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

Chapter 197

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

He had fulfilled his filial duties to his grandfather and his grandmother.

On the day of the mourning period, Madam Xu instructed Zhu Lingling to prepare two tables of delicious dishes and serve homemade rice wine.

After wearing plain clothes for more than three years, the whole family changed into bright-colored clothes on this day.

When the fine wine and food were served, Madam Xu stood up.

"The first toast is for the old master and the old lady."

Xu took the lead and spilled the wine on the ground.

"The second cup is for Nuannuan."

"Aunt, you mustn't."

Chunnuan was startled and quickly replied.

"Hear me out."

Everyone remained silent, listening to Madam Xu recount the hardships she had endured over the past three years.

"Time flies, but since the Xiao family's downfall, every day has felt like an eternity," Madam Xu said. "After the confiscation of their property, it was Nuannuan who ran around making arrangements; on the way from the capital to Sichuan, we relied on Nuannuan for help; once we arrived in Sichuan, the Xiao family's ingratitude plunged us into dire straits. If it weren't for Nuannuan's skills, we probably would have starved to death in Sichuan..."

Everyone nodded.

Every word that my aunt, Madam Xu, said is true.

Looking back, the road we traveled was truly arduous.

“Now we have food, homes, and extra money, and everyone has something to do, all thanks to Nuannuan’s support and planning,” Xu said. “Nuannuan is taking care of Yu’er in the capital and even went to the northern desert herself.”

"She was a woman who endured unimaginable hardships to bring our Xiao family to where we are today. This toast is to her."

"Respectfully, Nuannuan (Second Sister, Second Elder Sister)"

We raise our glasses in a toast to her courage, her perseverance, her intelligence, and her righteousness…

"Thank you." Chunnuan's nose tingled and tears welled up in her eyes. "I also want to thank you all, everyone for your trust and support, for our perseverance, for our hard work in the past, and for our future together."

“Nuannuan is right.” Mrs. Xu raised her glass: “The third glass is for all of us, for you and for me, for our perseverance and hard work.”

Everyone's eyes were filled with tears. They tilted their heads back and drank it all down, drinking in the bitterness and hardship of the past, and in their longing and hope for the future.

This meal would be called a banquet in the capital.

After the banquet, people would naturally gather around the stove to brew tea and discuss future plans.

"Nuannuan's wedding is on the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month."

The marriage is settled, and this is of utmost importance to the Xiao family: "Chuning, have your elder sister's dowry been arranged?"

"Reporting to Aunt, everything has been arranged."

"Hmm, not bad, Chun Ning has also gained experience."

Mrs. Xu was very pleased: "Lingling, take over the mundane affairs from Nuannuan so that she can focus on getting married."

"Yes, mother."

Zhu had actually been gradually taking over the mundane affairs of the Xiao family.

When the Xiao family first arrived in Sichuan, they were penniless and even lived in a rented house. She burned down the kitchen.

After more than three years of hard work, the Xiao family has settled down, acquired land and surplus money, and even built their own business. All of this was earned by Chunnuan.

When Chunnuan got married, she left behind the profits from Master Zhang's teahouse, taking only the profits from Zhao Minghua.

Well, in Zhao Minghua's words, everything she owns after the marriage will be hers.

Since she was getting married, Chunnuan had some things to say.

"Aunt, Mother, Third Aunt, you must take good care of your health. Only with good health can you have a future."

"Eldest sister-in-law, I'm leaving the household to you."

"Chuning, you have a long way to go, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Remember, your health is the most important thing."

"Younger siblings should focus on doing their own things well and becoming experts. When they don't have the ability to do everything at once, specialization will yield the best results."

Chunnuan explained everything in great detail, down to the smallest detail.

The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day for marriage, and the Xiao family and the Zhao family will form a marriage alliance.

According to custom, the Xiao family held a banquet for guests on the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

The Xiao family has no relatives at all, so normally not many people would come to help with the wedding preparations.

However, Xu received a message from Aunt Luo: the whole village was coming to decorate Chunnuan.

This is all because almost every household in the village has asked Chunnuan to treat them. From minor ailments like colds to serious conditions like fractures and sores, Chunnuan can treat them without charging a consultation fee. Moreover, because of Chunnuan, getting medicine from Baicaotang is cheaper than at other places.

It truly ensures that minor illnesses are treated promptly and serious illnesses are cured, instantly boosting everyone's sense of security.

Xu was a woman who had hosted grand banquets in the capital, but in Sichuan, in her village, she knew nothing about the customs.

Zhu Lingling took full responsibility and invited Aunt Luo to provide guidance.

