Chapter Ninety-Seven: Delivering Medicine

  Ye Lu Yuan had just returned from the fields, and was washing his face with a basin of water at the entrance to the kitchen. Ye Qi saw her son's dark red face and felt a pang in her heart, her eyes involuntarily reddening.

  Ye Luoyu felt a little angry in his heart. Seeing his mother cry, he felt a bit annoyed and his voice unconsciously became louder, "Don't cry, nothing's wrong."

  As soon as this shout came out, Seventh Aunt's tears flowed even more happily. Her husband was injured, and the family was in a mess. If it weren't for Ye Shiwei and the helpers, they wouldn't have been able to harvest their land. This year was really a waste of effort. However, even so, the culprit didn't come to apologize. She had heard that the clan elder, village head, and Li Zhang hadn't found trouble with Lian Jie, so she packed her bags and returned to her mother's home. With no woman at home, Ye Chongjia was also in a mess. He and his father were busy in the fields every day, and there was no one to cook for them, let alone take care of the two people lying at home. It was said that they were very miserable. The clan elders thought that Ye Jingde used to be the clan head, so they didn't want to make him lose too much face. This dragged on until now, and they still hadn't given them an explanation. Not to mention the distance, but also because she was annoyed in her heart.

  Ye Luoyan saw his mother crying so sorrowfully and regretted it. He knew his mother's temperament, if not for his father being injured this time, she wouldn't appear so fragile, losing her usual calmness, unable to make a decision, relying on him instead.

  Zhen'er and Ye Baiji saw Qi Shu sitting paralyzed on the threshold of the main hall as soon as they entered, while Ye Luyuan was squatting beside her with a dejected look, trying to persuade her about something. Both of them were shocked at the same time: Could something have happened to Qi Shu again?

  Ye Qi Sheng heard the sound of the door being pushed open and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but when she lifted her head, her eyes were still red. Anyone could tell that she had been crying.

  "Is that you, Zhī and Zhēnér? Have you eaten yet? Come eat at Auntie's place." Yè Qīyí called out to Zhēnér and Yè Bái zhī in a hoarse voice.

  Qī Zhēnér and Yè Bái zhǐ shook their heads in unison, saying: "Seventh Aunt, don't bother, we've already eaten. We just came to see Seventh Uncle." As they spoke, the two of them entered the house and put down the basket they were carrying on the table.

  Yè Qī Shěn saw that the blue cloth-covered basket they had set up was bulging. Knowing that they had brought a lot of things, she felt very grateful, but also blamed them: "You have come to see your uncle with all your heart, what's the point of bringing so many things? Every family is not easy." The last sentence was full of emotion.

  Ye Baiji's nerves were a bit rough, but she still had the necessary courtesy and hastily said: "Auntie, what are you saying? My uncle is hurt. Let's take a look at whether it's true or not." Zhen'er also nodded in agreement.

  Ye Qiuniang looked at the two young girls and thought of what her mother-in-law had said, suddenly feeling unwell. She had helped them so much in the past, now she just wanted them to help with harvesting wheat, but they didn't come and even asked for labor costs. They were her husband's relatives, how could their nature be so cold-blooded? Even these two young girls were better than them.

  Ye Qiuniang took a basket and went downstairs to rinse off the things. Ye Luyuan led them into the house to see Ye Qiusheng.

  Ye Qiu Shu had eaten something and was already asleep, but his face was pale, his eyebrows were still furrowed, looking very uncomfortable.

  Zhen and the others were also afraid of disturbing Seventh Uncle, and even if they were relatives from the same clan. It wasn't good for Ye Baiju, a big girl who was about to get married, to stay in Ye Seventh Uncle's room either. They just took a glance and came out.

  As soon as they left Ye Qi's house, Ye Baiji pulled Ye Luyuan over and whispered to him in a mysterious tone, "Jian'er has already signed the contract with Yang Zhanggui from Jingchuntang, 200 wen per catty!" The last sentence was spoken with obvious excitement, her voice trembling slightly.

  Ye Luoyu was also stunned after hearing this, and a strange glow flashed across his pale face. This was indeed an unexpected high price that they had never dared to think of.

  Ye Bai said something about picking strawberries, and wanting to steal them secretly, and avoiding people. Ye Luoyu listened quietly, but his gaze drifted far away.

  Zhen'er waited until she finished speaking, and it seemed that Qi Shu was almost done too. She quickly took out the golden wound medicine from her arms and handed it to Ye Luyuan, "Luyuan Ge, this golden wound medicine is said to be good, you can apply it on Seventh Uncle's wounds when you change his dressing, it will heal faster."

  Ye Luoyu picked up the medicine bottle and casually swept his eyes over the body of the bottle, his heart shook, Ci'antang's blue and white porcelain bottle filled with golden wound medicine!

  This is one of the treasures of Ci'an Hall, and even if you have money, you can't usually buy it. In the entire county of Jiuyang, there are no more than ten people who can afford to buy this bottle of medicine.

  His father's bleeding wouldn't stop at the time, and Old Master Ye had said that he needed this medicine. However, when they sent someone to buy it from Ci'an Hall, they were told that it was not available. But they had inquired beforehand and knew that Ci'an Hall sold the medicine based on who you were. No matter how much they begged at the time, the owner refused to give it to them. So how did Zhen'er manage to get her hands on it?

  Zhen'er smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't worry, I didn't steal or rob, I paid for it with silver."

