Chapter 17: The Open-Minded Old Lady

When the siblings reached the edge of town, Uncle Wang’s ox cart had already been waiting for a while. The aunts who had come with them that morning were all seated in the cart. Qiao Nian greeted them with a polite smile, then pulled Ping’an up onto the cart.

Once everyone was aboard, Uncle Wang called out for them to sit tight, gave the reins a flick, and the ox cart began to trundle forward once more.

“Qiao Family girl, you brought so much stuff into town this morning and are already heading back so soon—did you sell it all?” Widow Liu’s upturned eyes darted back and forth, trying to sneak a look at the basket by their feet, as if itching to lift the lid and see what was inside.

Qiao Nian inwardly rolled her eyes. Here she comes, here she comes—walking over with bad intentions like always. But her expression remained perfectly sweet and docile as she replied, “Wild vegetables are hard to sell. We still have some left. They don’t sell nearly as well as your eggs, Auntie. Judging by how empty your basket is, I’d say they’re all gone already. You must’ve bought quite a few things for the household. You have to tell us what you got—I’d love to learn from you how to manage a home.”

As she spoke, Qiao Nian kept casting glances at Widow Liu’s basket, wearing the exact same look of curiosity as if she were about to lift the lid herself.

Widow Liu had been feeling rather smug at first. Her eggs were large, and as soon as she’d set up shop that morning, people had come to ask about them. But the moment she noticed Qiao Nian eyeing her basket, her face darkened. She quickly pulled the orchid-patterned cloth over it tighter and, still not feeling secure, hugged the basket to her chest. Inside was the half a jin of pork she’d just bought—no way she was letting anyone catch a glimpse of it.

Curling her lip in disdain, she snapped, “Qiao Family girl, what business is it of yours what goes on in someone else’s home? If you want to learn how to manage a household, go ask your Grandmother. I’m not teaching you anything.” With that, she turned her head and ignored Qiao Nian for the rest of the ride.

Qiao Nian wasn’t the least bit bothered by her attitude. This is called beating someone at their own game—making them too embarrassed to snoop around your basket when they’re hiding something in theirs.

Ping’an immediately shot his sister a look of admiration, then quickly lowered his head to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The others on the cart all exchanged amused glances but didn’t say a word.

After another hour of bumpy travel, the siblings got off at the entrance to the village. They took the side path home, having brought back quite a few things today. They didn’t want to go through the village and risk running into someone like Widow Liu again.

“Grandmother, we’re back!”

As soon as they stepped into the Courtyard, they saw Hua Guixiang sitting under the eaves, sorting through wild vegetables.

When she heard their voices, her face lit up with joy. She got up to greet them, calling out as she walked over, “Nian Nian, Ping’an, you’re back! Are you tired? Come inside and rest for a bit.”

The two of them followed her inside. Only then did Hua Guixiang lower her voice and ask, “Did everything sell? You even bought things?”

“Grandmother, we sold the herbs to Ji Ren Hall. The shopkeeper also bought the wild chicken and rabbit. He said we can bring herbs to him again if we find more,” Qiao Nian replied with a smile.

Ping’an, seeing that his sister was keeping it simple, tugged on Hua Guixiang’s sleeve and told her the full story of everything that had happened. Hearing it all, Hua Guixiang could barely contain her excitement, repeating, “Good! Good!” over and over. Yesterday, when the two children had insisted that those weeds they’d dug up were medicinal herbs, she hadn’t believed them—but she hadn’t wanted to crush their hopes, so she let them try. Who would’ve thought they would actually sell them? Truly, Heaven had blessed their little family of three!

Even so, amid her joy, Hua Guixiang still reminded the siblings not to talk about the medicine-selling just yet, so as not to bring trouble to Physician Li. If word got out in the village, everyone would start pestering him for lessons—and that would just make things difficult for him.

If anyone saw them gathering herbs in the future, they would simply say that Qiao Mother had taught her. Back then, the children were too young and the mountain too dangerous, so she hadn’t let them go along.

Qiao Nian hadn’t expected that her Grandmother and Ping’an wouldn’t question her at all and had even thought up a reasonable explanation to cover how she knew about medicinal herbs. Her heart couldn’t help but be moved once again.

What Qiao Nian didn’t know was that Hua Guixiang and Ping’an simply assumed she only recognized a few common herbs. That’s why they didn’t think too deeply about it. At this time, people placed great importance on skills and recipes; anything a family knew, they kept to themselves and never shared lightly.

Having a ready excuse was also a precaution to avoid trouble. Without an adult male in the household, they worried that ill-intentioned people might use all kinds of pretexts to cause trouble. In their current situation, they wouldn’t be able to handle such confrontations.

After chatting a while longer, Hua Guixiang helped put away all the items Qiao Nian had bought. She soaked the pork belly and soup bones in the kitchen, planning to stew them for dinner. She also recognized the spices—back when their family was doing well, the eldest daughter-in-law had bought some a couple of times. The meat cooked with them had indeed tasted delicious. But after Qiao Laotou had fallen ill and passed away, their household had declined and they hadn’t been able to afford such luxuries since.

The things her granddaughter bought today were all good items. Though she felt a twinge of heartache, she didn’t say a word of complaint. As the one managing the household now, Qiao Nian had used her first earnings to buy useful things for the family. If she still criticized her, she’d be acting stingy and unreasonable. Instead, she simply reminded them to be mindful of their spending from now on—not to use up all their silver at once, and to plan their days carefully and frugally.

Qiao Nian felt deeply grateful for her Grandmother’s understanding. Smiling, she handed over the remaining 190 wen from the day. Before Hua Guixiang could decline, she insisted it was her very first income and that Grandmother had to accept it. Only then did Hua Guixiang, eyes brimming with tears, carefully wrap the coins in a handkerchief and tuck them into the money cabinet.

There was still some time before sunset, so Hua Guixiang called the siblings to head back into the mountains with her. Now that they knew the plants were truly medicinal herbs, how could they not dig more? She wanted to gather as much as possible before the summer harvest, so they could stockpile some silver. This year’s crop yield was still uncertain. With income from selling herbs, they wouldn’t have to sell their grain, and the family could get through winter without going hungry.

The three of them didn’t go far this time—just back to the same hillside where Qiao Nian and Ping’an had dug up Rehmannia yesterday. Fortunately, there was still a good amount of Prunella and Rehmannia growing there. Once this area was cleared, they could search elsewhere.

Ping’an went to check on their makeshift trap but found nothing inside. The area around it had been thoroughly disturbed by some animal—leaves and grass were gone—but he hadn’t held out much hope to begin with. He was just curious.

Qiao Nian hadn’t planned on hunting today anyway. She had bought pork belly and planned to make braised pork tonight. Once she sold this batch of herbs, she intended to buy two animal traps from the blacksmith’s shop in town. With those and her spiritual spring water, she’d be able to catch game without fail.

All three of them were used to farm work. Even though Qiao Nian hadn’t done much of it before, she wasn’t the delicate type. Their hands moved quickly, and in less than an hour, their baskets were full. Hua Guixiang called for them to head down the mountain—they’d come back early again the next morning.

Once home, Hua Guixiang began sorting the Prunella and Rehmannia, while Qiao Nian and Ping’an started preparing dinner…