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Confirming that the boy was choking on a hard object lodged in his trachea, Ye Sangwan immediately sprang into action. Without hesitation, she employed the Heimlich maneuver* to perform first aid.
She laid the young man flat on his back, disregarding the dirt on the ground, and knelt beside him. Placing her hands just below his ribcage, she pressed firmly and repeatedly, applying upward thrusts to dislodge the obstruction.
The old woman, watching anxiously, began to protest, “Madam, this stinky girl is clearly causing trouble—”
Before she could finish, the young man gasped and spat out a peanut. His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he saw was Ye Sangwan’s face looming above him. With a startled cry, he pointed at her and wailed, “ Wooh!! Mother! It’s the demon monkey! The demon monkey!”
Ye Sangwan’s lips twitched. She had never imagined that her act of kindness would reduce a child to tears. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to work on my skincare routine,”she thought wryly, resolving to take better care of her complexion from now on. After all although she wouldn’t argue with a little child, but who made her hold grudges so tightly which fueled her resolve further.
As the boy recovered after he spat out that peanut, the onlookers erupted into murmurs of admiration. “This girl is incredible! She cured what even the doctors at Jingshan Medical Center couldn’t!”
“Yes, yes! And that servant tried to stop her. Who knows what might have happened if she hadn’t intervened? May be that child would have died in vain…”
“Do you think she’ll open her own clinic here in our town? If she does, I’ll be the first in line!”
The old woman, flustered by the crowd’s criticism, turned to the noble lady and stammered, “Madam, I only meant to protect the young master. Please understand…”
The noble lady shot her a warning glare, her hand twitching as if to deliver a slap. But mindful of the public setting, she restrained herself and instead turned to Ye Sangwan with a gracious smile. “Thank you, young lady, for saving my son. The child is ignorant. A few days ago, I took him to theatre to watch a play. I didn’t expect this child to be still frightened by a villain form that show. Please don’t take his words to heart.”
Ye Sangwan waved her off dismissively, hoisting her basket onto her shoulder preparing to leave.“It was nothing. Take care.”
As she turned to leave, the noble lady caught her arm. “Wait! You’ve saved my son’s life. If there’s anything you need, name it you are the life saver of our Ji family we owe you this.”
Ye Sangwan paused, then replied matter-of-factly, “One hundred wen.”
The noble lady blinked, confused. “What?”
“The medical fee,” Ye Sangwan clarified.
The old woman’s face turned crimson like pig’s liver with indignation. “One hundred wen? Is that all my young master’s life is worth to you?”
Ye Sangwan raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting between the old woman and the noble lady. “If you think it’s too little, feel free to pay more. After all, I did save your young master from death.” People in the surrounding started scolding the old lady indirectly by saying, “Just now I saw her wailing sadly and I thought it was a pity for such a young child to die. I didn’t expect that saving someone could cause so much trouble….”
The noble lady flushed, clearly embarrassed. She gestured to her maid, who handed over a bulging pouch of coins. Ye Sangwan accepted it without ceremony and strode away, the sound of the noble lady scolding her servant fading into the distance.
Ye Sangwan hadn’t forgotten her original goal: to sell the ginseng and secure funds for her new home. After the incident at Jingshan Medical Center, she knew better than to return there after all she just now unintentionally brought them shame. Instead, she headed for another clinic in town. After all, though the town is not big there are more than one hospital.
As she entered Jiyuantang Medical Center, a young medicine boy greeted her with a polite smile. “Miss, are you here to purchase medicine? Do you have a prescription?”
Before she could respond, an older medicine boy sneered, “ I don’t know whether you are really stupid or pretending to be one. Don’t waste your time. Someone like her is probably here to beg.”
Ye Sangwan’s brow furrowed, but she kept her tone calm and spoke to the young medicine boy. “Hello little brother, I have a rare medicinal herb to sell. Would your clinic be interested?”
The younger boy’s eyes lit up. “What kind of herb is it? May I see it before I decide ?”
The older boy scoffed, “As if someone like her would have anything valuable.”
Ye Sangwan glanced at the older boy coldly thinking if it had been normal times she would have beaten this type of person to vent her anger but she didn’t have time to waste so ignoring him, Ye Sangwan reached into her basket and carefully unwrapped the ginseng. The younger boy’s eyes widened in awe, but before he could speak, the older boy shoved her aside. “Get out of here! We don’t need your fake herbs!”
The ginseng tumbled to the ground, its roots fully exposed. As Ye Sangwan bent to retrieve it, a familiar voice interrupted. “I’ll take it.”
She looked up to see the noble lady from earlier. “Name your price,” the lady said. After experiencing what happened just now, the noble lady was a little guilty about Ye Sangwan. But she didn’t expect to run into her again and that to when she was in trouble. She decided to help her out of this situation regardless if the ginseng was real or fake, as long as she insisted who can do anything.
