Ning Yuchan did not pay attention to the surrounding crowd. She ate quietly.
Her mind was filled with thoughts of how to make the plaster stop irritating the skin.
If only she had a master.
Such a person would definitely be able to see at a glance where her problem lay.
Unfortunately, there was no doctor in Huojia Village. There was one in Dayang Village, but she had never heard that he knew how to prepare plaster.
If she really could not think of a way, she could only go back to Dayang Village to ask. Perhaps the other party might know.
Old Lady Huo’s birthday banquet was held very grandly.
The firecrackers alone were set off for the duration of one incense stick, and the flowing banquet lasted from morning until night. More than one hundred taels of silver were spent.
Tian Fengying returned after finishing her meal.
She had eaten plenty of meat and endured plenty of anger as well.
Old Lady Huo favored the Eldest Branch. Though all were descendants of the Huo family, Father Huo had nothing.
The house had been bought by himself, the land had to be farmed by himself, and even when his ankle was injured, he had no silver to see a doctor.
But what about the Eldest Branch? Eldest Aunt Huo wore gold and silver all year round and made several new sets of clothes every year.
Today, Father Huo had brought two packages of pastries and two jin of pork, yet Old Lady Huo did not even take a glance.
It was obvious that she disliked the second son for bringing too little.
She did not know that this silver had been given by Huo Mingqian.
If she expected the Second Branch to spend their own money to show filial piety, they might as well dig up a handful of dirt from the yard.
“When people are poor, their ambitions shrink,” Tian Fengying complained as she saw Ning Yuchan return, stitching the soles of shoes as she spoke. “Your father and mother are like this for their whole lives. Half their bodies are already in the grave. You all must have some ambition and live better lives.”
Ning Yuchan smiled and poured her a bowl of water. “Mother, we will work hard.”
The more Tian Fengying looked at her daughter-in-law, the more she liked her.
“Yuchan is someone with good fortune. This life will definitely improve… ah…”
Tian Fengying had not eaten rich food for a long time. Today, after suddenly eating a large amount of meat and fish, her stomach could not handle it. Before she finished speaking, she clutched her belly and rushed to the latrine.
Ning Yuchan liked Tian Fengying’s straightforward temperament.
Seeing her hurried back, she could not help but laugh.
Father Huo returned later. As a man, he had accompanied the guests and drank quite a lot.
When he entered, his face was flushed, and his steps were unsteady.
Huo Mingqian helped him back.
Ning Yuchan noticed that Father Huo had drunk too much and hurried over to help.
“Father, be careful. There’s a threshold here.”
Father Huo did not hear what she said and only spoke his own thoughts, “Mother was happy today. She invited me to drink and even said that over these years, I have worked the hardest…”
Perhaps the alcohol was too strong, and tears flowed from his eyes. He wiped them forcefully.
Ning Yuchan felt uncomfortable in her heart.
Ever since Father Huo married Tian Fengying, they had lived separately.
For more than twenty years, Old Lady Huo had never helped him even once.
Today, just because she took the initiative to say a few words to him, he was moved to tears.
Huo Mingqian stood from a different perspective, so his view was naturally different.
“Second Brother, Mother has not had it easy these years either. Eldest Brother’s two sons are both troublesome, and Mother has worried herself sick over them. You should be more understanding…”
“Why should we be understanding?” Tian Fengying had just returned from the latrine and happened to hear Huo Mingqian’s unpleasant words.
“They are all the same sons. We moved out to live separately. Out of more than two hundred mu of land in the Huo family, have we been given even one mu?
Are Changsheng, Changshou, and Taohua not descendants of the Huo family?”
Huo Mingqian was at a loss and could not argue with Tian Fengying.
“Second Sister-in-law, I will speak to Mother about this matter. I will definitely give you an explanation.”
Tian Fengying snorted and took Father Huo from his hands. “There had better be an explanation. For so many years, Mother has wronged Changsheng’s father and given all the benefits to the Eldest Branch. Even the villagers can’t stand it. If this continues, it will be as if she herself does not acknowledge these descendants.”
