Shen Song couldn't negotiate prices—he had no concept of what was too much or too little—so Shen Chong went along with him.
The old physician's name was Zhang Shun.
Shen Chong was respectful, calling out "Doctor Zhang" in a calm, even voice.
The medicine boy quickly served tea. Shen Chong had never drunk tea before, but he had seen it at tea stalls—this was clearly not brewed from tea dust.
He couldn't identify what kind of tea leaves they were; he only knew they smelled fragrant.
It must be good tea.
Doctor Zhang was in his fifties, his hair nearly all white. As a physician, his life was naturally better off—he looked about ten years younger than others his age who scraped a living from the yellow earth of the countryside.
Though his hair was white, his wrinkles were not too deep, and when he smiled, he had a kind, benevolent air.
"To be honest with you, the ginseng your family brought is a fine root of at least a hundred years."
Shen Chong's face lit up at these words, but he did not lose his composure, quietly waiting for Doctor Zhang to continue.
Most people, hearing that, would have been beside themselves with excitement long before. Doctor Zhang truly hadn't expected the young man before him to remain so calm and rational even at a moment when his elder brother needed money.
Mulling this over, he put away some of his casual manner and grew more serious.
"A better ginseng doesn't mean it can sell for more. There are hardly any households that can afford it. The great families could buy it, but great families are hard to enter. Even for gift-giving, not just anyone can pass through their walls. I do intend to buy your family's ginseng—to keep as the hall's crowning treasure. And I won't haggle with you: one hundred and thirty taels of silver to buy out your ginseng outright. How does that sound?"
One hundred and thirty taels of silver was enough for the Shen family to turn their lives around and live well.
But for treating Shen Jing's leg, it would only barely suffice.
As for how much a full recovery would cost, it was still unknown.
Shen Chong didn't know how long a cure would take, but he wanted to sell for as much as possible. He knew that ginseng this good, sold to a truly great household, could be worth a thousand taels. But as Doctor Zhang said, that was a threshold ordinary people could never reach.
For a first-round sale at the very bottom of the market, this was a good deal of silver—Doctor Zhang's price was not low.
Shen Chong weighed his words carefully. "Doctor Zhang, I'm very grateful that you told me honestly how good the ginseng is. But as you know, my family wants to treat my elder brother's leg. You yourself said that for a full recovery, with all the follow-up treatments, it would take at least a hundred taels. That presumably doesn't include daily expenses—only the cost of medicine. If those were counted too, I'm afraid it would add another dozen or so taels.
If we're lucky and the leg heals quickly, this silver will just barely be enough. But if it takes longer, and we reach the later stages of treatment, it would be impossible for us to give up then. For my brother's recovery, I won't be greedy. If you truly want the ginseng, Doctor Zhang, please add a bit more silver, so we can have some peace of mind."
Shen Chong spoke with reason and evidence, and with genuine feeling.
Doctor Zhang lowered his eyes in thought. Ginseng like this was something one could hope for but never seek out—he truly did want it.
Even if he couldn't sell the whole root, with his connections to wealthy households, he could use the ginseng rootlets for medicine.
The medicinal potency of the fibres of a century-old ginseng was beyond anything those small roots could compare with.
After much deliberation, Doctor Zhang said, "Then I'll add forty-five taels of sycee silver. Furthermore, if your brother is treated at my clinic, I can set aside a place in the back courtyard and charge you nothing for lodging. If you eat here, the clinic will prepare meals suited to his leg injury that aid recovery—the ingredients won't be anything expensive, and you'll pay a flat fee for meals each month."
Doctor Zhang was a physician, and also the operator of the medical hall.
He had paid money for the ginseng, and naturally hoped to earn that money back.
The Pingshun Medical Hall was not the best medical hall in the county town, but neither was it the worst. Shen Chong had also seen Doctor Zhang hold charity clinics many times, taking the pulses and treating the injuries of the dock laborers without charging a fee.
He nodded and said it was a good arrangement.
Doctor Zhang's proposal did indeed resolve many troublesome matters.
Doctor Zhang, having taken in a long-term patient, could hardly be said to be in a good mood—after all, it meant the patient would take a long time to heal.
Shen Chong said they would write up a contract, and for now no money would change hands. The cost of medicine and meals would simply be deducted from the payment for the ginseng.
