Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Jiang Family Hut. Jiang's mother...
Jiang family thatched cottage.
Jiang's mother was lying on the bed, wrapped in the thick cotton-padded jacket that Jiang Wan had bought for her. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and her forehead and neck were covered in sweat.
Jiang Wan sat by the bed, holding her mother's hand, feeling her cold fingertips, trying to transfer her body warmth to her. Hot water was boiling on the stove. She periodically glanced at the kettle, then filled a basin with it and wiped her mother with a towel. Then she filled a new pot of water and set it on the stove. In those days, there were no hot water bottles, and they couldn't afford hot water bottles, so they had to resort to this method of heat.
An hour passed and four pots of water had already boiled. Jiang Wan filled the fifth pot with water, placed it on the stove and lit a fire, his eyes frequently looking out the window.
Jiang An hasn't come back yet.
On the third day of the first lunar month, the pharmacy was still closed, so anyone seeking medical treatment had to go to a local doctor's house. The closest place to the Jiang family was Doctor Zhang's, who had previously prescribed medicine for Jiang's mother. A round trip took less than a quarter of an hour. Calculating the time, Jiang An should have returned long ago.
Jiang Wan couldn't help but feel anxious, fearing something might have happened to Jiang An. But her mother was still ill, so she didn't dare leave. If she left at this moment, and her mother became ill again, it would be dangerous.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the door, and Jiang Wan heard Wang Da and Wang Er anxiously shouting, "Master! Master! Something's wrong! Open the door!"
Jiang Wan's heart trembled. She shoved her mother's hand back into the cup and tiptoed out the door. Seeing her two new apprentices jumping around like ants on a hot pan, she made a "hush" gesture and lowered her voice, "Keep your voice down! My mother is resting. What's going on?"
Wang Er quickly covered his mouth. Wang Da came up to Jiang Wan and spoke rapidly, "I just saw my uncle fighting with someone! Right in front of Doctor Zhang's house!"
Jiang Wan was stunned. His brother was usually cautious and steady, but right now, with his mother's illness being the most important thing, he shouldn't get into a conflict with anyone.
"Are you sure it's my brother?" Seeing Wang Er nodding repeatedly, she asked again, "Calm down first. Who did he get into a fight with?"
"The son of a weasel! He asked Doctor Zhang for protection money, but Doctor Zhang couldn't afford it, so, so..." When mentioning this "son of a weasel", Wang Da's shoulders trembled, and a hint of fear appeared on his red face.
Jiang Wan understood the general idea. The weasel was a wealthy businessman named Huang. Ten years ago, he bought up an entire strip of storefronts, funded renovations, and then rented them out to other businesses along the strip. Over the years, relying on the rent, he had become the city's richest man.
Rich businessman Huang monopolized the shops along the entire street, charging increasingly higher rents year after year, long reaching the maximum set by the government. Shop owners were dissatisfied, but Xiaofangpancheng's commercial street was the only one; opening a shop elsewhere would significantly reduce customer traffic. While good wine needs no bush, the town was small, and learning and competition were commonplace. Who could claim that their own merchandise was superior in quality? Consequently, many shop owners were forced to accept exorbitant rents.
However, Huang became even more aggressive. After capping the rent, he found various excuses to collect protection money. For example, during every Lunar New Year, he would bring his servants to "pay New Year's greetings" and demand red envelopes from merchants as a thank you for maintaining order on the commercial street. Otherwise, he would refuse to renew their leases the following year. As a result, many people privately nicknamed Huang the "Weasel," implying that any visit he made to celebrate New Year's or birthdays was always up to no good.
Doctor Zhang must have been delayed because he encountered the wealthy businessman Huang's son and his entourage, who were paying New Year's greetings, and he had no money to give them. The elder brother, worried about his mother, inevitably clashed with the Huang family's thug. However, the Huang family was so large that the elder brother was afraid he would not be able to get away with it.
Jiang Wan's mind raced. He went back to the house to get the silver he had saved, wrapped it up in cloth, and ran towards Doctor Zhang's house.
"Hey, Master, don't you want to go to Magistrate Li to borrow some manpower?" Wang Da shouted behind her.
Jiang Wan kept running, leaving only her running back. Bei Feng carried her voice to the ears of the two brothers, Wang Da and Wang Er: "I can go by myself. You can help keep an eye on my mother. If you need anything, come to the clinic and find me directly."
The Huang family's collection of protection money had displeased shopkeepers along the street, and some had undoubtedly reported the matter to the authorities. Yet, the Huang family was still able to act with such tyranny, clearly colluding with the county government. She was merely a hired craftsman making birthday gifts, and with so little progress, the magistrate was unlikely to help her.
Wang Da and Wang Er definitely couldn't have imagined this. Jiang Wan was in a hurry to find his brother and had no time to explain, so the two were still in a daze.
The two brothers looked at each other for a long time. Wang Er asked, "Master, can you do it alone? How about I go and take a look, and at least help her block the fight if it starts?"
Wang Da shook his head: "Master should have his own arrangements, let's just take care of our Grandmaster."
When Jiang Wan ran to the vicinity of Doctor Zhang's house, he heard the sound of fighting.
At the Zhang family's gate, Jiang An was surrounded by five servants, panting heavily, his left arm bruised by a club. The servant closest to him, his shoulders bare and his flesh thick, rushed at Jiang An, club in hand. Jiang An dodged to the right, then darted to the servant's right and struck him with a fierce elbow on the wrist. The servant cried out in pain. Jiang An seized the opportunity to grab the club from his hand and, with a sweeping blow, threw him across the waist, throwing him a dozen steps away.
