Chapter 104: Discovering Ox-Bezoar
After returning from picking wild duck eggs by the river, another twenty days had passed, and the new house was half-built.
On this day, a couple named Feng Er and Xu Huigu came to find Lin Shuang, asking if she could advance them their wages.
Lin Shuang put down her work and asked warmly, “What’s wrong, Sister Hui? You look so anxious.”
The couple were both honest people and worked hard. Lin Shuang’s impression of them was not bad, and she was not displeased because they wanted to advance their wages.
Hearing her question, Xu Huigu’s eyes instantly reddened. “Our old ox, which we’ve had for over a dozen years, suddenly went mad two days ago, broke its rope, and ran off. Er Ya couldn’t catch up… the old ox ran into someone’s vegetable garden and ruined all the vegetables in their garden. It also trampled on their child. Now they want us to pay for the medical expenses, or they’ll take the old ox to offset the cost…”
Hearing this, Lin Shuang frowned and asked, “How serious is the injury?”
Seeing his wife’s anxious look, Feng Er took over. “He just sprained his leg. The Zhang family insists that he’s crippled and wants us to pay two taels of silver…”
Where could their family find two taels of silver? They couldn’t find work outside on ordinary days and had to rely on their few mu of land to live. They had finally found a job with Lin Shuang, and the couple could earn about fifty copper coins a day. After a month, they could have over one tael.
But this was also hard-earned money from a month of working from dawn to dusk. The family still had many places that needed money, but that family was asking for two taels of silver. How could the couple be willing?
Xu Huigu was so anxious she was crying.
Feng Er sighed. “Why don’t we just give them the ox? Anyway, it’s a dozen-year-old ox, so old its teeth are falling out. It’s been sick recently and is so thin it’s out of shape. Even if we sell it, I’m afraid we won’t even get one tael. If they’re willing to take it, then let them.”
Xu Huigu cried, “We’ve had that ox for over a dozen years. Although it’s old, without it, what will we do for the spring plowing next year? If you want to buy a good one, you can’t get it for less than two or three taels of silver. It’s only thin because it’s sick. We can find some herbs for it to eat later, and maybe it can last for a few more years.”
“This old ox is not worth much. It’s better than them asking us for two taels of silver in real money,” Feng Er said helplessly.
“Since you say the old ox is not worth much, why don’t they just take the silver? Why do they have to insist on the old ox? That family is very cunning. I don’t believe they would be so kind.”
Hearing this, Lin Shuang suddenly thought of something and quickly interrupted the two of them. “Wait! What illness does your old ox have?”
Xu Huigu wiped her tears and shook her head. “Who knows? It’s been listless since last year. It would just lie there without moving, and sometimes it would kick its stomach and turn in circles…”
She sighed. “People can’t even afford to see a doctor. How can we afford to take care of an animal?”
Lin Shuang’s heart skipped a beat. “Are its eyes yellow?”
Xu Huigu looked at her in surprise. “Shuang’er, you can also treat a cow’s illness?”
“No…” Lin Shuang shook her head and then quickly asked, “Is its stomach bloated? Does it have a hard lump when you touch it?”
Feng Er usually plowed the fields with the old ox, so he knew the old ox’s condition better than Xu Huigu. He quickly replied, “Its stomach is indeed a little swollen, but it’s not too obvious.”
“Have you pressed it there?”
“I have. It hurts when I press it, and it cries out. I think there’s something growing in its stomach, but what can I do—”
Lin Shuang’s suspicion was almost confirmed. She grabbed the couple’s sleeves. “Go home quickly now, and hide your ox. Someone has already set their eyes on your ox.”
“Ah?” Feng Er was stunned. “That old, toothless old ox… even if we kill it for meat, the meat will be too tough. It’s not worth a few coins.”
Lin Shuang stomped her foot and pulled the two of them into the house. “To be honest with you, I suspect that your old ox has an ox-bezoar in its stomach.”
Ox-bezoar was a gallstone in a cow’s gallbladder. Its medicinal value was very high, and natural ox-bezoar was very rare and precious, even more so than gold.
In her past life, Lin Shuang had heard at the Benevolence Hall that Old Madam Qin’s own nephew, Pan Min, had received a natural ox-bezoar in the county. He had kept a little in the shop and had sold the rest at a high price, making a huge profit.
Lin Shuang didn’t know where he had gotten it, but comparing the time, Pan Min had gotten the ox-bezoar in the autumn of her second year at the Qin residence.
Which was at this time.
With such a coincidence, Lin Shuang had to suspect that the ox-bezoar that Pan Min had received back then was from Feng Er’s family’s ox.
If that were the case, she would have to step in no matter what.
And when Feng Er and his wife heard her words, they were both stunned. “Ox-bezoar? What’s that?”
“A good thing,” Lin Shuang said, holding up a finger. “One qian for one hundred taels. If you believe me, you should do as I say.”
Hearing this, Feng Er and his wife’s eyes widened, and even their voices trembled. “One… one hundred taels?”
Lin Shuang pursed her lips. “One qian for one hundred taels. We don’t know how many qian there will be. But an ox’s bezoar is usually only three or four qian, no more.”
Xu Huigu said excitedly, “Not to mention three or four qian, even half a qian is enough for our family to live on for the rest of our lives.”
