Chapter 22: Building a House and Buying Land

“What do you mean, refuse to pay? Song Lizheng, what are you talking about?”

Young Physician Li recognized the man—it was Song Jinxiu’s village head, Grandfather Lizheng. He had come several times before.

“Ah, Grandpa Lizheng, why did you come out? Didn’t I ask you to wait inside? I’m in the middle of talking here.”

Song Jinxiu quickly grabbed hold of Grandfather Lizheng’s arm, trying to pull him back into the rear courtyard.

But Grandfather Lizheng stood his ground, unmoving. He asked, “Sanya, I saw you arguing with him. Is he trying to back out of paying?”

“That’s not true at all,”
Song Jinxiu quickly stepped in front of Lizheng, shielding him from view as she shot young Physician Li a meaningful glance, mouthing, “Trade the Ma Fei San formula for one thousand taels.”

Then she raised her voice and said, “Go get the banknote—hurry. If my grandfather gets upset, there won’t be any room left for negotiation.”

Young Physician Li stood frozen in place, but he had clearly understood the words she mouthed.

One thousand taels—this girl really had the nerve to ask for the sky. Did she even realize that one thousand taels amounted to two full years’ profit for their entire medical hall?

Still, if it truly was the secret formula for Mafeisan, then even one thousand taels might be a bargain.

Given this girl’s usual way of speaking and acting—fine, better to believe it’s real than risk missing out if it is.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go get it right now, right this minute!”
Young Physician Li hurried toward the back hall, afraid that if he were even a moment too slow, Song Jinxiu might change her mind.

Grandfather Lizheng, quite pleased with himself, said, “See? That’s why you need an adult to step in. You were arguing with him for half the day, and he was about to get physical. But the moment I showed up, he backed down.”

Song Jinxiu quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes. That’s why you’re Grandfather Lizheng, after all. You’re an official, even if it’s just a small one. Of course a lowly physician like him would be afraid of you.”

Grandfather Lizheng waved his hand, saying, “Eh, that works in our village, sure—but outside, it means nothing. He was just bullying you because you’re young. Once an adult steps in, he doesn’t dare act out.”

Grandfather Lizheng wore a smug expression, but inwardly, Song Jinxiu was groaning.

She had already said the medical sage’s Mafeian formula had been burned—where on earth was she supposed to get it from?s

Still, even though she didn’t have the original Mafeisan prescription, she did possess another anesthetic formula. And not only was it better than Mafeisan, it was also safer.

Shixiong, she thought to herself, if I sell your formula to someone else, could that count as passing on your teachings and spreading your legacy?

Soon, young Physician Li returned holding a bundle of banknotes and handed them to Song Jinxiu.

“Here you go. And I’ve brought paper and brush. Where do you want to write it?”

“Aiyo, give it to me, give it to me.”

Grandfather Lizheng hurried to snatch the banknotes first. While shielding them from view, he examined them closely and muttered to himself, Why would Physician Xiao Li hand over banknotes to Sanya in front of all these people? What’s he thinking? Trying to get her robbed?

I knew it—outsiders can’t be trusted.

Seeing the brush and paper, Song Jinxiu gave a wry smile. “Hold on a moment. Let me take Grandpa Lizheng back first.”

Grandfather Lizheng finished inspecting the banknotes. They were all real—and all issued by Datong Bank. Not bad at all.

But… why was it one thousand taels? Didn’t Physician Xiao Li already give her four hundred? So there should only be six hundred left.

Ah, of course. This child, Sanya, must be keeping the extra four hundred for herself—as part of her dowry.

Sigh… Girls always end up favoring outsiders. Nothing you can do about it.

Still, now that the banknotes were in his hands, he might as well hold onto them for safekeeping. That girl was still young—what if someone tricked her?

Grandfather Lizheng quickly stuffed the notes into his chest pocket.

This time, he didn’t even need Song Jinxiu to tug on him—he practically jogged back to the sickroom on his own.

Behind closed doors, the four siblings and Grandpa Lizheng huddled together and discussed matters for quite a while. In the end, they decided that aside from the money needed to build the house, the rest would be used to buy land.

“You kids are still young. With too much silver, I’m afraid you won’t be able to hold onto it. Better to buy land and rent it out—then you’ll have a steady income every year, and won’t have to worry about food or clothing again.

Aiya, who would’ve thought? The very first big landlords in our village turned out to be you two little rascals. Hahaha, even your Grandpa here is jealous!”

The wrinkles on Grandfather Lizheng’s face were practically folding in on themselves from how wide he was grinning.

Song Jinxiu: …

This old man—what did he mean by saying the first big landlords in the village were “these two stinky brats”? Were she and her sister not standing right here, fully grown? Could he not see them?

