Before he could even speak, Xiao Yue beat him to it, clamoring as if she were taking credit on someone else’s behalf.
“Eldest brother! Sister-in-law dug all of these up!”
“And there’s a rabbit too!”
With that, she ran to the corner of the wall and yanked off the winnowing pan covering the basket.
The gray rabbit was instantly exposed.
“A rabbit?!”
Xiao Jun sucked in a sharp breath, looking at Su He in utter shock.
“Sister-in-law, you caught this?”
Su He paused for a moment, reusing her previous excuse: “I just got lucky.”
But this explanation clearly wasn’t going to fool anyone so easily this time.
Xiao Zheng’s gaze fell first on the rabbit, then on the pile of medicinal herbs, and finally shifted back to Su He’s face.
There was a distinct look of surprise in his eyes.
Wasn’t this woman supposed to be a senior maid from a wealthy household in the capital?
Logically speaking, she should have been pampered and unused to rough work. Yet, not only did she know how to dig up herbs, but she could also catch rabbits?
He remained silent, but the look in his eyes grew visibly deeper than before.
Completely oblivious to the change in the atmosphere, Xiao Yue kept talking excitedly.
“Sister-in-law is amazing!”
Wang Guixiang let out a soft cough, waving her hand to feign composure.
“Alright, stop rambling. Pack the things away first. Let these herbs air out a bit, and tomorrow we’ll take them to town to ask about the price.”
At this point, she looked back at Xiao Zheng.
“Did you buy everything we needed?”
Xiao Zheng nodded, placing the items he brought back onto the table one by one.
There were salt, vinegar, sauces, red paper, and two pounds of pork fat.
They were clearly all prepared for the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow.
“Yes. I also traded for some vegetables and eggs in the village today. With all of this, the spread for the day after tomorrow should be decent enough.”
Looking at the items on the table, Wang Guixiang finally felt a bit more at ease. The wedding banquet the day after tomorrow would at least not be as tight and strained as before.
As she spoke, she suddenly looked back at Su He, the smile on her face widening.
“We really have A-He to thank this time.”
Xiao Zheng neither agreed nor disagreed, but this woman truly had some capability.
His hand instinctively brushed against the small box hidden in his vest.
Earlier in town, when he was passing by the cosmetics shop, he had bought a box on a strange impulse. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time; he simply felt that since they were getting married the day after tomorrow, she ought to dress up a bit.
But with so many people in the courtyard right now, he felt a bit self-conscious about pulling it out. So, the box of blush remained hidden in his vest, unseen by anyone.
Once the herbs were mostly organized, Wang Guixiang carried the winnowing pan inside the house to let them air out, then pulled Xiao Yue along to clean up in the kitchen.
The courtyard gradually quieted down, leaving only Su He washing her hands by the well.
Standing by the courtyard gate, Xiao Zheng glanced at her. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over.
Su He had just finished washing her hands when she looked up and saw him standing nearby.
“Is something wrong?”
Xiao Zheng didn’t answer, but instead fished out the small box from his vest.
“For you.”
“What is it?” Su He’s eyes lit up with delight; she hadn’t expected him to buy her something separately.
She took it happily, and upon looking closer, she found it was a box of rouge, which left her slightly surprised.
“You bought this?”
Xiao Zheng coughed, his gaze shifting away.
“I just picked it up on my way past the shop.”
He spoke very casually, as if it really had just been an afterthought.
Su He couldn’t help but smile. She gently opened the box to find a small block of peach-pink rouge inside. The color was very soft and looked exceptionally beautiful under the setting sun.
She looked up at him.
“Thank you.”
Who knew this dense, practical guy actually had a romantic streak in him?
Xiao Zheng’s earlobes turned inexplicably warm. He mumbled, “You’ll need it the day after tomorrow.”
With that, he turned and walked away, looking as if standing there any longer would make him entirely uncomfortable.
Su He watched his retreating figure, then looked down at the rouge in her hand. The corners of her mouth curved upward.
This man actually had his own little thoughtful side.
The next morning.
Not long after dawn, there was already movement in the courtyard.
Su He woke up early and re-examined the herbs she had sorted the day before.
Having been nourished by her superpower overnight, these herbs now had thick roots, sturdy stems, and a rich medicinal fragrance—vastly superior to the ordinary herbs dug up from the mountains.
