Finally finishing the last dose of traditional Chinese medicine, Gu Huanxi felt a sense of liberation at last. The medicine was effective, no doubt, but its taste was truly hard to praise. Three large bowls a day, each time she had to pinch her nose and gulp it down.
Xu Huaiyi couldn’t understand her pain and disgust. Feeling uneasy, he still wanted to visit Doctor Jiao to get a few more doses to consolidate her recovery.
Gu Huanxi mercilessly shot him down, “Do you still have any silver? Last time was already the last piece of dowry. What are you planning to use as collateral this time?”
Hearing this, Xu Huaiyi immediately furrowed his brows in worry.
His look of a hero brought down by a single coin amused Gu Huanxi. Her postpartum discharge had already stopped, and she was now working on regaining her figure. The most effortless method was undoubtedly yoga. Lying on the kang, she held a stretching pose and said with a smile, “Alright, I know my own body well. I’m already better, no need for more medicine. From now on, I’ll just rely on dietary therapy.”
“Really?”
“Mm, don’t worry. In the morning, millet porridge with brown sugar and eggs; at noon, chicken soup with shredded meat noodles; in the evening, pork trotters with rice; plus afternoon tea and midnight snacks—five meals a day like this. If I still don’t recover, would there be any justice?”
Not just her, even Xu Huaiyi, who was taking care of her during the postpartum period, had gained five or six pounds. He no longer looked as thin as before, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
Only after hearing his wife’s words did Xu Huaiyi give up the idea of buying more medicine. Slumping on the sofa, he complained about the original couple, “Honestly, their social connections—tsk, tsk. How utterly unsuccessful must they have been? After so many days, not a single person has come to check on us. To put it bluntly, if we died at home, no one would even know…”
Gu Huanxi rolled her eyes at him. “Are you stupid? Do you think I make you go out to light the fire every day just to torment you? That’s precisely to let others know we’re still alive.”
If smoke still rose from the house, it meant people were still inside.
Xu Huaiyi was stunned for a moment. “Ah? So that was a signal…” Once he realized it, he immediately laughed and flattered his wife, “My wife is so clever. Indeed, not a single arrangement is useless, hehe.”
Gu Huanxi couldn’t stand his silly expression and urged him to go out. “How about you go up the mountain again?”
Xu Huaiyi was puzzled. “Go up the mountain for what? To put on another act?”
“Mm. Don’t we have no silver on hand? We need to find an excuse to bring out some silver. Otherwise, how will we buy things later? Do you think fleeing famine means relying solely on our two legs to walk? I’d rather stay here and endure the hardship.”
“Right, right, we need a carriage…” Regardless of the era, men’s love for vehicles remains eternal. Once this topic came up, Xu Huaiyi grew excited.
Gu Huanxi poured cold water on his enthusiasm. “Commoners at the bottom have no right to ride horses. Besides, you can’t buy one anyway.”
Xu Huaiyi was instantly disappointed. “Then buy an ox?”
“Oxen are too slow. Better to buy a mule.”
“A mule is good too. Fast pace, decent endurance, and can pull heavy loads. I heard a fully grown mule can carry three thousand catties. But what do we use to buy one?”
Gu Huanxi handed him something. “Take this to town and sell it. Then you’ll have silver to buy things.”
Xu Huaiyi exclaimed in surprise, “Glass?”
For a while, colored glassware suddenly became wildly popular online. Seizing the trend, the two of them hurried to a wholesale market and bought a lot back. She selected many exquisite little ornaments—twelve zodiac animals in various shapes, cute flowers and plants, and colorful bead bracelets. There were also two more expensive items, radiant and magnificent, truly works of art.
Naturally, these two couldn’t be sold. But even the smaller pieces, once brought out, should amaze quite a few people. After all, no matter how crude the craftsmanship of later generations might be, it was still far superior to what was available now.
Gu Huanxi carefully instructed, “Take these to the pawnshop. A permanent pawn will do—you’ll get more silver that way. Come up with a believable excuse; you can say you found them in the mountains. But when you return, if the villagers ask, just say you dug up some ginseng.”
Xu Huaiyi was still hesitant. “Can these things really be worth money?”
Gu Huanxi replied, “Just go ahead and pawn them with confidence. They should fetch at least a hundred taels of silver. If the offer is lower than that, it’s definitely because they see you as foolish and want to cheat you.”
