Chapter 15: A-Jie Can Afford to Raise You

The assistant responsible for weighing worked quickly. The Chinese foxglove totaled fifty-eight jin, and the self-heal herb came to twenty-three jin, for a total payment of 1,726 wen. As for the rabbits, going by the market rate of twenty wen per jin, the two of them weighed seven jin and six liang. The wild pheasant, sold at a premium, was priced at thirty wen each.

In total, Manager Chen handed Qiao Nian 1,908 wen. Qiao Nian pushed back the extra eight wen and only accepted 1,900. With a smile, she said, “Manager Chen, you’re generous. We can’t take advantage of you. If we took the pheasant and rabbits to the market ourselves, we might not have gotten this price. Thank you again for your kindness today.”

Manager Chen remained smiling from beginning to end. He gave a casual glance at the eight wen on the table and didn’t insist further.

Qiao Nian then took out a hundred wen and asked him to weigh out some cinnamon bark, bay leaves, star anise, tsaoko cardamom, and Sichuan peppercorns. She knew spices were expensive here and wasn’t sure how much she could afford with just a hundred wen. In the end, she added sheepishly, “Just a little of each will do.”

Ping’an had been utterly trusting throughout, letting his A-Jie handle everything without question. Right now, Qiao Nian’s image in his heart was nothing short of heroic. In the past, even when their Father went hunting, he couldn’t make a tael of silver in a whole month—yet today, they had nearly earned two taels in a single day. How could he not be excited? He even made a silent vow to himself: from now on, whatever A-Jie said, he would follow without complaint.

Manager Chen gave a slight nod and instructed the assistant behind him to weigh out the spices. Then, as if casually, he asked, “Miss, are you planning to stew meat?”

Qiao Nian silently cursed the old fox but maintained a docile and well-mannered smile on her face as she nodded. “Yes. It’s been too long since we’ve had any meat at home. Since we earned some silver today, I thought I’d make a good meal to bring some flavor back to the family table.”

Manager Chen’s smile remained unchanged as he politely changed the subject. Within moments, the spices Qiao Nian requested were wrapped into five small paper packets, tied neatly together with twine for easy carrying. After thanking him and bidding farewell, the siblings slung their baskets over their shoulders and left the physician’s hall.

Ping’an tried his best to hold it in, but the moment they were far enough away from the Ji Ren Hall that the sign was no longer visible, he broke into a radiant smile. He looked like he was about to burst from joy, practically radiating red bubbles of happiness. “A-Jie, we made money! Nineteen hundred wen! Some villagers can’t even earn that much in half a year. Let’s go back to the mountain and try to dig up more herbs to sell!”

Qiao Nian was just as pleased. Selling the herbs proved this was a viable path. She didn’t hope for wealth or power, nor did she care to curry favor with the influential. All she wanted was a stable life. A modest but comfortable life would be more than enough for her.

Besides, in this world, she was just an ordinary farm girl—utterly unremarkable. If she truly did anything world-shaking, she’d likely be branded a monster and burned at the stake—or worse, locked away and drained of every last bit of her value. Just the thought gave her chills.

“A-Jie, what are you thinking about?” Ping’an noticed his sister’s faraway expression and couldn’t help but ask.

Qiao Nian returned to her senses and said with a grin, “I’m thinking about what we should buy today. A-Jie’s taking you shopping!”

It was a lovely thought—only, reality was brutally unforgiving. Qiao Nian stared at the 390 wen left in her hand and felt the urge to cry out to the heavens. Money really did vanish in the blink of an eye.

They had only bought a slightly larger iron pot, yet it had cost an entire tael of silver. The government regulated iron goods, so they were understandably expensive—she could accept that.

Then they picked up two jin of pork belly, two large marrow bones, and paid fifty wen to the vendor. Knowing they were low on rice and flour at home, she bought ten jin of flour, five jin of rice, one jin of soy sauce, one jin of vinegar, and two liang of brown sugar.

Flour was fifteen wen per jin. The rice, being imported from elsewhere, was pricier—seventeen wen per jin. Soy sauce cost thirty wen, vinegar thirty-five, and just two liang of brown sugar had cost sixty wen. Qiao Nian had known sugar was expensive in ancient times, but this was outrageous.

In the end, after haggling for a while, she got the shopkeeper to throw in a large basket suitable for carrying goods. Only then did Qiao Nian reluctantly part with the remaining money.

As they stepped out of the grain shop, Ping’an glanced at his sister with a helpless expression. He had never realized just how good A-Jie was at spending money. Qiao Nian immediately shot him a look and snapped back, “When Father and Mother were around, would it have ever been my turn to worry about household matters?”