  Ye Baiji nodded, but Ye Luyuan was not so easily deceived. He asked with a serious face: "Don't try to deceive me with such reasons. We've also inquired about it, and the medicine is sold at a high price of 100 taels of silver per bottle. It's no exaggeration to call it a treasure. Where did you get so much silver to buy this favor? Did you go ask Miss Zhou for help?" He could only think of one influential person that Zhen'er knew, and he didn't want her to do such a thing for them, after all, she was not related to them by blood or marriage, and he also knew that Zhen'er didn't like owing people favors.

  Zhen'er really didn't know that Ye Luyuan had also bought this golden medicine before, and she smiled carelessly, saying: "What's the matter with asking Miss Zhou, I really haven't asked anyone." As she spoke, she briefly told the story of meeting Miss Zhou today, and then finding the money middleman and Yang Zhanggu together. "Later, Miss Zhou sent a carriage from the mansion to send me back, and I got some reward money. I thought about selling medicine materials when I heard people say that Ci'antang's golden medicine is good, so I wanted to buy a bottle for Seventh Uncle. Who knew it was so precious?" Although she said this, in her heart, she also knew that today she must have still taken advantage of the Zhou family's influence. If the pharmacy hadn't seen her riding in the Zhou family's carriage, would they have sold medicine to her?

  Yelu Yan felt relieved when he heard her say that, put the medicine in his arms, turned around and knelt down in front of Zhen Er, stubbornly knocking his head on the ground.

  Zhen Er and Ye Baiji were both startled, before they could react, he had already bumped his head. They stood there in a daze for a moment, then hastily helped him up.

  Ye Luoyu pressed his lips tightly and said, "Zhen'er, from now on, if you have anything, just find me. You are my own sister, I will protect you for a lifetime." His words were sonorous and powerful, landing with a loud thud.

  Zhen'er's eyes turned red, and she quickly blinked back tears, saying: "Lu Yuan-ge, haven't I always been your little sister? I consider Qi-shu to be my own uncle, buying him something is nothing special. If you keep being like this, it's really too much." Ye Bai-ju also chimed in from the side.

  Ye Luyuan has always been nonchalant, but tonight he said such sentimental words, and he himself is a bit unaccustomed to it. If not for the heavy burden on him these days, he would not be able to experience the hardships of life, the coldness of the world, and would not know how hard it is to find someone like Ye Baiji and Qi Zhen'er.

  Yè Qī Shěn was also startled as she rummaged through the basket, this Zhēnér's gift was too generous. Not to mention that last time she brought eggs which were already considered a return gift for their visit, this time's gift was not only excessively thick but also too heavy-hearted. Even if she were her own niece, it's unlikely she would be able to do the same. Yè Bái Jí's gift was just right, but also thicker than usual, how could they afford to be so generous when their circumstances are not good?

  Recently, the village has been discussing rumors that "the big boss of the city personally came to visit Zhen Er in a large carriage". I also have some guesses in my heart. This Zhen Er may really have a good background. She said that she and the county magistrate's daughter are close friends, which might be true. Otherwise, why would the hemp master let her off so easily?

  Ye Qiuniang handed the basket back to Zhen'er and Ye Baiji, saw them out the door, then went with Ye Luyuan to the kitchen to serve their meal. She whispered, "Luyuan, these two sisters of yours are not bad, you must treat them well in the future, don't learn from that shallow-eyed one who looks down on them. We're relatives, we can't be petty, as long as someone treats you well, they deserve your kindness, understand?"

  Ye Lu nodded, but in her heart, she couldn't help thinking of what Zhen'er had just said. She actually still wanted to split the money with them like last time, how could she bear it? That was a hundred taels of silver!

  Later, it was he who brought it up, saying that he only wanted the labor costs and didn't want anything else. Last time, he took so much money and his heart has been uneasy ever since. That was what Zhen'er earned, but she gave it all to them. He knew that this was Zhen'er's way of repaying their family for speaking up for her back then, but they didn't value her feelings as much.

  He said no, and Ye Baiji also didn't want to, Ye Baiji was also very kind at heart, they had never been greedy or unjust people.

  Later, after much persuasion, they even said that if they didn't split the money like this, they wouldn't partner with Zhen'er. In fact, Zhen'er wasn't afraid of them, but in order to avoid things getting too awkward, she took a step back and gave each person 15 taels of silver, and also gave an additional 5 taels of silver as Dragon Boat Festival gift money, only then did they come to an agreement.

  He was fined five taels of silver for the Golden Lotus medicine, although Zhen'er said it wasn't necessary.

  He actually wanted to be a servant for Zhen Er for the rest of his life, repaying her kindness, if not for having to take care of his family and parents who only had him as their son.

  Zhen'er's gratitude towards them was something he could never repay in his lifetime, no matter how hard he worked for her.

  At night, Ye Baiji also went to sleep with Zhen'er. Her father's body had recovered, and it was said that the third house had left again, chasing after them in the city, so she felt at ease with her mother at home.

  Huzi took a nap at Zhou's house in the afternoon, and then dozed off again on the horse carriage. He was now feeling refreshed, and asked Zhen'er to read books with him, but Ye Baiji took over, volunteering herself as Huzi's teacher.

  Hutou was used to playing with Ye Baiji and wasn't afraid of her at all. When she asked for the book, he handed it over to her. Who knew that Ye Baiji only understood a few words on the women's moral code and didn't recognize many other characters? She read for less than two sentences before getting stuck, and in the end, could only look at Zhen'er for help. Zhen'er had no choice but to take the book and teach Hutou a few more sentences. She didn't like to overfeed him, so each time she taught him just a few sentences before stopping, then gave the book back to him to listen to her read.

  At night, she read the travelogue bought from the bookstore. The clear and crisp childlike voice echoed in the room, and soon Ye Baiji fell asleep, but Hu Zi was still spirited.

  Tiger really loves reading books!