The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 8

Chapter 8: Discovering Yams

Jiang Huaizhen slept exceptionally well for the rest of the night, so much so that it was nearly the Hour of the Snake when she woke up the next day.

An execution was scheduled for today. Although the specific time was usually set for the third quarter of the Hour of the Horse, there were many preparations to be made beforehand, and there could be no delay.

She hurriedly got up and dressed, needing to brew the medicine and cook her grandmother’s meal in the shortest possible time.

As soon as she left her room, she was greeted by the aroma of rice.

In the kitchen, the young woman was stir-frying vegetables.

Seeing her enter, she smiled. “You’re up. I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you. The porridge is ready, and the medicine is simmering on the stove. I’ve made some stir-fry. You can eat and then go to work.”

Looking at the smiling eyes amidst the kitchen smoke, she remembered that she had brought this person home yesterday.

The heart that had been in her throat finally settled.

“It smells so good,” she said, as if just realizing it.

Lin Shuang chuckled. “That chicken yesterday was very fat. I saved the chicken fat to stir-fry the vegetables. It smells more fragrant than lard.”

The oil jar was empty. She had wanted to suggest buying some suet to render after work in the afternoon, but then she worried that Jiang Huaizhen had no money, so she didn’t mention it in the end. She thought to herself that she would find some time to go up the mountain today to see if she could find some herbs to trade for oil and salt in the city.

Jiang Huaizhen got a bowl and ladled out some porridge.

Lin Shuang placed the vegetables on the table and brought over two flatbreads from the stove. “Your work is strenuous. I was afraid porridge wouldn’t be enough to fill you up. I saw there was some coarse flour, and it would have gone moldy if left any longer, so I made some flatbreads for you to eat with your porridge.”

“It’s getting late. You eat first. I’m here at home, and I’ll take good care of Grandma.”

Jiang Huaizhen had never experienced such thoughtfulness from anyone other than her adoptive father and grandmother. Her heart stirred, and she grunted in agreement, sitting down to eat.

She ate quickly. A large flatbread and porridge went down in two or three mouthfuls. She then ladled a second bowl of porridge and finished it with a few chopsticks of stir-fried vegetables.

Only then did she look at Lin Shuang and say, “I woke up late today, and things are a bit urgent. You’ve worked hard.”

She wanted to say a few more words of gratitude, but her lips moved, and in the end, she couldn’t say anything. She put down her chopsticks and went to her grandmother’s room.

Old Madam Jiang was leaning against the head of the bed, squinting at the window. When she saw Jiang Huaizhen enter, she looked her up and down. It was clear she had slept well.

But the words that came out of her mouth could choke a person.

“You sleep like a pig. Even thunder wouldn’t wake you.”

Having lived together for over a decade, Jiang Huaizhen naturally heard the concern in her words. “Yes, I slept well. I have to go to the city. If you need anything, just tell Lin Shuang.”

“Do I need you to tell me?” The old woman glanced at her sideways. “She was up early this morning to wash my face and rinse my mouth. If I had waited for you, I wouldn’t have had a sip of hot tea by now.”

Jiang Huaizhen had been a little worried, but hearing this, she was relieved.

“I’m leaving then.”

“Go, go,” the old woman said, her tone impatient, knowing she had things to do.

Jiang Huaizhen glanced at Lin Shuang, who was standing at the door, then went to the woodshed to get her tools and quickly disappeared on the other side of the valley.

Lin Shuang watched her go, then turned and went to the kitchen to bring the old woman her meal.

She also ladled out some food for herself and sat by the bed, chatting with her as they ate.

Old Madam Jiang had rarely left the valley in recent years and was particularly curious about the village’s affairs. Lin Shuang picked some interesting bits of gossip to tell her. When it came to her own family, Lin Shuang sighed. “After my parents passed away, life was very hard. I haven’t had a full meal in years.”

Old Madam Jiang pursed her lips in disdain. “Born from the same parents, how can Lin Mancang be so different?”

Lin Shuang shook her head. “People’s hearts change. Who knows? Maybe it’s because of poverty.”

Old Madam Jiang snorted. “Our family is poor too. That stubborn girl just won’t let me die. She’s pulled me back from the brink of death several times. I can’t even die if I want to, and I can’t live well either. Just hanging on like this is more painful than death.”

Although her words were dismissive, they were tinged with pride.

A granddaughter with no blood relation versus a nephew with blood ties—the difference was clear.

Lin Shuang had long been familiar with Jiang Huaizhen’s stubborn nature. Even when she herself was in that state, Jiang Huaizhen had dug her out, carried her home, and treated her bit by bit. It was a pity that she had ultimately failed her, leaving her to live alone and desolate in that other world.

She didn’t know what Jiang Huaizhen’s reaction would be when she returned home that day and saw her cold corpse.

A sourness pricked Lin Shuang’s nose, and she suddenly felt incredibly sad.

Her own death would have been a release, but what about Huaizhen?

She had lost her parents in childhood, then her adoptive father and grandmother in her youth. And then, even she had abandoned her.

