Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Update.
Tian is now a well-known figure in Sangshu Lane and near Jiaomen City. People treat her with respect whenever she goes out to buy something.
Tian was also pleased. She chatted with the shop assistant for a while and asked him:
"That girl who just left, what medicine did she come here to buy?"
"I need some cough medicine. I have the recipe, but I've owed her money twice. Our shopkeeper said he'll send her away if she comes again. If she's always broke, who's going to sell to her?"
The guy said he was weighing medicine for Tian.
"How much does she owe for the medicine?"
The clerk took out the account book and looked at it.
"Five hundred coins."
Tian thought for a moment and said, "I've paid for her medicine. I'll also prepare two more prescriptions according to her prescription. You can take them to her house for me. Next time I come, I'll make you some braised pig ears."
I was able to settle the bill and get something delicious to eat. Yangcheng's house was only one street away from here. The waiter naturally refused and kept saying:
"You have a very kind heart."
"Who is it?"
Yang Cheng's family lives at the entrance of the alley, with one hall, two rooms, and a small courtyard of five or six steps.
Hearing the door open, Huaer walked over in a few steps.
I heard someone outside say that it was a shop assistant. Huaer opened the door with a creak and said unhappily:
"What are you doing here?"
The man gave her the medicine, told her where it came from, and said as he left:
"You are lucky to have met Aunt Tian, otherwise we would not have given the medicine to your family for nothing."
Hua'er was embarrassed and wanted to chase after him to return the medicine to him, but she heard Shen inside coughing again, biting her lip, and taking the medicine in.
"Who's that outside?"
The Lord of Yangcheng came out to ask, and Huaer only said:
"Oh, it's from the pharmacy, here to deliver our medicine."
Fortunately, Master Yangcheng did not ask any more questions. He sent a visiting card to an old friend and was about to go to their house when he asked Huaer to go to the store to hire a carriage for him. Huaer said in embarrassment:
"I don't have money, I can't afford a car."
"snort."
Mr. Yangcheng threw away his sleeves and drove his family's sheep cart away. The copper bells on the sheep's necks jingled all the way.
"Master Yangcheng, are you going out? Where are you going?"
Yang Chengjian ignored the neighbors nearby. When he walked away, they started gossiping behind his back.
"As soon as I heard the sound, I knew it was his goat cart. He has to take a cart every two steps. It would be better to kill the goat and have a good meal for the whole family."
Home,
Huaer boiled a dose of medicine and gave it to Shen to drink.
"I just heard that the pharmacy wouldn't sell on credit, so how did you get the medicine?"
Mrs. Shen said that she would have a cough every spring and that only taking medicine would make her feel better.
But the family had lost their titles and fiefdoms, and now they were living a life of expenditure rather than income. Even the little property they had brought with them had been used up, and all but one of their slaves had been sold. She had also pawned all her dowry and nothing was left.
Life was becoming increasingly difficult, and she didn't know what would happen if her husband went out today. Just thinking about it made her cough twice.
"I heard that the nuns in the alley are all weaving straw raincoats at Tian's house to earn a little money. My daughter wants to go too."
Si Niang was wearing a plain jacket that was neither old nor new, and her body was thin. She massaged Shen's back and said.
"No, you are the daughter of a wealthy family. How can you hang out with those people? What will others say about you in the future? You are not even married yet."
Shen coughed even more violently.
Si Niang hurriedly took the medicine from Hua'er's hand and said, "Mother, drink the medicine first."
Shen drank it, then remembered and asked:
"You little girl, why haven't you said anything for so long when I asked you a question? Where did you get this medicine? Did you steal it or rob it?"
Hua'er then told the truth: "The clerk from the pharmacy sent it. He said that Aunt Tian paid for the medicine for us and also gave us two prescriptions. He was hoping that Madam would get better and wanted to talk with her when we were free."
Shen took off the silver bracelet on her hand and asked Huaer to pawn it.
