Jiang A Yao remained silent, quietly picking up the flatbread and eating it bite after bite.
She was genuinely hungry.
After a day filled with shocks and frights, she had never experienced such situations in both her lifetimes combined.
By evening, the person sent to buy medicine returned, not only with medicine but also with plenty of meat pies and steamed buns.
Scarface gave Jiang A Yao two more meat pies, but at the same time, tasked her with preparing the herbal decoction. Moreover, she had to brew the medicine under their watchful eyes and was not allowed to take it outside.
Under someone else’s roof, one must bow their head. Jiang A Yao had no choice but to follow their instructions. However, as she was brewing the medicine, she saw them feeding meat pies to their injured master. Though she initially had no intention of intervening, she could no longer hold back.
Although the man’s wound had been bandaged, he had lost too much blood and was in severe pain. Drifting in and out of consciousness, how could he possibly have the strength to eat meat pies?
These rough men—she had barely managed to save their master’s life, but with their feeding methods, they would surely end up killing him sooner or later.
“He can’t eat meat pies. He needs something thinner and softer,” Jiang A Yao spoke up.
Scarface frowned and asked, “Then what should he eat? He didn’t eat the bland, watery meal from this afternoon either.”
Jiang A Yao replied, “He needs refined rice and flour—soft, fine grains.”
Upon hearing this, the person responsible for buying the medicine shouted, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ve already returned from town, and it’s this late—where am I supposed to buy it now?”
His voice was too loud, startling Jiang A Yao. She lowered her eyes slightly and whispered, “You were all shouting about killing earlier, and I almost got hacked to death. Isn’t it normal that I didn’t think of it then?”
The medicine buyer’s expression turned even uglier, but Scarface said, “Go door-to-door in the village to buy some. Offer a higher price—we just need to manage for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’ll send someone to town to buy more.”
Jiang A Yao whispered, “The villagers can’t afford refined rice and flour. No matter how much money you offer, you won’t be able to buy any.”
Even that low-quality strong liquor wasn’t something every household could brew—it was wine the villagers sold, and they themselves couldn’t bear to drink more than a sip.
Seeing Scarface’s face darken, Jiang A Yao quickly added, “My family has some, but I need to go back to get it.”
The medicine buyer raised his voice again, “Are you trying to run away again?”
“With so many of you here, where could I possibly run?” Jiang A Yao sighed. “There’s also a patient in my family, and his condition is even worse than your master’s. I just hope you can agree to this: I’ll cook for your master, but could you spare a bowl for my younger sister?”
“She’s truly very ill. If she misses even a meal or two, she could die.”
Scarface gave her a deep look and said, “Fine, but you must cook under our supervision, and then you can take the food back to your sister.”
Jiang A Yao immediately nodded, “That’s fine, as long as I can bring it to her.”
Scarface then ordered a subordinate standing nearby, “A Long, go with her to get the refined rice and flour.”
“Yes.”
The one called A Long was the person Jiang A Yao had vomited all over.
He disliked Jiang A Yao intensely, but since she could save his master’s life, he had no choice but to endure it.
“Keep an eye on the fire. Don’t let the stove go out,” Jiang A Yao reminded them before leaving.
Scarface nodded to indicate he understood.
A Long followed behind Jiang A Yao as they headed toward the Lu family’s house.
At this moment, Lu Da was still worried about her. Seeing her return, his eyes filled with delight, but the joy vanished instantly when he noticed the person following behind.
“I came back to get refined flour. That man is severely injured and needs to eat the same as Mingzhu. Don’t worry—after I cook, I’ll bring a portion back for my sister. Just take care of yourself.”
As soon as Jiang A Yao finished speaking, A Long took a silver ingot from his pocket and placed it directly on the table.
“We won’t take your things for free.”
Jiang A Yao glanced at it—the silver given was quite generous.
Lu Da looked at Jiang A Yao and, after receiving her signal, brought out the refined rice and refined flour from the kitchen, along with a small jar of sesame oil and lard.
A Long took them without letting Jiang A Yao lift a finger. “Just these? Can we go now?”
His tone made it clear he didn’t want Jiang A Yao and Lu Da to chat further. Understanding his meaning, Jiang A Yao said nothing more.
Lu Da watched them leave, his expression turning serious. He turned back into the house and began making preparations in secret.
After Jiang A Yao returned with A Long, she checked the medicine and found it acceptable, then went to the stove to cook.
Just as she had done for Mingzhu, she made a thin batter with chopped green vegetables. This time, however, she drizzled in eggs but omitted the meat. Before taking it off the heat, she added a splash of sesame oil, filling the air with a rich aroma.
As agreed earlier, she prepared a bowl for their master and another portion for Lu Mingzhu.
Since A Long had been to the Lu family earlier, the task of delivering the meal was assigned to him.
But the injured man was too severely hurt, and the rough men around him were incapable of feeding him. This task fell to Jiang A Yao alone.
Scarface stood beside her, his eyes wide like a bull’s, staring intently as if afraid she might harm his master.
Jiang A Yao moved gently. The man, starving, ate mouthful after mouthful and finished quickly.
“Is there more?”
Scarface turned to ask his subordinate, but before the man could reply, Jiang A Yao said, “Even if there is, he can’t eat more. If he’s too full, how will he take his medicine later?”
“But the master looks unwell. He hasn’t eaten all day—how can such a small bowl be enough?”
Scarface’s face was full of concern. Jiang A Yao stood up, glanced at him, and said, “If someone cut you open and you lost that much blood, you wouldn’t look well either.”
Hearing this, Scarface’s subordinate widened his eyes. “You, girl, have a perfectly good mouth—why can’t you speak properly?”
His voice was so loud it made Jiang A Yao shrink her neck slightly. She hurried toward the medicine stove.
Scarface stopped his subordinate, preventing him from saying more.
Then, he walked over to Jiang A Yao, watching her fan the flames, and asked, “Miss, what’s your name?”
“Jiang A Yao.”
She didn’t hide it. Even if she didn’t say it now, they could easily find out by asking around.
“Miss Jiang, our master is an important person and must be well cared for. What I said this morning was no lie—if you heal him, the reward is a hundred taels of gold.”
Scarface emphasized the last four words.
Moreover, he said “reward in gold,” not “reward in silver.”
A hundred taels of gold was no small sum. For the villagers in this poor mountain valley, that amount of money was enough to change their lives.
“I understand. I’ll do my best.”
After speaking, Jiang A Yao turned to Scarface and asked, “Didn’t your men go to town this afternoon? Why not bring back another doctor from there?”
When they sought her out, it was due to dire circumstances and sheer necessity. However, by the time the man went to purchase medicine, their master was already out of life-threatening danger. They could have easily called another doctor to the village to treat him.
Hearing this, Scarface replied truthfully, “A Long asked the doctors. They said the prescription you wrote was excellent—it was indeed medicine for patients recovering from injuries. Several doctors in town were consulted, and none could come up with a better prescription than yours. There was no need for us to invite anyone else.”
“Miss Jiang, you claimed you only recognize medicinal herbs and have never handled such wounds before, yet you seem quite experienced to me.”
His words carried a probing tone, and Scarface’s pitch-black eyes stared directly at her.
Jiang A Yao kept her gaze fixed on the fire in the stove, her expression appearing calm, but her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest.