Chapter Ninety-Three Reporting the Message

  She picked wheat for several days, and in the last few days, Zhen'er didn't follow her anymore. During these days of picking wheat, when others were resting at noon, she would cut a bunch of medicinal herbs for about an hour or so. The sun was strong that day, and after coming back, she just needed to dry them slightly, and in these few days, she had already accumulated quite a lot of medicinal herbs, preparing to sell them in the county town.

  Agreed on the price and time with the ox cart in the village, got on the ox cart early the next day, loaded a large bundle of medicinal herbs and sent it to the pharmacy in the city.

  Went to the pharmacy recommended by Ye Lao, Zhen'er asked the rickshaw driver, he also said that the pharmacy was not bad, so Zhen'er directly sold the herbs to that one, for her, the price was a bit low.

  "Little girl, your medicinal herbs are not dry enough, we can only pay half the price for them. Three coins per catty is already a good deal." The young medicine seller said after flipping through the herbs.

  Zhen'er saw that the wet and unexposed medicinal herbs sent from the side were only worth one cent, while the completely dry ones could sell for five cents a catty. She felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart. Her own medicinal herbs had almost dried up, but they were still calculated as half-dry, which was really a loss.

  The little medicine boy also saw that Zhen Er's face was somewhat unwilling, and kindly said: "Little girl, if you're not in a hurry, let's pick out the dry ones, we can give you a separate price."

  Zhen'er was delighted and thanked him. The people here are really not bad, if it were elsewhere, they would have directly counted as half-dry already.

  After paying the ox cart fare, Zhen'er was alone under the tree shade next to the medicine shop, sorting out the herbs. Since it was her own labor achievement, she didn't feel tired or hot. Hu Zi was small and not noisy, helping out beside her.

  Zhen'er and her brother were busy for more than an hour before they finished sorting the herbs, then after weighing them, they took the over 200 wen they had earned and hurriedly ran to the Rich and Noble Alley.

  The old woman had a deep impression of Zhen'er, and after greeting her, she went to find Pan'er. Last time she offended Pan'er, if it wasn't for Pan'er forgiving her, she would have been beaten and thrown out of the mansion. Through last time's incident, she thought she owed Pan'er a favor, so she was very concerned about Pan'er's affairs. And this Zhen'er had come several times, all to find Pan'er. The people in the mansion had already considered her as one of Pan'er's distant relatives from who-knows-where, so she was also very enthusiastic towards Zhen'er.

  This time Wan'er came over quickly and took Zhen'er to a room at the garden gate to talk.

  "Wan'er sister, I heard that you've recognized Xia Mama as your godmother, so I bought some things for you to celebrate. Don't be displeased." Zhen'er handed Wan'er the pearl hairpin she had just bought from the shop.

  The result of Xiang Er's delight. Although this pearl is not big, it is crystal clear and white as jade, looking at it you can tell it's not some cheap stuff that costs just a few coins. Speaking of her relationship with Zhen Er, they had only done business together selling fruit a few times, so their friendship was still superficial. To be honest, the gift Zhen Er gave her was quite valuable. However, Xiang Er herself is simple and pure-hearted, she always thought Zhen Er was clever and obedient, and since she didn't have a younger sister, she treated Zhen Er like one. Now that Zhen Er gave her this gift, she didn't think much of it and happily accepted it.

  "It looks great, Zhen'er has a good eye for this." Xiang'er put the hairpin on her head. She took out a handheld mirror from her bosom and admired herself left and right, praising herself.

  Her skin is fair and delicate. Her head is small and elegant, with a hairpin of this size on her spiritual and refined forehead, which makes her look more vivid and lively.

  "Xiang'er's growth really brings out the beauty of this hairpin." Zhen'er sincerely praised. After going through so many things, she was no longer the naive and superficial girl she used to be.

  The elderly people say that beauty comes from the heart, and she didn't understand it before, but now she has a deep understanding. Although her son may not be very handsome, he is kind-hearted and gentle. Through these few encounters, Zhen'er also feels that she is someone who can be befriended. Now that she can leave her slave status behind, Zhen'er is truly happy for her, so she wants to give her a small gift as a token of goodwill.

  After chatting for a few sentences, Zhen'er was about to leave when she suddenly remembered that Yang had asked her to buy strawberries. Feeling that this matter still took up some of Zhou's spotlight, no matter what, it was better to say something, so she tactfully mentioned the matter.

  Wan'er didn't think much of it after hearing, but since she had acknowledged Xia Popo as her godmother, Xia Popo had told her that if there was anything on her mind, she should think carefully and if she couldn't figure it out, she should come to her. Wan'er remembered these words and thought that this matter must be important for Miss, so she let Zhen'er and Hu'zi wait in the house while she hurried back to Godmother's place, pulling Godmother who was packing things up and telling her everything Zhen'er had said.

  "Zhen'er said that Yang's family manager came to her himself? And also mentioned something about sending strawberries?" Xia Popo asked seriously.

  Wan'er thought for a moment, furrowed her brow uncertainly and said: "It seems to be like that, I don't remember clearly either. Anyway, it's related to the Yang family of Missus' husband. How many more can there be in Jingchuntang throughout Qiyang County?" By the last sentence, Wan'er and You Rong had raised their voices.

  Summer aunt was thinking about her worries and didn't notice these, after a moment of contemplation, she sent Wan'er back to accompany Zhen'er. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked quickly outside. After leaving the door, she felt that something was not right, so she slowed down her pace and slowly walked towards Miss Zhou's room.

  Miss Zhou had just finished painting her nails and was being attended to by Hanmei, the senior maid, when she saw Xia Ayi enter. She immediately put on a smile and said warmly: "Ayi, come in quickly, it's hot at the door, but cool inside."

  Summer Auntie had just entered the house and taken a few steps when she was met with a blast of cold air from the ice that had been placed inside. She couldn't help but furrow her brow, scolding, "Which careless servant put so much ice in here? Don't they know Miss is weak?"

  Hanmei and several maidservants apologized and begged for forgiveness, and Xia Ayi scolded them a few more times before letting them off after Zhou Miss spoke up. She then gave a signal with her eyes, and Hanmei led the maidservants out in an orderly manner.

  Miss Zhou yielded her seat and asked in a soft voice: "Auntie, you came so hastily, is there something important?"

  Miss Zhou's words were gentle and her attitude was soft, but Xia Mama had been watching her grow up since she was a child, so she wouldn't really ignore her identity in front of her. After showing some humility, she carefully sat on half of the embroidered stool and respectfully said: "It's not a big deal, it's just that I'm leaving in two days and haven't come to bid farewell to Miss yet, so I came to inform you." Mrs. Zhou thought about how old Xia Mama was getting, and how she had served Miss Zhou for many years, so she returned her contract of sale and let her choose a goddaughter or godson. The people Xia Mama usually interacted with were only those in Mrs. Zhou's courtyard and Miss Zhou's courtyard. After some thought, she chose Pan'er. Mrs. Zhou was probably also satisfied with her choice, so she even returned Pan'er's contract of sale and rewarded them with silver to support their old age. Even Pan'er's marriage had been settled, and Xia Mama really had no more worries. She came to see Mrs. Zhou and Miss Zhou with a grateful heart.

  Summer aunt thought for a while, then realized she had thought too much, and quickly pulled back her thoughts. She repeated what Zhen'er said again, but hid her own speculations. Having taught Miss Zhou for so many years, she wouldn't really think that Miss Zhou couldn't understand the twists and turns of it all.

  Miss Zhou furrowed her brow after hearing this and asked in a low voice, "Who else knows about this?"