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

Chapter 17 Hiring Craftsmen

"Miss Xiao, do you need a lot of bamboo to build your kitchen?"

"Yes, we're going to build a fence and thatch it, otherwise it'll be a problem when it rains."

“Your family can’t do it? This is a skilled job. It requires strength and skill. Your family of women and children simply can’t handle it.” Qingsheng exclaimed, “Really, Miss Xiao, you’re thinking too simply. This requires hiring a craftsman.”

"It's okay, we can learn as we go."

People are forced out.

Chunnuan thought: If I had money, I would hire craftsmen too, but the problem is that I don't have the money.

If you can't even stretch a penny to ten, how can you afford to hire craftsmen?
"I really can't do it."

What I thought would be a simple matter of cutting down a few bamboo stalks turned out to be a huge undertaking.

Zhao Minghua was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then threw the machete on the ground.

"Qingsheng, go and call your father and your older brother to come and help."

"No need, no need." Chunnuan was quite frightened: "We can manage at home..."

“Miss Xiao, are you sure you can do this?” Zhao Minghua rolled his eyes at the girl in front of him. She was really stubborn. “What can your grandmother, your mother, and your aunt and sister-in-law do? What can your younger siblings who are under ten years old do for you? Don’t forget, you still need to prepare Banxia.”

Preparing Pinellia ternata requires time and effort.

Chunnuan bit her lip; what he said made sense.

"But I can't afford to pay the craftsmen's wages, nor can I feed them."

"No need, no need," Qingsheng said generously. "My dad and my older brother are just sitting around on the farm anyway. Let them come and help. They'll finish in two days."

"No, I don't want to owe anyone a favor."

Zhao Minghua... he's such a stubborn guy.

Are all girls in Beijing so obsessed with saving face that they suffer for it?

“I will pay you one tael of silver for the labor of these pinellia tubers. You can pay in advance, so you will have money to hire craftsmen and provide meals.”

"Neither."

When Zhao Minghua heard "no" again, she rolled her eyes helplessly. "This won't work, that won't work, what's the reason?"
“My family consists entirely of women and children, so it is inconvenient for us to entertain craftsmen.”

"Pshaw, it's no big deal for me," Zhao Minghua said. "You don't have to provide meals; just give us a little extra pay, and everyone will be happy."

It seems right!

"Qingsheng, go and call your father and older brother to help."

"Yes, Master."

Celebrating his birthday, he left a large bag of Pinellia ternata and ran away.

"This brat, I, the young master, have to deal with him myself."

Chunnuan dragged a bamboo pole and led her younger siblings home, while Zhao Minghua followed behind carrying a bag of Pinellia ternata.

"Young Master Zhao."

The Xiao family was very familiar with this young master who had freeloaded their meals, and Xu, who was washing clothes, quickly greeted him.

“Auntie, you go about your business. I’ve brought some medicinal herbs for Miss Xiao to prepare.”

"So many?" Mrs. Xu was a little worried that her daughter wouldn't be able to handle it, since she had to fry flower cakes every day and everything depended on her.

“It’s alright, I’ll deliver the goods in half a month.” Chunnuan looked at Zhao Minghua: “You can send any other medicinal materials that need processing in the future.”

"Alright." Zhao Minghua noticed that the women of the Xiao family seemed to be avoiding her presence: Sigh, these people are really something, I'm not some monster!

They felt uncomfortable around him, so he decided to leave.

"After Qingsheng invites his father and elder brother over, just tell them what to do." After thinking for a moment, Zhao Minghua added, "Uncle Niu is an old bamboo craftsman, he has more experience in these things, you can listen to his advice."

"Okay, thank you."

Zhao Minghua waved his hand and walked away nonchalantly.

When Xu came out carrying a bowl of boiled water, she saw the young man's back. "Nuan Nuan..."

"Mother, it's alright. I'll ask Father and my elder brother to help fix the kitchen." Chunnuan instantly realized that having money really was important; with money, many things could be easily solved.

All my worries and anxieties vanished instantly.

Right now, all she needs to do is prepare the Pinellia ternata and make sure she earns that one or two taels of silver. That's the important thing.

She opened the cloth bag and suddenly smiled bitterly: she was still missing alum, old ginger, and lime to prepare Pinellia ternata.

Buying these things also requires money, so the one and a half taels of silver is not pure profit!

Let's divide this bag of Pinellia into three parts.

Just as they were dividing the food, Qingsheng invited his father and older brother over.

"Miss Xiao, can you tell me how to fix this kitchen?"

Chunnuan shared her thoughts.

“Okay, I understand.” Uncle Niu said to his son, “Da Niu, dig out the foundation and pile the excavated soil aside. I have a use for it.”

"it is good."

As spring warmed, people were led to Master Zhang's bamboo grove to cut bamboo.

"You know what, Mr. Zhang is a very kind-hearted man. They say good people are rewarded, but Mr. Zhang hasn't been very lucky. He's always been in poor health, seeing doctors and taking medicine for years. He's seen doctors at Baicaotang and Qianjintang, and even went to Changzhou County to see other doctors, but none of them could cure him. He's really pitiful." Uncle Niu was very talkative: "That's the good thing about us poor people. We're healthy, we can eat, drink, and sleep well. Our only worry is not having enough food to eat."

Chunnuan gave a bitter smile; this was also her current wish: poverty didn't matter, as long as she was healthy. Medicine was just too expensive; she couldn't afford it.

Yes, Mr. Zhang's health?
No wonder Chun Ning asked him to accompany her when she was renting land.

Did he want me to examine Master Zhang's illness?
Do you know what illness Mr. Zhang has?

"A chronic cough and wheezing, but I don't know the specifics."

Chunnuan nodded.

Uncle Niu cut bamboo, and his son Da Niu dug the foundation.

The foundation was originally a layer of stone, which was dug out piece by piece.

"If we're using bamboo to build the walls, we won't need these," Uncle Niu said, dragging the bamboo back. "Miss Xiao, could you find some more straw?"

Why are you looking for straw?

“Chop it into small sections, mix it into the mud, and then use it to coat the wall.”

Chunnuan still didn't quite understand, but she went to find out.

I'm planning to spend money to buy it from my neighbor, the Luo family.

How much hay do you need?

"I'm not so sure either."

Having no other choice, Aunt Luo had to go with Xiao Chunnuan to ask the craftsman.

"Not much, one straw is enough." Uncle Niu told Aunt Luo what he needed to do, and Aunt Luo understood: "Chunnuan, it's just one straw, don't give me any money, people will laugh at me if they find out."

"But……"

“My son Xiaogang said Chun Ning taught him to read. We don’t have anything good to give you. If you want these cheap things, just take them. Don’t give us any money. We’re neighbors, let’s not make things awkward.”

"Thank you, aunt."

Spring warmth reminded her of Chun'an's words: There are still more good people in the world.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent; Uncle Niu and his son acted with remarkable speed.

Around noon, they finished work and went home for lunch.

"We'll come back this afternoon. Don't worry, we'll definitely be able to finish it in two days."

(End of this chapter)