"The injury is nothing serious and doesn't require any ointment. It will scab over in three days. If you're worried about scarring, you can buy a jar of scar removal cream. It costs half a tael of silver per jar, and you can get one free if you buy two."
The apprentice at the clinic lit another candle and placed it on the table, making the room much brighter.
After examining the two girls' injuries, he started selling scar removal medication.
"Okay, then I'll take two bottles. By the way, do you... have any birth control pills here?"
Inside the carriage, the two had already agreed to drink the medicine.
They didn't want to have the children of bandits.
Seeing that they were too shy to speak, Yan Xia took the initiative to ask.
"Yes, but this medicine can harm your fertility. Are you really sure you want to drink it? I suggest you think it over carefully, after all, you can't have a child in one go."
His words were so blunt that the two naive girls blushed deeply.
"If you don't drink it, is it possible that...."
Yan Xia hesitated, afraid of scaring the two of them to tears.
"Well... it all depends on luck. Some people pray for offspring their whole lives but never get a daughter, while others give birth to twins at once, making others envious. So I dare not speak too confidently."
"You've heard what I said. The decision is yours. I'll pay for the medicine." Since we're here to save lives, let's see it through to the end.
Yan Xia was prepared to pay their medical bills.
"My benefactor, I'll drink. Even if I can't have children in my entire life, I don't want to give birth to that man's child." The slightly timid girl spoke resolutely, without the slightest hesitation.
"I...I won't drink it. I'm not even sure I'll get pregnant. Thank you so much, my benefactor. The scar removal cream is enough. I don't want my benefactor to spend any more money." The slightly bolder girl hesitated but ultimately refused to drink it.
Yan Xia didn't insist.
She paid for two jars of scar removal cream and a birth control pill and left with the two men. Because she bought the medicine, the apprentice didn't charge her consultation fee.
Surprisingly, there really were birth control pills. Yan Xia thought the apprentice would be brewing the medicine on the spot.
She muttered to herself.
"What are your names?"
On the way back home, Yan Xia asked the two of them.
Although the county government office also had to be on duty at night, it was still a group of grown men. Yan Xia was worried that the two women might have post-traumatic stress disorder, so she planned to take them home and send them to the government office early the next morning.
I've been so busy until now, and I still don't know their names.
“My name is Xiaoqing,” the slightly bolder girl replied.
"My name is Xiaosu," the timid girl then said.
"You can just stay at my place tonight. Don't think too much about it. It's all over now. I'll have the maid boil some water for you later so you can take a bath to cleanse yourselves of bad luck. Then have some food to fill your stomachs and get some rest. No matter how big the problem is, nothing is more important than your lives, including that bullshit about your innocence, understand?"
"Thank you so much, our benefactor." The two were deeply moved, their eyes brimming with tears.
Soon, the carriage entered the Yan residence.
The commotion woke up several servants, saving Yan Xia the trouble of waking them up again.
Some are boiling water, others are cooking.
Four people, one of whom ate a bowl of noodles, each with a poached egg in the bowl.
After eating her fill, Yan Xia took a shower, and the smell of sweat all over her body disappeared. She lay comfortably on the bed, ready to go to sleep.
"Knock knock knock—"
Just as Xiao Ji was about to blow out the candles, someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
“It’s me, my benefactor, I’m Xiao Su.”
"Go open the door." With Yan Xia's instruction, Xiao Ji opened the door.
Xiao Su walked in.
She knelt beside Yan Xia's bed and kowtowed three times.
"Thank you so much, my benefactor. I have no way to repay you. I am willing to serve you like a cow or a horse for the rest of my life. This piece of paper is my indenture. The lady originally intended to let me and Xiaoqing get married after we went to Jiangnan County, so she returned the indenture to us when she set off. I am willing to give it to you, my benefactor, and ask you to let me stay in your mansion. I hope you will grant my request."
She knelt upright.
He held a square piece of paper above his head with both hands, his fingertips pointing towards Yan Xia.
Yan Xia took it and opened it.
It was indeed a contract of servitude.
It's still a death contract.
It turns out that Xiaosu is already 20 years old.
He looks like he's fifteen or sixteen years old, but he's a bit short, maybe 1.5 meters tall at most.
Wealthy families would indeed allow their maids to get married.
They are usually around 20 years old.
If they were favored by their master, they would be released at the age of eighteen or nineteen, or be betrothed to the son of the steward of the household.
Even maids can be promoted to nannies.
The children born to the two, though of slave status, were of a higher rank than ordinary servants sold into the household; they were called "houseborn children."
If you're lucky, you might become a servant to a young master and learn some characters by accompanying him in his studies.
When the young master becomes the master, the servant will become the steward.
Even if you're unlucky, you can still live out your days peacefully in your master's household. After all, you're a servant born into the family, and your master trusts you a lot. He's watched you grow up since you were a child. Even if you make some small mistakes, it won't matter much. If it were an ordinary servant, they would have been sold off long ago.
"Since you insist on staying, I will grant your request. After all, you have nowhere else to go. Have you taken your medicine?"
Yan Xia carefully put away the indenture; she was short of people anyway.
This girl seems to be a clever person.
You can accept it.
"Yes, Master, I have already eaten." Xiao Su adapted to her new identity very successfully.
"Alright, then we'll go to the government office tomorrow to get your identity officially recognized. Get some rest, you'll have to get up very early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Master."
Xiao Su obediently withdrew, and before Xiao Ji could make a move, she closed the door.
Xiao Ji only needs to lower the bolt.
[Target person detected]
Name: Xiao Su
Age: 20
[Favorability: 100]
[Congratulations, host, you have earned 100 points. The points have been credited to your account.]
Current points: 200
At the same time, a system announcement sounded.
Xiao Su's favorability rating is a perfect score.
Sure enough, she hadn't misjudged him.
After blowing out the candle, Xiao Ji went to sleep in the side room.
Yan Xia tucked the indenture under her pillow and fell fast asleep.
In the early morning, the dazzling sunlight shone through the cracks in the window onto Yan Xia's face. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and stretched.
Before her feet even touched the ground, Xiao Ji came over carrying a basin.
Although they moved to a house, the two still slept in the same room.
We just won't be sleeping in the same bed anymore.
"Auntie, you're awake. Come and wash up."
Xiao Ji helped Yan Xia off the bed, walked to the washstand, and started brushing her teeth and washing her face.
After doing all that, he helped Yan Xia get dressed and combed her hair.
She also had a fragrant face cream on her face.
It's ridiculously expensive, five taels of silver a jar. They say it can preserve your youthful appearance forever, but who knows if it's true or not. When Yan Xia heard this, she waved her hand and bought ten jars, giving them to her daughter, daughter-in-law, Xiao Ji, and a few of her favorite maids.
"Where are Xiao Su and Xiao Qing? Are they up yet?"
"Xiao Su is already up. When I woke up, I found that she had already swept the whole yard. She's very diligent. Auntie was right to keep her. I don't know about Xiao Qing; I didn't see her."
Xiao Ji answered honestly.
"Hmm, where's Jinlu? The restaurant is reopening today, is he ready?"
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