"This is the last dowry of Madam." Huaer said.
"It's going to have to be done sooner or later. We can't afford to owe her family."
That day, Shen took a sheep cart and went to Tian's house with Huaer.
When Tian learned that the master and servant were coming, she thought that she had to get things done for her daughter, so she prepared fruits and snacks, swept the bed in anticipation, and told the children to go into the house and play instead of chattering here.
Hearing the ringing of the bells of the sheep cart, he hurried to meet it.
"Mrs. Shen, please come in, please come in."
Hua'er entered the yard and saw a head sticking out from the kitchen looking around. She thought it must be the girl named Jindou from the Tian family. As expected of a common family, they gave their maid a name like gold and silver, which seemed tacky. Hua'er couldn't help but straighten her back.
Tian led Shen to the couch to talk. Hua'er was waiting outside the door. She saw Jindou come in and serve tea.
When he came out, he walked over to her and gave her a handful of jerky.
"This is what my young lady made. It's venison jerky. It smells delicious. Take it and have some."
This was because Tian had asked her to talk to Huaer more in advance, so Jindou came to chat with her.
Hua'er had just eaten some bland soup. When she smelled the aroma of the jerky, she secretly swallowed her saliva while fixing her hair.
"No, I can't eat... Hey! What are you doing!"
Jindou took the handkerchief from her hand, wrapped the meat jerky and stuffed it into her hand, then went to the kitchen to check the fire. The family wanted to invite Shen to have dinner, so regardless of whether she was willing or not, Tian asked them to prepare it in advance.
Huaer only ate a piece quietly when she was not around.
fragrant!
It was so delicious that it was hard to describe. She hadn't eaten meat for a long time. She ate two, then three pieces in succession, and wrapped the rest up and hid it in her clothes.
Jindou quietly looked under the kitchen window and saw Huaer's greedy look. She ate but wiped her mouth again, still looking cold. He couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Inside, Tian invited Shen to have tea and some fruit. After chatting about some family matters, they slowly got down to business.
"My daughter is a skilled craftsman. She received a shop from the Li family, but unfortunately it burned down and needs to be demolished and rebuilt. I often heard that the ancestors of the Yangcheng family built the imperial palace, and the current head of the family is also proficient in building buildings and walls. I am willing to pay fifty taels of silver and invite Mr. Yangcheng to oversee the construction of our shop."
Hua'er heard it faintly outside and gasped.
In the past, the family would naturally look down upon a mere fifty taels, but now they are poor, and the lady's silver bracelet was only pawned for one and a half taels of silver. How long can it support them?
Fifty taels of silver is enough to buy two horses. If you save money, it will be enough to last you for several years.
Shen was unmoved and left with a wave of her sleeves. Tian chased after her and said:
"What's wrong? If the price is unfair, you can negotiate it. Why are you just walking away?"
"Don't mention this again. You also said that the ancestors of the Yangcheng family built the imperial palace, but the descendants work for peddlers and cooks. Isn't this a disgrace to the ancestors? Hua'er, give her the money for the medicine, and let's go."
Hua'er called out to Madam several times, but Shen didn't stop walking for a moment. She had no choice but to give a tael of silver to Tian and hurriedly catch up with her.
Si Niang was embroidering in the house, and she also sold the handkerchiefs she embroidered.
At first, Shen refused, but later, when she had no other way to get the money, she agreed to let Hua'er sell the needlework of her and her daughter.
Seeing that Shen looked unhappy when she came back, he took advantage of her falling asleep after taking the medicine to call Huaer over and ask her about it.
"Fifty taels, no wonder people say that Tian Guzi's family is now prosperous, but Madam refused and came back angrily."
Hua'er told Si Niang what she had heard, then took out the bag of venison jerky, untied the knots, and gave it to her.
Si Niang ate it and said it tasted great.
"Such delicious venison jerky, you should try some too."
Hua'er felt sorry for her. She hadn't eaten meat for a long time, so she only picked up some crumbs to eat and left the big pieces for her. However, she didn't dare let the Shen couple find out.
