The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 16 Master Zhang is a Good Man

Renovating a kitchen is a huge project!

When Chunnuan mentioned it to her family, they all supported her, but only verbally. They had neither money nor strength to rely on Chunnuan and Chunning.

"Chuning, tell me your thoughts?"

Chunnuan was intentionally grooming him; the Xiao family needed someone in charge, not someone who would only follow orders.

“Sister, I’ve been thinking about this for the past two days. We need to make a living, process medicinal herbs, and spend a lot of time in the kitchen…”

Things are accomplished in secrecy, and a tall tree catches the wind, especially now that the Xiao family is in a precarious situation. Caution is the best policy.

The Xiao clan had no intention of seeing them live a good life.

A kitchen makes things more convenient.

“We can’t repair the house, but we can cut some bamboo to cover it up,” Chun Ning said. “I asked Xiao Gang, and the bamboo by the stream behind the mountain belongs to Master Zhang. They won’t mind if we cut one or two bamboo stalks, but we can’t use too many. Why don’t we go and buy some from them?”

"That's good, let's see how much it costs."

The idea is the same as when spring arrives.

To Chunnuan's surprise, Master Zhang replied: Bamboo is worthless, the Xiao family can cut it down as they please.

"There are still more good people in the world," little Chun'an exclaimed, making the whole family laugh.

“Master Zhang owns more than 30 mu of land. Luo Xiaogang’s family rents land from the master’s family, and they only charge 50% of the rent, which is 10% less than the Xiao family’s.” Chun Ning said, “The Xiao family’s land is rented at 60/40, and they charge 60%.”

"So heartless, who would want to rent their land?" Zhu couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "The tenants in our Zhu Family Village all charge 40% and 60%, but we only charge 40%."

“There are three prominent families in Changzhou, and the Xiao family owns one of them.” Chun Ning told her family the information she had gathered: “In the entire An’nan Town, most of the fields and hills belong to the Xiao family.”

Therefore, not everyone can rent land from the Zhang family. Who wouldn't want to pay less rent?

But it also depends on luck.

Those who rent land from the Zhang family will not return the lease, and those who do not rent land have no choice but to rent from the Xiao family in order to survive.

"In the past two years, Changzhou has experienced drought, and many families have suffered from poor harvests. After paying rent and food rations, their income has been affected. Therefore, when food is scarce, many people dig for wild vegetables to fill their stomachs."

"If only we could rent some land from the Zhang family, we wouldn't be able to cultivate more than that, even just one acre would be fine."

Madam Xu felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, thinking that she had received two estates as part of her dowry, totaling more than sixty mu in the suburbs of Beijing; the Xiao family also had an estate of more than eighty mu.

The Xiao family has always been kind to everyone, treating both farmers and tenants with great generosity, and taking 40% of the rent.

Xu, Huang, and Zhu all lowered their heads and wiped away tears.

They were also daughters of minor officials, and each had a generous dowry, which they kept to themselves and never squandered. Unexpectedly, it was all confiscated and benefited others in the end.

"Sister, let's cut bamboo tomorrow to enclose the kitchen." Chun Ning thought of how Master Zhang was coughing badly when she saw him. "Sister, let's go ask Master Zhang together later if we can share an acre of land with him."

"it is good."

Chunnuan was taken aback for a moment and asked Master Zhang why she was needed to handle this matter.

There must be a reason why Chun Ning sent him.

Picking spring flowers and selling flower cakes were all that Chun Ning and Luo Xiaogang needed to do, so Chun Nuan finally didn't have to go to the dock anymore.

She then took Chunyan and Chunshu to cut bamboo.

"Be careful not to cut your hand."

Relying on mountains is unreliable, and relying on people is unreliable. Chunnuan wanted to find someone to help, but then she thought that the Xiao family consisted of women and children. If she asked a grown man to help, there would be gossip. She would also have to provide meals and pay wages... She decided to do what she could herself and learn what she didn't know as she went.

"Sister, what is this?"

Chunyan saw something sharp and immediately shouted.

"It's bamboo shoots."

Springtime brings a warm feeling; I thought that stir-frying some meat would make it an absolutely delicious dish.

What are bamboo shoots?