According to Aunt Luo's budget, twelve tables were prepared for the banquet.

Because the custom in the village is that the whole family should come to eat after giving gifts, what she found strange was that the main feast was in the morning.

Aunt Luo said the bride's main banquet was in the morning, and the groom's main banquet was at noon.

The person who will be doing the makeup will come the night before, so they will have two meals.

Zhu Lingling didn't know much about it either, but on Aunt Luo's recommendation, she hired a cook. The cook made a menu, and Chun Ning and Uncle Luo went to buy a lot of chicken, duck, fish, and pork. The feast the cook prepared was called "Nine Big Bowls".

Such a feast was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, and even Xu praised it.

"Deep-fried pork belly, steamed spare ribs, steamed beef with rice flour, steamed turtle, steamed whole chicken, steamed whole duck, steamed pork hock, stuffed pork belly, and braised pork belly," Aunt Luo said. "These are the dishes for the Nine Great Bowls. Only wealthy families can afford such a lavish spread. Farmers would replace some of the more expensive dishes with steamed seaweed or steamed vermicelli."

Therefore, the banquet for a wedding in the spring was already considered the standard for a wealthy family.

On the first night, people came in droves to add makeup.

Aunt Luo's dowry was a modern solid silver bracelet.

"Aunt Luo, this is too precious. You should keep it as part of Sanya's dowry."

For a farming family, a solid silver bracelet is something that would be presentable enough for marrying off a daughter or getting a wife. When Aunt Luo gave it to her, Chunnuan felt a little hot.

"Spring warmth, your auntie has never treated you like an outsider." Without further ado, Aunt Luo slipped the slip onto her hand: "Even the best auntie couldn't offer this, and an auntie with something inferior would be too embarrassed to offer it."

"In the past, let alone a silver bracelet, even a single tael of silver would have been harder to get me to part with than my life," Aunt Luo said. "Since your family came, you taught your Uncle Luo massage, Xiao Gang worked with Chun Ning, and San Ya helped you make pills. Over time, our family has accumulated quite a bit of silver. I never dreamed I would have this much money before."

Aunt Luo truly treated Chunnuan like family, telling her directly that her family had saved 120 taels of silver, and that they planned to renovate their big house after the New Year and acquire some land so that they could finally escape the life of tenant farmers.

"Congratulations, Aunt Luo."

Spring warmth brought a knowing smile; this is the result of diligent study and hard work.

When things are bad, one must think of change; change leads to progress; progress leads to success.

When a family is poor, they must learn to try new things, even if they don't achieve anything remarkable, there's no real loss.

However, if you make the right move, you can turn your life around and start singing.

"This is all thanks to you, Chunnuan. You are a benefactor to our family. This dowry was decided by our whole family. It is our heartfelt gift, and you must not find it offensive."

"How could I dislike it? I like it very much." Chunnuan said, "Then I will accept it. Thank you, Aunt Luo."

In return for what she received, since Aunt Luo had the means to give, she would accept it and would certainly not treat them unfairly in the future. Luo Xiaogang had learned a lot from working with Chun Ning; San Ya was very talented in making pills and could likely stay to work there long-term, even if she got engaged, she could still earn some money to supplement the family income.

Aunt Zuo and her neighbors also came to add to the dowry. They brought wooden basins, embroidered pillowcases, thermos flasks, and all sorts of other useful little items, which were piled up in the corner of the Xiao family's courtyard.

The Xiao family all understand that a small gift carries great meaning, and they will not find it offensive.

Fearing any mishaps, Madam Xu was the one who reviewed and filled out the dowry list from beginning to end.

Seeing how many have been added, I'm a little worried.

"The Zhao family has a large wedding procession, and the dowry must be carried all at once; we can't go back and carry it a second time."

"Mother, don't worry. The new son-in-law has sent word that there will be thirty-two people in the wedding party. I have prepared four extra tables of food."

"That is not bad."

Thirty-two units is quite a lot.

After taking a look, Madam Xu realized that Nuannuan's dowry was actually quite impressive.

Of course, the truly valuable items were all things that Zhao Minghua secretly bought for Nuannuan.

The valuable things on my side were brought by Chunyu from the capital through a merchant. The little money my family had was only used to buy a manor and a shop for Nuannuan.

The dowry given by the Xiao family was less than half of what Xiao Chunyu received back then, which was very unfair to Chunnuan.

When Xu said these words to Chunnuan again, Chunnuan quickly tried to dissuade her.

"Aunt, this is already the best."

Back then, Madam Huang was worried that her daughter's wedding wouldn't be as lavish.