Once the silver was brought home, it would need to be hidden away, guarded against bandits—having it deducted directly was more reassuring.
Doctor Zhang was happy with this as well. "The medical hall keeps a dedicated ledger. Many patients have their charges put on account and pay when they have the money. I'll have someone make a special account book for your family, and your family can send someone each month to check the accounts. You can rest assured—I have never earned money dishonestly. Everything, whether medicine or food, will be recorded clearly, and I will certainly not deliberately drag out your recovery."
He paused, then added, "You can read?"
Shen Chong nodded slightly. "I studied at a private school for two years as a child. I know a few characters, but not all of them."
Doctor Zhang understood. No wonder Shen Chong's speech sounded somewhat literary, different from his other brothers.
"Then come along each month to check. I'll have someone read it aloud. Since you know at least some characters, if there's anything you don't understand or any mistakes when it's read out, you can point them out."
Shen Chong thanked him. Doctor Zhang told his apprentice to prepare brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and they began writing the contract.
The contract was made in duplicate, clearly stating names and addresses, the size of the ginseng, the purchase price, the method of payment…
When it was finished, Doctor Zhang sent someone to fetch a scholar-candidate who wrote letters for people not far from the shop, to have the contents read aloud.
Shen Chong could not read all the characters, but the ones he did know were indeed read with those sounds.
Reading the contract aloud cost three coins, and Shen Chong paid.
The scholar-candidate took the money, cupped his hands in farewell, leaving Shen Chong and the old doctor to press their thumbprints as seals of authentication.
Both parties put away their copies of the contract. Shen Chong carefully folded his and tucked it in his breast, and the two of them went from the back courtyard back to the main hall.
The Shen brothers had been anxious and restless; seeing Shen Chong come out and nod slightly, they finally relaxed.
The sooner Shen Jing's injury was treated, the better.
Shen Chong briefly explained the price of the ginseng to his brothers, and that the money would be put on account to pay for their eldest brother's treatment, not taken home.
This money was always meant for Shen Jing's treatment anyway, so the brothers all nodded without any objection.
They were also astonished that the ginseng had sold for so much silver.
But beyond the astonishment, there was only relief.
Thank goodness Xiao Ba had such good luck, digging up that ginseng—otherwise their eldest brother's leg might truly have been beyond treatment.
Beyond that, they had no other thoughts about that life-changing sum of money.
Shen Jing, however, did have thoughts in his heart, thinking this money could let the family live a good life.
But when he saw his younger brothers all so happy that his leg could finally be treated, Shen Jing found that he was smiling too.
He truly was not a good eldest brother—to actually smile from the bottom of his heart at the sight of his younger brothers having to keep eating chaff and wild greens because of him.
Shen Jing despised himself, feeling he was a worthless piece of trash.
Shen Song caught the fleeting smile at the corner of Shen Jing's mouth, his eyes lighting up. Tilting his head, he said with a grin, "Big Brother, take good care of your leg, eat well, and rest well. You have to get better soon!"
Shen Jue and Shen Lie also smiled and said, "Big Brother, listen to the doctor."
Though Shen Zhun and Shen Chong said nothing, they too gazed at Shen Jing with bright, hopeful eyes, longing for his speedy recovery.
Their family would go on as before—tending the fields, living their days well.
Shen Jing's throat bobbed. "All right."
He would be well. He had to be.
After helping to set up the place where Shen Jing would stay, the Shen brothers prepared to leave the medical hall.
Shen Zhun, Shen Chong, Shen Jue, and Shen Lie had to get back to work. The money Big Brother needed was settled for now, but life at home had to go on as usual.
In fact, with Big Brother, an able hand, laid up, the family's income would be one share short.
Shen Song was to take the written agreement home and tell the family everything that had happened in the county town, to set their minds at ease.
Shen Chong, Shen Jue, and Shen Lie worked at the docks, so they headed off first. Shen Zhun, not quite at ease letting Shen Song go alone, walked him to the city gate and found him an ox cart. Not one for many words, he only said to his younger brother on the cart, "Be careful."
From inside the sash tied at his waist, Shen Zhun counted out copper coins and handed them to the cart driver. He glanced at Shen Song once more, still uneasy, then finally turned and left.
He still had to deal with the fine from Broker Xu.