"Bamboo shoots are what bamboo shoots are when they first sprout. Bamboo shoots..." The words "bamboo shoots are edible" were swallowed back down, because the two sisters had gained experience from digging for wild vegetables with Luo Sanya these past two days, and they wouldn't let go of anything edible. Master Zhang had agreed to let them cut bamboo, but he hadn't agreed to cut bamboo shoots. Besides, if bamboo shoots were cut at this time of year, bamboo would become much scarcer, and one shouldn't be too greedy.

"I know, I know," Chun Shu quickly replied. "San Ya said that bamboo shoots are edible, but they will make your mouth water."

"Yes, eating it would make people feel uneasy, so we shouldn't cut it down."

Spring warmth makes me lie against my conscience. I feel uneasy after eating bamboo shoots because they lack oil and meat. If I could buy two pounds of pork to stir-fry, I would feel uneasy if I didn't get to eat them.

The three sisters were cutting bamboo when Chun'an came running over.

"Sister, let me help."

"Xiao An, stand back a bit." I'd be grateful if he didn't make things worse.

"Sister, I can do it."

"Okay, you can do it, right?" Chunnuan didn't discourage him, and handed him a bamboo stalk with its branches removed: "Take it back."

“Sister…” Chunyan and Chunshu both widened their eyes. A bamboo pole is heavy, and neither of them could move it. How could six-year-old Chun’an do it?
"It's alright." He's just a kid; he'll learn what's good and bad once he's done it.

Chun'an used all her strength to drag the bamboo, barely managing to move it a little bit.

"Sister is so heavy!"

"I'm not heavy, less than 70 pounds." Chunnuan joked with a smile: "When you get to my age, you should weigh at least 100 pounds."

"Not even seventy pounds, it's really not heavy." A male voice suddenly came from the bamboo forest, startling the four siblings.

"Young Master Zhao?" Chun Nuan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

Is that a question he can answer?
Why did he get involved in the little joke between the siblings?

"Miss Xiao, I brought some Pinellia ternata, which I need you to process."

"Okay, I'll come."

When Chunnuan saw Qingsheng carrying a large bag of Pinellia ternata, she glanced at Zhao Minghua and asked: "What is this large bag of Pinellia ternata?"
"What kind of medicinal herbs does Young Master Zhao need?"

"Bai Cao Tang now needs Qing Ban Xia, Jiang Ban Xia, and Fa Ban Xia."

In fact, there was no need for so many. It was her grandfather and elder brother who wanted to test her skills in processing medicinal herbs, so they made a few extra demands.

"How much?"

"Let's make it average, the same amount for all three."

"Okay, got it."

Chunnuan held back for a long time, but finally asked the question out loud.

"May I ask, Young Master Zhao, how much does it cost to process these Pinellia ternata?"

In business, money is naturally a factor. Only by discussing money openly and honestly can a business last.

"One tael of silver."

The price was added by Zhao Minghua himself. His grandfather and elder brother only cared about the quality of the medicinal herbs, not the cost of labor.

“Okay, no problem.” Chun Nuan was tempted; she was determined to earn that tael of silver. “Please have this young man deliver the herbs to my house. I will arrange a time to process them. You can pick them up in half a month.”

"Miss Xiao, you can just call me Qingsheng." Qingsheng knew that his young master's business dealings with Miss Xiao were specially approved by the master, so he had no psychological burden: "Miss Xiao, what are you doing cutting bamboo?"

"We're going to use bamboo to fix up the kitchen."

"You're cutting bamboo to build a kitchen?" Xiao Minghua couldn't bear to look. He subconsciously glanced at Xiao Chunnuan's hands, wondering if they were covered in blisters.
"I'll help you." After saying that, he grabbed the machete from Xiao Chunnuan's hand and started chopping bamboo.

"This……"

There really is a difference between men and women. She needs seven or eight cuts to cut down a bamboo, while this man only needs three cuts to take it down.

"What are you looking at?" Zhao Minghua said to Qingsheng, "Carry Banxia to the Xiao family, then come back here to cut bamboo. You're not allowed to go home until you've finished cutting it all."

what?
Looking at this bamboo forest, Qing Sheng felt like the sky was falling! The young master only said he was delivering medicinal herbs, he didn't say he was going to do hard labor.

Can he ask for help? His father is a bamboo craftsman, a master at cutting bamboo!
Babies, Zhizhi has a new story! Please bookmark it if you're passing by, thank you so much!
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(End of this chapter)