After Shen took two doses of medicine, his cough eased, but as soon as he stopped taking the medicine, the cough came back again.
Si Niang picked up the dregs and boiled them again. The color was much lighter, but it was still better than taking myrrh. She handed it to Shen Shi and said:
"Why is mother so cruel? Aunt Tian wanted to help, and we appreciate her kindness. We will repay her later. But she insisted on paying all the money back at once. Now we have just bought rice, but we have no money left for medicine."
"How can I owe them anything? Even if I die of coughing, I can't owe them anything."
Si Niang understood her heart and did not try to persuade her. She just boiled the residue again, but it was no longer effective. It was like drinking plain water and had no effect at all. Shen coughed badly while embroidering a handkerchief at night.
They couldn't afford good silk thread, and the embroidered handkerchiefs they sold were too cheap, not even enough to buy a prescription.
That day, Hua'er came back from outside with a bulge in her clothes. She carried Shen on her back and came to Si Niang.
"What are you carrying?"
I asked the silk lady who was spinning thread by the window, and she took out a clay jar sealed with wax. When she opened it, she saw a brown paste inside.
"This is autumn pear loquat paste,"
Hua'er whispered, "It was the gold bean from the Tian family that was given to me. They said it was made by their young lady."
It was last autumn. Tian bought a large basket of pears and loquats in Huai City. Since they could not be eaten fresh, Ji Xu boiled two jars of paste and sealed them with wax.
The sisters often melt a can of it in hot water and drink it. It tastes sweet and they all love the taste. It also prevents them from getting spring coughs.
There is still one jar preserved today. When Ji Xu came back and heard about Shen's story, he asked Tian to give the jar of ointment to her family. Tian also taught Jindou a few more words.
"Jindou said that this Qiuli Loquat Paste can relieve coughs, and she gave it to Madam. She also asked me to help mediate. I agreed, but I don't know how to ask Madam. Otherwise, I'll just give it back to her..."
"I can't return it. I'll find a chance to persuade mother. Save this ointment for her."
Si Niang said, dissolve a spoonful in hot water and stir it until it turns light tea color. Shen drank it and said:
"Daughter, why does today's medicine taste so sweet?"
"Maybe it's because it's been fried so many times that the bitterness is gone."
Si Niang hadn't figured out what to say yet, so she just fooled him.
After taking the water-dissolving ointment, Shen gradually stopped coughing. However, she was not stupid and still had doubts in her heart.
It was a spring rainy day, and the bean-sized raindrops made the pottery tiles crackle.
Hua'er put on her straw raincoat and was about to go out, but unexpectedly, Shen saw her from the window and called her in to ask:
"Where did you get that straw raincoat?"
Hua'er glanced at Si Niang and hesitated. Si Niang said:
"She picked it up."
"Nonsense! How could I pick it up? It clearly belongs to Tian's family. Did her family give it to you?"
The last time Shen visited her house, she saw many such straw raincoats hanging in the main hall. Tian also told her that they were woven by the nuns in the past and she wanted to take them to Huai City to sell.
Hua'er couldn't hide it and had to admit it.
This straw raincoat was indeed given to her by Jindou and the ointment together. It was said that the ointment was for Shen and the straw raincoat was for her personally, probably because she often went out and did not have a good straw raincoat.
"You are not allowed to wear it! We have a raincoat at home, but you took someone else's. What a greedy girl!"
Shen scolded her and ordered her to take off the raincoat.
Because she had an appointment with the guys at the cloth shop to deliver handkerchiefs to them today, Huaer had no choice but to go out. She had to find the tattered straw raincoat at home, wrapped the handkerchief in it, and rushed out in the rain.
"Mother is so cruel. She's not even afraid of getting her wet in such heavy rain."
Si Niang looked at Yu for a while, then looked at Shen Shi, stamped her feet, and paced around the house worriedly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
