LW chapter 53

 

Because Doctor Yu was busy and they weren’t the only patients, and because acupuncture preparation was needed, they were told to come back the next day.

After returning to the inn, the group went to Zhang Yin’s room to discuss the next steps.

“Since this illness will take a long time to treat, I don’t think it’s suitable for us to stay at the inn. I’ll go to the property broker this afternoon to ask if we can rent a house temporarily,” said Zhou Yuan.

From Doctor Yu, they had learned that the treatment would take several months. Staying at the inn would be too expensive, and eating out would be inconvenient. It would be better to rent a small courtyard where they could cook for themselves.

Li Xin nodded. “I think so too.”

Chen Qing naturally had no objections. He always listened to Zhou Yuan, but when he heard Zhou Yuan mention the property broker, his shoulders shrank.

“I’ll go with my brother. I can watch the contract being made,” Qi Shuning added.

Zhang Yin nodded and, after seeing them leave, turned to Li Xin. “Xinxin, what did Doctor Yu say?”

She felt apprehensive. She was afraid she wouldn’t be cured, but she was also afraid she would be. People are afraid of death, especially when they still have so much they can’t let go of. But she is also afraid that the price of being cured will be bankruptcy, and that she will have to sacrifice her children’s future.

Li Xin smiled. “Doctor Yu said it can be cured, but it’s complicated and will require acupuncture and medicine.”

Zhang Yin didn’t quite believe it, so she looked at Chen Qing. Chen Qing was a good child who wouldn’t lie.

He told the truth. “He said he can treat it, but he’s not certain because the person he cured before had a different condition than yours. But he said he would try his best.”

Zhang Yin clutched her handkerchief tightly. “Really? It can be cured?”

Chen Qing looked at her seriously. “Yes, that’s what Doctor Yu said.”

Zhang Yin wondered aloud, “Then why did you talk about this behind my back?”

Chen Qing swallowed. He didn’t dare mention that he needed to find a medicine in the mountains because he didn’t know if it could be found. Later, he and Zhou Yuan overheard Shopkeeper Tian say that they would still need to climb the mountain and that it might be dangerous.

Li Xin knew Chen Qing couldn’t refuse, so he turned to Zhang Yin. “Mother, we’re here to treat the illness. Just listen to the doctor.”

It was already lunchtime, and Zhou Yuan and Qi Shuning still hadn’t returned. Seeing Li Xin talking to Zhang Yin, Chen Qing got up. “I’ll go get food.”

Li Xin nodded, and Zhang Yin hesitated to speak. In the end, however, Li Xin pressed her hand.

After Chen Qing left, Zhang Yin asked, “Why don’t you go?”

Li Xin shrugged. “Didn’t my brother say he wanted to train Aqing? These things are simple—Aqing can do them.”

Zhang Yin smiled. “Your relationship is quite good.”

Chen Qing held his purse and walked hesitantly to the front courtyard of the inn’s dining hall. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gathered the courage to stop a waiter.

“I’d like to order food and have it sent to my room.” Chen Qing twisted the hem of his clothes, his voice low.

“All right, what would you like to order? Our specialties are stir-fried eggs with red tomatos, shredded pork with green peppers, and mixed green melon. Our staple foods are steamed buns, porridge, and rice.”

Seeing him hesitate, the waiter recited the dishes as if singing a ballad. Some of the dishes were ones Chen Qing had never heard of.

Overwhelmed, Chen Qing said, “I’ll have the first three dishes you mentioned and three steamed buns.”

The waiter said, “If you order the stir-fried eggs with red tomatos, you can have a bowl of rice. Soaking the rice in the sauce tastes delicious.”

Chen Qing nodded indifferently. “Then I’ll have two steamed buns and a bowl of rice.”

“All right, you can go upstairs and wait. Your order will be sent to your room shortly.” The waiter quickly jotted down the order and rushed off.

Chen Qing clutched his purse, realizing that he hadn’t paid and not knowing how much the dishes cost.

Anxiously, he returned to the room. Li Xin looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I ordered a few dishes, but I don’t know how much they cost. He didn’t take the money.” Chen Qing was upset and afraid he had spent too much.

Li Xin came over and patted his shoulder. “They didn’t ask for payment because we’ll pay for everything when we leave. The accountant will record it. The inn’s food isn’t expensive. Qi Shuning saw the price list last night, and everything is within our budget. Don’t worry.”

Chen Qing let out a sigh of relief, and soon, the waiter brought the food.

Li Xin helped Zhang Yin to the table, and they looked at the dishes Chen Qing had ordered.

One dish was an unfamiliar egg dish with a bright yellow yolk and red side ingredients, creating a beautiful color combination. The second dish was also unfamiliar, consisting of green vegetables and shredded pork. The third was a vegetarian dish they had never seen before.

Yesterday, Li Xin had only ordered porridge and pickles. Since he hadn’t tried the restaurant’s dishes before, he picked up his chopsticks first. After one bite, his eyes lit up. “Hurry and try it—it’s delicious.”

Remembering what the waiter had said, Chen Qing served rice to Zhang Yin and spooned some egg over it. “The waiter said it tastes better like this.”

Zhang Yin’s appetite had never been this good. She finished more than half a bowl of rice. The scrambled eggs were slightly sour and sweet, and the shredded pork tasted somewhat like the roast rabbit they had before, though not exactly the same. The last dish, mixed cucumbers, was very refreshing.

