Chapter 24

Once they arrived, the two girls stepped aside, leaving the buying and selling to the adult.

“Hey, hey! Where did these filthy beggars come from?”

Before Yin Huaixi could speak, the server started waving a rag to shoo them away as if they carried the plague. In truth, the three of them had worn freshly washed clothes just to enter town—though their attire was indeed plain.

Jiang Wan’s smile instantly disappeared, and she was about to say something when her mother pulled her back.

“No need to get upset, young man,” Yin Huaixi said calmly. “I just wanted to sell a fish. If you don’t want it, you can simply say so, and we’ll leave.”

When she mentioned selling fish, people finally looked at the bucket, catching sight of the flash of red inside. The server’s heart skipped a beat—he recognized that fish: it was a rare seven-star grouper!

“Ahem… Ma’am…”

But before he could say anything, Yin Huaixi simply picked up the bucket and walked out without hesitation, leaving the server fuming as his face turned pale.

The three of them asked around and headed to Fengweilou. Though it looked smaller than Dongfuju from afar, Fengweilou seemed to have better business, with most tables occupied compared to the near-empty main hall of Dongfuju.

As soon as they approached the entrance, a cheerful server came forward to greet them.

“Welcome! Please, there’s a table by the window if you’d like.”

Yin Huaixi shook her head. “Thank you, but we’re not here to eat. I have a fish to sell. Would you mind asking your Shopkeeper if he’d be interested?”

She pointed to her bucket, and the server’s eyes lit up the moment he saw it. His cousin had been searching for something special to impress the boss with—and here it was!

“Madam, our Shopkeeper is in the courtyard. This isn’t the best place to discuss it; would you mind heading there with me?”

“That’s fine.”

They followed the server to the back courtyard, the delicious aromas making all three of them swallow in anticipation.

“Shopkeeper!”

The server called out, and the Shopkeeper, Shopkeeper Yu, turned to see his nephew who, instead of attending to customers, had brought in three visitors. Just as he was about to scold him, he noticed the fish.

“Shopkeeper, this lady wants to sell a fish. Would you mind taking a look?”

The look in his nephew’s eyes said, *Just wait—you’ll thank me for this.*

*A fish?* What kind of fish would cause such excitement?

Then he saw it—a seven-star grouper! He nearly buried his head in the bucket to confirm it, making sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“Ah! The seven-star grouper!”

He was thrilled. The boss’s daughter had recently secured an excellent match, and presenting this fish would certainly earn him favor.

“Please, Madam, have a seat. Let’s discuss the price.”

Shopkeeper Yu waved his nephew away and invited Yin Huaixi and her two girls to sit by a stone table.

“Seven-star groupers are rare, so there isn’t a fixed price; they’re usually sold individually. Do you have a figure in mind?”

Following the rule of negotiating by halving, Yin Huaixi replied, “Ten taels of silver.”

Shopkeeper Yu paused, surprised. *Only ten?* He’d been expecting her to ask much more. He almost felt guilty.

“Ahem… the last seven-star grouper was sold to Dongfuju for twenty taels. Though yours is a bit smaller, it’s certainly worth more than ten.”

Yin Huaixi’s eyebrows twitched; she didn’t know what to say.

From the look of them, he could tell they were from humble means. Having grown up poor himself, he couldn’t bring himself to take advantage of them.

“How about this,” he offered, “I can buy it for fifteen taels. If you’re willing, we can make the trade now. If not, you could take it to Dongfuju—they might offer more.”

After a moment of silence, Yin Huaixi nodded. Her plan had been completely thrown off by the gossip from the boat.

Now she realized the five-tael price might have been a way to deceive the fisherman, allowing the middleman to profit. Or, perhaps, they simply didn’t want to flaunt their wealth and claimed it cost five taels. She felt foolish for not questioning it sooner.

Setting the past aside, she nodded briskly. “You’re an honest man, and I’m not one to haggle. Fifteen taels it is.”

“Great, I’ll get the silver.”

Shopkeeper Yu returned with the payment and happily saw them out of Fengweilou.

Though they’d earned fifteen taels, and the two girls were delighted, Yin Huaixi couldn’t shake an odd feeling. Sensing this, Jiang Wan quickly changed the subject.

“Mother, let’s go check out the pharmacy!”

This was her mother’s specialty, so her spirits lifted as they headed inside.

They soon found a pharmacy, and Yin Huaixi, straightening with pride, entered with her basket on her back.

The apprentice immediately noticed her bundle and recognized she was there to sell herbs. Since they looked like ordinary herbs, he didn’t call for his master.

“Ma’am, do you mind if I check them?”

*Ma’am…*

Yin Huaixi stiffened for a moment, then shook her head. “Not at all.”

She knew exactly what her herbs were worth.

Aside from not being processed, her herbs were otherwise top-quality.

The apprentice took out each bundle, carefully untying and inspecting them to ensure there was no deceptive layering. Midway through, a young woman carrying a child arrived with a prescription, so he set the herbs aside to attend to her.

Yin Huaixi watched intently as the apprentice filled the prescription at the counter.

Pinellia, white aconite, self-heal…

These were all herbs for dispelling dampness, resolving phlegm, and dissolving lumps. She glanced at the prescription’s diagnosis: a palatal abscess, essentially an infection or lump on the upper palate.

This condition usually makes it difficult to stretch the tongue or swallow, yet here was the child happily munching on a candied hawthorn stick.

A healer’s instinct is to question anything unclear, especially if it might be a prescription error that could worsen the condition and cause the child unnecessary suffering.

Yin Huaixi approached the young woman and explained that she knew some medical skills and asked if she could examine the child.

“I won’t charge you,” she added.

Hearing that there’d be no fee, the woman relaxed a little, though she still seemed reluctant.

“I just went to Jimin Hall to see the best children’s doctor. There can’t be anything wrong.”

The apprentice, who had observed Yin Huaixi’s gentle manner, reassured the woman, “There’s no harm in letting her take a look. She really does know medicine.”

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have gathered and prepared so many different herbs, sorting them carefully by roots and leaves. That took skill.

Hearing this, the young woman finally agreed to let Yin Huaixi examine her son.

The little boy, around four, had bright, intelligent eyes and seemed quite sharp. He obediently opened his mouth and lifted his head as instructed, behaving perfectly.

Yin Huaixi examined his palate carefully and, sure enough, saw a dark lump near his throat that resembled a cyst. She borrowed a chopstick from the apprentice and gently prodded it. It felt hard.

“Does it hurt?”

The little boy didn’t flinch, though he shouted “It hurts!” to elicit sympathy from his mother, who looked at him tearfully, heart aching.

“Heng’er, don’t be scared. Mama will buy you another candied hawthorn in a bit.”

Yin Huaixi couldn’t help but smile as she held the little boy and moved closer to the door for better light. Using the chopstick, she applied a little pressure at the base of the “cyst.”

“Ptooey, ptooey!”

The little boy spat out half of a lotus seed shell.

Everyone: “…”