Shen Song kept one hand shielding the agreement in his bosom the whole way home. Fifth Brother had said this document was very important—it concerned Big Brother's leg—so he guarded it with great care.
When he finally reached home, he did as Shen Chong had instructed and handed the agreement over to their mother.
Then, under his family's eager gazes, he set aside the water his sister-in-law had poured him and told them everything that had happened in the county town, along with the general contents of the agreement.
Hearing that Shen Jing's leg had already begun treatment, that lodging was settled, and that even if the money from selling the ginseng wasn't enough for a full recovery, it could still save the leg to a great extent, the whole family breathed a sigh of relief.
Even a limp was better than a leg cut off.
Whenever money was needed, they only had to bring the agreement to the Pingshun Medical Hall. And if any silver remained in the account after treatment was finished, the hall would return it in full.
Shen Chong had arranged everything beautifully, and the whole family nodded in satisfaction.
They were truly strangers in the county town—finding lodging alone would have been a headache. This arrangement couldn't have been better.
Broker Xu hadn't made Shen Zhun pay the fine—he had already covered it himself the night before.
Knowing how hard things were for Shen Zhun's family, he even helped find him extra work, though he steered clear of places like the Yuanfeng Trading House as much as possible.
Shen Zhun could feel Xu Xiaoshan's kindness, and all he could do was thank him over and over, at a loss for how to repay him.
So every time he saw Xu Xiaoshan, his brow would furrow as he fretted over the matter.
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoshan knew Shen Zhun's temperament—otherwise he might have thought Shen Zhun disliked him and was looking to pick a fight.
"You and your brother risked your lives to save me from those bandits, so this is me repaying that debt. Anything more is beyond my power, so stop dwelling on it. Focus on your work—whatever you do, don't let your mind wander on the job. Looking after your own health is what matters most."
Shen Zhun nodded along. The family couldn't afford to have another one laid up.
Over the next half month or so, Shen Chong, Shen Jue, and Shen Lie threw themselves into hauling sacks at the docks. Whenever there was no work at the docks, Xu Xiaoshan would help arrange jobs for them.
Shen Zhun also asked Xu Xiaoshan to arrange as much work for him as possible—it didn't matter whether the pay was much or little, as long as there was work to do.
At the Shen household, Shen Dashu and Liu Chunxia had to look after the family's fields.
It wasn't as if you could just plant the seeds and then leave them entirely alone.
Zhou Gu, Li Maizi, and Shen Song went out to dig wild greens.
They still brought three baskets a day; any more than that, even if it wouldn't arouse suspicion, the Xu Family Restaurant couldn't use that much anyway.
One day, as the three of them carried their baskets to deliver the wild greens, Shen Song was called out to by someone.
He recognized at a glance that it was the Old Mr. Chen he had met on his first day in town.
At first, the old man hadn't dared to be sure it was Shen Song, but once he confirmed the baskets were full of wild greens, he called out.
"The wild greens from your family are truly delicious! It's just a pity I never saw you again after that—I didn't even know how to buy them. Luckily, the Xu Family Restaurant sells them too, so my son-in-law got to eat them."
His third son-in-law had suffered from severe morning sickness and couldn't keep any food down—the only thing he could eat was those wild greens.
But then for several days afterward, he couldn't find the ge’er selling wild greens anywhere. Fortunately, as the old man made his rounds selling malt candy through the streets, he heard that the wild green dishes at the Xu Family Restaurant were exceptionally good.
He bought some to try, and sure enough, his third son-in-law could actually keep them down.
Seeing the baskets on Shen Song and the others' backs, the old man guessed that the delicious wild greens at the Xu Family Restaurant must have been supplied by their family.
When he asked, it turned out they really were on their way to deliver wild greens to the restaurant.
Not wanting to hold them up, he simply put some malt candy into a small bamboo tube and handed it to Shen Song for him to eat on the way.
Thanks to the wild greens they had dug up, his third son-in-law was doing well now.
When the old man offered, Shen Song accepted it directly, and in return grabbed several handfuls of wild greens from his own basket for the old man.
The two smiled and waved goodbye.
This time, Shen Song didn't eat the malt candy.
He had always remembered that he wanted to buy malt candy for Sanqiu and the others.
He just had never managed to buy it.