After learning the price of a basket of wild greens, Shen Song took advantage of his family's inattention to use the Blessed Land Technique all over the place.
Liu Chunxia, Xu Hongmei, and Shen Sanqiu squatted on the ground and dug away.
They had thought they'd be lucky to find a decent patch, but it turned out to be one patch after another.
Shen Song didn't use up all his mental energy—he was saving some to use on the plots of land in front of and behind their house when they got back.
Shen Song joined in digging the wild greens too. This time they had come out carrying their baskets on their backs.
They dug for nearly four hours, their hands turning dark and grimy, black mud packed into the crevices of their fingernails and the small cuts on their hands.
In total they filled four baskets, each holding roughly twenty jin, which worked out to eighty wen.
On the way back, the smiles never left the faces of Liu Chunxia and the other three.
Shen Song was thinking that once they got the wild greens home, he would go into the mountains again to see if he could catch some more animals.
Even someone as clueless about money as he was knew that animals were worth far more than wild greens.
But this time Liu Chunxia refused. Yesterday's Five-Step Viper had truly frightened her.
Just a little more, and her Song-ge’er would have been gone.
After dinner yesterday, she had asked Sanqiu about it, and her heart was still filled with lingering fear. Thank goodness the snake had seemed plague-stricken and hadn't bitten anyone. Otherwise she wouldn't even know where to go to cry her heart out.
The family now had a little over ten taels in savings. If they worked a bit harder, they could live a good life. With the extra income from wild greens as well, no matter what, Liu Chunxia would not let Shen Song go risking his life in the mountains again.
Still, speaking of the mountains reminded her of her fourth daughter, Shen Bing.
She had five sons, two daughters, and one ge’er.
Her eldest son Shen Jing had married Xu Hongmei, a daughter of the Xu family from Xiaoxi Village.
The two of them had two sons, Yi'an and Erkang, and one daughter, Wuxi.
Her second son Shen Zhun had married Zhou Gu, a ge’er from Zhou Family Village. The two of them had two ge’er sons, Sanqiu and Liurui.
Her fifth son Shen Chong had married Maizi, a ge’er from the Li family of Shanwagou. They had a young ge’er son, Siping, and a little boy, Qitian, the youngest of the grandchildren.
Her sixth son Shen Jue and seventh son Shen Lie were twin boys, already eighteen this year, but no marriage had been arranged yet.
Her eighth son Shen Song was a ge’er, sixteen this year, also not yet betrothed.
Her two daughters ranked third and fourth.
Her third daughter Shen Ning had married into neighboring Wang Family Village, but she had married outside the surname, into the Li family—to Li Geng.
The Li family had come fleeing from famine in grandfather's generation, and their roots in the village were not secure. They had no land of their own and could only rent fields to farm; their life was even harder than the Shen family's.
Her fourth daughter Shen Bing had married Zhao Lu, a hunter from Hutou Mountain, and lived right in the mountains, with no house or fields at the mountain's foot.
A hunter could accumulate some savings from hunting, but the taxes were heavy, and it was a deadly line of work.
Living in the mountains was inconvenient in every way, and they lacked rice, flour, grain, and oil—though meat was not too scarce.
Neither daughter had married well, to be honest, but these were the best matches the Shen family could find.
Liu Chunxia rather wanted to go visit her two daughters.
She figured she would first deliver wild greens to the town a few times and save up some copper coins. Then, when it was time to buy seeds, she could also buy some soy sauce, salt, and brown sugar to bring to her two daughters.
After they got back, Shen Song crouched in the yard and blessed all the land in front of and behind the house with the Blessed Land Technique.
In the afternoon, Liu Chunxia went to town to deliver the wild greens, but Shen Song, his mental energy somewhat overdrawn, felt terribly weak and lay on the bed board unable to get up.
Liu Chunxia was terrified and wanted to find a doctor to take a look. Shen Song knew his own condition and said there was no need. "I'm just too tired. I'll be fine after some sleep."
Liu Chunxia's wrinkled face was full of worry as she urged Shen Song to rest well.
She took Xu Hongmei, Zhou Gu, and Li Maizi to town.
The four baskets of wild greens were delivered to the restaurant without a hitch. Shopkeeper Xu hadn't expected such a large delivery, and after inspecting them, all passed quality checks, so he paid up readily.
With so many wild greens delivered, Shopkeeper Xu had no worry about selling them.
Besides stir-fried wild greens, he could also pickle them or use them as side dishes.
Zhou Niandong made wild green and pork wontons, which sold extremely well. Shopkeeper Xu also had them make wild green meat buns, which could be taken to go and sold even better.
The wild greens from the Shen family had a fresh, sweet flavor that not only greatly reduced the gaminess of the meat but also made the filling taste fresh and refreshing.
