The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 30

Chapter 30: The Illness Improves

The next morning, the two of them prepared the dough and other ingredients. After loading the wheelbarrow, one carried the old woman on her back while the other pushed the wheelbarrow toward the main road.

When they reached the main road, they paid ten copper coins to charter an empty cart.

After entering the city, Lin Shuang went to the market with the ox-cart, while Jiang Huaizhen took Old Madam Jiang to the clinic. She gave the young apprentice five copper coins to look after her, saying they would come back to accompany the old lady for her appointment after they finished their work at noon.

The young apprentice readily agreed.

She then quickly hurried back to the stall.

Today, they had only brought thirty dough balls, the same as the first day.

As soon as they opened, people started to arrive.

The two of them began to work nonstop.

The still-popular business made several of the surrounding vendors envious, and they frequently looked over.

Lin Shuang was so busy she couldn’t spare a moment to pay attention to their thoughts. She just wanted to sell the flatbreads as soon as possible so she could go to the apothecary to pick up the old woman.

However, when they were halfway through, a few “acquaintances” suddenly squeezed in front of the stall.

Ma Guihua from the Lin family’s main branch, along with two other women, one of whom resembled her and was probably her sister or sister-in-law from her parents’ village, had brought a few children and were chattering as they surrounded the stall.

“Oh, I was just saying it looked familiar. I didn’t expect it to be Shuang’er selling flatbreads here,” Ma Guihua deliberately shouted, pulling her younger daughter, Lin Xia, to the front of the stall.

Hearing this familiar and piercing voice, Lin Shuang knew who it was. She continued to work with her head down, too lazy to bother with them.

The customers waiting in line were immediately unhappy to see someone cutting in. Someone shouted, “Don’t you know about first come, first served? What are you squeezing for?”

But Ma Guihua was unfazed and glared at the person. “This is my niece’s stall. Why do I need to line up?” she said arrogantly.

Jiang Huaizhen had just finished cutting the flatbread in her hand and handed it to the previous customer. Hearing this, her pretty face darkened, and she said coldly, “If you’re buying a flatbread, line up. If not, don’t get in the way of others.”

Although Ma Guihua was a little afraid of Jiang Huaizhen, she still retorted, “Why wouldn’t I buy it? What else would I be here for?”

Seeing this, a few people came out to mediate. “Since they’re relatives, let them cut in. They can leave as soon as they’re done.”

Only then did Ma Guihua, with a triumphant air, pull Lin Xia to the front of the line. Seeing that the others had voluntarily given up their spots, Jiang Huaizhen frowned slightly but in the end said nothing.

When the flatbread was ready, the children and the other two women were chattering, each demanding two pieces. Ma Guihua finally said, “We’ll take three large flatbreads. Two for us to eat, and the other two for Guo’er and his father.”

Jiang Huaizhen said with a blank expression, “You’ll have to wait for three.”

Hearing that she wanted so many, the people behind her were unhappy and began to curse.

Ma Guihua was a bully at home, but she was a coward outside. Seeing the others cursing, she suppressed her anger and reluctantly said, “Then we’ll take two.”

Jiang Huaizhen cut the flatbreads with her head down, wrapped them piece by piece, and finally stacked them on the cutting board. She said to the woman before her, “Two sauce flatbreads, eighty copper coins.”

Ma Guihua’s face instantly fell. “I’m Shuang’er’s aunt. It’s our own stall. You still want money?”

The surroundings were immediately filled with discussion. A few vendors instantly jeered, “As expected, you forget your poor relatives once you get rich,” “You even want money for a flatbread from your own family. You’re really obsessed with money, tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Some also stood up for them. “Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly. Family members should be even more so. If you come for a free meal every time, eighty copper coins this time, a hundred next time, it’s a small business. Who can afford that?”

Seeing this, Ma Guihua immediately shouted, “You, Lin Shuang! Your parents died when you were three, and I was the one who raised you. Now you want money from me for a flatbread? Where is the justice in this world? How can there be an ungrateful wretch like you?”

The surroundings were in an uproar, and the crowd’s eyes were focused on the two of them, as if watching a good show.

“Thwack—”

Jiang Huaizhen forcefully stuck the knife into the cutting board, making a crisp sound.

She stared at Ma Guihua and said coldly, “Have you forgotten that you already sold her to me for eight taels of silver? And this is my stall. She’s just my helper. If you want a free meal, you’ll have to see if I, the owner, agree!”

The sharp knife was stuck in the cutting board. Ma Guihua remembered Jiang Huaizhen’s fierce and murderous appearance when she had swung the saber at the execution, and a chill ran down her spine.

