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

Chapter 170

Ten taels of silver?

Well, to connoisseurs, these ancient books are priceless treasures; of course, if they fall into the hands of ordinary people, they might just burn them as kindling.

Let alone ten taels of silver, even a hundred or a thousand taels would be quite normal.

How dare Zhao Minghua say that?
Chun Ning was quite surprised when she looked at Zhao Minghua. If he didn't know anything about the industry, how could he restore ancient books? If he did know something, the price he quoted was really too low.

"Well, Mr. Zhao, we've known each other for a long time. I'm an honest man, so I won't charge you a high price," said Manager Wen. "I don't want your money either. Consider it a gift to you. I just hope you can help me out when I need your help in the future."

"How can that be? Ten taels of silver is still silver. I can't possibly take your things and not give you any silver, leaving you at a loss, can I?"

"Well, I'm really embarrassed to accept the money. After all, I only spent one tael of silver." Manager Wen said with an awkward smile, "I'm giving it to Young Master Zhao as a favor, a small gift with a big meaning."

"One tael of silver?" Zhao Minghua nodded. Very good. As expected of Manager Wen, he knows how to find bargains. "I, Zhao Minghua, will remember this kindness. I will send it to Manager Wen for his appraisal as soon as it is repaired."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Zhao."

Chun Ning watched as they casually transferred such a valuable ancient book to a new owner, and she was filled with mixed emotions.

Indeed, there are many hidden talents among ordinary people!
In the capital, such ancient books are in high demand, and he was very curious about how Shopkeeper Wen managed to obtain them for just one tael of silver.

Zhao Minghua also wanted to know.

"Having been in the antique and calligraphy business for so long, I've come to believe more and more in fate," said Shopkeeper Wen. "I saw this old book at the market. An old lady was using it to line her basket, which was filled with eggs. She was selling eggs, and I didn't notice it was an old book at the time. I just noticed that the paper was a bit old, so I took a second look."

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that this was an extraordinary piece, a truly rare treasure.

"The old lady had forty eggs, which cost less than twenty coins in total. I didn't have a carrying basket, so I decided to be generous and gave her one tael of silver to buy the eggs and the carrying basket together."

Needless to say, the old lady was extremely grateful to him and would thank his ancestors for eighteen generations.

Even after returning home, he would tell everyone he met that he had met a kind-hearted benefactor while selling eggs that day, and that he had sold ten eggs for one tael of silver. He was so grateful to him.

Little did they know, what Manager Wen valued was neither the eggs nor the basket, but rather the worn-out, yellowed old book inside.

What kind of family could produce such an ancient book?

Having fallen so low as to sell eggs to make a living, Chun Ning couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her plight.

"I once asked the old lady where the paper she used as a mat came from?"

Zhao Minghua and Chun Ning were both very curious about the answer to this question.

"The old lady said she picked it up on the road and thought it would be good to take home and start a fire. She just put it aside and thought it would be a good choice to line the basket when she was going to sell eggs."

That's why this ancient book was fortunate enough to be discovered by Manager Wen.

“I’m truly destined to be with it. Not only did I save it from becoming a fire starter, but I also found it a new owner who can bring it back to life. What else could this be but fate?”

"It really is fate."

All three of them were deeply moved.

Zhao Minghua accepted the wooden box containing the ancient books.

Then he asked Manager Wen to bring out several fine calligraphy and paintings for Chun Ning to choose from.

In the past, Chun Ning would have felt that she was more knowledgeable than Zhao Minghua in selecting calligraphy and paintings.

However, after the incident with the ancient book, Chun Ning gained a new understanding of Zhao Minghua, so she gave him the choice.

More importantly, Chun Ning felt that she didn't have enough money to buy it, so whoever was paying should choose the type they liked. What did it mean to let her choose?

"Chuning, you choose, choose what your older sister likes," Zhao Minghua said frankly, "It's for your older sister's dowry."

Chun Ning was a little embarrassed; she couldn't very well say that she couldn't afford it.

"Let me take a look first."

Chun Ning had no choice but to bite the bullet and go ahead.

"Others may be fooled, but in front of Young Master Zhao, I dare not be the slightest bit false." When Manager Wen heard Zhao Minghua say he wanted to see calligraphy and paintings, he immediately took out several of his best pieces: "These are the best I currently have."

Looking at the calligraphy and paintings, Chun Ning sighed again: "They are indeed the best."

You might not find such good calligraphy and painting in the capital.

This is an authentic work by a master calligrapher from Sichuan, and it is quite worthy of being collected.

"How is it? Not bad, right?"

