Inhale, inhale, inhale again.
Jiang Chun did psychological preparation for quite a while before finally stepping over the threshold and entering the medical hall.
In order to bask in the future glory of him being the Grand Secretariat of the Inner Cabinet, this top-grade ginseng had to be eaten no matter what.
She stood beside Song Shi’an and grandly waved her hand: “Add it. As long as my husband’s body can be nursed back to health, even if it costs the ruin of the family fortune, I won’t hesitate.”
The more grand her words were, the more it pained her heart.
Money is hard to earn, money in ancient times is even harder to earn.
Although a butcher was a bit better off than farming households who could only rely on the heavens to eat, it was only just a bit better.
Jiang He had toiled hard slaughtering pigs for over ten years and only managed to save up three rooms of blue-brick tile-roofed houses, three mu of good farmland, and savings of just over thirty taels of silver.
Although Jiang Chun had a sign-in system, this golden finger’s rewards were too random, completely dependent on luck, and it was hard to get rich quickly in the short term.
Moreover, nursing the body back to health was a slow job requiring delicate work, the treatment course definitely wouldn’t be short.
Sure enough, the next moment, Doctor Cao unhurriedly said: “With the addition of top-grade ginseng, one prescription costs 100 wen. It’ll take at least a year of consumption before stopping, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted.”
“Hiss…”
Jiang Chun immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
One prescription is 100 wen, thirty prescriptions a month—that’s 3 taels of silver, and twelve months a year makes 36 taels.
Great. The thirty-something taels of silver saved up by father and daughter would just barely be used up.
Ten-plus years of hard work, returning to before the Liberation overnight. [回到解放前: “Return to before Liberation” is a figurative saying meaning going back to a state of poverty or hardship after struggling so hard—often jokingly used.]
Jiang Chun felt she needed to inhale oxygen.
After catching her breath for quite a while, she finally gritted her teeth and said: “No problem, just write the prescription.”
Song Shi’an lifted his eyelids and indifferently glanced at her.
She was actually willing to spend over thirty taels of silver to nurse his body?
She wasn’t like this in the previous life. Even knowing he had internal injuries, she still refused to bring him to see a doctor.
By the time he was well enough to go out and see a doctor on his own, it was already half a year later.
The chance to properly nurse his body had long been missed, and he was left with a chronic illness.
To bask in his future glory, she really was willing to spend blood money.
Doctor Cao saw that this troublesome pork-seller beauty family member had no objections, so he finally picked up the brush to write the prescription. After finishing, he handed it to the shop assistant.
The assistant came over, face full of smiles, and asked Jiang Chun: “Lady Jiang, how many prescriptions would you like to prepare first?”
The air in Qizhou Prefecture was dry, and there was no fear of the herbs getting damp. Since it was rare to come to the county seat, Jiang Chun simply told him to prepare a month’s worth.
In one go, 3 taels of silver were gone.
As Jiang Chun supported Song Shi’an out of the medical hall, she muttered nonstop: “Your body really is as noble and precious as gold and jade—just daily medicine money costs a hundred big coins!”
“My dad and I worked hard slaughtering pigs, and in the end it’s all used to pull the plow for you?”
“When your body is nursed back to health, you better remember the kindness from me and my dad, and properly repay us. Don’t be an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.”
Song Shi’an wasn’t used to being so physically close to people. He wanted to shake off her support, but just walking into the medical hall earlier had already exhausted most of his strength—he simply had the will but not the strength.
He could only resign himself to letting her hold his arm and walk toward the mule cart.
Yet Jiang Chun still wouldn’t stay quiet. It was one thing for her to mutter to herself, but when she saw he didn’t respond, she even pinched his arm with her finger.
She raised an eyebrow and glared at him: “I’m talking to you—didn’t you hear me? You’re not saying anything, are you planning to be an ungrateful villain?”
Song Shi’an didn’t respond to her words, and instead calmly said: “Go to the calligraphy and painting shop.”
“Alright,” Jiang Chun agreed good-temperedly.
