Gu Qingli took the towel. It had a faint sll of soap, and she used it to wash her hands and face. Ms. Wu had so good qualities; she was very fond of cleanliness.
"Mom, have you taken your dicine tonight?"
Ms. Wu nodded. "Yes, I took it." Saying this, she glanced at Second Brother Gu. Earlier that evening, when she had wanted to go to the kitchen to decoct her dicine, Ms. Hua had seen her and accused her of wasting firewood. Second Brother Gu overheard this and, without a word, slipped into the kitchen to help her decoct it.
This shocked Ms. Hua so much she thought Second Brother Gu had seen a ghost. Just as she was about to start scolding, Master Gu pulled her into their room.
This stupid woman! Hasn’t she seen Second Brother Gu’s sullen face these past two days? If she provokes him, who will do the fieldwork? It’s just decocting so dicine, not cooking a al. Besides, Second Brother Gu was the one who gathered that firewood.
Master Gu gave Ms. Hua a good scolding, telling her not to cause any more trouble for the next half-month. She was to focus on marrying Gu Qingli off peacefully and securing the silver. Only then did Ms. Hua stop making a scene.
Seeing Ms. Wu glance at Second Brother Gu, Gu Qingli figured sothing must have happened that afternoon, likely just Ms. Hua scolding soone again. Sigh, this is so worrying, she thought. Even after I’m married, these four will still be under Ms. Hua’s thumb. How can our family ever escape her tornt? This is such a headache! Here, as long as parents are alive, it’s not a simple matter to divide the family; you can’t just split off whenever you want. Moreover, parents hold absolute authority in the household. Even if they were to sell you, there’s nothing you could do. However, families with mbers pursuing official careers generally don’t sell their sons or daughters. Since the Gu Family had no one studying for officialdom, Gu Qingli’s situation ant she couldn’t escape the fate of being sold.
Gu Qingli pouted. If I were really sold, I’d probably kill soone on the spot, she thought.
"Dad, Mom, Second Sister, co and eat!" Dashuang called out, returning just then with a winnowing basket.
"Is the water drained?" Ms. Wu asked Dashuang as she took the basket. She touched the bottom and, naturally, her hand ca away wet.
Gu Qingli quickly handed her the towel, and Second Brother Gu took the basket from Ms. Wu.
After Dashuang and Xiaoshuang washed their hands and faces, the family of five sat by the doorway, munching on the fruits with loud CRUNCHES.
Ms. Wu took a bite, expecting it to be sour, but it was surprisingly sweet and refreshing. Second Brother Gu had thought the sa. Only when he bit into the fruit did he realize how delicious it truly was. Only Dashuang and Xiaoshuang already knew just how delicious these fruits were.
More than half a winnowing basket of fruit was eaten, leaving only the few that had actually been picked from the mountain. Ms. Wu collected these and put them away carefully; they could fill an empty stomach when hungry.
After they finished eating, the sky had turned completely dark. They closed the door, and everyone went to the kang to sleep.
Gu Qingli waited until she heard snores coming from the other four before she slipped into her Space. The first thing she did upon entering the Space was to take a bath. This body was in terrible condition. Though all its parts were intact, it was underdeveloped and severely malnourished.
After soaking for about half an hour, Gu Qingli got dressed. She dug up so sweet potatoes in the Space to store and also unearthed a notoginseng plant.
It’s best to go to town tomorrow morning to sell the dicinal herbs; it’s safer that way, she thought. If Ms. Hua finds them at ho and snatches them, it won’t be worth it.
「The next morning.」
Ms. Wu was still making breakfast when the three siblings set off. They wanted to go early and return early.
"Second Sister, are we buying big stead buns today?" Dashuang asked, gulping as he thought of the large, at-filled buns.
"Yes. We’re digging up herbs to sell for money precisely so we can eat, aren’t we? Money is earned to improve our food, clothing, shelter, and travel."
"Hehe, Second Sister, you make so much sense! Second Sister, how did you suddenly beco so smart and brave?" Dashuang couldn’t help but voice the question that had been puzzling him. "Before, you and Mom would just cry whenever you were scolded, and you were especially timid."
Gu Qingli patted the little ones’ heads. "So, do you prefer the sister I am now, or the sister I was before?"
Without hesitation, they both chid in, "Of course, the current Second Sister is better!"
"Exactly. People grow through experiences and co to understand things. Haven’t you noticed Dad changing too?"
"You’re right! Second Sister is so smart. How co we didn’t think of that?" Dashuang said, scratching his head sheepishly.
Gu Qingli took one of each of their hands and said earnestly, "It’s not that your sister is smarter than you; it’s that I’m older. If we don’t learn to grow, we’ll be bullied and looked down upon. Dashuang, Xiaoshuang, you are both very intelligent children. Don’t belittle yourselves. Once you go to school and learn many things, you’ll naturally understand many truths."
Poverty not only limits one’s imagination but can also shape one’s character: timidity, low self-esteem, lack of confidence—all these were starkly evident in their family.
"Mm-hmm, Second Sister, we’ll study hard in the future," Dashuang promised. When he spoke of studying, his whole deanor changed, his eyes shining as brightly as the stars in the sky, dazzling and brilliant.
We have to study hard! Then we can change our family’s fate of being bullied and ensure Mom, Dad, and Second Sister never have to worry about food or clothing again!
If Gu Qingli knew their ambitions were so modest, she could easily fulfill them. But what she truly wanted was for her brothers to leave this place and venture out into the wider world.
Chatting along the way, the three siblings soon arrived at Serenity Hall, just as the dicine Apprentice was opening the shop doors.
"Oh, you’re here so early today! Quick, co in." The dicine Apprentice finished setting down the door planks and gestured for the siblings to enter.
The three siblings entered the Drugstore and, as usual, handed their carrying baskets to the dicine Apprentice. This ti, the dicine Apprentice felt much better seeing the baskets filled entirely with dicinal herbs. The last ti, he had to pick out all the weeds before he could sort and classify the herbs. His smile widened even more when he spotted another notoginseng plant.
In the end, it was much like the last ti: the ordinary herbs averaged six copper coins per jin. Today’s notoginseng was also a full three years old, but it was larger, so he added an extra fifty copper coins for it. With forty jin of herbs, the siblings earned a total of six hundred and ninety copper coins today. As before, they bought three doses of dicine for Ms. Wu, leaving them with six hundred and thirty copper coins.
After leaving the Drugstore, the three siblings excitedly ran towards the stead bun shop.
The owner of the stead bun shop recognized the siblings. Oh, today there was another brother who looked just like the other one. They must be twins! Twins, eh? Having twins is such good fortune; everyone is so envious! the owner thought. The owner couldn’t help but take another look at Dashuang and Xiaoshuang.
"Miss, how many stead buns today?" the owner asked, wiping his hands on a white cloth.
Gu Qingli held up two fingers. "Twenty at-filled stead buns."
The owner grinned. "Alright, one mont, Miss."
Gu Qingli nodded and counted out forty copper coins for the owner. She paid, and he handed over the buns.
Gu Qingli took the large bag of stead buns and promptly placed it on a small table near the entrance of the shop. The two little ones stared at the steaming, fragrant buns, practically drooling.
"Go on, eat!" Gu Qingli said, amused. The buns were right in front of them, and still, they were just staring. With that, she picked up a stead bun herself and began to eat.
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