The older medicine boy interjected trying to persuade her, “Madam, that ginseng is fake! Don’t be fooled! If you want ginseng, we still have one in our store.”
The noble lady shot him a withering glare. “The decision is mine to make.” She turned back to Ye Sangwan and said sincerely . “I happen to need ginseng to make a tonic and your ginseng here is in best possible condition with it’s root intact. I am willing to buy it for Two thousand taels of silver. Is that acceptable?”
Ye Sangwan considered the offer. While she wasn’t entirely familiar with the currency and prices of this era, she knew the ginseng’s true worth. This ginseng was originally the inheritance left to her by her grandfather, if it weren’t for the fact that the items of space could be replicated and regenerated she would not be at all willing to sell this. “If you’re satisfied with its quality, then naturally I am willing to sell it to you .”
The lady was instantly happy, she gestured her maid to take silver bill of two thousand taels and gave it to Ye Sangwan. The transaction was completed swiftly, and Ye Sangwan left the clinic with a pouch of silver and lighter step. Her short-term goal to build house had been achieved, and she was ready to begin her new life.
There, after the Nobel lady bought the medicine, the carriage went to a house where hung a plaque with letter “Anfu” inscribed on it. Luzhou’s An family is a business family with shops all over the country. And she is An Yihui,the legitimate daughter of the An family. She didn’t inherit business brain of An family, so she married the Ji family another business family. Over the years, her husband regarded her a foolish and sweet, thinking she is always easy to deceive. And as a matter of fact the news that she had spent a lot of money to buy a fake ginseng soon reached Master Ji’s ear.
At this time, an old doctor was being entertained in main hall who was none other than the master behind Jiyuantang. He was not in the hospital just now, but came to Anfu for a appointment. As soon as An Yihui stepped into the main hall, the old doctor frankly voiced his opinion, “ I just heard that lady bought a well preserved ginseng from a country girl at the door of my hospital. I wonder if the lady can do me a favour and let this bengong look at it?”
An Yihui looked at her maid who stepped forward and unwrapped a linen cloth in front of Dr. Xu. He raised the ginseng, smelled and sniffed it and his pair of old-eyes suddenly lit up a few degrees. He carefully held the ginseng and excitedly praised Mrs. Ji, “ Lady has a good eye! This is indeed a good root ginseng which is 120 years-old. This ginseng not only has a complete root but is also well maintained. If such a ginseng is used for Master Ji, the effect will be doubled. Not to mention 2000 taels of silver, even if Xu encounters this ginseng at 20,000 taels he will not hesitate to take action.”
An Yihui snorted coldly, “You say it so well. Your apprentice in the hospital also wronged that little girl for selling fake ginseng!” And she proceeded to explain what had transpired………
…
As Ye Sangwan made her way through the bustling market after exchanging the silver for some broken silver at a money store, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. She had saved a life, sold her ginseng, and secured the funds she needed. Now, it was time to celebrate.
She met Yunheng at the ox cart, where he had been waiting patiently. The cart was clean, the bloody straw removed, and Yunheng was feeding the ox a bundle of fresh grass.
Noticing her approach, Yunheng’s expression darkened. “Where’s the roast chicken you promised?” he asked, his tone clipped.
Ye Sangwan blinked, then laughed. “I got caught up in something. But look!” She told about what all had happened during the day and held up her purchases triumphantly. “We have everything we need now.”
Hearing her talk, he suddenly looked at her up and down with calm eyes and seeing that she had not been injured he lowered his eyes again. Yunheng’s gaze softened slightly, though he still refused to meet her eyes. As they prepared to leave, Ye Sangwan noticed a faint blush on his cheeks. She grinned, holding out a skewer of candied haws. “Want one?”
Yunheng hesitated, then plucked a candied haw from the skewer. He took a bite, his expression unreadable. “It’s… sweet,” he admitted quietly.
Ye Sangwan chuckled, swinging her legs playfully as the ox cart rumbled down the road indicating how happy she truly was. The red candied haws dyed Ye Sangwan’s lips a little red saw Yunheng as he rolled his throat. When Ye Sangwan noticed something and turned to look at him, he quickly moved his eyes to other places acting nonchalant. After several times of this back and forth finally their eyes collided at the right time. Leaving Yunheng astonished at how close they were, while Ye Sangwan lowered her head and her face which was neither delicate nor very good looking entered his sight making him dazed.
“Do you want to try it again?” Ye Sangwan asked in a soft voice thinking he was staring at her for the candied haw. Yunheng’s eyes darkened as he tried to concentrate and moved his face leisurely to look away . He took a candied haw from the gourd and put the skewer into his mouth making a sour face immediately, “ well it very sweet.”
For the first time in his life, Yunheng ate a candied haw completely even it it was sweet enough to make him smack it away.
