Chapter 5 Old Liu
In the height of summer, the lush green rice paddies stretch as far as the eye can see. As the summer breeze blows, the rice stalks rise and fall in layers, like waves on water, concealing the farmers carrying baskets and sickles within.
Carrying sickles and baskets on their backs, they hunched over, checking their family's harvest for the year, occasionally clearing the irrigation ditches, catching pests, and pulling out bad seedlings...
A wide country road winds through the middle of the rice paddies.
The black mule, its lips parted slightly, grunted as it chewed on hay. Its long, sturdy limbs trotted leisurely, appearing slow but actually no slower than a typical horse.
After all, horses are fast over short distances. Even the finest Akhal-Teke horses can cover twenty li in less than fifteen minutes, while a mule takes twenty or thirty minutes. The difference seems like an insurmountable chasm, but over longer distances...
A good horse might take four or five hours to travel 500 li (250 kilometers) with frequent stops, while a good mule could leisurely stroll along the same route in four or five hours.
Xiao Hei was a fine mule. When pulling a load, it could travel over a hundred li (approximately 50 kilometers) in an hour, much faster than many horses. It was an exceptionally good mule.
"Pfft~"
A strange, foul odor filled the air.
Song Jin, riding on the mule, frowned, waving one hand to disperse the odor in front of him, and slapping the mule's head with the other, earnestly trying to persuade it.
"Little Black, we're mules of class. We need to be civilized and have good manners. You need to control yourself and eat more grass and less feed."
The little black dog snorted, its long ears twitched, and it raised its hooves, making a louder clattering sound, looking utterly defiant.
Mules work so hard, what's wrong with them getting some good food?
Seeing that it wouldn't listen, Song Jin's expression immediately changed. She clenched her fist and waved it in front of its eyes, grabbed its two long ears, and said coldly and ruthlessly, "If you fart again, I'll throw beans at you, do you hear me?"
Little Black immediately shrank back, grunting and shaking its head, instantly becoming docile and fawning.
Song Jin became satisfied.
No matter the era, force is still the most effective weapon.
She took the grain sack hanging around its neck, tugged at the mule rope, patted the obviously lazy little black head, and shouted, "Run! There's still a lot to do later!"
Xiao Hei immediately understood that its walk was over. It tilted its head back and let out two long hums, then quickened its pace, puffing up a cloud of yellow smoke as it sped towards Si'an County, a hundred miles away.
Si'an County used to be a notoriously poor county, but after a good magistrate came along, it developed rapidly, transforming from a poor county with only 20,000 to 30,000 people into a wealthy county with more than 80,000 people, ranking among the top in the entire prefecture.
The county town's city wall stretched for about fifteen or sixteen li. From afar, one could see the three characters "Si'an County" on the tall wall. Beneath the sign were guards armed with knives, responsible for opening and closing the city gates, checking suspicious individuals, and collecting tolls for passing through the town.
This mainly targets itinerant merchants; the fees are low, but they add up over time, eventually forming that towering city.
The local magistrate was honest and upright, the county had strict discipline, and the officials and clerks were also kind and approachable.
Song Jin was quite famous in Linxi Town, and not far behind in the county. The guards in charge of the city gate all knew her, and they greeted her with smiles when they saw her leading the mule over.
"Little Song's here! What good stuff did you bring this time?"
Song Jin stepped forward with a grin: "Brother Luo, Brother Li, it's you two on duty again. You've worked hard. Here, have some venison jerky, it was freshly grilled yesterday."
Brother Luo: "Wow, venison, you little brat, you're something else. Well then, I won't be polite."
Brother Li: "Thanks. By the way, the oxen in Daqing Town went crazy and died today; they're over at the market."
Upon hearing that there was beef, Song Jin's eyes lit up instantly.
Unlike other animals, cattle were a vital resource for arable land in this era, and their slaughter was not permitted privately. Only cattle that were too old to plow or that had died unexpectedly could be sold.
Song Jin has been here for so long, and can only eat it once every year or two.