"Waste!" an angry voice shouted from the side. The young man who spoke was wearing a mink coat, his head held high and his hands behind his back, his belly fat swaying with his movements. It was the "son of the weasel" that Wang Da had just mentioned.
"What are you standing there for? Come on!" he roared.
The four servants responded in a meek voice, and all four sticks fell down on Jiang An. Surrounded, Jiang An wielded his stick with such ferocity that the four could barely get close. But a man's strength was limited, and after a while, his clothes were soaked with sweat, his breathing became heavy and rapid, and his movements were noticeably slower than before.
"Bang!" Jiang An was hit on the right leg, his center of gravity was unstable, and he fell to the ground.
Four servants came over and raised their sticks high.
"Stop it, stop it," Doctor Zhang called to the servant, then turned and said with a smile, "Young Master Huang, it's not that I don't want to pay, but I just paid this year's rent on the 28th, and I really can't come up with 20 taels. Please be so kind as to give me two more days, and I'll definitely collect the money and send it to your house. Please don't make things difficult for this young man, okay?"
Young Master Huang sneered, "Your medical skills are among the best in the city. You have more than a dozen patients a day, and you still can't earn twenty taels of silver in consultation fees? If you know what's good for you, hand over the twenty taels quickly, or I'll beat you up too!"
"I have quite a bit of capital, and my consultation fees are cheaper than those of other doctors..." Doctor Zhang was about to explain when a servant came over with a grim smile, weighing a long stick in his palm, his eyes revealing bloodthirsty excitement.
"I'll pay for him." Jiang Wan had just arrived when she saw her brother surrounded by servants and slumped on the ground. She was furious, but the most urgent thing now was to ask this bully to let Doctor Zhang go to treat their mother. She had no choice but to give in.
If she hadn't been so anxious waiting for Doctor Zhang to see her mother, she would have had plenty of ways to deal with this bully.
Mr. Huang looked at her fair and delicate face, which bore a striking resemblance to Jiang An, and asked, "Are you her sister? You are quite pretty, much prettier than my new concubine."
Jiang Wan pretended not to hear and took out twenty taels of silver: "Can you let us go now?"
Seeing her surrender, Master Huang became even more proud. He pulled a chair and sat down, crossing his legs and looking at Jiang Wan with amusement: "It's no use now. If you go against me, you're disrespecting my father. I won't let you go easily. If you want to leave, you'll have to pay eighty taels."
One hundred taels! He knew she couldn't afford it, but he clearly didn't want to let her go.
Jiang Wan clenched her hands in her sleeves. She really wanted to punch the thug in the face and beat him so hard that he couldn't even find his teeth.
Young Master Huang narrowed his eyes and stared at her: "How about you become my eighth concubine? Not only will I let this doctor and your brother go, but I will also let you eat and drink delicious food. How about it?"
Jiang Wan didn't want to argue with him. With a blank expression, she threw the eighty taels of silver on the ground and went to help Jiang An. Doctor Zhang looked at the silver on the ground in shock and hurried to catch up with Jiang Wan. Jiang An, who was holding his sister's hand, said anxiously, "If we give him all the eighty taels of silver, we will have no money left."
She lowered her voice and said, "It's more important to treat my mother's illness. I have a way to deal with this little thug, don't worry, brother."
Jiang's mother's room.
Doctor Zhang took her pulse, and Jiang Wan asked, "How's it going? What happened to Mom?"
"Madam Jiang had a cold that had invaded her body, causing stagnation of qi in her heart. She's been taking medicine for a while now, and her symptoms have eased somewhat. She's recuperating well, and her pulse is almost back to normal. The blood she vomited was from the previous blood clot in her heart, and only after vomiting it out can the qi and blood flow smoothly. Don't worry, Madam Jiang has a good foundation. I'll prescribe some conditioning medicine. She'll be fine after taking good care of herself." Doctor Zhang looked at Jiang Wan kindly, "Is Madam Jiang in a particularly good mood these days?"
Jiang An and Jiang Wan breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally at ease. Jiang An smiled and said, "Well, my sister was freed from slavery a few days ago, and my mother was very happy."
"No wonder Madam recovered so quickly," Doctor Zhang said, surprised, but also happy for the Jiang family. Normally, criminals exiled here wouldn't survive more than six months, but the Jiang family, mother and son, were much stronger. He sincerely hoped they would live well.
"Congratulations," he wrote the prescription and handed it to Jiang Wan, instructing on the frequency of use and precautions, and left some medicine for Jiang An. "Thank you for helping me out just now. I will return the eighty taels to you as soon as possible."
"No need," Jiang Wan handed over the consultation fee with a smile, "I can find a way to get the money back, sir, don't worry."
Doctor Zhang looked at her. The little girl before him was clearly still the pale and delicate girl she had been a month ago, but she felt completely different. She no longer had the fragile, tearful sadness she had when she first arrived. Instead, she was more resolute and gentle, like a pliable reed.
He packed up his bag and confiscated Jiang Wan's money: "No need to pay for the consultation. Consider it my thanks for getting rid of those protection rackets for me."
After Doctor Zhang left, Jiang Wan tucked in his sleeping mother. Jiang An applied medicine to his arms and legs and was about to go back to work. Before leaving, Jiang Wan tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "I'll wait for you at home. Let's go get the eighty taels back."
Jiang An turned around and saw his sister's eyes curved mischievously and a sly smile appeared on her face.
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