Of the four baskets of wild greens, three were pickled, and the remaining basket was about one day's worth of sales.
The Shen family's wild greens were so good that Shopkeeper Xu hoped they would deliver more so he could pickle plenty of them. When summer came, they would make an excellent accompaniment to wine—surely delicious.
Every day, Shen Song used his earth-element ability to infuse the soil with plenty of energy. The wild greens absorbed the energy, growing tender and fresh.
Liu Chunxia went out either with her daughter-in-law or her son-in-law, digging up two or three baskets of wild greens every day. Whatever they dug in the morning could be delivered to the restaurant in the afternoon, earning at least sixty wen a day, or as much as eighty wen on good days.
Afraid of overdoing it, Shen Song controlled the amount. He didn't produce four baskets' worth all at once like on the first day.
Still, earning money every day now made for a steady income.
Half a month passed peacefully. At the Yuanfeng Trading House in the county town—
"Move those goods faster! What are you all dawdling for!"
The trading house's steward frowned and urged them on impatiently. The porters were paid by the hour, so these laborers dragging their feet were surely trying to stall for time to earn more money.
Shen Jing, crushed under a sack taller than himself, struggled with every step. His straw sandals had long since been worn to shreds.
Even in such a state, he couldn't bear to throw them away, still binding them tightly to his feet. People in the county town who hired workers didn't much like those who went barefoot.
No matter how tattered the straw sandals were, as long as they were on his feet, he counted as wearing shoes.
Shen Jing and Shen Zhun, the two brothers, were strong and familiar with the broker house, so the brokers they knew would always assign them laboring jobs and try to arrange for the brothers to work together.
Shen Chong went to the docks to carry heavy sacks, taking Shen Jue and Shen Lie along.
Shen Yi'an, twelve, and Shen Erkang, ten, didn't do heavy labor—they were still too young and had no advantage in such work.
The two of them stayed at the county gate, helping people deliver packages or running errands with messages, earning a little money that way.
When the seven family members worked in the county town, they didn't go home at night. Otherwise, the back-and-forth would waste both time and energy.
They stayed at a dilapidated temple outside the city. Alone, none of them would have dared to stay there. But there were seven of them, all strong, able-bodied men, so even the beggars who had claimed the territory turned a blind eye to them, never driving them out, simply pretending they didn't exist.
The seven would gather at the city gate in the evening and leave the city together, never going anywhere alone.
But today, Shen Chong, with Shen Jue, Shen Lie, and Shen Yi'an and Shen Erkang who were already at the city gate—five of them waited until dark without any sign of Shen Jing and Shen Zhun.
Shen Chong's eyelids twitched wildly. His gut told him something had gone wrong.
He told Shen Jue and Shen Lie to keep waiting with Shen Yi'an and Shen Erkang at the city gate while he went into the city to ask around at the broker house.
When he finally got to the broker house, the broker who had found work for his eldest and second brothers was nowhere to be seen.
"Excuse me, brother, may I ask—is the broker Xu Xiaoshan not here?" Shen Chong asked the clerk behind the counter. The clerk, dusting the countertop with a feather duster, glanced up. "Someone under him got hurt. He's at the medicine hall. If you have business, come back tomorrow."
Hearing this, Shen Chong felt an inexplicable surge of anxiety, and he asked without thinking, "Which medicine hall, may I ask?"
"The one near Yuanfeng Trading House. I don't quite remember the name."
At the mention of Yuanfeng Trading House, Shen Chong grew even more anxious.
His eldest and second brothers were supposed to be unloading goods at that trading house today.
"Many thanks."
After a hasty word of thanks, Shen Chong ran out.
There were few people on the roads at night, and it had been clear skies for days, so the yellow dirt ground was dry. Shen Chong ran fast, and in about a quarter of an hour he reached the place.
Pingshun Medical Hall.
Shen Jing had passed out from the pain and was lying on a wooden board in the main hall of the medicine hall.
The hall's apprentice brought over a bowl of medicine. "Wake him up to drink it once it's cooled a little. If it gets too cold, it'll weaken the medicine's effect."
Shen Zhun's face showed no expression. He had always been a rather wooden sort of person, not one for talking or smiling.
The apprentice didn't care whether he smiled or not; he set down the medicine and went off to tidy the medicine cabinets.
"That leg wound of your eldest brother's is quite serious. My master says if it isn't treated over years and years, the leg definitely won't be saved."
Shen Zhun said nothing.
Seeing that the two of them wore clothes with countless patches, hemp garments thin as paper, and straw sandals on their feet so worn they could barely be tied on, the apprentice sighed. Poor folk—even if they were squeezed dry, they couldn't scrape together the money to treat that leg.