And besides, wasn’t it she who earned the money in the first place?

She had a strong suspicion that this old man wanted to turn all the silver into land just so he wouldn’t have to give any of it to her or her younger sister.

Finally, even Song Chunsheng couldn’t take it anymore.

“Grandfather Lizheng, the money was earned by Jinxiu—oh, that’s Sanya. And Wuya is called Jinfang now. In the future, the land should be divided so they have dowries,” Song Chunsheng said seriously.

“Ah, that’s something to think about later. With this land, who knows—you might all become prosperous. As for Sanya and Wuya’s dowries, would we ever short them?”
Grandfather Lizheng chuckled, dodging the question without giving a straight answer.

“I’m Jinfang, and my sister is Jinxiu. We just picked these names,” Song Jinfang added earnestly.

“Good, good. So you both have names now—that’s great.”

Song Jinxiu sighed in exasperation. This Grandfather Lizheng was clearly biased toward boys—his indifference when speaking to her and her sister was almost blatant.

Fortunately, her Big Brother was a decent person, so Song Jinxiu wasn’t feeling too upset.

Grandfather Lizheng, with the banknotes and the house blueprint drawn by Song Jinxiu safely tucked away, left in high spirits.

As soon as he was gone, young Physician Li—who had been eavesdropping outside the wall for quite some time—immediately came over.

“Hey, I say, little Shigu, you really just handed over a thousand taels to Song Lizheng like that? Aren’t you afraid he’ll embezzle it?”

“Why were you still eavesdropping?” Song Jinxiu shot him a displeased glance.

“I was just anxious, that’s all! You had the door shut, so I was pacing around outside. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But really, aren’t you afraid he’ll pocket the money?”

Song Jinxiu replied calmly, “Grandfather Lizheng is a good man. We trust him.”

“Tsk tsk tsk… Money stirs the heart, little Shigu. It never hurts to be cautious.”

“So what if he does take some? Let him. Can money compare to a life?”

Through the dappled shade of the trees, Song Jinxiu gazed into the distant sky.

“If it weren’t for him, we’d still be stuck in the old Song family. Forget building a house or buying land—our very lives might not be safe.”

Young Physician Li was rendered speechless.

Every family has its own troubles—no one’s life is truly simple.

“Um… Little Shigu, do you really have the formula for Mafeisan?” Physician Xiao Li asked, his face full of hope.

Song Jinxiu let out a sigh. “Sigh, bring me paper and a brush.”

She had exchanged her Shixiong’s formula for a thousand taels in banknotes. With Grandfather Lizheng returning home to take care of the preparations, the four siblings resumed their studies, continuing to learn how to read and write.

However, the very next day, people from the village came knocking—several aunties and madams who had just returned from market in the county town.

The moment Auntie Cuihua spotted Song Jinxiu, she let out a loud gasp and hurried over.

“Aiyo! Oh my heavens—are you Sanya? If I passed you on the road, I wouldn’t even dare to recognize you!”

“Sanya, is that fine cotton you’re wearing? Aiyo, it’s so soft and smooth!”

Song Jinxiu quickly smiled and greeted them, “Auntie Cuihua, Second Madam, what brings you here?”

Second Madam looked at her with eyes full of affection. “We came to check on you children. How’s Chunsheng’s leg? Has it healed completely?”

“Oh, the physician said the bones were set properly and the recovery’s going well. But he still can’t walk just yet.”

As she spoke, Song Jinxiu ushered the women into the sickroom and called out, “Brother, Auntie and the Madams are here to see you!”

Song Chunsheng sat on the bed. Seeing seven or eight villagers suddenly crowd into the room, he was a little overwhelmed, flustered and unsure of what to do.

Auntie Cuihua slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Heavens above, Chunsheng—how did you get so plump?”

Second Madam chimed in, “He really has filled out! And look at how fair he’s gotten—handsomer by the day.”

Toothless Auntie added, “This must be little Qiusheng, right? The child actually looks like a proper person now! Poor thing, he finally resembles a real child.”

Song Jinxiu choked on her breath—what kind of backhanded compliment was that from Toothless Auntie?

Still, she smiled gratefully.

That Toothless Auntie always spoke like that—somehow, even the kindest words turned sharp when they came from her mouth. But she wasn’t a bad person. In fact, when people were donating money for her Big Brother’s treatment, her family had given two hundred wen—same as Auntie Cuihua’s. They were among the very few who had contributed that much.

For farming families who lived by counting every copper coin, two hundred wen was no small sum. A grown man working in the county town only made about five hundred wen a month.