Xu Huaiyi, “…”
There was really no need to state such blunt truths.
Thinking about buying a mule, Xu Huaiyi found motivation. Ignoring the scorching heat outside, he picked up his basket and eagerly headed for the mountains—after all, one must commit fully to the act.
After he left, someone came knocking to investigate.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Huanxi calmly applied some powder to her face to make her complexion appear even paler. Then, feigning illness, she leaned against the doorframe and slowly made her way out of the room, inching step by step toward the main gate.
There were gaps in the courtyard gate, enough for the two people knocking to see this scene clearly.
“Sister-in-law, can’t you walk a little faster…” Li Qiuhua couldn’t help but shout, fanning herself with her sleeve as she impatiently knocked on the door again. “Why lock the gate in broad daylight?”
Beside her, Xiao Zhaoshi held a basket, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief as she smiled amiably. “Third Sister-in-law isn’t well, so it’s normal for her to walk slowly.”
And how could it not be? She had just narrowly escaped death.
Li Qiuhua snorted inwardly, thinking, “Always playing the good person,” but she didn’t dare say it out loud. After all, Xiao Zhaoshi was her mother-in-law’s niece from her maiden family.
Finally, just as her patience was running out, the gate opened.
Gu Huanxi panted heavily. “Second Sister-in-law, Fourth Sister-in-law, what brings you here?”
Li Qiuhua’s eyes darted around inside. “What? Can’t we come? Are you hiding some treasure in this courtyard?”
With that, she barged in uninvited.
Gu Huanxi, now committed to maintaining her frail and helpless persona, didn’t try to stop her. She let Li Qiuhua wander around, looking as though she wished she could dig three feet into the ground to uncover some hidden treasure.
Compared to Li Qiuhua, Xiao Zhaoshi was much more polite. “Third Sister-in-law, we came to see how you’re doing. How are you feeling now? Seeing you up and about, you must be much better, right?”
Gu Huanxi first covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed a few times before sighing mournfully. “Much better? More like I’m just not dead yet. From now on, I’ll be nothing but a medicine jar.”
Xiao Zhaoshi’s eyes flickered subtly as she discreetly observed Gu Huanxi’s complexion. It truly looked terrible. It seemed that even if she had been saved, she was now a useless person.
Having made up her mind, Xiao Zhaoshi spoke warmly. “Don’t say such things. Doctor Jiao’s medicine is quite effective. You mustn’t be so disheartened. Anyway, I brought you some wild vegetables. There’s not much food left at home, so I hope you don’t mind.”
Gu Huanxi said, "I don't mind, but I'm afraid I've made you spend money."
Xiao Zhaoshi, "…"
She couldn't help but feel there was a hint of sarcasm in those words, yet she had no proof—after all, Gu Huanxi's expression looked so sincere.
The two of them went back and forth, and at this point, the conversation came to a halt.
The most awkward thing was this sudden silence.
It was Gu Huanxi who finally asked, "Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
She was just casually being polite. The proper response to such a remark was for the other person to take the opportunity to leave if they had nothing else to do. But Xiao Zhaoshi took her up on the offer, saying, "Alright, I haven't seen my niece yet…"
With that, she walked in, carrying her basket.
Gu Huanxi raised an eyebrow, closed the courtyard gate, and slowly made her way toward the house, panting heavily with every few steps. After all, she was a patient—walking slowly was only normal. Although the weather was hot, she didn’t feel it much. In fact, basking in the sunlight like this felt quite comfortable.
Li Qiuhua had already gone inside earlier and had looked around every corner, but unfortunately, she hadn’t found anything. Pouting, she sat on a stool in the main room, occasionally wiping away sweat. "I say, sister-in-law, how come you don’t even have a cup of tea here?"
Gu Huanxi slumped in the armchair, looking utterly exhausted as if she had given it her all. "Huaiyi isn’t home, and my body isn’t up to it, so I haven’t boiled any water. Sigh, forget about hot water—I don’t even have regular meals…"
Hearing this, Li Qiuhua clicked her tongue twice with a hint of schadenfreude and then bluntly mocked, "Well, your life really is miserable. But I suppose you’re lucky."
To have lasted this long.