By the time Shen Chong arrived, Shen Zhun was just about to wake Shen Jing to drink his medicine.
"Second Brother, what happened to Big Brother?" Shen Chong panted heavily, his eyes fixed on the bandages wrapped around Shen Jing's right leg.
Only upon seeing Shen Chong did Shen Zhun remember that his younger brother and the nephews were waiting at the city gate.
"A cargo crate fell on him," Shen Zhun said hoarsely, brief and to the point.
Yuanfeng Trading House provided meals, so the wages were a bit lower. But the food they gave was nowhere near enough to fill the belly, and the workers had no strength for the labor.
Yet the foreman wouldn't allow a moment's rest, cursing loudly at the slightest slowness.
Everyone endured it in silence and said nothing, since the wages were held in the man's hands, and at least he didn't hit or kick anyone.
Then in the afternoon, while moving goods, one of the laborers who hadn't eaten enough was weak. The foreman was pressing hard, demanding everyone carry more in each trip. The laborer hoisted a large wooden crate, and as he rose, his blood surged to his head, his vision went black, and he pitched forward.
Shen Zhun was carrying a sack at the time and couldn't dodge in time. Just as he was about to be caught up in it, he felt something shove him. Though he fell to the ground, he was pushed out of the danger zone.
After a long stretch of chaos—crashes and clatters, screams and cries—the figure blocking his view moved away, and Shen Zhun saw his eldest brother lying on the ground, deathly pale, heavy objects pressing down on his leg and body.
The foreman, seeing the goods smashed, stamped his feet in fury.
The things in the sacks could take a fall and were fine, but the things in the crates were another matter!
If he'd known, he wouldn't have skimped on that bit of money—he'd have hired more men to carry the crates instead of making them shoulder the loads and rushing them so hard.
Shen Zhun could not wake Shen Jing no matter how he tried, while the steward was ordering men to hurry and move the cargo that had crushed Shen Jing. He wasn't worried about Shen Jing—he was worried about his goods, wanting to check the damage.
A pool of blood had spread out from beneath the crates. It was Shen Jing's blood.
Shen Zhun's hands were trembling, and his voice shook as he called out for his eldest brother.
Once the cargo was moved away, they saw that Shen Jing's legs had been crushed to pulp.
Shen Zhun immediately picked him up and carried him to the nearest medical hall to find a doctor.
At the sight of that mangled, bloody mess, even the steward of Yuanfeng Trading House couldn't bring himself to forbid them from going to the medical hall. He sent a shop assistant to the broker house to find Xu Xiaoshan and inform him of the matter, telling him to come and handle it.
As the doctor cleaned Shen Jing's wounds, Shen Jing would wake from the pain, then faint from it again, over and over, until finally he was completely spent.
When he was first crushed, the searing pain had swept over him, and before he could even cry out, he had fainted from the agony.
The process of cleaning the wounds meant that Shen Jing had to relive that crushing pain again and again.
Afraid that Shen Zhun wouldn't be able to bear seeing the treatment, the doctor drew a curtain and instructed the shop assistant to keep watch, not letting anyone come near.
Just cleaning the wounds took a full two hours.
When the doctor finished, he came out drenched in sweat, his face weary. Seeing how they were dressed, and then seeing the broker arrive, he couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.
A family like this had no way to afford proper treatment for that leg.
From now on, this man would be crippled.
"The leg injury is severe. You must be prepared—if you can't carefully nurse and treat it, the leg will have to be amputated as soon as possible. Otherwise it will only get worse, and by then it won't be just a section of the lower leg that gets cut off, but the entire leg."
The doctor's words left Xu Xiaoshan, who had rushed over, silent. Laborers who left their posts without permission were fined.
But at this moment, he couldn't say a single word. He couldn't bring himself to speak.
Shen Zhun, already a quiet man, grew even more silent.
His ears were filled with his eldest brother's low, hoarse screams, and in his mind was the image of that mangled, blood-soaked leg. His broad but thin back sagged, his head bowed low, his shoulders trembling slightly. Drops of water fell on the dry floor, and the sound of his suppressed sobs made Xu Xiaoshan sigh again and again.
He could only leave down a small string of copper coins, pat Shen Zhun on the shoulder, and leave.
The Shen family's troubles were too great. There was nothing he could do to help.
Shen Chong and Xu Xiaoshan had just missed each other, the two never crossing paths. Shen Zhun gave a rough account of what had happened, and Shen Chong, knowing the whole story, understood just how gravely his eldest brother was injured.
He frowned, his heart sinking to the bottom.
Bending down to pick up the fifty wen Xu Xiaoshan had left on the ground, Shen Chong said, "Second Brother, let's take Big Brother home."