However, this imperial life lasted only two days before Zhao Qiang woke up.
The pillow was unhappy that someone else was walking around in its territory. Relying on Hua Cai's protection, it took the opportunity to spit in Zhao Qiang's face, and then ran away when Zhao Qiang was furious.
Zhao Qiang, who could barely walk, was no match for the pillow. He was always left behind, panting heavily with anger. He even asked Hua Cai if he could increase the dosage of his medicine.
Squeak—
The kitchen door was pushed open, and Hua Cai came out carrying a delicate little bamboo basket, blowing out the steaming heat, and placed the basket on the small table in the center of the yard.
"Alright, alright, why are you getting angry with a horse? Come and try some of my snacks." Hua Cai pulled over two stools and, looking at Zhao Qiang who was still staring at the pillow, called out to him with a wry smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiang snorted coldly, glared fiercely at the pillow, and expertly wiped his face with a towel before sitting down at the table.
Looking at the pretty little snacks in the cage, with their colorful and dazzling appearance, Zhao Qiang picked one that caught his eye, grabbed it, and without caring whether the pillow could receive it, glanced smugly at the haystack, and took a big bite.
After chewing just two times, Zhao Qiang's handsome face quickly contorted.
Hua Cai had the foresight to prepare water, and seeing his expression change, she quickly handed the water over.
Zhao Qiang took the water, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. Only then did he recover. He looked at Hua Cai with a distorted face, hesitated for a long time, and then his gaze fell on the exquisite pastries again. He shuddered and moved the small stool under his bottom away a little, and then a little further away.
"This is mixed with medicinal herbs, similar to medicinal porridge, though the taste is a bit off, but it's more filling than medicinal porridge." Hua Cai rested her chin on her hand, smiling as she looked at Zhao Qiang, pointing to the snacks in the cage and introducing them one by one.
Looking at this cage of "delicious food," Zhao Qiang suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"This is your lunch today. You have to eat it all up." Hua Cai smiled sweetly, her eyes crinkling.
Under Hua Cai's unwavering gaze, cold sweat gradually broke out on Zhao Qiang's forehead. He felt it was necessary to express his wish to have porridge for three meals a day.
"It's a bit hot today." Zhao Qiang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, under Hua Cai's watchful gaze, reached his hand toward the cage again with trembling hands.
Ding ding ding—
There was a knock on the courtyard gate, and Si'en's voice came: "Miss, the things you asked the village chief to bring from the city the other day, Si'en has retrieved them for you."
Hua Cai turned to the side and saw Si En and Da Zhuang standing outside the low courtyard gate. She quickly went over to open the door.
Zhao Qiang's eyes lit up, and he quickly withdrew his hand from the cage.
The door opened, and the two entered. Si'en was carrying a small package, while Dazhuang was carrying a large package. They walked in one after the other.
Zhao Qiang quickly picked up the small cage on the table, and Da Zhuang took the opportunity to unload the package on his back and put it on the table with a thud.
The already old table creaked as it was hit, and fine cracks appeared on the surface.
Hua Cai sighed. Oh well, she'd have to replace her furniture again. Money was flowing out of her hands like water. It was time to start thinking about making money.
"What is this thing that is so heavy?" Hua Cai asked curiously as she stepped closer. Had she mentioned anything big and heavy?
As they were talking, Dazhuang had already untied the package in a few quick movements.
"This quilt isn't heavy; the heavy thing is the box underneath." A brand-new quilt was taken out, and Hua Cai quickly took it and happily carried it into the house.
I can finally get a good night's sleep tonight.
When they came out, Dazhuang had already opened the two boxes.
Inside, two stone medicine grinders lay quietly.
"As per your request, the large medicine grinder has shallow grooves and a thick base, so it can be used for a long time." Da Zhuang laboriously pushed the two boxes toward Hua Cai. Hua Cai didn't have time to stop him and watched helplessly as the already overburdened table snapped into a pile of fragments.
"This..." Da Zhuang was dumbfounded, his gaze following a medicine grinder rolling away on a wheel, and he stood there frozen in place.
"No, it's okay. I've wanted to change this table for a while now," Hua Cai said dryly, breaking the silence.
Dazhuang, his face flushed, ran to retrieve the wheelchair, looking at Huacai with embarrassment, then at Sien.
"Ahem, Si'en, let me see how the silver needles are." Hua Cai decisively changed the subject; if this continued, Da Zhuang would start to cry.
Upon hearing this, Si'en quickly took off the small bundle hanging from her arm. After looking around and finding no place to put it, she simply lifted the bundle by both sides and showed it to Hua Cai: "Miss, those two blue cloth bags."
Hua Cai reached out and took out the cloth bag. She opened it and carefully examined it. It was exactly the two sets of silver needles she had requested.
After confirming that everything was correct, despite Dazhuang's repeated refusals, Hua Cai insisted on giving him a handful of copper coins as payment, and then left happily. Before leaving, she even tidied up the pile of wood scraps in the corner.
Si'en was a smart woman. A few days ago, Hua Cai's words woke her up, and she realized that she had been too hasty. The next day, she brought the medicinal herbs to the courtyard as usual, and quietly sorted and dried them, but she never mentioned the medicinal porridge again.
Seeing Dazhuang leave, Si'en picked up her medicine basket and was about to get busy when she saw Zhao Qiang sitting upright in a daze, holding a small cage in his hand.
“What are you doing here—” Si’en glanced at the table in the corner, looked up at the sky, and suddenly realized what was going on. She put down the medicine basket and said, “Is the young master having breakfast? I’ll go and move that table out of the room.”
After saying that, he quickly went inside.
Zhao Qiang was holding the cage and worrying when he heard Si En's words. He trembled and quickly said, "No, no need. We've already eaten. This is—this was specially saved for you."
The two women were both taken aback and looked at Zhao Qiang.
When Zhao Qiang met Hua Cai's gaze, his face fell, looking pitiful. Hua Cai's heart softened immediately, and she nodded helplessly.
Zhao Qiang's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly handed the cage to Si En: "Miss Si En, please don't be shy. This is a medicinal snack made by Xiao Xiang, which is very good for your health."
Hua Cai, who was adding water to the pillow, suddenly jerked her hand, spilling water directly onto the pillow's head, causing the pillow to sneeze in dissatisfaction.
"Young Master, this—" Si En looked at the cage in Zhao Qiang's hand in disbelief, wanting to reach out and take it, but hesitated and looked at Hua Cai.
"Here you go." Seeing her looking at Hua Cai, Zhao Qiang became anxious, afraid that Hua Cai would change her mind after being looked at like that. He quickly stuffed the cage and the cage into Si En's hands: "Xiao Xiang has also agreed. Wrap it all in some oil paper later, heat it up when you get back, it won't be as good if it's cold."
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