Tu Laoda turned to Yu Li and asked, “Miss Li, would you consider moving to the county town?”
Living in the county town would definitely be more convenient. Tu Laoda knew she didn’t have money; otherwise, she wouldn’t be looking for work.
An idea began to form in his mind. He had a small house in the county town. Though not large, it was at least a place to shelter from the wind and rain. He could lend it to her while he stayed at Zhang Fu’s place. After all, both he and Zhang Fu were single men, so it wouldn’t be an issue.
Yu Li shook her head. “No need. I’ll stay in the village.”
She thought living in the village was fine. Living in the county town was too expensive, and for now, she couldn’t afford it.
Perhaps because there was a military presence stationed near Shanping County, the area was always peaceful. Shanping County rarely imposed a curfew, and the city gates remained open at night, allowing people to enter the city at any time without having to wait.
Seeing their hesitation, Yu Li assumed they were worried about her making it on time. She reassured them, “Don’t worry, I’ll be there on time.”
Hearing this, Zhang Fu and Tu Laoda had no choice but to drop the matter.
The young girl seemed to care deeply about this pig-slaughtering job. If she was willing to travel in the middle of the night to get there, they couldn’t dissuade her. If she thought they didn’t want her to do the job and ended up going to the docks to carry goods instead, how much worse off would she be?
Yu Li drank two more bowls of cool tea before finally standing up to leave.
Tu Laoda walked her to the door.
At the entrance, Yu Li said to him, “Uncle Tu, I’ll be on time tomorrow.”
Tu Laoda grunted in acknowledgment, then hesitated before saying, “Could you stop calling me Uncle Tu? Just call me Brother Tu.” He wasn’t even thirty yet, and being called “Uncle” made him feel old.
Yu Li looked at him curiously. “Doesn’t Xuan Huaiqing call you that?”
Tu Laoda suddenly had the urge to find Xuan Huaiqing and demand he stop calling him that.
In fact, there was a reason Xuan Huaiqing called him “Uncle Tu.” Tu Laoda had once been a personal guard of General Xuan. Out of respect for the General, Xuan Huaiqing addressed all of the General’s close guards as “Uncle.” Additionally, at the time, Tu Laoda had been rough-looking with a big, bushy beard, making him seem much older, so the title fit.
Thinking about it now, Yu Li was just a teenager, and he was nearly thirty. Being called “Uncle” wasn’t entirely inappropriate.
“Fine, fine, just call me that,” he said, waving his hand and deciding not to argue.
After watching Yu Li leave, Tu Laoda returned to the courtyard.
Zhang Fu sidled up to him and asked, “Brother Tu, the Huaiqing you mentioned earlier—isn’t that the young General?”
Tu Laoda nodded, then said, “Don’t call him the young General. It’s not good if someone overhears.”
Zhang Fu sighed in understanding. After confirming that “Huaiqing” was indeed Xuan Huaiqing, he looked surprised.
“She saved Young Master Xuan?”
Tu Laoda recounted the story of Xuan Huaiqing’s misfortune in the mountains.
Zhang Fu sighed. “If I’d known she saved Young Master Xuan, I would’ve found her a better job…”
He sighed again, regretting his earlier casual attitude.
Like Tu Laoda, Zhang Fu had once served under General Xuan and had received a great deal of care and support from him. He regarded Xuan Huaiqing, the sole heir of the Xuan family, with deep respect, almost as if he were his young master.
Being someone who valued gratitude, Zhang Fu felt like he owed Yu Li everything for saving Xuan Huaiqing and wished he could do more to thank her.
—
After bidding farewell to Tu Laoda, Yu Li went to a nearby grain shop to buy rice.
There were plenty of grain shops in the county, and she didn’t particularly choose one—she just entered the first one she saw.
Feeling happy now that she had a job lined up, Yu Li didn’t fuss over the purchase. She bought ten jin (1 jin = 500 grams) of coarse grain, ten jin of fine grain, and another ten jin of beans and other miscellaneous grains.
Her basket could hold fifty jin of grain, but with the ten jin of meat that Tu Laoda had given her, along with some cloth, needles, thread, and other odds and ends, she was worried everything wouldn’t fit. So she decided not to buy too much this time and planned to come back after she finished what she had.
Realizing the time, Yu Li headed to the pharmacy to buy medicine for Fu Wenxiao.
The Huichun Hall was easy to find. It was the most famous pharmacy in the county, with a steady stream of people buying medicine and seeking treatment every day.
