai. He has a younger sister named Yang Tao. The whole family makes a living by fishing at sea. However, after one of their fishing trips, Yang's father fell ill, followed by his mother. The burden of the family fell on Yang Hai's shoulders.
"Sister Jiang, are you making something delicious?" Lin Zhi asked impatiently as he unloaded the two heavy buckets of squid from the cart.
"Well, I'll cook something delicious for you as a farewell dinner, but you just had barbecue, and it's still early. Let's cook something else in an hour."
"When you stop by Aunt Liu's house, see if they've set up their stall today. If not, borrow their tin cart that sells wolf tooth potatoes. I'll make you some grilled squid later."
"What is grilled squid?" Yang Hai asked, puzzled. He had never heard of squid being cooked like this before, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
When Lin Zhi encounters food, he becomes a man of action. As soon as Jiang Hua finished speaking, he and Qing Yue went out together.
Jiang Hua asked Granny Luo to find a room for Yang Hai to stay in and to prepare clothes for their trip to Yangcheng the next morning. She had just finished speaking when Bai Heng, who had just come out of the study, overheard her.
"Huahua, are you going to Yangcheng?" Bai Heng quickly stepped forward: "I want to go with you too."
"Let's go together then. The journey isn't far anyway; it'll only take four or five days."
As she spoke, Jiang Hua thought of the few people who were looking after the shop in Qing Shi Town. Why not let them go together? After all, they are still young, and it would be good for them to go out and see the world.
He shared his idea with Shuanghua and Granny Jiang, and they both thought it was feasible.
“However, young lady, you have just returned from the capital and have not had a proper rest. You are going to Yangcheng again. Won’t that be too tiring?” Granny Jiang asked with concern, frowning.
"It's alright. But I'm worried about your health, Granny. If you can't handle it, you can stay home tomorrow, and I'll take Shuanghua with me," Jiang Hua suggested.
"No need, no need," Granny Jiang quickly waved her hand, looking unwilling.
"Huahua, you're finally back! Honestly, you're back but you didn't even come to see your aunt."
When Aunt Liu saw Jiang Hua in the yard, she quickly walked over, grabbed her hand and looked her up and down: "Huahua, why have you lost weight again?"
"Aunt Liu, I was planning to invite you, Uncle Liu, and Brother Tianming over for dinner later, but I didn't expect you to be here already."
"It's no big deal, you can eat at my house too." Aunt Liu glanced at Bai Heng, then looked around and found that Jiang Xingzhou was not there.
"Huahua, where's Xiaojiang? What's Young Master Bai doing here? You wouldn't happen to be...?" Aunt Liu asked hurriedly.
"Auntie, come sit here first." Jiang Hua pulled Aunt Liu to sit down on the stone bench in the yard.
"A-Zhou and A-Yi stayed in the capital," Jiang Hua casually told Aunt Liu about their identities.
"What!" Aunt Liu stared at Jiang Hua in disbelief. The Crown Prince? The Regent?
Goodness gracious, I've never even heard of that!
However, Aunt Liu quickly recovered from her shock and sighed, saying, "Huahua, it's alright. I heard this from a storyteller in town. It's all complicated, like the Regent and all that. Since you're not married yet, let's just forget about it."
“However, I think Young Master Bai is also a good candidate. You are so capable, you know how to make money, and you are also skilled in medicine.” Aunt Liu glanced at Bai Heng secretly and whispered to Jiang Hua.
Hearing this, Bai Heng smiled slightly and echoed Aunt Liu's words, "Auntie is right. My mother and Huahua's mother arranged a marriage for us when we were still in the womb."
"Huahua, is there another person as your mother?" Aunt Liu looked bewildered. Wasn't Jiang Hua's mother Xu Shi?
"I see. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Huahua."
After Jiang Hua explained, Aunt Liu nodded in understanding: "Then, Young Master Bai, when do you plan to start planning your marriage with Hua Hua?"
Aunt Liu had practically watched Jiang Hua (Xu Er Ya) grow up. She was already of marriageable age and had thought she would be with Xiao Jiang. But she never expected that Xiao Jiang was the regent, and their statuses were too different, so it wasn't a good match.
"I'll listen to Huahua. Huahua said that whenever I'm willing, I'll have my parents come to propose marriage." Bai Heng glanced at Jiang Hua and then answered Aunt Liu.
"Huahua, what are you thinking?" Aunt Liu also looked at Jiang Hua.
"Auntie, don't rush me. I just got back from the capital. Let me take it easy for a while. Besides, I just returned to the Jiang family, and my uncle is reluctant to let me get married." Jiang Hua felt like she was being pressured to get married when she returned to the village for the New Year.
"The Jiang family and the Bai family are only two or three miles apart, so I have nothing to regret."
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