After all, as long as they don't do anything reckless, oxen can live for ten years or so. Now that beef is available, Song Jin didn't stand on ceremony with the two men at all, jumped onto the mule, and galloped off in a flash.
"See you later, Brother Luo and Brother Li, I'm leaving."
Seeing her hurried manner, the two guards shook their heads with amusement, then quickly regained their serious expressions and continued checking other passersby.
As guards of some standing in the city, their affability depended on the person they were dealing with.
...
Meanwhile, Song Jin rode his mule all the way to the market.
"Marketplace" is what people call it in private; it's quite straightforward—a place for buying and selling all sorts of things. It's considered the busiest market in the city, with caravans from different places coming and going every day.
Food, toys, living, dead, animals, plants
living people
All available
However, the post-apocalyptic marketplace wasn't much better. Song Jin was used to it, ignoring the chaotic areas, and quickly found the place to sell cattle.
The beef was very popular, but when she arrived, only bones and scraps of meat remained. People came and went, but few paid any attention to it. An old man sitting by the stall sighed.
These days, a strong ox is incredibly useful. It can help with plowing and hauling, and you can even rent it out to earn some extra money for its nutrition. This ox on the stall looks like it's only two years old; it was finally ready to be used safely, and now it's gone. It's a huge loss for everyone involved.
Song Jin stepped forward, looked at the bone fragments without any disgust or haggling, and bought them all with a wave of her hand: "Grandpa, I'll take them all."
Grandpa Meng was delighted, but soon hesitated: "You want it all? Can we finish it all? It's hot now, it won't keep for long."
Song Jin squatted down and weighed the bones in her hands: "We can finish them. There are many people in my family. We can take these bones back and stew them with a big firewood overnight. They'll be very fragrant. We can also render some bone broth to mix with rice or noodles."
Adding some codonopsis and goji berries will also make it more nourishing.
Grandpa Meng was relieved. He weighed the meat, calculated the price, and carefully cleaned up the scraps, explaining, "Don't be fooled by how small the pieces are; the meat is very fresh. My son, A-Niu, is only two years and three months old, and his meat is at its tenderest. Otherwise..."
As he spoke, his eyes welled up with tears, and he looked extremely heartbroken.
That's true. A strong ox, putting aside everything else, could fetch seven or eight taels of silver just by selling it, but if you sell the meat, you'd be lucky to get two or three taels.
Song Jin felt the same way. If her own Xiao Hei were gone and only this scrap of flesh was left, she would be heartbroken too.
She asked, "Grandpa, this cow looked perfectly fine, how did it just disappear?"
Grandpa Meng smiled wryly: "It was fine this morning, so I took it to the foot of the mountain to plow the fields. While I was plowing, it suddenly went crazy and ran up the mountain, lost its footing, and fell to its death."
It wasn't actually dead, but seeing the cow on its last legs, its spine broken, Grandpa Meng gritted his teeth and gave it a quick death. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache.
Song Jin said sympathetically, "It could be a wasp sting, who knows?"
Grandpa Meng said dejectedly, "It shouldn't be that. I think it was probably scared by wild animals in the mountains. We live right next to Panlong Mountain; there are too many ferocious creatures there."
Song Jin seemed to be deep in thought. Thinking of the Daqing Town mentioned by the guard, she immediately guessed: "Da'an Village?"
"yes"
Grandpa Meng sighed as he packed his things, his eyes welling up with tears. He couldn't help but mutter, "This wretched place, this wretched mountain, my ox! It finally grew up, and I was hoping to get a cart so it could do some work..."
Song Jin looked at the old man sympathetically, said nothing more, readily paid the money, took the beef and put it in the basket, then led Xiao Hei away from the market, walking along the bluestone path to Pingfu Street, two blocks away.
Right at the street intersection stood a small courtyard, with a large stone lion at the entrance holding two golden balls in its mouth. If it weren't for the tall plaque behind it bearing the words "Huichuntang," who could tell if it was a gold shop or a medical clinic?
Song Jin clicked her tongue twice, tied Xiao Hei to the pillar in front of the door, and walked inside.