The three of them unknowingly finished all the food on the table. Li Xin patted his stomach. “What kind of dishes are these? If you sold them back home, you could make a lot of money.”

Zhang Yin laughed. “First you wanted to be a blacksmith, and now you want to do business. Children aren’t usually this fickle.”

Li Xin laughed, too. Afterward, he thought about it more seriously and realized it might not be impossible.

After lunch, Li Xin accompanied Zhang Yin for a nap. Meanwhile, Chen Qing returned to his room and dozed off by the bed.

He was a light sleeper and opened his eyes when he heard a noise. “You’re back?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Why aren’t you lying down and sleeping?”

“I just closed my eyes to rest. I don’t feel like sleeping yet. Have you eaten?” Seeing him sweating, Chen Qing stood up and took a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

“Shun Ning and I ate outside. We also found a house, and we can move in tomorrow.” Zhou Yuan stood there, letting Chen Qing wipe him down. Then, Zhou Yuan pulled Chen Qing to sit on the bed.

Chen Qing told him what had happened at the inn that day. He was a little embarrassed. “I didn’t know they kept a running tab, so I wanted to pay right away.”

Zhou Yuan only rubbed his hair. “You’ve made progress. You can order dishes by yourself now.”

Chen Qing pursed his lips and smiled. “A lot of the food here isn’t available back home. For lunch, we had scrambled eggs with red tomatos and mixed cucumbers. It was delicious and refreshing.”

“I was just about to tell you,” said Zhou Yuan, sitting straighter. “By the way, since Li Xin and the others will be here for a while, I should come a few more times and bring goods for us to sell.”

Chen Qing nodded. “Li Xin said the same thing—if we could sell them back home, we could make money.”

“Right. Treating our godmother will take time. Once they’re settled, we can return with some local specialties and share good news with our godfather.”

Chen Qing nodded, thinking of the clinic visit that morning. “Do you think we can find the medicinal herb Doctor Yu mentioned? I keep worrying.”

“It’ll be fine. Didn’t Shopkeeper Tian say he’d guide us?” Zhou Yuan had gone to the clinic again that afternoon to ask about the herb.

Shopkeeper Tian hadn’t been to the mountain in a long time, so he didn’t know if the herb still grew there.

“Whether it’s there or not, we have to look for it.” Chen Qing held Zhou Yuan’s hand. “I want to go with you.”

“No, the mountain’s too dangerous. You—”

Chen Qing cut him off. “I’m not made of glass. When you weren’t around, I used to run through the mountains and fields with my mother. If you don’t take me, do you think I’m a burden?”

Zhou Yuan was silent, then laughed. “Well, well, Aqing dares to make his own requests now.”

Hearing his teasing tone, Chen Qing pretended to hit him. However, Zhou Yuan pressed him onto the bed and kissed him hard.

The next morning, they settled the bill at the inn and went to the rented house. Zhou Yuan didn’t choose a courtyard on the outskirts of the city where the merchants lived because there were too many people there; it was not a good place for recovery.

Before reaching the property broker, they were stopped by Tian Yao, the Tianji shopkeeper, who said he had a house to rent.

“This is the house my family lived in years ago. Since we don’t live here anymore, it’s empty now,” said Shopkeeper Tian with a big laugh. “You’re seeking Yu Nian’s treatment. It’s easier to go to the clinic from here. Just pay the usual rent.”

Zhou Yuan didn’t know how to thank him and wanted to ask why he was treating their family so well.

Shopkeeper Tian said, “You’re an old soldier from the battlefield. My son is at the border now. I’ve always thought that if I do more good deeds, he will be safe.”

Zhou Yuan paused for a moment, then replied, “You’ve done so many good deeds—you’ll surely be rewarded.”

From their conversation, Zhou Yuan learned that Shopkeeper Tian’s son served under the Western Expedition General, while Zhou Yuan himself had served under the Southern Expedition General. They had never met.

He turned to Qi Shuning. “Your brother-in-law is a scholar, right? Has he passed the imperial exam?”

Qi Shuning replied, “I passed the college exam, and I’ll take the provincial exam next year.”

“Oh, you’ve waited so long. That’s filial, too.” Tian Yao patted his shoulder. “You have to take care of family matters, but you shouldn’t delay your education. I know a teacher. Once your family is settled, I’ll send you to study with him. I heard from Yu Nian that you’ll be here for a while. That teacher is excellent—you could learn a lot from him.”

Qi Shuning was also stunned. He hadn’t expected Shopkeeper Tian to be so enthusiastic. “No, I can review my lessons at home…”

“Don’t be shy. Just pay the tuition.” Tian Yao had it all planned out.

“Oh, and about the herb Yu Nian mentioned, I’ll take you to find it when I’m free in a couple of days. I haven’t been to the mountain in a long time. I miss it.”

“Thank you so much.” Zhou Yuan couldn’t think of what to say for a moment.

“You’re welcome. Bring your family to Tianji for a meal sometime—we can give you a discount.” Tian Yao handed them the key. “I still have business at the shop. Here’s the key. You can move in tomorrow.”

As he left, Qi Shuning watched his back and said to Zhou Yuan, “Brother, there are still many good people in this world.”

Zhou Yuan: …

 

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