If she ran into a pharmacy shopkeeper who knew his stuff, the price would definitely not be low.
By the time she finished packing up and came out, Xiao Zheng was already waiting for her in the courtyard. A cloth bag was slung over his shoulder, and when he saw her coming out with the bamboo backpack, he stepped forward to take it from her.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them soon left the village.
Walking from the military village to the town took about an hour. The wind on the border was harsh, and the roadsides were covered in low-growing sea buckthorn and withered grass. Occasionally, they would see a few military villagers leading donkey carts, heading to town to deliver firewood or grain.
Su He looked around as she walked, sizing up her surroundings. This was her first time truly getting a clear look at this territory. In the distance, mountain ranges stretched continuously and the loess hills rolled on; though barren, it gave off a vast and boundless feeling.
After walking for about an hour, the outline of the town finally came into view.
The border town was not very large, with a single main street running from north to south, lined with low shops on both sides. There were fabric shops, blacksmiths, grain stores, wine shops—all kinds of businesses. People were coming and going on the street, mostly military villagers and merchants, with the occasional armored soldier passing through.
Su He took all of this in, quietly committing the layout to memory. If she wanted to sell medicinal herbs in the future, she would need to familiarize herself with the locations.
Xiao Zheng led her straight into a pharmacy. A plaque hung over the shop entrance read: Ji’an Hall.
The border region was small and only had two pharmacies, and this one was considered quite fair with a pretty good reputation.
Behind the counter, a shopkeeper with a goatee was tapping away on an abacus. Hearing someone enter, he looked up.
“Filling a prescription?”
Su He placed the bamboo backpack onto the counter. “Shopkeeper, do you buy medicinal herbs?”
“We do,” the shopkeeper replied without even raising his head, seemingly not paying much attention.
However, as Su He laid out the herbs one by one, his eyebrows shot up instantly.
“Huh?”
He picked up a piece of Codonopsis, examined it closely, and took a sniff. His expression gradually turned serious.
“You dug up this Codonopsis yourselves?”
Su He nodded. “Just dug it up yesterday.”
The shopkeeper looked over the other herbs as well. Bupleurum, milkvetch root, Baikal skullcap… The roots of these medicinal materials were completely intact, the sizes were large, and what was even rarer was that their medicinal fragrance was exceptionally potent.
In all his years on the border, he had rarely come across herbs of such high caliber. They could absolutely be called top-tier goods!
The shopkeeper stroked his beard and smiled. “Not bad! The appearance of these herbs is excellent. I won’t beat around the bush; I’ll give you a good price.”
He clattered away on his abacus for a moment before quoting a price.
“Three taels and six mace of silver.”
Su He’s heart leaped; it was a bit higher than she had anticipated, clearly the result of her superpower’s enhancement.
“Alright, thank you, shopkeeper.”
The shopkeeper immediately had an assistant fetch the silver—a small three-tael silver ingot, plus six mace of broken silver—and placed it heavily onto the counter.
Su He packed the silver away, a small smile finally gracing her face. Three taels and six mace. To them right now, this was already a considerable sum of money.
“…”
Beside her, Xiao Zheng was completely dumbfounded.
He had originally thought these herbs would sell for a few hundred copper coins at most, or maybe one tael of silver if they were lucky. After all, the people on the border were used to living in poverty, and he had never heard of anyone making a fortune from wild herbs. He hadn’t expected the herbs this woman dug up to actually sell for over three taels of silver!!
Meanwhile, he had worked himself to the bone for two months just to bring home two taels of monthly pay. Who would believe this if it were told?
Xiao Zheng walked out of the pharmacy in a complete daze. He couldn’t help but turn to look at Su He. This woman really could support herself, just as she had said back at the drill grounds. In fact, she was more capable than most people.
Thinking of this, Xiao Zheng suddenly felt a bit conflicted. When he first heard her say “I don’t need you to support me,” he had thought it was just a proud and ambitious statement. But now, he felt a little uncomfortable inside. They were already husband and wife, and supporting her was supposed to be his responsibility. If a man couldn’t even match up to his own wife, what kind of man did that make him?
Xiao Zheng fell silent for a moment, suddenly making a firm resolution in his heart.
No way. He had to earn more military merits—he couldn’t rely on his wife to support the family!!