The sound of horses' hooves approached from afar and then stopped in front of the muddy ground in front of the thatched house.
The people crying inside the house panicked. Xu Lin quickly grabbed the wooden stick that had fallen to the ground and used it to block the doorway. Lan Qing wiped away her tears and ran to the kitchen to pick up a kitchen knife.
Everyone stood ready, watching the source of the sound with heightened vigilance, their hands gripping knives and wooden sticks tightly.
Ye Wenxue hurriedly led the horse into the thatched hut, and breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the situation inside: "There are no bad people, why are you crying?"
She was terrified, thinking that strangers had invaded the valley and were wantonly burning, killing, and looting.
The young girl, Lan Qing, remained vigilant, gripping the kitchen knife and demanding, "What are you doing here?"
Xu Lin, however, recognized Ye Wenxue's voice and patted Lan Qing on the shoulder, telling her to put down the kitchen knife and stop looking so fierce.
Ye Wenxue casually tied up the horse, frowned, and walked forward: "I have something to discuss with Old Master Xu. Where is he? Did he go to sell charcoal?"
“My father…” Xu Lin leaned on a wooden stick, feeling the wall as he slowly turned around, his voice filled with unspeakable dejection, “Why don’t you go inside and take a look?”
Ye Wenxue knew immediately that something was wrong; something must have happened to Old Master Xu.
She didn't want Dazhuang's first idea to be drowned by a flood before it even took off, so she quickly walked past the little girl Lanqing, whose eyes were red and swollen, and went inside to take a look.
Old Master Xu lay unconscious on the couch, his head stained with blood from a heavy blow, his body bearing several knife wounds, and his clothes torn.
"What happened?"
Xu Lin trembled as he touched his lifeless eyes, silently blaming himself: "My father went down the mountain to sell charcoal yesterday and didn't come back all night. My mother and Lan Qing couldn't wait any longer this morning, so they went to look for him along the agreed route. They found him, but..."
Xu Lin once again lamented his own blind eyes, wondering why they had gone blind so suddenly, when natural disasters struck and people's hearts were unpredictable.
His parents had to use their savings for his medical treatment, and they had to take care of the whole family despite their advanced age. They were often hungry and never had a comfortable life.
Just like this time when he was selling charcoal, if his eyes were intact, his father wouldn't have had to go down the mountain to sell charcoal, only to encounter an accident and end up in this coma!
Xu Lin sighed heavily, "It's all my fault! I'm useless, it's all my fault..."
Ye Wenxue frowned: "Don't rush to take responsibility. Your father is still not awake. Let me go and get a doctor to take a look."
It was at this moment that Ye Wenxue, unusually, began to reminisce about Su Jiu's good points.
With him around, at least we don't have to go through all the trouble of going down the mountain to fetch a doctor.
Xu Lin's eyes lit up, but then dimmed again after a moment.
Did he not think about asking a doctor?
But he is blind, his mother is frail, and it is not safe for Lanqing, a young woman, to travel alone. In addition, the surrounding villages are at least half a day's journey from the valley, so she might not be able to make it back in time.
And another thing is... I don't have any money.
After glancing at Xu Lin's awkward expression, Ye Wenxue sensed his thoughts and shook her head:
“We can’t just let the old man suffer like this… Here’s what we’re going to do: I’m here to arrange for your family to partner with someone to burn charcoal and sell it for money. The person who brought him is waiting seven miles outside the valley. I’ll ask him to invite a doctor to take a look at the old man. You don’t need to go down the mountain; just stay home and wait.”
"As for the consultation fee... I'll cover it for you first, and you can pay me back when you have the money."
Xu Lin's attention was currently focused on getting a doctor, and upon hearing this, she bit her lower lip tightly: "But..."
Xu Lin wasn't stupid; he understood that there were no free lunches in this world—and even if there were, they wouldn't fall into his lap.
Last time, this person asked them about a method for burning charcoal and left them two taels of silver. Now she's saying she'll cover their medical expenses... Xu Lin couldn't figure out her purpose, felt uneasy, and didn't dare to give in easily.
Could it be...? Xu Lin touched his face, realizing he must be overthinking things.
Lan Qing, standing nearby, was almost frantic, wishing she could agree on Xu Lin's behalf.
Who cares what this person's purpose is? At worst, after saving Grandpa, we can just kick them out if we don't agree or not.
There are those who take money without hesitation, and there are those who are unwilling to spend other people's money, whether they are acquaintances or strangers.
Ye Wenxue understood and revealed her identity: "Scholar Cheng mentioned you to me."
Xu Lin was taken aback.
“You were his closest friend during his lifetime, and you even generously lent him money. Old Master Xu also generously taught me how to make charcoal. I can’t just sit by and watch him get into trouble.”
Ye Wenxue sounded slightly guilty when she said this.
If Dazhuang hadn't said he might need Xu Lin someday, she wouldn't have been so kind as to ask a doctor to save him; at most, she would have added a few coins for funeral expenses and offered her condolences.
Dazhuang is a pure ancient man. Since childhood, he has heard his father talk about the importance of having influential people to help him in the imperial examinations and officialdom, or about supporting each other with classmates and close friends. He not only looks at the immediate benefits, but also focuses on building connections.
As an assassin who kills and then retreats, Ye Wenxue doesn't value building connections much. However, since Dazhuang values Xu Lin so much, she won't hold her own son back.
"You and Scholar Cheng came from Hengyuan Academy; you were classmates and roommates. He even told me a little story about you: after passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, you were overjoyed and bought half a jug of wine, got completely drunk, and then..."
"Cough, stop talking, I believe you." Xu Lin forcibly interrupted Ye Wenxue, threw away the wooden stick and bowed to Ye Wenxue, "Please trouble you, sister-in-law, to invite a doctor to save my father."
Since they are acquaintances, and since his family has fallen to such a state, what is there for him to be stubborn about?
Lan Qing couldn't help but look at Ye Wenxue, wanting to continue listening.
Ye Wenxue did not linger at the Xu family's house. After finding an opportunity to replace the tea with spiritual spring water and give it to Old Master Xu, she left the thatched hut.
*
Seven miles away,
The bald man tied the horse to a tree, glancing anxiously in the direction Ye Wenxue had left, pacing back and forth without stopping for a moment.
You don't know the value of firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, cloth, charcoal, meat, noodles, vegetables, and fruit until you're in charge of a household!
After he took charge of the entire mountain stronghold, he realized how hard it was to earn money and how much silver it would cost to feed and drink all the brothers in the stronghold every day.
The mountains are full of strong men and teenagers who can eat a whole leg of lamb in one meal!
If it weren't for his older brother's repeated warnings against engaging in the kind of highly profitable business he used to do, Baldy would have already succumbed to his morals and resorted to robbery.
Baldy has been worrying these days about how to earn money to support his mother and his brothers all over the mountain. Winter is coming soon, and he needs to stock up on several warehouses of grain. Charcoal, cotton clothes, meat... everything will cost money.
Before he could figure it out, Boss Ye invited him to burn charcoal together to earn money.
It's true that one must know how to behave! All those days of humbling himself to please people were worth it.
Otherwise, how could he possibly have gotten such a good opportunity?!
The bald man was grinning from ear to ear. If this deal went through, he wouldn't mind giving Boss Ye half, or even 70-30!
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