She knew those words might sadden her Didi, but she had to play her role. Money was meant to be spent. If you kept worrying and hesitating, you’d never get anywhere. Besides, everything she bought today was urgently needed at home. She had even wanted to buy some clothes and shoes—they were both practically dressed in rags, and their shoes weren’t just falling apart but also getting too small.

After giving her cheap younger brother a thorough lecture, Ping’an felt both helpless and a little bitter. Sure, he did feel reluctant to part with money—but more than that, he felt heartache for his Jiejie. A-Jie had never used to worry about these things before. She’d been forced into this by the second branch, and his resentment toward them only deepened.

If it hadn’t been for them stealing A-Jie’s engagement and then trying to sell her off, she wouldn’t have been so devastated, and she wouldn’t have turned into someone so fiercely strong and independent.

If Qiao Nian knew that her cheap little brother had already come up with his own reason for this change in her, she’d probably thank him.

In the end, Qiao Nian still took Ping’an to the ready-made clothing shop. She couldn’t afford to buy fabric just yet, but she could manage a new pair of shoes. As soon as they entered the shop, the shopkeeper greeted them enthusiastically. Qiao Nian said she wanted to look at shoes, and the shopkeeper quickly estimated their sizes and brought out several pairs for them to choose from.

Qiao Nian didn’t even spare a glance at the embroidered soft-soled shoes. She went straight for the sturdy, durable thousand-layer soles. The uppers only came in black or gray, but they were tough and long-lasting. After picking out their sizes, she also selected a pair for Hua Guixiang. The total came to 180 wen, leaving them with only 210 wen of the day’s earnings.

By the time they left the clothing shop, both of their stomachs were growling loudly. Judging by the time, it was nearly noon. That morning, they’d each only eaten one egg, and the rest of the day had been spent running around buying things. They hadn’t had time to worry about hunger, but now that the shopping was done and the money nearly gone, their empty bellies started protesting.

Ping’an originally wanted to just buy two plain steamed buns to tide them over, but to his surprise, A-Jie led him straight to a noodle stall, pulled him down onto one of the benches, and sat them both down.

“Boss, two bowls of noodles, please,” Qiao Nian called to the vendor. Then she set down the basket from her back and turned to comfort her somewhat tense little brother. “We need to eat our fill if we want the strength to keep going. If we could earn money today, then we can earn money tomorrow too. Don’t worry about the silver—A-Jie can afford to raise you.”

For some reason, Ping’an suddenly felt his eyes go hot and prickly. Ever since their Father and Mother passed away, he’d been tightly wound with worry. But he was just a child, and no one wanted to hire someone his age to do labor. Before this, he only knew how to play with the other kids in the village—he had no skills, no way to contribute. All of that had left him with a crushing sense of helplessness. He wanted to help, to support the family, but he didn’t even know where to begin.

Now, they’d earned real money and bought so many necessities. All at once, hope bloomed in his heart. And now his Jiejie had just told him she would raise him. The taut string in his heart, stretched thin for so long, suddenly snapped. Tears welled up in his eyes, though he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Seeing this, Qiao Nian suddenly panicked. She didn’t know how to comfort people. Why was he crying all of a sudden? In her memory, this Didi rarely ever cried. Not even after their parents’ seventh-day memorial had passed—he hadn’t shed a single tear.

She quickly searched her memories of Ping’an and suddenly understood why he was crying.

This silly child—he was only nine years old. When she had been nine, she was still nestled in her Grandmother’s arms, whining for sweets. But this little brother had already taken the entire burden of a household onto his small shoulders. He’d made the emotional journey from child to adult, all on his own, without ever saying a word to anyone. He had tried so hard to carry the whole family, to do all the chores, to be the support.

Today, they’d earned silver, and she had told him she would take care of him. It was probably the first ray of light he’d seen in a long time. That’s why he couldn’t hold back anymore.

The original Qiao Nian, by contrast, had spent her days wallowing in sorrow and self-pity. Aside from cooking, she had often locked herself in her room to cry and had paid no attention to how her Didi or Grandmother were doing. They’d also lost their loved ones—their pain was no less than hers.

Qiao Nian couldn’t understand the original self’s behavior, but she had no choice but to shoulder the blame now.

“Don’t cry,” she said gently. “You’ve already done an amazing job. These past days, it was Jiejie who was too weak, and it made you suffer. But that won’t happen again.”

Feeling as though he were already an adult, Ping’an turned red in the face when he heard her comforting words. Stammering, he said, “I’m not crying.” But even he didn’t believe it. He wanted to explain himself, but couldn’t find the words…