Huichuntang is the largest clinic in the county. Its star doctor, Dr. Liu, is a retired imperial physician with superb medical skills and reasonable fees, making the clinic extremely popular.
Song Jin went inside without noticing her, so she had to fend for herself and started shouting at the top of her lungs.
"Old Liu, Old Liu, I've brought you the goods."
Old Liu, the shop's prized possession, was taking someone's pulse when he heard the voice. His eyebrows twitched, his hand trembled, and his mustache twitched: "What are you yelling for, you brat? Can't you see me?"
Song Jin skipped over: "Now I see it, Old Liu, hurry up and check the goods. I have to go back soon, and my mother will worry if it gets dark."
Old Liu glared and puffed out his beard: "You brat, you think you can stop worrying your mother?"
Song Jin rolled her eyes: "Even an old man like you is afraid of your mother, so why can't a little girl like me be afraid?"
Old Liu is sixty years old this year, but he has an eighty-year-old mother who is in excellent health, always lively and energetic, and she scolds her son with great vigor.
She gets scolded for not eating fatty meat or sweets, scolded for taking medicine, and scolded for not planting vegetables or doing chores.
Old Liu glared at Song Jin, that brat who always brought up his shortcomings, then quickly examined his patient, got the medicine, wiped his hands, and got up to lead the group to the pharmacy, grumbling all the way, his grumbling filled with heartache.
"What did you bring this time? Don't try to fool me with those scraps again, you little brat. All you do is patch up your mother's clothes, and her patches are all leaking. What a waste!"
Song Jin walked behind, swaying her head, twisting her eyebrows, and shrugging her shoulders. She ignored his words, letting them go in one ear and out the other. She pursed her lips and muttered to herself, "Giving my mother tonics? How can that be such a waste? No wonder this old man gets scolded by his mother every day; he deserves it."
Seeing her expression, Old Liu knew he'd wasted his breath and impatiently reached out, "Let me see the thing."
Song Jin quickly handed over the things, not wanting to listen to his nagging for even a second longer.
To understand their connection, we have to go back ten years.
Back then, Niu Tielan's health was much worse than it is now. Once, she caught a severe cold, and Song Jin tried many people to help her, but to no avail. She was on the verge of death when Old Liu stepped in and saved her.
From then on, Song Jin actively cultivated good relationships with everyone, serving him diligently and sweetly. She even seriously studied medicine under him for two years. She was so clever and quick-witted that Old Liu felt he had found a worthy successor. She felt she had built enough connections.
He ran away.
ran away
Old Liu was furious, and from then on, he would close the door whenever he saw Song Jin. It wasn't until later, when she frequently brought valuable medicinal herbs and didn't completely abandon her knowledge of pharmacology, that the two gradually reconciled.
This time was no different. After seeing the ginseng, deer antler, deer penis, and carp shells she brought, Old Liu's grumpy face gradually relaxed.
"The year is good, and the condition is acceptable. I'll give you eighty taels of silver."
Song Jin immediately beamed with joy: "Thank you, Doctor Liu, for your kindness!"
Old Liu cursed angrily, "You good-for-nothing brat!"
Song Jin continued laughing and joking, "Hey, Old Liu, what are you saying? In this county town, I can talk to the county magistrate. How am I not successful?"
Old Liu snapped, "Get out, get out! You took the money and now you're gone. Just seeing you makes me angry. Also, try to avoid going into the mountains lately; there have been far more accidents there than in previous years."
Song Jin laughed and gave a perfunctory reply, then pulled a small bag from her pocket and tossed it over.
Old Liu barely managed to take the purse. He opened it and found two pieces of top-quality musk, each weighing a full two ounces—their value was beyond question. He was stunned into silence for a long while, and just as he was about to say something, Song Jin had already run off with long strides.
Old Liu quickly shouted, "You brat, stop running into the mountains!"
"I know, I know."
Song Jin's thoughts flashed by, and without giving it much thought, she waved her hand dismissively, skipped out of Huichuntang, and, holding Xiao Hei's hand, continued towards the other bookstore.
She still had to buy pen and ink for that boy and send them over.
Tsk, scholars are truly remarkable.
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