"Otherwise, why would I come to see Manager Wen?" Zhao Minghua thought to himself in amazement. It would be good enough if he could produce even one of these precious items, let alone several. It was clear that Manager Wen had some connections.

"How much silver?"

He's prepared to take them all.

"Young Master Zhao is truly generous. You should at least leave me one to be the centerpiece of the shop." Manager Wen was so angry he laughed. He should have kept one for himself. This kid is rich, arrogant, and incredibly greedy.

"How am I supposed to choose between these two options?"

Zhao Minghua felt that he had no problem; the problem was with Manager Wen himself. If he didn't want to sell something, he should have hidden it away.

If you show someone something good but don't sell it, isn't that just deliberately teasing them?

Helpless, Zhao Minghua ended up taking the last few paintings and calligraphies for 2,600 taels of silver.

Manager Wen was still feeling the pinch.

Chun Ning felt a mix of emotions. Zhao Minghua had bought so much and stuffed it all into her hands, saying it was to be taken back as her older sister's dowry.

"By the way, Chun Ning, let's also go to Guo the Carpenter's Furniture Shop. Their products are very good, the wood is top-quality, and the craftsmen are very skilled. They are very famous in Sichuan."

Guo the carpenter?
Chun Ning wondered if the place where she saw the large rosewood bed was the place of Guo the carpenter.
The waiter introduced it to me.

Following Zhao Minghua, we saw Xiao Er (the waiter) standing at the shop entrance.

"Young master, please come in."

The waiter was a little excited. His third senior brother said that the person who couldn't afford it had come back, and this time he brought an even older young master, along with a servant.

Generally speaking, people who leave and then return must have something they are reluctant to leave behind, so they will definitely learn it this time.

When Zhao Minghua and Chun Ning said that the rosewood bed was nice, Xiao Er's heart skipped a beat: Sure enough, even the third senior brother can make a mistake.

The dowry naturally had to be complete. Zhao Minghua spent more than two thousand taels of silver to have the goods, made of rosewood, transported by carpenter Guo's shop to the riverbank to be loaded onto a boat and taken by waterway to Xiao's wharf.

"Look, Chun Ning, all your worries were unnecessary. Isn't this the solution?"

They bought calligraphy and paintings and furniture, spending more than five thousand taels of silver, all of which belonged to Zhao Minghua.

"Brother Zhao, my older sister will scold me if she finds out."

Given the Xiao family's nature, if they don't have something, they simply don't have it; they're open and honest, and they can't pretend to be something they're not.

"It's alright, I'll talk to your sister about this myself." Zhao Minghua patted his shoulder: "The dowry is your sister's source of confidence, the face of your Xiao family, and the face of the Zhao family. Naturally, the more substantial the better. Don't worry, I earned all this money myself; I didn't use any of the Zhao family's public funds."

Zhao Minghua's meaning was clear: he spent his private savings to enhance his own image and relieve Chun Ning of any psychological burden.

Chun Ning remained silent. After traveling around Sichuan, he finally understood: Zhao Minghua was definitely not as simple as he appeared.

Chun Ning returned to Shu and presented the calligraphy and paintings to her aunt and elder sister.

"Chun Ning, you wouldn't be..."

The word "robbery" was never uttered.

This is not something her refined nephew would do.

But how did he manage to buy these authentic works by renowned calligraphers and painters from the former Shu region with only a few hundred taels of silver?
“Aunt, these were all bought by Brother Zhao. He and the owner of that calligraphy and painting shop are close friends despite their age difference, so he bought them all.”

As for the money, there's no need to reveal that.

"A ship will arrive at Xiaojia Wharf in three days, carrying beds and other furniture." Chun Ning still chose to tell her family the truth: "The materials of the furniture are all of excellent quality. I took a liking to it at first sight, and Brother Zhao paid for it."

Chun Ning was looking at Chun Nuan when she said this.

Will his older sister scold him?
"Did Chun Ning gain anything else from this long trip?"

Chunnuan wasn't against Zhao Minghua spending money on her dowry. After all, everyone was concerned about saving face, and if her dowry was too meager, the Zhao family wouldn't be able to afford the loss of face.

"Oh, right, sister, there's something..."

Just as Chun Ning was about to tell her elder sister, she heard Wu Ma report: Young Master Zhao has arrived.

Yes, Zhao Minghua went home, washed up, and then came over in a hurry.

He wanted to see Chunnuan and give her something nice.

"Young Master Zhao, please come in."

After greeting the elders of the Xiao family, Zhao Minghua took out a small wooden box that he was carrying and handed it to Chunnuan.

"I didn't bring you a gift this time, but do you like this?"

After saying that, he looked at Chun Ning. Chun Ning blinked. It turned out that Brother Zhao had brought it to give to his older sister.

