Her pupils suddenly contracted: her mother-in-law’s bottom was bleeding?
When Grandmother Sun hurried back into the house, she quickly grabbed her and asked:
“Mother, are you alright? Why is your bottom bleeding?”
Just mentioning it made Grandmother Sun furious, and she snapped, “Shut your mouth, keep your voice down!”
Seeing her like this, an improper thought arose in Mrs. Wang’s mind:
“Mother, you’re not… having your monthly visitor, are you?”
“Annoying!”
Grandmother Sun grumbled as she went back to her room to find an old piece of cloth, then went to the kitchen to scrape wood ash from under the stove.
Mrs. Wang followed behind her, shocked: “Mother, you’re fifty-one years old, how can you still be having it?”
She remembered that her mother-in-law had gone through menopause years ago. How could it have come back at this age?
“Shut up, don’t go spreading this around, or I’ll slap you!”
Grandmother Sun warned.
She was old enough to be a grandmother, and yet she was still having her monthly visitor—it was utterly embarrassing.
In her youth, every time she had her period, she felt unwell.
Lower back pain, dizziness, and weakness—her whole body felt like its vitality had been drained, exactly the same as she felt now.
Perhaps because of her age, the heaviness in her lower abdomen was stronger, and the stomach pain was more severe.
“Oh heavens!!”
Immediately, Grandmother Sun couldn’t bear it and went back to her room to lie down.
Mrs. Wang promptly went to slice some ginger and brew brown sugar water for her, but even after drinking it, Grandmother Sun remained in agony, writhing on the bed in pain.
Vomiting one moment, having diarrhea the next—it tormented Grandmother Sun terribly.
Seeing her pale face, Mrs. Wang was frightened half to death and hurried back to her room to discuss it with Zhao Sanshi:
“Sanshi, Mother has started her monthly visitor, and her stomach is hurting terribly right now. What should we do?”
In the past, Grandmother Sun had always been the one to make all the decisions, big or small, in the household. Now that she was bedridden, and with her father-in-law, eldest brother-in-law, and eldest sister-in-law all away from home, Mrs. Wang was at a loss and didn’t know what to do.
When Zhao Sanshi heard what Mrs. Wang said, he jolted.
“What did you say? Mother is having her monthly visitor? How is that possible?”
His mother was fifty-one and had long since gone through menopause.
But seeing the serious look on Mrs. Wang’s face, he immediately went to the main room.
“Ouch, heavens!!! Ouch…”
Grandmother Sun was writhing in pain on the bed, both hands clutching her lower abdomen.
Her face was as pale as paper from the pain, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead like beans.
Zhao Sanshi was somewhat frightened by the sight: “Mother, let me go fetch Grandpa Xiangping to take a look at you?”
In all his years, this was the first time he’d seen his mother in such agony.
Grandmother Sun immediately stopped him: “Don’t go! I’m already this old—if word gets out, won’t the whole village laugh me to death?
Besides, it’s just a stomachache, it won’t kill me. Let’s just bear with it for now!”
When she was young, her period lasted five days. At her age, it couldn’t last more than five days—she comforted herself with that thought.
Suddenly, Zhao Sanshi’s eyes lit up as an idea formed in his mind. He said, “Mother, I have an idea. What do you think about this…”
…
In town.
Zhao Taohua and Mrs. Qian first searched around town but couldn’t find any specialized Fuzhi. Finally, they found a kind of ordinary yellow paper at a bookshop.
But a single sheet of four-foot yellow paper cost ten coppers, and cinnabar was even more outrageously expensive—one liang cost fifty coppers. Zhao Taohua also bought a writing brush, which cost another thirty coppers.
When Zhao Taohua came out of the bookshop, her lips were pursed high—these three items had cost her ninety coppers.
Seeing how pained she looked, Mrs. Qian immediately comforted her:
“You have to give to receive. I believe our Taohua can earn it all back!”
Only then did Zhao Taohua’s expression improve. Today, she was determined to sell at least one Fulu.
Moreover, she had already set the price in her mind: one hundred coppers per talisman.
Mrs. Qian found a spot on the street to set up their stall. She first spread an old cloth on the ground, then took out her embroidered handkerchiefs, pouches, and sachets, arranging them neatly on the cloth.
