Chapter 322 How to Repay Kindness
Jiang Ling put down her bowl and said sincerely, "I will never forget your great kindness, young lady. I will definitely repay you when I am better."
A-Zhu waved her hand and smiled sincerely, "No need, no need! Everyone has their difficulties when they're traveling. It's good that I can help, there's no need to talk about repaying."
Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and a thin old man walked in, his shoulders and hair still covered with snowflakes that hadn't been brushed off, and he was carrying a bag of freshly picked herbs.
He looked at Jiang Ling with gentle eyes: "It's good that you're awake, young lady. How are you feeling? Is your wound still very painful?"
"I feel much better, thank you so much, sir." Jiang Ling quickly expressed her gratitude, her expression respectful.
Old Shi nodded and placed the herbs on the table: "These are anti-inflammatory and analgesic herbs that I just picked. I'll have Azhu brew them for you to drink later. You're weak and you sprained your ankle; it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone."
The snow is falling heavily outside, and the mountain roads are even more difficult to travel at this time of year. If you have nowhere else to go in the immediate future, and if you don't mind the simplicity of our humble mountain dwelling, please stay here and rest to recover. Our village may be small, but it's relatively safe; you don't need to be afraid.”
Jiang Ling looked down at her right foot, which was firmly fixed in place, and sighed: it seemed she had no other choice.
A-Zhu chimed in, "Yes, Sister Xiao-Qiu, just relax and stay here! Getting well is the most important thing. The villagers are all very kind and won't make things difficult for you."
Old Shi nodded: "A-Zhu is right. Just stay in the village and recover. If you need anything, just let us know."
Jiang Ling quickly expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for your understanding, Elder Shi and Miss Azhu. I will definitely recover from my injuries as soon as possible and will not cause you any trouble."
"Let's not talk about that anymore." A-Zhu smiled and brought over another bowl of freshly heated millet porridge, with a few chopped wild vegetables floating in it.
"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten for a day and a night. Just drinking rice porridge won't do. Eat something while it's hot."
The porridge had a faint aroma, yet it aroused Jiang Ling's intense hunger.
She really hasn't eaten properly in a long time.
Jiang Ling stayed in Shijia Village.
For the first few days, Jiang Ling spent almost all her time in a state of semi-consciousness and drowsiness.
The extreme physical exhaustion and the sudden relaxation of the mind after escaping the desperate situation made her like a string that had been stretched to its limit and finally snapped.
She slept very soundly, and sometimes Ah Zhu would bring in food and call her several times before she would wake up.
Old Shi was a man of few words. Every day, besides checking on her injuries and changing her herbs, he would organize his medicinal materials or read a few pages of his old medicine book by the window light.
Ah Zhu, however, is the sunshine in this family; she always seems to have endless chores to do.
She cleaned, started a fire, cooked, did laundry, fed the chickens, and occasionally went with other girls in the village to the mountain stream to break ice and fetch water. If she was lucky, she could catch one or two fish and take them back to make fish soup for Jiang Ling.
She was filled with curiosity about Jiang Ling, and would always find an opportunity to sit by the bed, doing some needlework while listening to Jiang Ling tell her stories.
Gradually, word spread throughout the village that she was literate and could tell stories. Several little girls, having nothing to do after dinner, would come together to listen to her tell stories.
Besides listening to stories, they would occasionally ask what the outside world was like.
Due to underdeveloped transportation, many of them may spend their entire lives in one village from birth to death.
Ever since Jiang Ling shared a bag of chocolates with them last time, saying it was sugar transported from the west by the Ji family's caravan.
The questions they ask most often now are about the caravan.
"Sister Xiaoqiu, what do your caravans sell? Do you have any nice fabrics from the south? Cuiya's uncle from the village brought back a piece of bright red silk last year while he was trading; it's so beautiful!"
"Is the Ji family's caravan very large? I heard that their camel caravans can stretch for a very long time, and the goods they carry are like small mountains!"
"Have you merchants traveled to many places? Have you seen the sea? My grandfather said the sea is blue, stretches to the horizon, and is bigger than all the mountains here combined. Is that true?"
Jiang Ling picked out whatever she could say and responded with half-truths and half-lies.
She described the four seasons in Jishui Village, talking about wild vegetables in spring, stream fish in summer, mountain fruits in autumn, and warm kang beds in winter; she also talked about the different sights she saw along the way, the hustle and bustle of towns, the dust of the post road, and the starry sky in the wilderness.
Occasionally, it would depict a country of equality, saying that people there could travel a hundred miles a day, fly in the sky, and swim in the water.
Since they had never seen it before, they all assumed it was a fairyland.
Azhu listened intently, her eyes sparkling with longing: "That's wonderful... In all my life, the furthest I've ever been is to the town market with Grandpa twice. Sister Xiaoqiu, when you're fully recovered, if you still want to go north, could you... tell me what Shengjing City is like? I've heard that the houses there are taller than mountains, the streets are paved with smooth bluestone slabs, and at night the streets are full of lanterns, as bright as day!"
Jiang Ling looked at her hopeful face and felt a slight stirring in her heart.
The simplest dream of this girl from the border village is to see the prosperity of the capital.
"Well, maybe later... if there's a chance."
In fact, Jiang Ling wasn't sure if she would have another chance. She had already been here for seven days, and she was now eager to know what was going on outside.
Is Cheng Jiaojiao safe?
Is Xiao Ran frantically searching for her now?
Did the plan succeed? Has Zhao Jingxing already gone back to report?
The princess of the Dayu Dynasty died while being sent to marry a foreign ruler. How would the Dasheng Dynasty explain this?
But she dared not ask too many questions. First, she was afraid of revealing her secret. Second, Shijia Village was remote, and the villagers there probably wouldn't be able to find out any information.
The snow is still falling outside.
Shijia Village is further north than Jishui Village.
The snow here is heavy and frequent.
Three days later, Jiang Ling was able to put slight weight on her ankle.
With Mr. Shi's permission, she began to walk slowly around the room, holding onto the wall.
Their activities gradually expanded to the small main room. On sunny days, they would even sit on a low stool at the door, watching Ah Zhu feed the chickens, watch Da Huang roll around in the snow, and admire the silver-clad landscape, white clouds, and blue sky.
When Azhu saw Jiang Ling come out, she immediately brought over a small stool: "Sister Xiaoqiu, please sit down first. I'll come out and keep you company after I finish feeding the chickens. It's been cold lately, and the chickens aren't laying eggs as much. Otherwise, I could help you nourish yourself."
Azhu's background is pitiful; she is not Shi Lao's biological granddaughter.
Old Shi had a son and daughter-in-law, but while they were collecting herbs on the mountain, they both fell off a cliff and died.
When Old Shi was collecting their bodies at the foot of the mountain, he found A-Zhu, who had been abandoned under the bamboo grove. He then brought her back.
The name was Azhu.
The Shi family lived a very poor life.
Two meals a day, mostly millet porridge and baked flatbread, accompanied by homemade pickled vegetables and dried vegetables dried in the autumn. Occasionally, Old Shi would bring back a wild rabbit or pheasant from the mountains, which was a rare treat of meat.
The villagers had already planned out their winter food rations, but with Jiang Ling added to the mix, it wasn't enough.
Old Shi has been frequently going up the mountain to collect herbs recently, not only to help Jiang Ling recover from her injuries, but also to collect more herbs to exchange for food.
Jiang Ling felt bad.
But she can't go far now, and she doesn't know how to make money in the dead of winter.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com