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Lu Xingping glanced at him. “I’m not stupid.”
“You’re not exactly brilliant either,” Lu Xing’an said, crouching down to watch Lu Xinghe dig up the ginseng.
After Lu Xinghe carefully dug up the ginseng, Chu Yue, fearing that it would be damaged if placed directly in the basket, quickly took a clean handkerchief from her bosom and carefully wrapped the ginseng before placing it to one side of the basket.
Afterward, the group dug up some wild vegetables in a small valley before heading home.
Upon arriving home, before they could even put down the basket, a voice called out from behind.
“Third sister-in-law, are you home?”
Yun Cuihe looked up and saw Jiang Xiuqin approaching the door, carrying a basket.
“Sister-in-law, why have you come? Come in and sit down.”
Because there was a visitor, Chu Yue temporarily put the basket in the kitchen. When she came out, she poured a cup of water for Jiang Xiuqin.
“Fourth aunt, drink some water.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Xiuqin took the water from Chu Yue and quickly drank it down, then returned the cup. “Thank you.”
Then, she took a light pink pouch embroidered with orchids from her basket and handed it to Chu Yue.
“I’ve seen you twice before, but I haven’t had a chance to chat. Consider this a little gift from your fourth aunt.”
Unsure what to do, Chu Yue looked towards Yun Cuihe.
“Since it’s a gift from your fourth aunt, accept it.”
With Yun Cuihe’s permission, Chu Yue accepted the pouch. “Thank you, Fourth Aunt.”
Jiang Xiuqin hadn’t known Chu Yue very well before, but after this encounter, her impression of her was quite good; she wasn’t as unpleasant as her elder sisters-in-law had described.
“You’re welcome; I’m glad you like it.”
Yun Cuihe quickly laughed. “Look what Fourth sister-in-law is saying. Your embroidery is excellent, and the pouch is exquisite. Young girls would love something like this; why would she dislike it?”
Chu Yue smiled and went to the kitchen to put down the cup. When she came back out, the pouch was already hanging at her waist.
Jiang Xiuqin came to Yun Cuihe’s side and asked with a smile, “Third sister-in-law, I heard from my Xiaowei that Xingping and Xing’an have been collecting herbs these past few days. Is that true?”
It wasn’t exactly a secret; they were drying herbs in their yard every day, so Yun Cuihe couldn’t deny it.
“That’s right. When Yueyue was at her parents’ home, the neighbor was a traveling doctor. She knew a few herbs and taught Xingping and Xing’an to recognize some. When they go to pick wild vegetables, if they encounter herbs, they collect them and take them to town to exchange for some money.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiuqin looked at Chu Yue in surprise.
“I didn’t know Yueyue had this skill.”
Chu Yue quickly waved her hand.
“Fourth Aunt, don’t say that. It’s nothing special.”
Jiang Xiuqin smiled.
“If it can earn money, it is a skill.” She said, then turned to Yun Cuihe. “Third sister-in-law, I won’t beat around the bush. My Xiaowei and Yufang have also found a few types of herbs these past few days, following Xingping and Xing’an’s example. My husband and I don’t know anything about herbs, so we thought we’d ask you to take a look at them. If we’re going to sell them, would you be willing to help us take them to town to sell them?”
This time, it was Yun Cuihe who was unsure.
She didn’t understand herbs either, and since Jiang Xiuqin had given Chu Yue a pouch earlier, refusing would seem unkind, so she looked towards Chu Yue.
“Yueyue, what do you think…?”
Chu Yue stepped forward.
“Fourth Aunt, could you take out the herbs and let me have a look?”
Jiang Xiuqin quickly put down the basket, lifting the blue floral cloth to reveal the neatly arranged herbs inside.
Chu Yue moved the basket to the shade of a nearby tree, taking out the herbs one by one. Aside from three or four herbs that weren’t medicinal, the rest were indeed herbs.
“We’ll be going to town tomorrow. Among these herbs, only the top-grade Panax notoginseng is valuable. This basket should sell for three or four hundred copper coins. Fourth Aunt, if you trust us, we can help you sell them.”
Hearing that they could sell for so much money, Jiang Xiuqin was overjoyed and quickly nodded with a smile.
“I trust you. You’re better at selling than we are; we’re clueless.” After saying this, she stood up. “I’ll leave the selling of the herbs to Yueyue and Xinghe. I have a lot of things to do at home, so I’ll go back now.”
Yun Cuihe saw Jiang Xiuqin to the door, then came to Chu Yue, who was still sorting the herbs.
“Yueyue, if it’s for your fourth uncle and aunt, you don’t have to go all the way to town. Your foot just healed; you can’t walk such a long distance!”
Chu Yue packed the herbs into the basket, then quickly pulled Yun Cuihe into the kitchen and took out the ginseng wrapped in the handkerchief, her voice slightly lowered with excitement.
“Mother, we found ginseng on the mountain today!”
Yun Cuihe was also overjoyed.
“No wonder you said you were going to town tomorrow, but your foot…”
Just then, Lu Xinghe entered the kitchen.
“Later, I’ll borrow Mrs. Lin’s cart to take Yueyue there tomorrow.”
Upon hearing this, Yun Cuihe nodded. “That’s good. Anyway, we have to take the herbs and turtles to sell. It’ll be easier with a cart. You should leave early tomorrow and don’t rush back in the afternoon. It’s fine to return a little later. The sun is very strong these days.”
The two nodded. “We understand, Mother.”
…
The next morning, Yun Cuihe called Chu Yue into the room and gave her a pair of newly made shoes.
“Come, try them on.”
Chu Yue stepped into the shoes.
The soles were thick and soft, just right for her feet. The light purple uppers were embroidered with delicate little flowers.
Chu Yue put them on, her eyes full of joy. “Mother, these shoes are so pretty! I’ve never worn such beautiful shoes before. Thank you, Mother.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
Yun Cuihe looked at Chu Yue. Since this girl had arrived, their family’s life had gotten better day by day. Perhaps she really was their lucky star.
Chu Yue approached Yun Cuihe and whispered, “Mother, have you been diligently doing those exercises these past few days?”
Yun Cuihe cautiously glanced outside before lowering her voice. “Yes, I’ve been doing them every day without fail. It seems to be having some effect. These past two days, when I walk, I don’t feel as much pain.”
Hearing that there was already some improvement, Chu Yue was very happy.
“That’s good. Since you’re slowly recovering, Mother, you should move around more in the yard when it’s cool. After a few more days, I’ll teach you some more difficult exercises.”
When they had the opportunity, she should find a skilled doctor to treat her. Although her body had been injured for so many years, it was because she hadn’t received timely treatment, coupled with long-term malnutrition, that led to her current condition.
Fortunately, she was only thirty-four or five years old. With early treatment, she should be able to recover gradually.
Seeing the results, Yun Cuihe readily agreed to whatever Chu Yue suggested.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”