Mrs. Qian had specially left a large empty space on the cloth for Zhao Taohua to display her talisman paper.
Since the yellow paper wasn’t cheap, Zhao Taohua was especially careful when cutting it, trimming all of it into strips twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide.
She took out one piece first and dipped her brush into a bit of cinnabar.
As the cinnabar on her brush tip moved across the yellow paper, Ling Qi flowed down with the cinnabar onto the paper, finally forming a Protective Talisman!
Zhao Taohua looked at her work with satisfaction and gently fanned it with her hand to let it dry quickly.
Just as Zhao Taohua was drawing her second one, halfway through she suddenly realized she didn’t have enough Ling Qi left in her body?
With her brush hovering over the yellow paper, Zhao Taohua hesitated over whether to abandon the half-finished piece when, suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a familiar flash of snow-white hair in the sunlight.
She immediately shouted, “Shen Ming, big brother!”
Shen Ming was carrying a basket of game on his back, heading to the entrance of the vegetable market to sell it, when he suddenly heard someone call his name. He looked in the direction of the voice, puzzled.
There was Zhao Taohua, crouching on the ground, looking up at him with her head half-raised, one hand waving at him vigorously, while the other seemed to be holding a brush and writing something on the ground?
“Shen Ming, big brother, come over here! There’s a spot next to me—come set up your stall here.”
This spot is absolutely perfect—we’ll sell out in no time!”
Zhao Taohua shouted at the top of her lungs, afraid Shen Ming wouldn’t hear her.
Everyone around Shen Ming turned to look at him. This was the first time Shen Ming had been stared at for any reason other than his hair color.
He lowered his head slightly, hoping to pretend he didn’t know Zhao Taohua and hurry past her.
But just as he reached her, she grabbed his hand with lightning speed.
Shen Ming’s steps faltered. Before he could shake off Zhao Taohua’s grip, he heard her questioning:
“Shen Ming-gege, I called you—why did you pretend not to hear me?”
Since they’d run into each other in town, how could she let him leave without replenishing some Ling Qi?
She’d only drawn half of her Fulu, and she was exactly at the point where she needed Ling Qi most.
Meeting is fate, and more is always better—Zhao Taohua wasn’t about to let go easily!
Shen Ming panicked slightly: “There are so many people on the street, that’s why I didn’t hear you.”
As he spoke, the tips of his ears flushed red. He clearly hadn’t expected Zhao Taohua to grab him and press him for answers.
Zhao Taohua squinted at him, clearly not buying his excuse. She tugged at him and said, “Then Shen Ming-gege, set up your stall right next to mine!”
The implication was clear: Shen Ming had to set up beside her today, or she wouldn’t let him leave.
Shen Ming’s face showed his reluctance. He hadn’t expected Zhao Taohua to be so stubborn!
He had no choice but to explain: “Zhao Taohua, a Daoist master once calculated that I carry Sha Qi on me. I’m a jinx. Being near me brings bad luck at best, and death at worst. I’d better keep my distance from you.”
Zhao Taohua raised an eyebrow and smiled: “So Shen Ming-gege is worried about me!
But it’s fine—I’m naturally immune to Sha Qi.”
She was more than happy to have as much skin contact with Shen Ming as possible. That way, she could absorb even more Ling Qi.
“That’s right, Shen Ming. We’re not afraid. Set up with us. We’re all from the same village—we can look out for each other.”
Mrs. Qian chimed in from the side.
Seeing that he couldn’t talk his way out of it with the mother and daughter, Shen Ming set down his bamboo basket beside Zhao Taohua.
Zhao Taohua bit her lip to stifle a smile. Now she could finally continue drawing her second Ping’an-fu without worry—and in no time at all, it was done!
“Shen Ming-gege, set out your goods first, so people can see what you’re selling!”
As she spoke, Zhao Taohua helped Shen Ming take out the contents of his basket—wild rabbits, wild chickens, and a small wild boar. But from start to finish, she never once let go of his hand.
With her holding his hand the entire time, Shen Ming’s ears flushed red from the tips all the way down to his earlobes!