Huo Mingqian could restrain Eldest Aunt Huo and could also make the family treat the Second Branch more politely on the day of the birthday banquet.
But he could not change Old Lady Huo’s thinking.
She believed that the Tian family was responsible for her husband’s death. Back then, when she failed to break up her second son and Tian Fengying, she had suppressed that resentment for more than twenty years.
How could she possibly change her mind after just a few words of persuasion from her youngest son?
“Unless the second son divorces the Tian woman, then I will treat the two grandsons and granddaughter equally, and divide all the family’s land and property evenly. Otherwise, they can only watch.”
Tian Fengying had been married to Father Huo for more than twenty years and had given birth to two sons and one daughter, without ever committing any fault. How could she possibly be divorced?
Moreover, Father Huo wholeheartedly loved Tian Fengying. Otherwise, he would have long ago bowed his head to Old Lady Huo and lived a life of ease with food brought to him and clothes handed to him.
When the Eldest Branch heard that Old Lady Huo might divide the property evenly, the husband and wife, both calculating by nature, naturally would not refrain from adding a few persuasive words in their favor.
Huo Mingqian had no choice but to let Old Lady Huo have her way.
The next morning, Ning Yuchan and Taohua went together to Dayang Village to consult the old doctor.
The two villages were close, and it was Ning Yuchan’s natal home, so Tian Fengying felt at ease and did not follow.
As the sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law passed by the west end of the village, they happened to see Ning Yuqiao coming out to look for chickens. The two sisters inevitably chatted for a few moments.
After they parted, Ning Yuqiao felt puzzled. Father Huo’s foot injury was not serious.
Was there really a need to see a doctor again and again?
Going to both the city and the countryside.
Father Huo’s family was not wealthy. It was said that just getting three doses of medicine in the city had cost more than twenty taels, enough to buy ginseng.
Ning Yuqiao always felt that something was going on.
She returned to the house to inform Mother Liang, then followed Ning Yuchan’s footsteps back to Dayang Village.
Ning Yuchan went first to Doctor Yang’s house.
She did not say that she had made the plaster herself. She only said that she had bought several patches of plaster in the city, and after applying them, the skin on the ankle felt as if it had been burned, becoming red and itchy.
She also brought along some of the used plaster.
Doctor Yang placed it under his nose and sniffed it. He was only a village doctor with limited experience. He could tell that the smell was off, but could not explain why.
Ning Yuchan grew a little anxious. “Grandpa Yang, please take another look. Could it be that the person who made the plaster missed a step?”
Doctor Yang stroked his beard and said with a smile, “Girl, if I had that kind of ability, I would have gone to the city to be a doctor long ago.”
Ning Yuchan felt disappointed and sighed inwardly.
Even without discussing the medicinal properties, if she could not solve the problem of causing skin redness and swelling, her plaster could not be used at all.
“Thank you, Grandpa Yang. I’ll think of another way.”
As Doctor Yang saw that she was about to leave, he suddenly thought of someone. “I have a friend who runs a medicine shop in the city. His medical skills are no joke. Back then, he even went to the capital to apply for the position of imperial physician, but unfortunately, he was pushed out by others’ schemes. Otherwise, he would be an imperial physician now.
If you really want to know, go and ask him.”
Ning Yuchan felt delighted. “Thank you so much, Grandpa Yang. I’ll go tomorrow.”
Doctor Yang wrote down the address on a slip of paper and handed it to her. “When you go, just say you’re my great-grandniece. He will definitely tell you.”
Ning Yuchan thanked him repeatedly, put away the slip of paper, and left Old Yang’s medicine shop together with Taohua.
By the time they returned to Old Man Ning’s house, Ning Yuqiao had already been in the courtyard for a while.
“Yuchan, you left before me. How did you end up arriving after me?”
Ning Yuchan answered truthfully, “I went to Doctor Yang’s place.”
Ning Yuqiao carefully observed her younger sister’s expression. It all seemed to be the truth.
“Second Uncle’s leg still hasn’t healed? Yesterday I saw him walking and it seemed fine. Is it really that serious?”