At this thought, a lump formed in Lin Shuang’s throat, and she couldn’t swallow the porridge in her mouth. Large tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing this, Old Madam Jiang on the bed put down her chopsticks with a thud. “Why are you crying while you’re eating? Did talking about your family make you sad? Then we won’t talk about it. It’s a good thing you left a family like that. Why are you crying? So spineless.”

Lin Shuang realized she had lost her composure and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“I just thought of my parents and couldn’t help but feel a little sad. But I have no family now, so don’t even think about driving me away. I have nowhere else to go.”

Old Madam Jiang’s tone was stiff. “All you say is ‘drive you away.’ When did I ever say such a thing? In the end, it’s this old woman who’s in the wrong.”

Lin Shuang finally broke into a smile through her tears. “Grandma, don’t worry. As long as I can stay here, I will take good care of Sister Jiang and be filial to you.”

These words clearly pleased Old Madam Jiang. Her old life was not worth mentioning, but her granddaughter was only seventeen. She didn’t want her to end up like her son, without a close companion by her side even in death.

A girl was fine too. Two sisters depending on each other was better than being all alone.

She snorted. “You talk a good game. I’ll have to see how much you can actually do.”

Lin Shuang lifted her chin. “Then you’ll have to watch closely.”

With that, she finished her porridge, got up to clear the dishes, tidied up inside and outside the house, and then brought the medicine to the room.

Old Madam Jiang felt that another bowl of medicine so soon after a meal was too much. She told her to put it on the table by the bed, saying she would drink it later.

But Lin Shuang remembered the untouched bowl of medicine from yesterday and refused to back down. “Don’t you want to see how long I can last? If you don’t drink your medicine, how will you see? It’ll get cold later, and you’ll want to drink it even less.”

The old woman found her noisy and, picking up the bowl, drank it all in one gulp.

Only then did Lin Shuang take the bowl back to the kitchen. She soaked the clothes she had changed out of last night, planning to go up the mountain and wash them when she returned.

After helping the old woman to the latrine, she said, “I know some medicinal herbs. I’m going to the back mountain to gather some. It will probably take about two hours. Don’t get out of bed unless you have to. If you need anything, wait until I get back.”

Old Madam Jiang said impatiently, “Hurry up and go. You’re so noisy.”

But as Lin Shuang got up to leave, she couldn’t help but add, “Don’t go too deep. There are wolves in the mountains. If you get carried away, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Lin Shuang looked at this sharp-tongued old woman and found her both heartwarming and amusing, not at all the harsh and unapproachable person the villagers described.

She planned to have Jiang Huaizhen get a bell from the blacksmith’s shop and hang it in the old woman’s room once they saved up some money. That way, if anything happened, she could ring the bell, and Lin Shuang would be able to hear it from the mountain and come back in time.

After feeding the chickens, she slung a sickle and a basket over her back and headed for the back mountain.

In her past life, working like an ox at the Qin family’s apothecary had taught her how to identify some medicinal herbs. Now, with the ability to sense things in the soil by touching it, she felt as if she had been given wings. A sense of excitement welled up in her, and she walked with a spring in her step.

The mountains near the village had been thoroughly scoured by people, but few came to the West Mountain Valley. Lin Shuang had just reached halfway up the mountain when she saw a large patch of jiaogulan.

Jiaogulan had detoxifying and heat-clearing properties and was relatively common, but its price was also low. Four or five catties of fresh jiaogulan would only yield one catty when dried, and one catty was worth about a dozen copper coins.

Every little bit counted. Since Lin Shuang had come across it, she wasn’t going to let it go.

In autumn, jiaogulan consisted mainly of old leaves and stems. This large patch should yield about ten catties.

After a quick calculation, she put down her basket and began to gather the herbs.

The herbs were scattered, and it took her about an hour to gather ten catties. She stood up, stretched her back, and sat down to rest for a while.

The men from the village who worked as day laborers at the docks, carrying sacks, earned only twenty to thirty copper coins a day. Her basket of herbs was worth about a day’s wages for them.

But it was still less than what Jiang Huaizhen earned.

However, Jiang Huaizhen’s work wasn’t available every day. A county might have a few death penalty cases a year, unless a particular case had wide-ranging implications. After these few days, she would be idle.

Thinking that Jiang Huaizhen would have no work in the winter, Lin Shuang felt that she had to take on the burden of supporting the family. If the old woman suddenly fell ill, it would be difficult.

At this thought, she stopped resting and continued up the mountain with her basket. After about half an hour, she stopped and touched the ground.

She didn’t find any precious medicinal herbs, but she did find a few yams.

She poked the handle of her sickle into the soil, and the iron-stick yam, wrapped in its yellowish-brown skin, was revealed. This was much more valuable than jiaogulan. The mountain people even had a saying: “Three taels of gold for Huai medicine is not as good as one catty of iron-stick yam.”

Ignoring the dizziness caused by overexerting her spiritual energy to probe the ground, she sharpened a wooden stick to use as a hoe and dug down along the ground. It took a great deal of effort to carefully dig out the yams one by one.

There were four yam plants in this spot, weighing about six catties.

She couldn’t be too greedy. Thinking of the sick old woman at home, she didn’t explore any further. She tied the yams together with vines and placed them in her basket.

She shouldered the basket, steadied herself against the rocks, and made her way down the mountain step by step.