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

A competitor appears in Chapter 35.

Chunnuan accepted the old lady's suggestion and moved into Master Zhang's small courtyard with her sister-in-law.

"This courtyard is really nice."

"This is a place that can shelter us from the wind and rain," Zhu Lingling said. "Grandmother and Mother can move here."

"Grandmother has her concerns, and perhaps she is right."

After all, the old man has seen more roads than she has crossed bridges, and he has tasted more salt than she has eaten rice.

“Eldest sister-in-law, you’re quite far along in your pregnancy, so it’s easier for you to move around in this courtyard.”

In Shuikou Village, there is a dam outside the door, and then a high embankment, below which are the sandy fields they rent.

When Zhu Ling, who was six months pregnant, went out for a few steps, her whole family would be on tenterhooks, afraid that she would fall.

“The courtyard is not far from the village, so I can go back to see my grandmother and the others when I have free time.”

"It's about two miles away. It's best if you don't walk, sister-in-law. What if you have an attack on the way?"

"It won't be early, will it?" Zhu Lingling touched her high, swollen belly, feeling a little sad. "Second sister, I'm not biased towards boys, but I just want this child to be a son!"

"Eldest sister-in-law, I understand."

Being the eldest grandson of the fourth generation of the Xiao family—that's not about status, that's about responsibility!

My eldest uncle, third uncle, and eldest and second eldest brothers were exiled to the northern desert for ten years.

They are all frail people; it's uncertain whether they can withstand the strain and wait until the day they return.

The Xiao family now consists of only women and children. If they could have a son, it would greatly inspire their will to survive.

"Second sister, I'm scared..."

"Eldest sister-in-law, don't worry, I'm here to ensure your safety and that of your child."

"Yes, second sister, I believe you!"

Zhu Lingling, having nothing to do, suddenly remembered something.

“I once heard that some people copy books for bookstores and can earn tens of coins for copying a book. Second sister, could you ask someone to inquire if there is such a job? Although I am not very talented, my handwriting is passable.”

“Eldest sister-in-law, copying books is hard on your eyes, and you shouldn’t sit for long periods of time right now. You’ll have to wait until you’re out of confinement to earn this money.”

"But I'm free..."

"No, if you do some light activities every day, the delivery will go more smoothly and you will suffer less."

Chunnuan felt heartbroken to see that her elder sister-in-law's feet were terribly swollen. Every mother suffers a lot, but unfortunately, no one cares about these sufferings, and even the women themselves think that this is what they should suffer.

"Second sister, it's so good that you know medicine."

Zhu Lingling suddenly realized that all the things she had learned back then, such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, were just pastimes when she was bored. Needlework and cooking were for making a living, but a woman like Chun Nuan who had learned skills was a true talent.

The talented women praised by the world are all ethereal fairies who don't eat the food of mortals.

You don't know the hardships of life until you're down on your luck.

The Xiao family now understands the hardships of life.

From ladies and gentlemen who never lifted a finger to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, they were overjoyed to see the vegetables growing in front of their houses changing every day.

"Grandma, look, this is a loofah, this is a cucumber, and this is a bitter gourd leaf..." Chunyan helped the old lady out for a walk, introducing the plants as they went: "They've been planted for over a month and they've already grown vines. Aunt Luo said they'll bloom in a while."

"Wow, our Yan'er recognizes all these vegetables and melons now!"

“Of course I recognize it,” Chunyan said with a smile. “Grandmother, Yan’er is quite amazing now; she can recognize a lot of wild vegetables.”

"Yes, our Yan'er is amazing." The grandmother and granddaughter were talking when they saw someone coming towards their home.

"Grandmother, look! The young master of the Zhao family has arrived. He must be here to see my sister."

Zhao Minghua was surprised to receive the answer: "Nuannuan is not home."

"Grandma, I don't know where Miss Xiao has gone. I have something urgent to discuss with her."

"Is it urgent?"

The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Then go to the courtyard in town with the banyan tree and look for her. She and Lingling live there."

"Alright, thank you, madam. I'll go find Miss Xiao right away."

After walking a few steps, Zhao Minghua suddenly came to his senses.

"Celebrating a birthday, I remember that courtyard with the banyan tree belonged to Master Zhang?"

When they were kids, they often climbed the banyan tree, then climbed the wall, and went into the courtyard to play hide-and-seek. Anyway, the courtyard was always empty, and it was fully equipped. The servants of Master Zhang's family would come and clean it every three to five days.

Once, he even fell asleep in bed, only to wake up in the middle of the night.

When he ran back, the sky almost fell over his house. Everyone thought something had happened to him, and Qingsheng was beaten half to death for it.

"Yes, young master, you slept inside for half the night. Your family thought you had been kidnapped, and I got a beating."

"You still remember this?"

"of course I remember."

He wrote down every trouble the young master caused in his little notebook. He had taken the blame for him countless times since he was a child, and he was always the one who got beaten up. There was nothing he could do but endure it since he had chosen such a frivolous master.

Fortunately, his master never treated him badly and treated him like a brother.

"Then why would Miss Xiao be given a place to stay?"

"do not know."

Zhao Minghua... Maybe we should get rid of this servant? He answered so decisively, as if he didn't intend to use his brain at all?

"Young Master, why don't you just ask Miss Xiao directly later?"

"I need you to remind me."

Zhao Minghua thought about it for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out why Miss Xiao and Master Zhang had crossed paths again.

“The sandy field in front of the Xiao family’s house was originally planted by Master Zhang’s family before being leased to the Xiao family. After the rapeseed was harvested, the Xiao family would pull up the rapeseed stalks, saying they would keep them for firewood. Then they planted rice. Young master, you’ve forgotten, you even asked me to go down to the field to help with transplanting the rice seedlings.”

"That's right, the land is rented, so the house might be rented too." Zhao Minghua was thinking of giving her a courtyard so her family could move in, but it turns out that the other party had already made arrangements.

I felt that this Mr. Zhang had ulterior motives.

"Do the Zhang family and the Xiao family still have any dealings?"

"I heard that the Xiao family arrived late and didn't have any seedlings. It was Uncle Ma, the steward of the Zhang family, who went around talking to the tenants and asked them to give the Xiao family their remaining seedlings. That's why the Xiao family's sandy field was able to be completed smoothly."

The Zhang family's motives are impure: renting land, renting houses, and even helping to find rice seedlings.

Could it be that they know Miss Xiao has a knack for processing medicinal herbs and want to get a share of the profits?
A competitor has emerged?
Oh no! I should have signed a contract with Miss Xiao first, so that all the medicinal herbs she would produce would only be sold to Baicaotang!

Yes, we need to resolve this issue this time and nip Mr. Zhang's plan in the bud.

"The Zhang family doesn't own a pharmacy, young master. Aren't you overthinking this?"

"What do you know?" Zhao Minghua glared at him. "What do you think Master Zhang is doing if he doesn't go out? He's a cunning and treacherous old man. No one would complain about losing money."

(End of this chapter)