"You child, you've worried yourself sick over this family."

Because of the mourning period, she was delayed from the age of fifteen to eighteen, and she didn't get married until she was almost nineteen.

The child didn't complain at all.

She is such a good girl, and it's a shame she was able to marry into the Zhao family. Mrs. Zhao is also a very good person.

"Auntie wishes you and your husband a long and happy life together, and that you have a son soon."

"Thank you, auntie."

Chunnuan blushed slightly: "Thank you for your hard work, Auntie."

Chunnuan felt that this family really couldn't do without her aunt.

Look, even though she got married, her mother, Xu, is more relaxed than her aunt.

She was there greeting the guests, and the village women, who weren't familiar with her, would at most say, "Congratulations," to which she would reply, "Thank you, thank you."

Her mother, Xu, didn't worry about her dowry at all.

However, Xu, who had a moment to spare, waved her hand.

"Nuan Nuan, come here for a second."

Chunnuan followed her mother to her room.

Madam Xu pulled a small booklet from under her pillow and handed it to her.

"Mother, what is this?"

Medical books?
My mother still has some medical books hidden away.
Just as he was about to turn the page, Xu pressed the book down on his hand.

"Nuan Nuan, this is what you're supposed to do on your wedding night."

Xu blushed first. She wanted her sister-in-law to teach her about this, but her sister-in-law said that she was the mother and should be taught by her.

Unable to refuse, Xu had no choice but to dig out the books she had kept hidden away.

It was given directly to Chunnuan.

“You can read, you can look it up again later.” Madam Xu blushed and said, “It’s always like this on our wedding night. If your husband treats you well… just go along with it.”

I finally understand now that spring is here.

"Mother, I understand."

Look how embarrassed the mother is!
Chunnuan didn't understand matters of love between men and women, but she could imagine things like a man's meridians and pulse with her eyes closed.

Um... is this really as the book says?
When Chunnuan was hiding in her room looking through the book, she blushed furiously.

Medical books are indeed medical books.

That's right, she had actually seen it in the study; it was called the art of the bedroom, and it was described in great detail.

The books her mother gave her were described in a simple and direct way through illustrations.

Even though Chunnuan considers herself a doctor, and a physician who only sees patients and not genders, she felt a little embarrassed at this moment.

"Nuan Nuan, it's getting late. You need to get up early to get ready tomorrow. You should get some rest."

Seeing that the lights in Chunnuan's room were still on, Madam Xu came over specifically to remind her.

"Okay, Mother, I'll go to sleep now."

As spring warms up, I calm myself down and try to answer in a calm tone.

After turning off the lights, Chunnuan pulled the covers over her head, but then felt a bit stuffy, so she threw them off and gasped for breath.

Then I thought, tomorrow there will be another person sharing my bed... Oh, I can't think about it, I need to count the goats.

Spring warmth made me so drowsy that I didn't even know when I fell asleep.

He was woken up by his mother while he was still half asleep.

"Nuan Nuan, get up and get ready."

"Oh, good."

Zhu Lingling puts on makeup to welcome the spring.

"My second sister is the most beautiful bride I have ever seen."

After applying her makeup, Zhu Lingling carefully examined the woman and sincerely praised her.

"That's because my eldest sister-in-law is good at applying makeup."

Zhu Lingling was overjoyed to hear this. This sister-in-law was really, really good, so good that she treated her like a younger sister.

"Second sister, today you are getting married, but the Xiao family will always be your home, and the Xiao family's doors will always be open for you."

"Thank you, elder sister-in-law."

Chunnuan's dressing was done by an old lady surnamed Ye from the village. According to Aunt Luo, the old lady is eighty-six years old this year, with sharp hearing and eyesight. Her husband is eighty-eight, and they have many children and grandchildren. Their life is not rich, but it is not bad either. Her family is the most prosperous in the whole village.

All the girls in the village would ask her to be their "wives of good fortune" when they got married.

The old lady was quite old, and she arrived at the Xiao family's house very early in the morning.

"Grandma Ye, thank you for your hard work."

Chunnuan had treated her grandson's rash once, so she naturally recognized her.

"It's no trouble at all, Miss Xiao. I wish you happiness until you grow old," said Old Mrs. Ye. "Let me comb your hair."

"Thank you for your help."

"One comb to the end, two combs to white hair reaching the eyebrows, three combs to a house full of children and grandchildren." The old lady put a hairpin in Chunnuan's hair and covered her head with a veil.

"The auspicious time has arrived. Please, bride, get into the bridal sedan chair."