I almost blurted it out, and thankfully I didn't, otherwise the surprise Brother Zhao was going to give my sister would have been greatly diminished.

"what is this?"

Chunnuan opened the wooden box in surprise, and saw a cloth wrapped around her. When she opened it again, she found yellowed paper. Upon closer inspection, she was even more surprised.

"Give it to me?"

"Yes, it's a gift for you, but it has a slight flaw," Zhao Minghua said. "But don't worry, it can be repaired."

"I've been looking for this book for many years. I've been keeping an eye on it ever since I first saw it, but unfortunately I've never had the chance to see it." Chunnuan was overjoyed when she got her hands on it: "I never thought I would actually get it one day. Thank you, I really like it."

Chun Ning... I didn't realize that Brother Zhao already knew what my sister liked.

“I guess you’ll like it,” Xia Minghua said. “It needs some repairs, but don’t worry, I can do it. It’s just that I don’t know anything about medicine and I don’t know the pathways of the meridians, so I need your guidance.”

"Yes, yes, let's work together to repair this book."

"I also promised Manager Wen that I would send it to him to take a look after it's repaired."

Are you sure you just want to look?

Everything has its good and bad sides; if this book falls into the hands of an upright person, it can benefit all living beings.

If it falls into the hands of bad people, they will do all sorts of bad things without any moral boundaries.

"Look, he obtained it by chance, and since he needed my help, he specially gave me the book."

Chunnuan had some doubts about this statement.

He didn't think Zhao Minghua had any special talent in calligraphy, painting, and antiques. After all, how could someone who wasn't even interested in taking the imperial examinations study these things?

“I can testify to this. This is the agreement between Brother Zhao and Manager Wen.”

Chunnuan glanced at Zhao Minghua subconsciously: This person is quite good at hiding his true intentions.

The prediction that spring would arrive was confirmed.

In the days that followed, Chunnuan Yeli drew out the missing meridian lines from the ancient book one by one, and it took her three months to complete the book.

"You are truly a woman of exceptional talent."

Looking at the meridian diagram she drew, Zhao Minghua sighed with emotion: "Coming to Changzhou in Sichuan is truly a waste of my potential."

"If I hadn't come to Changzhou, I might never have had the chance to read this ancient book." Chunnuan was quite philosophical about it; everything was predestined.

"Yes, yes, that makes sense." Zhao Minghua thought about it and realized that it was true. If the Xiao family hadn't had an accident and the female relatives hadn't returned to their hometown, where would he have found such a capable fiancée?

"I've added everything that needed to be added; now it's up to you."

"No problem, leave it to me."

Zhao Minghua took the ancient book away and came looking for Chunnuan again ten days later.

"open to take a look."

I was filled with anticipation as spring arrived, but when I opened the package, I was so shocked that I was speechless.

"how did you do that?"

She even suspected that Zhao Minghua had found someone to help him: "You know how to restore ancient books?"

“When I was a child, I would run around aimlessly when I had nothing to do. There was an old man living next door who was old and sick and had no one to take care of him. I brought him food and water and asked my grandfather to treat his illness. After he recovered, the old man taught me all his special skills.”

Zhao Minghua downplayed it.

“You know me, I’m impatient, but strangely enough, he asked me to calm down and restore ancient books, saying it was a kind of alternative dialogue with the ancients, and I actually understood it. From then on, I fell in love with this.” Zhao Minghua said, “Before the old man passed away, he left me some things and a token, and that’s when I realized that I had become his only disciple.”

Later he learned that the old man had taught him not only skills but also status, and the owners of the calligraphy and painting shops all respected him greatly.

He's quite old, yet he still calls this young man, who's not even twenty yet, "Junior Uncle."

Zhao Minghua didn't want people to call him old, nor did he want too much of his sect's knowledge to be exposed, so they all agreed to call him Young Master Zhao.

Upon hearing this, Chunnuan looked at Zhao Minghua with even greater admiration.

Wow, this guy is incredibly lucky!

Simply doing a good deed can save a grandmaster, and you'll even learn all of his skills.

"I think I've always been a lucky person," Zhao Minghua said with a smile. "Look, everyone I've met is quite capable, even a talented woman like you is mine."

"You're talking nonsense again." Chun Nuan blushed. Sigh, this person is getting more and more unreliable. One moment he's all serious, and the next he's spouting nonsense.

“I’m not talking nonsense, I’m stating the facts,” Zhao Minghua said. “Take a look at this book first. I’ll take it with me to Shuzhou in a few days so that Manager Wen can see it and fulfill one of his wishes.”

"it is good."

Chunnuan thought: I'm pretty lucky. A random partner I met turned out to be a hidden master.