Going to Luliang County?
Could it be to the Magistrate Office to annul the marriage?
Han Qiuniang and the other two immediately turned pale, thinking Lu Qing was about to abandon them.
“Husband, please don’t divorce us! If you’re angry, you can beat us, just please don’t send us away,” Han Qiuniang cried, dropping to her knees and kowtowing.
Why else go to Luliang County?
Maybe Lu Qing believed getting lost last night was their curse, and now he was taking them to the Magistrate Office to annul the marriage. If they were divorced, they’d have no way to survive. They couldn’t return to their maiden homes.
The only outcome would be getting handed over by the Magistrate to fulfill Annual Tribute—what awaited them would be hell on earth.
“Husband, please don’t send us away. If you’re angry, take it out on us,” Cheng Su’e also knelt and pleaded.
“Husband, I beg you,” Zheng Yulan even brought out a rattan whip.
No matter what happened today, they couldn’t let Lu Qing divorce them.
“I never said I was going to send you away. I’m going to Luliang County to buy some things. There’s too much to carry, so I’m bringing you along. If you’re unwilling, I’ll ask someone else,” Lu Qing said, both amused and exasperated.
Though Han Qiuniang, Cheng Su’e, and Zheng Yulan looked plain now, once they got proper nutrition and recovered, they’d become absolute beauties in less than half a year. How could he possibly let go of such good wives?
“Go, go, go!” Han Qiuniang nodded rapidly like a pecking chicken. As long as they weren’t being divorced, they’d follow Lu Qing even into a dragon’s den or tiger’s lair.
“Let’s go,” Lu Qing said, leading the three to Luliang County.
At the village entrance, many people saw the four leaving Manglong Village.
“Are they heading to the Magistrate Office for a divorce?”
“Looks like it.”
“Lu Qing is just being ridiculous. We all warned him that the Han family’s girls were bad luck. He didn’t listen, thought he was tough. Now look, he almost died.”
Sun Magan grinned with schadenfreude.
Soon, the topic in Manglong Village shifted from Lu Qing being cursed to Lu Qing divorcing his wives.
In Luliang County, Lu Qing brought Han Qiuniang, Cheng Su’e, and Zheng Yulan into the city. The four entered a pharmacy.
The moment they stepped in, the thick scent of herbs filled the air. Two apprentices were busy measuring herbs, while an elderly physician with white hair and beard was attending to a patient—he looked the part of an experienced doctor.
“Are you here for treatment or to pick up medicine?” the shopkeeper came forward to ask.
“Do you buy ginseng here?” Lu Qing asked.
He smiled as he quoted the price.
In a place like Luliang County, one guan was already a high price.
Especially when looking at folks like Lu Qing and his wives, dressed in worn, patched clothing—obviously from the countryside and unfamiliar with city prices. One guan sounded like a fortune to them.
Lu Qing could tell from the shopkeeper’s eyes that he saw him as an easy mark.
“Alright,” Lu Qing didn’t argue. Under the puzzled gaze of Han Qiuniang and the other two, he pulled out the ginseng he had dug.
It was wrapped carefully in a clean cloth, with every root hair intact and undamaged.
“Take a look and tell me the price,” Lu Qing said.
The shopkeeper’s eyes gleamed with greed. “Alright.”
He examined it closely.
“This ginseng is excellent—worth two guan,” the shopkeeper finally said, offering what he thought was a very generous price.
Two guan?
Han Qiuniang, Cheng Su’e, and Zheng Yulan were dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected that the ginseng Lu Qing dug up would be so valuable.
One guan was 300 copper coins, two guan was 600 copper coins. Not just in Manglong Village—even in Luliang County, that was enough to count as a small fortune. An average household, after taxes, might not even earn one guan a year.
They couldn’t help swallowing nervously. A prosperous life was finally within reach.
The three looked at Lu Qing with guilt.
They had completely misunderstood him.
They’d assumed he squandered their dowries on useless junk. But it turned out Lu Qing had gone into the mountains to dig ginseng.
Those strange tools must have been for that very purpose. With proper tools, the ginseng remained intact.
They had seen people dig ginseng before, but without proper tools, using hoes or spades, the ginseng often came out damaged or broken.
While the three women were still fantasizing about the 600 wen, Lu Qing smiled and put the ginseng away.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning without another word.
“Wait!” the shopkeeper rushed after him. “Young master, what do you mean by this?”
He looked bewildered. Had he said something wrong?
He wasn’t stupid.
This was at least a hundred-year-old ginseng, and the shopkeeper wanted to buy it for two guan? What a joke.
“If this is business, why not give me a price then?” the shopkeeper asked awkwardly. He had thought these country folks were easy to fool. Who’d have thought he misjudged?
“30 taels of silver,” Lu Qing quoted his expected price.
“What?” The whole pharmacy fell silent.
Everyone stared at Lu Qing in shock, wondering who could say something so outrageous—30 taels?
Even Han Qiuniang, Cheng Su’e, and Zheng Yulan felt breathless, as if crushed by a mountain. They never expected Lu Qing to ask for thirty taels of silver.
30 taels?
They couldn’t even comprehend that amount. It was beyond imagination.
Even the shopkeeper looked stunned.
“You’re not joking, are you, young master?”
“Farewell,” Lu Qing said, turning again.
“Wait!” the shopkeeper rushed to block him again. “Young master, 30 taels is too much. Can we lower it a bit?”
“Then name your price. But if you try to fool me again, we’re done here,” Lu Qing warned.
“How about 25 taels? That’s already the best price I can offer, and I guarantee no one else in all of Luliang County will go higher,” the shopkeeper said through gritted teeth.
Lu Qing thought, You old crook. First you tried two guan, now you’re offering 25 taels. What a scoundrel.
“Deal,” Lu Qing agreed without hesitation.
He knew well that the shopkeeper would still make a huge profit reselling it. But right now, Lu Qing needed the money and had no connections to sell it himself. So 25 taels was already more than satisfying.
“Great!” the shopkeeper grinned through clenched teeth. Damn brat. If I’d known, I’d have offered twenty taels instead.
Lu Qing accepted 15 taels in silver and exchanged the remaining 10 taels for 100 guan in copper coins.
As they walked out of the pharmacy, Han Qiuniang, Cheng Su’e, and Zheng Yulan felt like they were in a dream. They kept scanning their surroundings, terrified someone might come to rob them—after all, they were now carrying a total of 25 taels of silver.
None of them had ever seen so much money in their entire lives.