She looked at the onlookers, her face turning red and white. She reached for her money but was reluctant to spend eighty copper coins on two flatbreads.

For a moment, she was in a dilemma.

But the sister-in-law from Ma Guihua’s parents’ village, hearing Jiang Huaizhen’s words, sneered and squeezed to the front, shouting, “You’re that executioner from our Changping County, right? What, now your killing hands are making food to sell to the common people? Are you trying to spread your baleful aura and sins to the customers through the flatbreads, so everyone can bear it for you?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings exploded.

The woman cursed again, “I wouldn’t eat a flatbread made by a jinx like you even if you gave it to me.”

With that, she pulled Ma Guihua, Lin Xia, and the others out of the crowd, her face full of undisguised triumph.

Since she couldn’t get a flatbread, she had to step on them a few times.

And the people who had been lining up to buy flatbreads also scattered because of this incident. No one was lining up anymore.

Some also watched from a distance, carefully observing the cold and distant woman in front of the stall, trying to connect her with the image of her swinging a saber and beheading people at the execution grounds a few days ago.

Seeing this, the nearby stall owners exchanged glances, gloating.

Lin Shuang looked at the scene before her, lifted the pot and placed it to the side, then slightly twisted her neck to relieve the tension from a morning of hard work.

In fact, she had already anticipated this day when she had first set up the stall. On top of that, she had already discussed it with Jiang Huaizhen the night before, so she was not too surprised.

She took a flatbread that Jiang Huaizhen had already packed and sat down on a nearby stool, eating it in small bites.

“I haven’t eaten a single grain of rice all morning. I was starving. I can finally rest for a bit.”

Seeing her calm expression, Jiang Huaizhen’s originally anxious mood also calmed down. She took another portion and sat down next to her to eat.

Seeing the two of them acting as if nothing had happened, the surrounding people looked at each other, very confused.

A few bold young men walked up and said, “Give us three portions.”

Jiang Huaizhen hesitated for a moment.

The woman’s words from just now were still ringing in her ears.

Lin Shuang nudged her with her knee. “Go on.”

She said “oh,” handed the sauce flatbread she was holding to Lin Shuang, and got up to get the flatbreads for the young men.

The young men, who were about the same age, looked at the cool and elegant Jiang Huaizhen before them. They couldn’t connect her with the executioner on the execution platform. They took the sauce flatbreads with a blush and walked away, looking back every few steps.

Someone next to them sneered, “You’re really bewitched. Haven’t you heard that you can’t eat food made by an executioner? You won’t even know how you died in the future.”

Some uninformed customers were about to approach, but were pulled back by those stall owners, who whispered Jiang Huaizhen’s identity to them. After hearing this, those customers looked at them a few times, hesitated for a moment, and then left.

Some also didn’t believe in this and came to buy a few portions.

Seeing that some were not listening to their advice, those stall owners stomped their feet in frustration.

When they saw three fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls also heading for the flatbread stall, they quickly shouted, “Little girls, haven’t you heard that the owner of that stall is an executioner? You still dare to eat there? Aren’t you afraid of being possessed by a baleful spirit?”

Hearing this, the round-faced girl in the lead turned her head and cursed at the gossipy man, “It’s none of your business what this young lady likes to eat. My parents don’t even control me. Who are you to tell me what to do?”

Her little sister next to her chimed in, “Exactly. Even if we don’t buy from their stall, we won’t buy from yours. Your food is so bad, and your mouth is so foul.”

Seeing this, a smile touched the corner of Lin Shuang’s lips. She made the flatbreads they wanted extra crispy and delicious, so much so that the three little girls were crying out in delight and bought several to go.

By the time it was noon, of the thirty dough balls, only one was left.

Lin Shuang said, “There’s just one left. We can take it to Doctor Xue to try, and then we can pack up.”

Although they had sold out a little later than expected, they had still sold out.

Jiang Huaizhen naturally let her decide.

After the sauce flatbread was ready and packed, they doused the stove fire with water, packed up their tools neatly on the wheelbarrow, and pushed it toward the Everlasting Peace Hall.

They left behind a crowd of pointing and gossiping people.

On the way, Lin Shuang saw that the person next to her was silent and squeezed her arm. “Don’t be unhappy. We won’t stoop to their level. See, aren’t there also people who don’t mind these things?”

Jiang Huaizhen said in a low voice, “I should have insisted the night before last…”

Lin Shuang chuckled. “I was the one who didn’t let you insist. Are you going to blame me?”

How could Jiang Huaizhen blame her?

