"Do you have a doctor in your mountain stronghold?" Ye Wenxue rode up and stopped in front of the bald man, her horse's hoof rising high, almost kicking him in the face.
The bald man muttered to himself that Boss Ye's horsemanship was quite good, and upon hearing this, he said, not understanding what was going on:
"Yes, after Doctor Su came down the mountain with you, I was worried that my mother's body was too weak to withstand the heat, so I searched through several surrounding villages and found a doctor to stay in the mountain village."
The only problem is that the doctor we invited demands one tael of silver as his monthly salary, eats meat once every five days, and mutton once every two weeks. He's practically bankrupted the village.
Ye Wenxue: "This family has suffered an accident. The one who knows how to burn charcoal is unconscious. You should hurry back to the mountain village and call the doctor. I will cover the medical expenses."
"Huh? Oh, oh." The bald man realized what was happening, untied the horse's reins, and ran back.
Instead of returning to the valley to cause trouble for the Xu family, Ye Wenxue searched for mountain products in the surrounding area.
It was two hours later when the bald man arrived carrying the doctor.
The bald man looked at the baskets filled with food and the several large sacks overflowing with fruit next to Ye Wenxue, and was speechless.
"Brother Ye, this is Doctor Chen. He has excellent medical skills and is a kind person."
Dr. Chen was dizzy from the bumpy ride. He slowly dismounted and was about to greet the bald man who had mentioned Boss Ye when he was suddenly lifted up and placed behind the horse.
After a few cracks of the whip, Doctor Chen finally heard the voice of Boss Ye: "Doctor Chen, just come with me. You have a fierce look on your face, people will be scared if they see you. Just stay here and guard my mountain products."
The bald man touched his face. "A face full of fat? Impossible!"
My mother said yesterday that he is still as handsome and fair-skinned as when he was a child, and is the most handsome boy in the whole village!
Ye Wenxue had been gone for a long time and had not returned. The Xu family was anxious and would go to the entrance of the valley to check on her from time to time.
Lan Qing was pondering what Ye Wenxue hadn't finished saying when she heard the sound of horses' hooves and her spirits immediately lifted: "Father, Grandma, she's back!"
As Xu Lin was being helped to the door by his mother, Ye Wenxue dismounted with Doctor Chen: "No need for pleasantries, Doctor Chen, please go and take a look at the old man."
Dr. Chen regained his balance, feeling dizzy. He glanced at Ye Wenxue with a resentful look. Knowing the situation was urgent, he quickly grabbed his medicine box and went inside.
"I'll have Dr. Chen take a look at your eyes later," Ye Wenxue said, taking a sip of tea.
Worried about Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu followed him into the house, waiting to lend a hand when the doctor needed it.
Lan Qing was worried about Old Master Xu, but she was also afraid that Ye Wenxue would bully Xu Lin, who was blind, so she sat down on the threshold to keep an eye on both sides.
Upon hearing Ye Wenxue's words, her eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly without daring to utter a sound.
"Why waste your time?" Xu Lin was unusually calm. He had seen countless doctors, but to no avail, and had only wasted money.
The family's only remaining possessions were the one or two taels of silver left by Ye Wenxue—another tael of silver was given to Old Master Xu to buy some grain, but it was robbed on the way.
Xu Lin originally planned to use the money left by Ye Wenxue as an emergency fund, and then save up to pay her back when he earned money from burning charcoal. But he never expected that the debt would only grow larger and larger.
Ye Wenxue shook her head: "Only when your eyes are better can you earn more money to pay me back. If you rely on your father to make money by burning charcoal, it will take forever."
No matter how capable Grandpa Xu is, he is still an old man. How much charcoal can he burn by himself? And how much money can he earn?
Xu Lin remained silent, unable to refute Ye Wenxue's words.
He stubbornly changed the subject: "You said before that you wanted to sell charcoal with us? But isn't that a skill anyone can do? How much money could you possibly make...?"
“Charcoal making is a skilled craft; there are specific techniques involved in building the kiln, selecting the wood, and controlling the timing. Besides, I've seen the charcoal you make; its quality is far superior to others, and it produces less smoke.” Ye Wenxue proactively took a piece of charcoal from the Xu family's kiln.
"This year's weather is different from previous years. The summer is unusually hot, and the winter may be even colder than usual. At this time, the market for charcoal with less smoke and lower prices will be huge."
Xu Lin didn't understand anything about quality or market, but he understood what Ye Wenxue meant.
“Last year, the heat was intense, followed by a harsh winter, with snow several feet deep, and few people traveled in the countryside,” Xu Lin suddenly recalled the contents of an ancient book and murmured to himself.
This sister-in-law's suspicion is quite reasonable. If the winter is colder than usual, there will indeed be a need for a large amount of high-quality, low-priced charcoal.
But the world is unstable, it's not enough to just burn charcoal; it also has to be sold safely.
"What?" Ye Wenxue didn't hear him clearly and leaned closer in confusion.
Xu Lin unconsciously glanced into the room. Lan Qing had already brought over two basins of hot water: "It's nothing. I was just thinking that it's easy to make charcoal, but difficult to sell it."
Ye Wenxue felt that he was right. After all, there were many people these days who wanted to get things for free or even be robbed.
"Don't worry, the person I found to cooperate with you has hundreds of brothers under his command. When the time comes, let them sell charcoal and see who dares to bargain or forcibly take it."
Xu Lin: "???"
Time passed slowly as the two talked. Just as dusk was falling, Lan Qing shouted joyfully from inside the house, "Dad, come quick! Grandpa's awake!"
Before Xu Lin could finish speaking, he quickly groped for a wooden stick to prop himself up and walked into the house. Hearing his father's weak voice, he finally felt relieved.
Doctor Chen wrote a prescription and handed it to Lan Qing: "Take this medicine for half a month after it's prepared, and your injuries will heal quickly."
Lan Qing hurriedly went to look at the prescription.
After Dr. Chen finished explaining, Ye Wenxue told Xu Lin that they would come again tomorrow, and then left the valley with Dr. Chen.
"Dr. Chen, thank you for your hard work today. How much is the consultation fee? I'll cover it for you," Ye Wenxue said, leading her horse.
Doctor Chen glanced at her and waved his hand: "No need, the stronghold will give me a monthly salary. Since I recognize you as Boss Ye, I will consider you half a member of the stronghold, so there is no need to give me money."
On the way here, Zhang Suinian, the bald man, kept nagging him not to accept money and not to offend Boss Ye by acting arrogantly.
Although Dr. Chen didn't know how this young woman had managed to subdue the burly bald man so easily, he was perceptive and knew what money he could and couldn't take.
He can always ask Zhang Suinian to make it up to him when he gets back. Hmm, speaking of which, he hasn't eaten mutton for two days.
Ye Wenxue could easily see what Dr. Chen was thinking, but she was in a hurry to get home to see her child and didn't say anything more.
After meeting up with the bald man, Ye Wenxue piled all the mountain goods she had collected that afternoon onto the horse and gave the bald man and his companion a sack: "Xu Lin's words have softened somewhat. If you want to earn this money, come back tomorrow."
The bald man nodded repeatedly; he was determined to make money off this! Nobody could take it from him!
The three parted ways at the foot of Bamboo House Mountain.
Ye Wenxue walked back to the valley carrying a basket of mountain goods on her back and dragging two large sacks of things.
The earthen house was still lit by candlelight. Several children sat in a row under the eaves, their faces propped up by their hands. As soon as they saw her, they stood up abruptly, their eyes shining like stars: "Mother!"
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