The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 46p1

Chapter 46: Guiying Comes p1

The new year passed quickly.

Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen no longer had to worry about going out to set up their stall and focused on reclaiming and cultivating the land in the valley.

The weather gradually warmed up, and the matter of buying a horse after the new year, which they had agreed on before, was also put on the agenda.

They had to find Lu Qing to look at the horses. He was familiar with the process.

Just after January, Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen went with him to the prefectural city. The horse market there had some injured and old horses that had been retired from the battlefield.

Of course, there were perfect horses, but one would cost no less than twenty taels. Lin Shuang and the others didn’t have that much silver to buy a horse, and according to their plan, they couldn’t spend all their assets on a horse. It was not realistic.

Moreover, the government was short on horses. If there was a need for war, combat, or transporting grain, there was a high probability that they would conscript the common people’s horses. If you bought a good horse and kept it at home, you would have to worry about it being conscripted all the time. No one would be happy about that, which was also the reason why the common people preferred to raise oxen.

And the horses that were retired from the battlefield could not be conscripted again. If they could find one with fewer problems, it would still be a good deal.

Warhorses were usually at their physical peak between the ages of five and eight.

The two of them had taken a liking to a black horse that was only seven years old, in its prime. But because it had injured one eye and had a problem with its left front hoof, its value was greatly reduced.

The owner said that since the horse was blind in one eye, it could not go to the battlefield. It could have been used for auxiliary transport of grain, but now that its hoof was also crippled, if no one bought it, it would only be sent to the slaughterhouse for meat.

Lin Shuang carefully examined the horse’s hoof and said hesitantly, “The hoof might still be treatable.”

The owner shook his head. “It’s only because you’re Old Lu’s friends that I’m advising you not to buy it. Otherwise, with what you just said, I would have been eager to get rid of it. A hoof injured like this can’t be treated for less than three or five taels of silver. Besides, who can guarantee that it can be treated?”

Lin Shuang could see that the horse’s hoof crown was injured and had become purulent. It looked like a part of it was damaged. But in her past life, she had seen Doctor Yao from the Qin family’s Benevolence Hall debride and scrape the flesh, removing the rotten flesh to treat it. She thought that she might be able to give it a try.

Even if it couldn’t be fully recovered, at least it wouldn’t affect its normal walking.

There was another reason. Although this horse looked thin now, its frame was large. Even in this state, its head was still held high, with a hint of pride. You could tell at a glance how majestic it had once been on the battlefield.

She couldn’t bear for it to be reduced to horse meat on the dinner table.

Just like in her past life, both of her legs were broken, and she was sick all over, but Jiang Huaizhen had still carried her back and had done her best to treat her.

Her eyes were fixed on Jiang Huaizhen, indicating that she wanted this horse.

She had never asked Jiang Huaizhen for anything, and besides, she was the one who had earned the money. How could Jiang Huaizhen disappoint her? So she told Lu Qing that she wanted this one.

Lu Qing was not very optimistic at first, but seeing the two of them insist, he finally negotiated with the owner of the horse market and settled on three taels.

After they had chosen the horse, the two of them treated Lu Qing to a meal, and he went back first. The two of them couldn’t ride the horse, so they stayed in the prefectural city for a night and only came back early the next morning.

On their way out of the city, they passed by a clay sculpture stall. A young woman in her twenties was holding a baby of a few months old and selling her wares. Unfortunately, few of the passersby were interested in her things. On top of that, the baby in her arms was crying, and she was sighing in distress.

Lin Shuang’s gaze swept over the small clay figurines on the stall, and she couldn’t move.

Weren’t these the clay sculpture embryos similar to the mohele that had become popular in her past life?

Seeing her stop, the young woman quickly stood up with her baby and greeted her. “Miss, would you like to buy a clay figurine? We made them ourselves and brought them over from Jizhou. They’re all top quality.”

Lin Shuang picked up a small figurine from the stall and examined it carefully. “How much is one?”

The young woman quickly replied, “Ten copper coins for one, eighteen for two. If you want more, it can be a little cheaper.”

Seeing Lin Shuang in thought, she quickly added, “If you want one, I can give it to you for nine coins.”

Jiang Huaizhen looked at the crying baby in her arms. Even though she was wearing dark clothes, a patch on her chest was wet, probably from leaking milk. Her brow furrowed slightly, as if she couldn’t bear it, but since Lin Shuang hadn’t spoken, she just stood to one side with her lips pursed.

Hearing the price she had quoted, Lin Shuang smiled. “It’s alright. I’ll pick a few. No need for a discount.”

