The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 32

Chapter 32: I’ll Make It for You

Yesterday, when Doctor Xue’s family was leaving, Jiang Huaizhen had them take a few adobe bricks with them in the carriage, so they wouldn’t have to carry them in the rain today.

The two of them woke up early, fed the chickens, made breakfast, and brewed medicine for the old woman. After eating, they left.

They entered the city with the first group of commoners selling their goods.

It wasn’t raining today, but the weather was gloomy and a bit cold.

The road was muddy, and by the time they reached Doctor Xue’s house, their shoes were covered in mud.

The two of them cleaned the mud off their feet with a bamboo strip outside before knocking on the door.

Doctor Xue had already gone to the Everlasting Peace Apothecary for his consultations, leaving Mrs. Xue at home to receive them.

They had met yesterday, so there was no awkwardness. They declined breakfast and, after a few pleasantries, began to work.

The mud, sand, and bricks were already prepared, and the adobe bricks they had brought back yesterday were standing in the corner.

After measuring the dimensions, Jiang Huaizhen began to mix the mud and lay the bricks. Old Madam Xue, with nothing to do, came into the room to watch them work, praising her skills, saying she was no less than the masons outside.

Jiang Huaizhen was rarely praised and didn’t know how to respond. The tips of her ears turned red, and she just buried her head and worked.

Xue Luan knew they were coming to build the kang today and wasn’t going anywhere. She also came into the room to join in the fun and even wanted to help. Old Madam Xue found her chattering annoying and said she was just getting in the way, making a mess of the room. She quickly had her daughter-in-law shoo her out, and finally, there was some peace and quiet.

Lin Shuang acted as a helper, mixing the mud and passing the bricks. She would occasionally lend a hand and was able to chat with Old Madam Xue.

Learning that Lin Shuang had been saved by Jiang Huaizhen, the old lady was filled with emotion. “Your uncle’s family is really obsessed with money. But it’s good to be away from them. You can live more comfortably. Now you’re earning a little money selling flatbreads and can buy whatever you want to eat. If you were at their house, how many pieces of meat could you eat if you bought some?”

“Isn’t that the truth?”

These words really resonated with Lin Shuang.

Now that she was with the grandmother and granddaughter, she was the one who made most of the decisions at home. With money in hand, when she wanted to eat meat, Jiang Huaizhen would go to the butcher’s stall and get some without a second thought. But if she were at the Lin residence, and Lin Mancang and his wife knew she could make flatbreads and actually sold them, how much of the money would have ended up in her hands?

Even if she could earn money for the family, Ma Guihua’s mouth would only belittle her, and in the end, she would have put in the effort and gotten nothing in return.

Lin Shuang smiled. “It’s a good thing Huaizhen pulled me out back then. It was a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to me.”

Of course, she knew what would have happened. She would have had her legs broken and been buried alive in a coffin with a dead person.

“This child, Huaizhen, just can’t seem to find a good job. Otherwise, with her character and looks, wouldn’t she be able to find a good family to marry into?”

Old Madam Xue looked at the young woman squatting on the ground, carefully laying the bricks. She had the looks, the figure, was quiet and virtuous, and could endure hardship. Just from the fact that she had saved Lin Shuang, you could tell that this child was a good person and extremely filial. A girl like this was truly hard to find.

Hearing her words, and seeing that she seemed to be in the mood to play matchmaker, Lin Shuang’s heart skipped a beat.

She and Jiang Huaizhen had just settled down. She was not willing to let this person go and get married and have children and form a sweet little family with someone else. Call her selfish or greedy, but in this life, she was willing to cling to Jiang Huaizhen. Wherever Jiang Huaizhen was, she would be.

Other than Old Madam Jiang, it was best not to have any other third party.

But she still agreed, “Yes.”

Having built a kang once before, Jiang Huaizhen was particularly fast this time. But the kang in the Xue family’s house was larger than the bed in their own, after all, there were more people in the family.

By noon, they had placed the adobe bricks they had brought on top and applied the final thin layer of mud. The work was finally done.

Old Madam Xue looked at the kang, which couldn’t be used yet, with a look of regret. “Why do we have to wait so long? I thought it would be dry by tomorrow morning and we could get on it.”

“The earth isn’t completely dry yet. If you light a fire too early, it will crack. It’s not raining now, so it’s not that cold. By the time it’s really winter, the kang will be ready,” Lin Shuang said.

Mrs. Xue had also prepared lunch and asked them to eat.

Jiang Huaizhen was covered in dust, and her shoes were also covered in mud. She was unwilling to go to the dining room and even wanted to go home hungry.

Lin Shuang knew that this was her personality. Old Madam Jiang would usually scold her for being a stubborn donkey. For such a beautiful and elegant woman to be called a donkey was not pleasant, but it was also true.

Mrs. Xue was helpless and had no choice but to have Xue Luan move a table to the courtyard for the two of them to eat.

Although the Xue family had opened an apothecary, they were only moderately well-off, not a wealthy family. They only had a washerwoman and a study companion for the young master. Mrs. Xue usually did the cooking herself.

This lunch was naturally also cooked by her.

A plate of beef and a plate of braised fish, along with three or four side dishes, was a sumptuous meal.