Then her tone changed as she warned: “It’s fine to go for a feast of the eyes, but our family is currently poor as hell. Don’t even think about buying calligraphy or paintings.”
She absolutely would not tolerate those stinking rich young master habits of collecting antiques and artworks.
Cough, mainly because they were poor and couldn’t afford it.
After Song Shi’an climbed onto the mule cart with Jiang Chun’s help, he sat down on the rush mat up top and looked down in silence.
Jiang Chun took that as his tacit agreement. Cheerfully, she walked over to the hitching post, untied the mule’s reins, then jumped onto the driver’s bench and drove the cart toward East Ring Street.
On the way, they passed a pharmacy with a yellow! signboard. She drove the cart closer and took the opportunity to clock in and sign in.
[Ding! Sign-in successful at “Hongye County Pharmacy.” Obtained: 1 jin of red dates, 6 liang of bird’s nest.]
Jiang Chun immediately broke into a grin.
Red dates were nothing special, but bird’s nest was a luxurious item—light in weight, and a big package of 6 liang was worth a decent sum.
It was a pity that same-type shops shared a cooldown time, and she’d have to wait 24 hours before refreshing. Otherwise, she’d have dumped all her saved sign-in points into the medical hall and pharmacy today.
Baohe Hall was not far from East Ring Street. In less than half a quarter hour, the mule cart turned into East Ring Street.
East Ring Street was worthy of being the most bustling commercial street in Hongye County. The street was packed with people, and carriages, mule carts, and donkey carts passed one after another—it was very lively.
The Jiang father and daughter were illiterate, so the original host had never been to a calligraphy and painting shop and didn’t know which one was reliable. Jiang Chun simply picked one at random.
Before entering, thinking that there must be valuable items in a shop like this, she decided to clock in and sign in.
She didn’t ask for some antique calligraphy or painting—even a famous brush, a quality inkstone, or a well-known batch of paper would do.
[Ding! Sign-in successful at “Hongye County Book Shop.” Obtained: 2 stacks of xuan paper, 3 ingots of pine soot ink.]
Jiang Chun was quite satisfied.
Although no antique calligraphy or paintings dropped, getting xuan paper and pine soot ink was already pretty good.
After all, knowledge-related items in ancient times were all crazy expensive. Reading was always a privilege of the rich and noble; poor families didn’t even dare dream of it.
She stepped forward to support Song Shi’an and led him into the shop.
Perhaps it was because Song Shi’an’s entire aura looked scholarly, the assistant in the calligraphy and painting shop was extremely attentive.
He enthusiastically introduced newly arrived books, and even showed him white zizhi paper and ink ingots from the capital. [白咨纸 (bái zī zhǐ): a fine type of white writing paper, often used for high-quality calligraphy or documents.]
Song Shi’an didn’t listen to the shop assistant’s touting. With a light raise of his hand, he interrupted his words.
Then he went directly to the area where paper and ink were displayed, and selected a bundle of ordinary white cotton paper and a dull grey ink stick.
In his past life, Jiang Chun had caused his reputation to be utterly ruined; it was absolutely impossible for him to let her bask in his glory and grandly become a first-rank gaoming titled lady. [一品诰命夫人 (yī pǐn gàomìng fūrén): a noble title granted to the wife of a high-ranking official, roughly equivalent to “First-rank titled lady.”]
But Jiang He had not treated him badly, and if it weren’t for him buying him from the human trafficker, he wouldn’t even know whether he’d have lived to see the Song family’s vindication.
One matter is one matter—he would definitely take Jiang Chun’s life, but Jiang He’s retirement money, he couldn’t in good conscience spend.
So he bought a brush and ink, intending to copy books and sell them for money.
Of course, he could also write contemporary essays and scholarly poems for sale, which earned more than copying books.
But in order to avoid giving Noble Consort Liu’s faction an excuse to put a label on him, he chose not to take the risk.
However, even the cheapest white cotton paper and grey ink cost as much as 110 wen.
Jiang Chun’s little heart twitched hard.
She thought: raising a man is really money-burning. Raising a sickly, literate man who can read and write is straight-up money-burning plus.