With that, she picked about a dozen.

Seeing that she wanted so many, the young woman was both surprised and happy. She fumbled with one hand to put them in a straw basket.

Seeing this, Jiang Huaizhen reached out, took the straw basket, and put them in one by one, carrying it in her hand.

Lin Shuang paid ten copper coins for each and asked, “Sister, you’re from far away in Jizhou. Many people go there to buy porcelain. Why are you setting up a stall here?”

The young woman sighed. “Almost every household in Jizhou has a kiln. There are many people who come, but the ones who sell are the big families. We small households can’t get any customers, and we can’t make a living. It just so happens that my husband found a job here, so I came with him. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are at home firing the kiln, and I’m here setting up a stall. I’ll sell what I can.”

“Is your stall fixed here?”

“Yes. I’ve paid the rent for this little corner for half a year. I’m stuck here for half a year. After half a year, if I really can’t make it, I’ll have to give it up and find another job.”

“Then next time I come to the prefectural city and want to buy a clay doll, I’ll come and find you here.”

Hearing her say this, the young woman said gratefully, “Alright, alright. Thank you, little sister. When you come next time, I’ll give you a discount.”

Lin Shuang smiled and agreed. She and Jiang Huaizhen led the limping horse out of the prefectural city and headed home.

When the horse returned to the valley, it was inconvenient to walk on the mountain road, so they led it through the village.

When the villagers saw that the two of them had actually bought a horse, they were so envious they couldn’t stand it and began to gossip.

“It seems that selling flatbreads really makes money. It wasn’t long after the new year that they set off firecrackers, and now they’ve bought a horse.”

“I saw it. The old man who comes to get the flatbread ingredients every morning, his wife is the one who sets up the stall in the city. She’s the one who sells for these two.”

“Ma Guihua caused a scene for a while, and I thought they wouldn’t be able to do it anymore. But it was just a change of plan.”

“Sigh, as soon as this Shuang’er went to the West Mountain Valley, the Jiang family started to do well. This is not the fate of a baleful star. This is clearly the fate of a lucky star.”

Lin Shuang didn’t care what these people said. After returning home, she began to treat the horse’s front hoof.

The hoof crown was dark and purulent. If it was left any longer, the whole thing would be ruined.

On the way back, she had bought a set of debriding and scraping tools, as well as the medicinal herbs she would need. After boiling all these tools in water, Jiang Huaizhen had already set up a frame in the shed and had simply made a horse sling with hemp rope to lift the horse’s front leg.

Lin Shuang then had her fix the two hind hooves, and only then did she begin to work.

First, she used a knife to cut open the hoof crown to let the bruised blood flow out to relieve the inflammation and also to reduce the horse’s pain.

Then she carefully removed the rotten flesh from the affected area, cleaned it, applied the medicine, and then wrapped it in a clean cloth to prevent further deterioration.

She was busy until dark, and finally, the first step was done.

Old Madam Jiang knew they had gone to buy a horse, but she didn’t expect them to bring back a horse with a bad hoof. She nagged for a long time.

The two of them were already used to her nagging.

The family had bought some beans before. Jiang Huaizhen mixed some coarse flour into the beans and fed it a good meal.

The horse had been exhausted from the journey from the horse market in the prefectural city to Changping County, and then to Whitewater Village, because of its injured hoof. It was very resistant to their deliberate closeness. It was only after its hoof was bandaged and it had eaten this large bucket of delicious feed that it allowed them to get a little closer.

Lin Shuang patted the mane on its neck. “Huaizhen, when it fattens up, it will be very beautiful.”

Hearing her call her name so gently, Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement. “If it can survive until its hoof is better, it can fatten up.”

If it couldn’t, then they could only slaughter it for meat.

“Let’s ask Doctor Xue to come and take a look tomorrow,” Lin Shuang said.

Old Madam Jiang, who was by the grass shed, tapped the ground with her cane and cursed, “Doctor Xue treats human illnesses, not this animal’s.”

“It’s all the same, a body of flesh and bone. This is an external injury. There are still some similarities,” Lin Shuang disagreed with her.

Jiang Huaizhen took the opportunity to say, “I’ll go to the city tomorrow.”

After a night’s rest, the next day, Lin Shuang, without even washing up, went to the grass shed to take a look.

The large black horse in the shed was holding its injured leg up, not daring to put it down. It would chew its feed for a couple of bites and then shake its head in frustration, its tail occasionally swishing behind it, looking quite annoyed.

But its overall condition was a little better than when it had just arrived yesterday.