When Yu Li entered the pharmacy, she saw Doctor Xu. Before she could speak, Doctor Xu already knew why she was there.
Since Yu Li had married into the Fu family, Doctor Xu had visited the Fu household twice—once when Fu Wenxiao woke up from unconsciousness, and another time a few days ago when Fu Wenxiao had a persistent high fever. During both visits, he saw Yu Li and knew she was the newly married bride of the Fu family.
It was said she had been married into the family to “ward off misfortune.”
Doctor Xu inwardly shook his head, thinking that such practices were unreliable.
Birth, aging, illness, and death were part of life. If a condition could be treated, it should be treated; if not, there was nothing to be done. Marrying someone to “ward off misfortune” wouldn’t magically cure someone. Moreover, Young Master Fu’s illness wasn’t a simple one, making the idea of warding off misfortune even more ridiculous.
Doctor Xu handed her three packs of medicine.
Each pack cost 300 wen, so three packs totaled 900 wen. One thousand wen equaled one tael of silver.
Yu Li was shocked. She hadn’t expected medicine in this world to be so expensive. No wonder the Yu family, when someone fell ill, would rarely hire a doctor. The elderly matriarch was unwilling to spend the money, resorting instead to home remedies—unless the sick person happened to be a scholar from the eldest branch of the family.
In the post-apocalyptic world, technology had advanced at a rapid pace, with medical technology reaching its peak. Many human diseases had already been conquered. As a genetic warrior, Yu Li had never even experienced illness. Her strong physique was practically immune to all diseases, and quick-acting medicine was incredibly effective.
In contrast, ancient medical practices were underdeveloped and technologically backward. Even the medicinal herbs were wild plants that had to be collected from the mountains and then processed…
The inefficiency was staggering. No wonder a single dose of medicine was so expensive.
Yu Li touched her money pouch, and her excitement about her new job instantly diminished by half.
Slaughtering one pig earned 50 wen. Initially, she thought that was a lot—especially compared to laundry work or carrying goods at the docks. But when it came to buying medicine, it suddenly didn’t seem like much at all.
Maybe she should slaughter more pigs each day?
Yu Li pondered this seriously and realized she had forgotten to ask how many pigs Zhang Fu expected her to slaughter per day.
At the time, she had only focused on earning 50 wen per pig. If she could only slaughter one or two pigs a day, how much could she actually earn?
Deep in thought, Yu Li headed toward the city gate.
It was getting late, and she decided to return home. Now that she had secured a job in the county, she could come here daily and explore more when she had time.
As she approached the city gate, Yu Li saw a shop selling buns. After some thought, she bought a few vegetarian buns and about ten large steamed buns.
The buns weren’t made with refined white flour; their yellowish color showed they were made from coarser grains. The filling was vegetarian, made with mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and bamboo shoots. They weren’t expensive. The mixed-grain steamed buns were even cheaper, large and filling.
Having only had two bowls of vegetarian noodles at lunch, her stomach had long been empty again.
Yu Li ate two buns first, then five steamed buns.
Although the buns weren’t made from fine grains, they were soft and fluffy, and the vegetarian filling was delicious—an unexpected treat for Yu Li. Her eyes curved into a smile as she savored them.
The mixed-grain steamed buns were similar to what she had eaten in the morning, unremarkable but filling.
The dry buns and steamed buns left her throat parched, so she bought a bowl of soy milk for one wen to drink with them.
The soy milk was simple, without any added ingredients, just the thick, natural taste of soybeans. It was quite satisfying.
The lady at the bun shop stared at her in surprise, then looked at her skinny frame with sympathy.
This girl must have been starving to eat so much in one sitting. The lady just hoped she wouldn’t overeat and hurt herself.
Yu Li had the remaining buns and steamed buns wrapped in oil paper by the lady, planning to eat them on the road.
This time, she decided to walk back home instead of taking a boat. She wanted to familiarize herself with the route.
Having left early in the morning, she realized there might not be boats available that early. It was better to know the way by foot so she could walk to the county town tomorrow if needed.
Yu Li hoisted her basket onto her back and finally left the city.
Once outside, she looked around the surrounding roads. Worried about taking the wrong path, she was about to ask someone for directions when she suddenly heard Yu Laoda’s voice behind her.
“Miss Li, heading back already?”
Yu Li turned toward the sound and saw Yu Laoda herding a few pigs in her direction.