Once Xichun saw them walk away, she didn't continue to rub salt in the wound and went back with Aunt Zhang.
That evening, Ma Dawei, who had just received the gift, came over with Wang Shi and Xiao Feng.
"Mother, Uncle Ma, what brings you here?" Xichun was weeding in the yard when she heard someone calling from the front, so she came over and opened the door.
"Xichun, we've come to repay the money first. Here's three taels of silver. Take it first; doing business requires a lot of capital." Wang explained with a smile. Thinking about how much money Xichun had spent on her, Wang felt uneasy. So, after being persuaded, she gathered some of the money she received today to repay the debt.
Both sons are her flesh and blood. After having a son, Wang felt more confident in the Ma family. Today's matter was brought up by her, and the whole family agreed.
“Mother, then I’ll accept it. Would you like to come in and sit down? I have something to discuss with Uncle Ma.”
Hearing this, the two did not refuse and followed Xichun into the house.
"Xichun, what do you want to say to your Uncle Ma?" Wang asked, also somewhat curious.
"Uncle Ma, do you recognize this?" Xichun took out a Paris polyphylla.
"I think I've seen this in the mountains before, but I don't know what it is." Ma Dawei didn't know what she was talking about either, but he just said it truthfully.
“This is a medicinal herb, and it’s more expensive than the dandelions I dug up before. But I don’t have that much time to dig for herbs now. If you find this herb, Uncle Ma, you can wash it clean and take it to the pharmacy in town to sell. You can make a little money.”
After much thought, Xi Chun decided to tell Ma Dawei her method of gathering herbs. Only when they had the ability to earn money would Xiao Feng's life be better in the future.
"Really? Is this really a medicinal herb?" Ma Dawei had naturally heard about the herb gatherers. As long as you recognize herbs, you can earn a lot of money. Moreover, Taoyuan Village is surrounded by mountains and forests. Even without going deep into the mountains, you can find medicinal herbs, which will allow his family to make money.
"Yes, but we are just ordinary people. I don't recommend that you go deep into the mountains. The mountains around here are enough to dig. Don't dig them all up. Leave some seeds so you can continue digging next year. Also, this is Pinellia ternata, which is also a medicinal herb."
"Xichun, you've really helped us a lot. Once I make some money, I'll definitely pay you back the remaining two taels of silver." Ma Dawei hadn't expected Xichun to tell them about her way to make money. He felt even more ashamed. If only he had been nicer to Xichun before.
Fortunately, it's not too late now. He will treat Xichun like his own daughter in the future. He can never repay this kindness.
"Okay, then I'll wait for you to make money, Uncle Ma." The two walked home excitedly. When Grandma Ma saw them returning the money, she wondered why they were smiling so happily. Had they gone mad?
"You're going to pay back a debt, not to make money, so why do you look so happy?"
"Mom, you don't know, our family has really found a way to make money this time. Where is Xiaobao?"
"Who knows where he went? As soon as everyone left, he ran out to play." Thinking of her mischievous grandson, Grandma Ma became a little unhappy.
“Xichun just taught me to identify medicinal herbs, and I heard they sell for more than dandelions. Perfect timing! I’ll go up the mountain to look for some and see if I can sell them. With this income, our family can have an easier time.”
"Really? Is it true that those medicinal herbs can make more money than you can earn outside?" Grandma Ma was surprised and delighted by the news.
“It’s true. Sigh, we treated Xichun so badly back then, and she still thinks of us now. Mother, please don’t target her anymore. She’s all alone. From now on, let her come and celebrate the New Year with us.”
"I never thought of targeting her again. I'm not one of those people from the Chen family," Grandma Ma said somewhat guiltily.
Xichun was unaware of their joy. The next afternoon, she returned to the county town with Aunt Zhang and her group. It started to rain in the town, and the surrounding vendors were all in a hurry to pack up and go home.
"Be careful!" Someone suddenly bumped into Taozi, who was also wearing a raincoat and running in a panic.
"Why did that person run so fast? The rain wasn't that heavy. We country folk are used to getting wet in the rain, we don't usually run like that," Aunt Zhang said, somewhat puzzled, as the man disappeared in a flash.
"Perhaps they're in a hurry to get somewhere." Xi Chun glanced at them, then stopped thinking about it and left with the others.
The next morning, thankfully the rain stopped, and they pushed their goods to the front of the stall. Soon, customers started coming in.
"Have you heard? Someone stole Master Fu's treasure yesterday. I don't know which thief was so bold. Now the authorities have reported it to the government, and the yamen is questioning people one by one on the street." Xi Chun suddenly heard their conversation and suddenly thought of the person from yesterday. It seemed that his hands had been kept in his pocket the whole time and he had never taken them out.
"I wonder what kind of treasure it is. It must be very valuable, otherwise the Fu family wouldn't have made such a big fuss about it."
Xi Chun didn't see Fu Changfeng at the academy today either. She wanted to ask him, but she was worried that she might have been mistaken yesterday.
"Miss Chen, when did you return?" Constable Guo, accompanied by two other constables, walked over and stood in front of the stall.
"Officer Guo, come and sit down. We got back yesterday afternoon. Would you like something to eat?"
"No need. If you see any suspicious people recently, be sure to tell us immediately. These people are probably working together as a gang, so be careful yourself."
"Oh, what kind of person qualifies as a suspicious person? By the way, when we came back yesterday afternoon, it was almost dark, and someone hurriedly walked past us and bumped into Taozi. I don't know if that counts as a suspicious person?"
"What kind of attire is it? Tell me quickly." When Constable Guo heard her say that, he became serious and called Taozi over again, wanting to investigate.
"It was a man wearing a raincoat, with his hands inside the clothes. We didn't know if he was carrying anything. After bumping into Taozi, he didn't apologize and just ran away. It was raining at the time, and we all said that maybe he saw it was raining and hurried home."
"Any other useful clues, like whether you saw the person's face?"
"I didn't see him. It seemed like he was always looking down." Taozi thought for a moment and realized that he hadn't seen the man's face.
"Alright, tell me if you remember anything, or come to the yamen to find us," Officer Guo said after thinking for a moment.
"Okay, we'll tell you if we remember anything. By the way, Officer Guo, what exactly is missing?" Xi Chun was worried that those people would target not only the wealthy households but also them.
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