Ning Yuchan said, “He had an old injury before. This time, he was hit again and sustained a new injury. It looks fine, but it’s actually still serious.”
Ever since his two daughters had married, Old Man Ning could not eat well or sleep well. All day long, he only worried about his daughters.
Today, seeing both of them, he smiled so much that the wrinkles on his face seemed to increase by two more lines.
“Yuqiao, Yuchan, Taohua, we’ll have dumplings for lunch today. I’ll go prepare the filling.”
In early spring, there were not many green vegetables. Old Man Ning had stored a lot of radishes in the cellar.
Last year, after slaughtering a pig, they had stored lard and fat residue. The radishes were chopped finely, mixed with lard and fat residue. The taste was exceptional.
Ning Yuchan had long been craving the dumplings from home.
A rosy blush appeared on her fair face, and her eyes carried a bit more youthful liveliness.
“Father, you stay. I’ll do it.”
Old Man Ning responded with an “Ai,” “I’ll go to the cellar to get the radishes.”
Ning Yuqiao remained the same as always, doing nothing, just standing there with her eyes wide open like a supervisor.
Ning Yuchan did not argue with her. In any case, making dumplings for one extra person was not a big matter.
Old Man Ning treated her well. Even if she suffered some unfairness, she was willing to endure it for his sake.
Washing the radishes, chopping the filling, mixing in the lard…
Ning Yuchan rolled up her sleeves and worked efficiently and neatly.
Taohua assisted her. After kneading the dough, it needed to rest for a while. In less than half an hour, they would be able to eat fragrant, plump dumplings.
“Father,” Ning Yuchan said while rolling out dumpling wrappers, “a couple of days ago, when I went to the city, I ran into Brother Liu. He even stuffed two taels of silver into my hand, saying it was a congratulatory gift for my marriage.”
Old Man Ning thought of that man, seven chi tall, who would let out a chuckle before speaking, and tapped his tobacco pipe twice.
“If you were unwilling to marry into the Huo family, that young man would also be a good choice.”
Saying such words in front of Taohua, Ning Yuchan spoke in a slightly coquettish tone, “Father, I like Brother Huo. I won’t marry anyone else.”
Taohua was just about to refute Old Man Ning, thinking that her elder brother was the most worthy man in the world to marry.
Hearing Ning Yuchan’s words, she immediately broke into a proud smile.
“Sister-in-law, you have the best judgment. My elder brother is kind, strong, and treats everyone well. If you marry my elder brother, you can just wait to enjoy a good life.”
On the surface, Ning Yuqiao remained expressionless, but inwardly, she could not help but complain.
Huo Changsheng was already dead. What use was being kind and strong?
How could one live a life without a man?
Not to mention anything else, without having a child, what would happen in old age?
Ning Yuchan kept smiling gently.
She deliberately teased Taohua. “How do you know your elder brother likes me too? What if he doesn’t think highly of me?”
Taohua was full of confidence. “I know my elder brother’s taste. He’s just like me. He likes someone like you, Sister-in-law.”
Old Man Ning found it amusing. “You’re not a worm in your elder brother’s stomach.”
Taohua was about to argue. Once, when he was dreaming, he had called out “Sister Yuchan.”
But in front of Old Man Ning, she felt too embarrassed to say it.
If Ning Yuqiao heard it, who knew what bad ideas she might come up with?
“But I’m his younger sister. I know what kind of person he is.”
His daughter was even more beautiful than the peach blossoms outside. Old Man Ning laughed heartily. “I just fear your elder brother might not have that good fortune. If he does, he’ll come back sooner. Then he’ll know how good Yuchan is, and the two of them will definitely be able to live well together.”
The dumpling wrappers were rolled out quickly. Ning Yuchan could not help but picture Huo Changsheng’s simple and honest appearance in her mind.
When he left back then, she had only been Taohua’s age.
He still had some youthful innocence. Although he had grown up in the countryside, his skin was not very dark.
It was wheat-colored, healthy, and full of strength.
Not knowing what she had thought of, Ning Yuchan’s ears quietly turned red.