Chapter 19: First Trip Out

    The snow melted, and a fortnight passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Jinyu’s leg wound was almost healed. Xie Jiu’er calculated that the time was right. After lunch, she went to find him. “Brother Xiao, the stitches on your wound should be removed.”

    Xiao Jinyu touched his thigh. “What will happen if I don’t remove them?”

    Xie Jiu’er was stunned. She didn’t really know the specific consequences, as she wasn’t medically trained. “If you don’t remove them, the stitches will remain buried in the flesh. Your leg might become swollen and inflamed. In severe cases, you might experience unbearable pain, the wound might burst open.  These are all possibilities. So, they must be removed. Are you worried about something?”

    Xie Jiu’er stared intently at Xiao Jinyu. She was guessing, listing a bunch of potential consequences.  Why did this man seem so hesitant? It’s just removing stitches!

    Xiao Jinyu looked at her innocent appearance and was speechless for a moment.  Usually, she seemed quite clever. Why was she so unreserved?  Didn’t she know about propriety between men and women? How would she face her future husband?

    “Fine, remove them!” Xiao Jinyu sat down on the kang, resigned. If you aren’t embarrassed, why should I be?

    “Let’s do it now. Take off your pants.”

    Xie Jiu’er said, going to Zhou shi’s sewing basket to find scissors.  *Ugh, a little rusty.  Too dangerous.  What if I accidentally poke a hole and get tetanus?*

    She carefully washed the rusty scissors and sterilized them over the fire before entering the room.

    Seeing her come in, Xiao Jinyu lay half-reclined on the kang, covering himself with his robe.

    “The stitches are in the flesh.  There will be slight pain when I pull them out.  Bear with it; it’ll be over soon.”

    Xie Jiu’er examined the wound.  It had healed well. This man was amazing; he even hunted a wild boar for them while recovering.

    “It’s fine, go ahead!” Xiao Jinyu said, and then fell silent. He didn’t know what to say. They were too close, and he felt a little breathless.

    Xie Jiu’er didn’t have so many thoughts. She carefully used the scissors to separate the stitches and slowly removed them. The places where the stitches were removed bled slightly, like being pricked by a needle.

    After removing the stitches from the cut, she checked the arrow wound below the knee. It had healed well. “Okay, the wound has healed well, but you still need to be careful for the next month. Don’t exert yourself. In about another month, your leg will be completely healed.”

    Xiao Jinyu thought about going hunting in the past few days without any difficulty. He was puzzled. “I feel fine now! I can’t exert myself?”

    Xie Jiu’er patiently explained, “You don’t feel pain now because the wound has healed, but a newly healed wound might burst open if you exert yourself, which is still dangerous.”

    Xiao Jinyu nodded. “I understand. I managed to keep my leg thanks to you. Thank you for your hard work.”

    Xie Jiu’er had already drafted a response in her mind. *Little guy, if it weren’t for me, you would have had sequelae.  Thank you is only right,* but she appeared very polite. “It’s nothing. You’ve helped us a lot too.”

    Five days after Xiao Jinyu’s stitches were removed, people began passing by the village entrance. Xie Jiu’er asked around and learned that not only the countryside but also many wealthy merchants in the county had returned. The new court had also sent officials to the county government, and order was gradually established. Everything was beginning to stabilize.

    “Brother Xiao, I’m going to the county tomorrow. Can you come with me? I don’t know what the county is like now, and I’m a little scared to go alone,” Xie Jiu’er casually mentioned during dinner.

    “Okay, let’s leave early tomorrow morning. You don’t have a carriage here.  A day is just enough for a round trip,” Xiao Jinyu replied indifferently. He should also go out and check the situation.

    The next morning, Xie Jiu’er bundled two large bags of charcoal with dry grass, and despite Xiao Jinyu’s reluctance, made him carry one bundle while she carried the other. She also carried her deep-fried mushrooms in her arms and headed towards the county.

    After climbing a mountain, there was a ravine ahead. After finally bypassing the ravine and looking into the distance, they still had four mountains to cross before reaching the county. “Why is it so far? My legs are going to be worn out. How are you doing? If I had known it was this far, I wouldn’t have let you come out. If you strain your wound, I’ll really…” Xie Jiu’er felt a little regretful. She didn’t consider the consequences before acting.  The Golden Thigh was going to do great things. How could she make him travel so far just to sell some charcoal?

    “It’s fine. Let’s hurry; otherwise, we won’t be able to get home before dark.”

    Xiao Jinyu was eager to get to the county. He didn’t know what the situation was like outside.

    They hurried along, finally reaching the county. The streets were in a mess, and no one was setting up stalls to do business, as expected.

    Xie Jiu’er walked through the streets and alleys, seeing clean houses, and knocking on doors one by one to sell her charcoal and fried mushrooms.

    The charcoal was easy to sell.  With the freezing weather, wealthy families didn’t want to freeze. Xie Jiu’er sold two large bags of charcoal to the same family.  They haggled for a long time, and finally, they gave Xie Jiu’er one tael of silver. Xiao Jinyu watched the whole process without helping to bargain.

    “We made money! We’re rich now.  Now there are fewer people. When the market resumes trading, we won’t get such a good price.”

    Xie Jiu’er played with the silver in her hand before carefully tucking it into her chest.

    What if the mushrooms couldn’t be sold? She saw two children playing on the side of an alley. The woman next to them was well-dressed, and the children were wearing thick cotton clothes, their faces rosy and healthy.

    Xie Jiu’er walked over and sat under a tree, taking out a piece of crispy fried mushroom and taking a bite. She shook her head. “So delicious.”

    Xiao Jinyu glanced at her indifferently, a smile on his lips. “You’ll do anything to sell things.”

    The two children smelled the aroma and ran to Xie Jiu’er, their little heads almost buried in the jar, sniffing. What was it, so fragrant?

    After years of war, even though the children of wealthy families had enough food and clothing, they didn’t have many snacks due to social instability. Now, they were already swallowing their saliva.

    Xie Jiu’er gave them some, separated from them, and continued to eat herself. The richly dressed woman was about to stop her, but seeing that Xie Jiu’er was also eating with oily fingers, she didn’t say anything. After the two children finished eating, they still wanted more. “Sister, I want more.”

    Xie Jiu’er looked regretful. “No, this is for sale.  If we eat it all, we won’t have any to sell.”

    Then, the two children tugged at their mother’s arms. “Mother, buy it for us! The food that Zhang Mama makes is awful.  Sister’s snacks are delicious. I want to eat Sister’s snacks; I don’t want to eat Zhang Mama’s food.”