Beef was precious. The government did not allow the slaughter of cattle, but if you were lucky, you could find some that had been brought in from other places to sell. Lin Shuang had eaten beef in her past life. In the first month after she had entered the Qin family for the chongxi marriage, although Qin Chong was already dying, he was not dead yet, and her meals were still arranged according to the standards of half a master, so she could eat some good things.

But Jiang Huaizhen had never had it. Although Jiang Gui had been able to earn some money when he was alive, he was not willing to buy it. Now, eating the beef stir-fried with scallions, a mouthful of meat and a mouthful of rice, it was truly delicious.

Seeing her eat so happily, Lin Shuang said to her softly, “When we earn money in the future, I’ll make beef for you too.”

Jiang Huaizhen stopped her chopsticks and looked at her. “Alright.”

Seeing her so obedient and trusting, a sense of satisfaction welled up in Lin Shuang’s heart.

After they finished eating, the two of them took their leave.

Mrs. Xue handed them two strings of money and a box. “We agreed that you would be paid for building the kang. I don’t know how much is appropriate, so I can only calculate it based on your labor. Please don’t mind.”

Jiang Huaizhen shook her head, refusing.

Lin Shuang said, “Great-grandmother’s illness was treated thanks to Doctor Xue’s help. When we gathered herbs to sell before, it was also the Everlasting Peace Apothecary that bought them. If it were another apothecary, we might not have gotten such a good price. When the two of us were selling flatbreads at the market and were being shunned and driven away, Doctor Xue even gave us a new idea. Logically, we should be the ones giving you a thank-you gift. How can we take your wages?”

Seeing the two girls’ neither humble nor arrogant attitude, Mrs. Xue’s liking for them grew even more. She smiled. “He’s a doctor. If he doesn’t treat people, what else can he do? One thing is one thing. Not many people in our Pingchang County know this skill. If I had found someone else, it would have cost more than this. Go on, take it.”

After refusing twice, they had no choice but to accept it. They took their tools and baskets and left the Xue residence.

After they left, Lin Shuang opened the small box that Mrs. Xue had given them and saw that it contained a complete ginseng root, weighing about three or four taels.

She remembered that the last time she had brought the old woman to the doctor, Doctor Xue had said that if they could afford it, they should buy some supplements for the old lady to nourish her body. She looked up at Jiang Huaizhen.

Jiang Huaizhen quickly closed the box. “This is too valuable. I’ll take it back right now.”

Lin Shuang grabbed her. “They know we need this and sincerely want to give it to us. If we repeatedly refuse so as not to be indebted to them, we will hurt their good intentions.”

Jiang Huaizhen pursed her lips, as if in thought.

Lin Shuang added, “Grandma’s body is weak. If she uses this ginseng root, it will benefit her a lot. Why don’t we accept it for now? When we have money in the future, or if Doctor Xue’s family needs our help, we can help them then.”

Hearing her say this, Jiang Huaizhen felt that it was reasonable.

So the two of them discussed it and returned to the Xue residence, knocking on the door.

Seeing them return, Mrs. Xue thought they were insisting on returning the ginseng. The thought of her good intentions being rejected made her a little uncomfortable.

But when she heard that the two of them were there to thank her, her face lit up with a smile. “Your grandmother needs this. Luan’er’s father specifically told me to prepare it. If it were something you couldn’t use, it wouldn’t be right to force it on you, would it?”

With that, she carefully explained how to use the medicine, and the two of them left after thanking her profusely.

To the Lin Shuang of her past life, Jiang Huaizhen was the first and only person in the world to show her kindness and extend a helping hand. And in this life, she had finally seen a kind person other than her, and she was a little excited. Even if this ginseng was not used on herself, it was saving Huaizhen’s grandmother. What was the difference between that and using it on herself?

With this thought, she made up her mind. The day after tomorrow, when the Qin family made a move against the Everlasting Peace Apothecary, she would have to warn Doctor Xue no matter what and help him through this difficult time.

“We’re going to the official road to sell flatbreads tomorrow. Since we’re in the city today, we should tell Guiying first and have her pass a message to that cart driver, so he can bring his cart to the village tomorrow to take us.”

The official road from Jizhou to the northwest did not pass directly through Changping County, but was about twenty li away from the county seat. When the merchant caravans passed by Changping, if it was not necessary, they would not enter the city and would just continue along the official road.

And the place they planned to set up their stall was a fork in the road from Changping County to the official road, called Zhoutoupo. That place used to be quite popular, but since the county had opened a new road to connect to it, forming a new intersection, that place had been abandoned and was relatively sparsely populated.

The two of them were unwilling to go to a crowded place, and coming from the northwest, they would have to pass Zhoutoupo before reaching the new fork in the road, so they still had a fifty-fifty chance of getting some foot traffic.

From Whitewater Village to Zhoutoupo was about thirty li. If they walked, it would take an hour and a half.

If they were carrying a stove, a pot, and ingredients, a single wheelbarrow would be difficult. With an ox-cart, this problem would be solved.

“Are we going to the market to buy supplies?” Jiang Huaizhen asked.

“We still have white flour and sauce at home. Let’s see how the sales are tomorrow before we make a decision. If they sell well, we’ll come back to the city at night to buy more,” Lin Shuang said.

Jiang Huaizhen naturally listened to her. The two of them discussed it as they walked toward the yamen to find Hu Guiying.