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

Chapter 85

The heating device that Chunnuan bought with Wu's help, although it couldn't compare to the hand warmers in Beijing, had many other uses and was well-liked by the Chun'an and Chunqiang brothers.

The wet nurse, Aunt Wu, taught them to roast gourds, peanuts, and sweet potatoes in a drying basket.

"The sweet potatoes should be small, otherwise they won't cook through."

Wu Ma is very experienced in this area and taught the two children step by step.

Upon seeing this scene, Huang sighed again.

She absolutely disagreed with her sons learning these useless things.

"Chun'an, go practice your calligraphy. Chunqiang, how's your recitation of the Three Character Classic coming along?"

Huang couldn't openly criticize Wu, but she was very annoyed by Wu's actions.

What is she teaching? It's all the tricks that country kids play.

The young noblemen of the capital studied the Six Arts, but now that the Xiao family has fallen to the Shu region, they can no longer continue their studies, but they still need to understand the most basic rules.

These lowbrow things should be avoided.

Seeing her aunt's expression change, Chunnuan silently suppressed her playful mood.

Originally, it was thought to be a fun way to leave Chun'an and the others with some nice childhood memories, but now it seems that Auntie's memories are more rigorous.

"Would you like some roasted sweet potato, young lady?" Wu seemed oblivious to these questions. "In our village, there's a saying: 'Sweet potatoes are born with the surname Zhang, but boiled ones aren't as fragrant as roasted ones.' Roasted sweet potatoes have been our favorite food since we were little."

"Of course I'll take it," Chunnuan said with a smile. "Then I'll trouble Aunt Wu to roast some sweet potatoes for me."

These sweet potatoes were planted in the sandy field with the help of Uncle Luo by Chun Ning and Chun Yan. They were small, but the yield was quite high, with a total of more than 200 jin (100 kg) harvested.

Uncle Luo said it was because of a lack of fertilizer, and then personally taught Chun Ning how to compost.

After planting sweet potatoes, they planted wheat and rapeseed.

For the Xiao family, farming for the first time revealed that the hardest part wasn't people, but the land itself; there was practically no rest.

Wheat is now planted in the sandy fields, rapeseed is planted on the sides, broad beans and peas are planted on the field ridges, and many other vegetables are planted on the ridges.

Whenever Aunt Luo wanted to plant any vegetables, she would share some seedlings with them and teach them how to plant them step by step.

After studying for more than half a year, Chun Ning felt that she was incredibly good at farming.

Apart from a slightly lower labor force, everything else is not a problem.

Uncle Luo also thought he was very capable.

After Chunnuan's instruction, he became very skilled in massage and manipulation.

Combined with the medicinal wine prepared by Chunnuan, and massages given to those former boatmen, the pain in their old legs, backs, and arms was relieved.

These brothers gave him a few coins at a time, and for a while, his business at the dock was quite good. In the end, he earned much more than he did pulling boats.

On this day, Master Xiao sat in his exclusive massage chair.

"I told you, I've been watching you cause trouble at the docks every day, but I don't think I've ever seen you pay any fees."

"Third Master, please be merciful. I don't have anything to sell, except my strength." Uncle Luo cursed inwardly, but still had to be respectful to him outwardly: "Third Master, as you know, I used to be a boatman, but my body couldn't take it, and I developed a lot of health problems. A few days ago, I even had trouble walking. I couldn't make a living by boatman anymore, so I had to do something else."

"You can't walk, so what's going on?"

Third Master Xiao pointed at his stall and said, "If you're going to pretend, at least make it look convincing!"

"Third Master, please understand, I really couldn't walk anymore. By chance, I met an old hunter in the mountains who gave me some medicinal wine. I remembered this and took out the wine to apply, which made me feel much better. Then I thought about how my brothers often have aches and pains, so I set up a stall here..."

He only earns three or five coins per person, and he still has to charge himself. He works for nothing all day, so he might as well go home and rest.

"You're exaggerating a bit. You think you can just rub some liniment on your feet and be fine?" "Third Master, I've been pulling boats at this dock for over twenty years. I know all the guys who pull boats. I wouldn't lie to them, would I?"

Uncle Luo really wanted to curse. "Your family are all inhuman, while I'm earning my living honestly and with my own skills."

"Okay, come on, give Grandpa a massage."

He just sat there and wouldn't get up.

"What's wrong, Third Master?"

"I feel uncomfortable all over."

Uncle Luo had no choice but to give him a full massage.

"Ouch……"

With a little effort, Third Master Xiao started roaring.

"Old Luo, are you looking for death? What did you do to Third Master?"

The servants immediately stepped forward to deal with Uncle Luo.

"Get off him, don't touch him." But Third Master groaned and said, "It hurts a bit, but it feels really good. Keep going, don't stop."

So the two servants saw their third master screaming and saying how good it felt while being kneaded by Old Luo, and he kept saying to keep going.

Uncle Luo really went a bit too far; to put it another way, it was like he was taking revenge without waiting in line.

"Third Master, do you feel more comfortable after the massage?"

"More than that, it feels wonderful." Master Xiao said, "From now on, whenever I have free time, you can give me a massage. I'll decide not to charge you any fees."

"Thank you for your consideration, Third Master." Uncle Luo said, "There is one thing I still need to remind you, Third Master. You will feel pain all over your body after today's massage, but that is normal and you don't need to worry."

"Okay, I'm a man, not a woman. I'm not afraid of pain. Keep pinching, pinch more, it feels good."

Uncle Luo simply stopped holding back and squeezed him with all his might, since it wasn't him who was in pain anyway.

The pig-like screams of Master Xiao echoed across the dock.

"Does it hurt that much?" The boatmen waiting to be pulled looked at each other, and finally shook him. They had all enjoyed Brother Luo's massage before, and it shouldn't hurt this badly.

"You don't understand. Master Xiao is a rich man. Naturally, he has to work much harder to be Brother Luo for a rich man. Unlike us, it's like scratching an itch."

"Yes, yes, yes, the service is different when it's for important people, and it's different when it's just for us."

After he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

Xiao Sanye's screams stopped, he got up, and said he felt much better.

"Now I believe you too, you really are amazing," said Third Master Xiao. "I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"Third Master, you should come back in a few days. Otherwise, if you experience both the new and old pains at the same time, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear the pain."

"Who am I? When have I ever been afraid of pain?"

Uncle Luo... you're the epitome of forgetfulness!
One moment they were screaming like pigs being slaughtered, the next they were putting on a brave face.

The greatest skill these people possess is their stubbornness!

However, it's good to let him rest a bit after all this hard work.

At least I don't have to pay any fees, so I guess I made money off him.

Uncle Luo comforted himself, saying that when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. After all, he was standing on Xiao's Wharf, so he had to admit defeat!
Babies, please vote for Zhizhi if you have any votes, thank you!

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(End of this chapter)