Lin Shuang said, “I’ve never seen an old ox grow an ox-bezoar with my own eyes. These symptoms are all hearsay. But combined with what you said, that the family is insisting on you paying for the medical expenses and specifically wants the old ox, I have to be suspicious.”
Xu Huigu gritted her teeth. “Now that you say it, I also feel that something is not right. Usually, when we see those few from the Zhang family, they always look down on people with their noses in the air. But these two times, their eyes have been stuck on the ox and they’re reluctant to look away. If there wasn’t a treasure in the ox’s stomach, why would they want this sick ox!”
With that, she said to Lin Shuang gratefully, “Shuang’er, thank you for the reminder. If there’s really a treasure in the ox’s stomach, you’ll be our family’s great benefactor.”
Lin Shuang shook her head. “The most important thing now is to find someone to confirm if there is an ox-bezoar in the ox’s stomach. If there is, we have to sell it quickly. You’re already being watched. Keeping it will only be a disaster.”
Hearing this, the couple was instantly flustered.
Feng Er rubbed his hands, and cold sweat broke out on his dark face. They had no connections.
He could only look at Lin Shuang and say, “Shuang’er, you see, we don’t know anyone. You’re well-informed. Can you help to introduce someone? Don’t worry. When we sell it for money, we will definitely reward you heavily.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “I’m not telling you this for your money. I’m just afraid that you’ll be deceived by bad people and let others benefit for nothing.”
In her past life, if things had developed like this, and no one had reminded Feng Er and his wife, the ox would have been taken by the Zhang family as medical expenses. The two of them would have been kept in the dark and would have been cheated out of several hundred taels of silver.
It would have been fine if they didn’t know the truth and just thought that they had sold an old ox. But if they knew that it was such a valuable old ox, they would probably not be at peace for the rest of their lives.
At this time, Xu Huigu was already extremely anxious. “Shuang’er, just give us an idea. We don’t dare to trust anyone now. You and Little Jiang have saved so many lives in the flood. We, husband and wife, only trust you.”
Feng Er also looked at her with eager eyes.
Lin Shuang thought for a moment and said, “How about this? You go home first. The most important thing is to guard your old ox. I’ll find someone to go to your house to see the ox later. If it’s real, they should be able to buy it. As for the injured child, let them go to a few of the big clinics in the city for a diagnosis. A proper clinic’s doctor will not make a random judgment on the injury. If he’s really injured, you should pay the compensation. But don’t get the old ox involved.”
The couple quickly nodded, and Xu Huigu quickly asked, “Then what about our work here…”
“What time is it to be thinking about this?” Lin Shuang shook her head. “I’ll have the village chief find two more people to fill in. I’ll settle your wages first.”
Feng Er quickly said, “Girl, you can’t. You’ve helped us so much. We can’t take this wage.”
“That won’t do,” Lin Shuang said. “One thing is one thing. I’ve seen the work you’ve done these few days. You can’t be short a single coin of what you deserve. Besides, we’re still not sure if there’s an ox-bezoar in the ox’s stomach. If there isn’t, then it will be a false hope.”
These words were like a basin of cold water, and the excited couple instantly calmed down.
Feng Er scratched his head sheepishly. “That’s true… that’s true…”
Lin Shuang turned and went back to her room to get the money.
Before she left, Xu Huigu asked again, “Girl, when will that person come to my house to see the ox?”
“I’ll go to the city in a while. It should be in the afternoon or tomorrow.”
“Alright, alright,” the couple was relieved. “Then we’ll go back first.”
The people who were working outside saw the couple leave and couldn’t help but ask what was going on.
Lin Shuang said, “Their old ox ate someone else’s vegetable garden and also injured a child. They’re asking for compensation, so they can only take their wages back to deal with this matter first.”
A few of them were from Feng Er’s village and had already known about this. They chimed in, “That Zhang family is too domineering. He just bumped his leg. I don’t think it’s a big deal. It will be fine after a few days of rest. They’re insisting on them paying two taels of silver.”
“My daughter said that Zhang Xiaobao was chasing chickens and dogs behind the house last night. His leg was already healed. They’re just bullying an honest person and having the child lie in bed and pretend to be injured,” someone said in a low voice.
“Pah, what kind of people are they? They’re really crazy for money.”
“Crazy for money? Their family has thirty mu of land. They’re richer than anyone else.”
“The world is really going downhill.”
The matter of the ox-bezoar still had to be handled by Doctor Xue.
Ox-bezoar was precious and was a necessary medicinal herb for some acute illnesses. His apothecary also had some, but the ox-bezoar outside was very expensive. If he could buy it directly from the source, he could save a lot of silver.
He just didn’t know if he could take it all at once.
Lin Shuang herself also knew the names of some medicine merchants, but she had only heard of them. With her status in her past life, she had no way of dealing with them. And she didn’t want to expose these things in front of Jiang Huaizhen, in case she would overthink it.
So she told Jiang Huaizhen and then went to the stable to get the horse, preparing to go to the city.
When she was talking to Feng Er and his wife just now, Jiang Huaizhen had been listening on the side and knew that this matter was urgent. She said to her, “The Zhang family sounds like a tyrannical family. If you go with Doctor Xue and the others, come to my house first. I’ll go with you.”
Lin Shuang agreed, got on the horse, and galloped toward the city.