Still, she took out her money pouch and paid the bill.
There’s no pie falling from the sky. If you want to get something, you have to pay the corresponding price.
What she was doing wasn’t being a sucker—it was called investment.
In the future, she was definitely going to get it back double, or even a hundred and eighty times, from Song Shi’an.
After coming out of the calligraphy and painting shop, Jiang Chun then noticed that right next to it was a jewelry shop, and beside the jewelry shop was a money house.
She decisively clocked in and signed in at each one.
[Ding! Sign-in successful at “Hongye County Money House.” Obtained: 6 qian of silver.]
[Ding! Sign-in successful at “Hongye County Jewelry Shop.” Obtained: 1 pair of gold earrings, 1 silver bracelet.]
One tael of silver equals 1,000 wen equals 10 qian. So 6 qian of silver is equal to 600 wen—definitely not a small amount.
After all, when she and her father slaughtered one pig per day, after deducting costs, they only earned just over 100 wen.
And the reward from the jewelry shop was even more impressive—actually a pair of gold earrings and one silver bracelet.
If taken to the pawn shop, it might sell for 8 to 10 taels of silver.
Not only could it completely cover today’s doctor and medicine expenses for Song Shi’an, there would still be 3 to 5 taels left over.
Jiang Chun instantly beamed with joy, her smile nearly stretching to her cheeks.
Song Shi’an gave her a sideways glance, surprised.
Was she driven mad by the expensive price of the paper and ink he just bought?
“Driven mad.” Jiang Chun wrapped her arms around his waist and directly hugged him into the back of the mule cart.
Then while untying the mule cart reins, she grinned and said: “Let’s go, we’re heading to the blacksmith shop to buy you a small iron pot just for making vegetarian dishes.”
Song Shi’an: “……”
Once again, once again she wrapped her arms around his waist and carried him onto the cart!
This wanton woman—she was simply, simply shameless!
He truly couldn’t hold back his anger, and coldly said: “No need for your help. I can get on by myself!”
Jiang Chun, upon hearing this, gave a “puchi” laugh out loud and joked: “Aiya, husband, are you shy again?”
Not helping—impossible. If she didn’t help, how could the relationship between the two be drawn closer?
If the relationship didn’t get closer, how would she bask in his future glory?
Completely incapable of understanding human speech! Song Shi’an was furious, turned his back on her again, and ignored her.
Jiang Chun didn’t take it to heart. She drove the mule cart to the entrance of Zhao Family’s blacksmith shop and clocked in to sign in.
[Ding! Sign-in successful at “Hongye County Blacksmith Shop.” Obtained: 1 woodcutting knife, 1 pair of scissors.]
Woodcutting knife and scissors? Not bad, not bad.
Iron was expensive in ancient times. A large iron pot cost several taels of silver. Some families had iron pots passed down for generations—even with a big hole on the rim, they were reluctant to take it to the blacksmith for repairs.
Even if the woodcutting knife and scissors she got couldn’t be used directly, she could have the blacksmith melt them down and forge them into other household items—it would save quite a bit of money.
So when she set her eyes on a small iron pot with two handles and Zhao the blacksmith quoted one tael and one qian of silver, Jiang Chun didn’t raise any objections and straightforwardly bought it.
Song Shi’an lifted his eyes and glanced at her sideways.
He had lost count of how many times today Jiang Chun had shocked him.
Even if she was aiming to become the future wife of the Grand Secretariat of the Inner Cabinet, for her to put on such an act to this extent—she truly was something else.
How much Jiang Chun had hated him in the previous life—he knew crystal clearly in his heart.
That was a deep-seated hatred that wished him dead right away, a bone-deep hatred that didn’t even bother pretending on the surface.
So even if life restarted, he still couldn’t quite believe Jiang Chun had this kind of self-restraint now.
Could it be that dying once really changed her personality?
Exactly what was going on—he truly couldn’t determine for now, and could only lie low and observe for the time being.
After all, with his current physical condition—walking two steps, panting three times—even if he wanted to act, he simply couldn’t move.