Lin Shuang said, “If you hadn’t come today, how could I have dealt with Ma Guihua and the others by myself? If I let her take advantage of me, I would have been unhappy. If I didn’t, she would have definitely continued to cause trouble and would have still dragged you into it.”

“This was bound to happen sooner or later. So, you don’t have to blame yourself, okay?”

Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement.

When the two of them arrived at the Everlasting Peace Hall, she stood outside the door and said, “You go in and accompany Grandma for her appointment. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Lin Shuang glared at her. “You just agreed, and now you’re being stubborn again.”

With that, she snatched the handle of the wheelbarrow from her, pushed the cart under a tree, and pulled her toward the main door.

The young apprentice saw them arrive and greeted them. “Doctor Xue just became free and has already seen the old lady. The consultation room is empty now, so you can go straight in.”

Jiang Huaizhen first went to see Old Madam Jiang, then went with Lin Shuang to Doctor Xue’s consultation room.

When they pushed open the door, they saw Doctor Xue sitting at his desk, flipping through a book with one hand and holding a large sauce flatbread, identical to the one in their hands, in the other, eating with relish.

Lin Shuang smiled and walked forward, placing the flatbread in her hand on his desk. She teased, “If Doctor Xue wants to eat a flatbread, you just have to let us know. There’s no need to have someone make a special trip.”

Doctor Xue looked up and, seeing that it was them, smiled. “It was A’Luan and a few of her little sisters who bought it while they were out shopping. I only found out it was your sauce flatbread when they came back and told me.”

Lin Shuang remembered the sharp-tongued little girls from just now and understood.

Only then did Doctor Xue get back to business. He said to Jiang Huaizhen, “Your grandmother’s condition has greatly improved. But her body is weak and still needs to be slowly recuperated. She doesn’t need to take the previous medicine anymore. I’ll prescribe some warm and nourishing formulas. She can just come back for a follow-up in half a month or a month.”

This was the best news of the day. Jiang Huaizhen’s originally depressed mood also brightened, and she thanked Doctor Xue.

Doctor Xue waved his hand, called for the young apprentice, and gave him the new prescription to get the medicine. He then handed him the flatbread that Lin Shuang had brought.

“Take it and share it with the others.”

The young apprentice went out happily.

After listening to his instructions, Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen also got up to leave.

As they reached the door, Doctor Xue suddenly called out to them. “The market is full of gossip. If you can’t do business there, you might want to try the official road. Changping is located at a major north-south transportation hub. Jizhou in the south is famous for its ceramics, and autumn is the peak season. There is an endless stream of merchant caravans from all over the northwest coming to purchase. Those people are never particular about details. They are hungry and thirsty from their long journeys. As long as there is delicious food, no one will inquire about the stall owner’s identity.”

Hearing this, the two of them realized that Miss Xue had seen what had happened at the market today and had told Doctor Xue, which was why he had said this.

This was undoubtedly another clear path for the two of them. They were overjoyed and quickly turned to bow and thank him again.

Doctor Xue smiled and shook his head. Only then did he remember the matter of the heated kang. “By the way, is the heated kang in your house ready to be used? The weather is starting to turn cold. See when it’s convenient for you. My mother wants to come and see it in person. If she likes it, I’ll have to trouble you to help build one.”

He explained, “This old lady of mine is very particular. When she heard that we were going to build an earthen bed in the room, she refused to agree. She has to see it for herself to be at ease.”

Lin Shuang knew this kind of particular old lady all too well and replied, “We won’t be setting up a stall at the market tomorrow. We’ll be at home for the next two days. You can have the old lady come and see it whenever she likes.”

Doctor Xue stroked his beard and nodded. “The day after tomorrow is the end of the month, and the clinic will be closed for a day. Then we’ll impose on you.”

After setting the time, the two of them left the consultation room.

When they reached the main hall outside, the young apprentice had already gotten the medicine. There were still crumbs at the corner of his mouth as he smiled and placed the medicine on the table.

“Fifteen days’ worth, ten copper coins per dose, for a total of one hundred and fifty copper coins.”

From one hundred copper coins per dose at the beginning, to fifty, then twenty, and now ten, only Jiang Huaizhen knew the hardships they had gone through.

Lin Shuang counted out one hundred and fifty copper coins for the shopkeeper. The young apprentice asked in a low voice, “Miss Lin, will you still be selling flatbreads at the market in the future?”

Lin Shuang smiled. “We might move to another place. But if we pass by the apothecary on our way to the city, we’ll definitely bring you a portion.”

The young apprentice grinned happily. “It’s a promise.”

“Of course,” Lin Shuang said, linking her arm with Jiang Huaizhen’s. “Let’s go, let’s take Great-grandmother home.”