There were quite a few ordinary medicinal herbs on Yanhui Mountain. An Xia picked the ones she needed and placed them at the very bottom of her basket, then also gathered some poisonous plants and antidotes.
Half an hour later, An Xia and An Qiu arrived back in Hulu Village with their baskets. As soon as they reached the front gate, she heard Old Lady Qian and Zhang-shi plotting.
“Mother, once this is settled, Yu’er’s tuition will finally be sorted out.” Old Lady Qian’s face was filled with smug satisfaction. “These three money-pits have eaten for free in our An family for so many years; they’ve finally become a bit useful.”
An Xia frowned deeply, stopping in her tracks and pulling An Qiu behind her. “Shh!” she gestured to An Qiu, and the two crouched outside the courtyard wall to peek at the situation inside.
Zhang-shi was in high spirits, her voice noticeably lighter. “Mother, if Yu’er becomes a top scholar in the future, I’ll definitely have him ask for a title of honor for you.”
“That Luanfeng Village may be poor, but these three little wretches are as thin as monkeys—it’s already a miracle that someone is willing to pay such a high price to buy them.”
Old Lady Qian completely agreed with Zhang-shi, saying softly, “Isn’t that the truth! It’s hard work for me, as a grandmother, to plan things out for them.”
An Xia now fully understood their intentions. They wanted to sell all three sisters at once! Luanfeng Village was the poorest village in Yunshui Town. Because it was surrounded by mountains on all sides and lacked farmland, every household struggled to survive. In years of famine, the people from Luanfeng Village were the ones most often seen begging for food.
Because of this, few people in Yunshui Town would marry their daughters off to Luanfeng Village. As a result, the village had a surplus of bachelors who had to work themselves to the bone to save enough money to buy a wife to carry on the family line.
A cold glint flashed in An Xia’s eyes. She closed them slightly as if thinking of a plan. Only a moment later, a smile appeared on her face.
“Qiu’er, let’s not go home yet. Let’s go find Big Sister.”
An Qiu looked up, her small face full of worry. “Second Sister, do Grandma and Stepmother want to sell all three of us?”
An Xia patted her head, soothing her. “Qiu’er, don’t worry. Second Sister has a way to ensure that not only will we not be sold, but we can also separate from the family and live on our own.”
An Qiu nodded, asking no more questions; she had a natural trust in An Xia.
The sisters found An Chun cutting firewood at the foot of Yanhui Mountain.
“Big Sister, Second Sister and I are here!” An Qiu shouted from a distance.
An Chun turned around, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. “It’s so hot, why did you come here?”
An Qiu pulled An Xia’s hand and trotted to An Chun’s side. An Chun pointed to two wild fruits she had carefully placed on the grass and smiled. “I picked these for you while cutting wood. Eat them.”
An Qiu took a fruit, wiped it on her clothes, took a large bite, and said with a mouthful, “So sweet!”
An Xia looked at the remaining fruit. “Big Sister, where is yours?”
An Chun grinned. “Big Sister has already eaten, I ate plenty. This one is left for you two.”
“It’s better for you to eat them out here, or they’ll just be snatched away back home.”
An Xia looked at An Chun’s chapped, peeling lips and knew she was lying. She took the fruit, wiped it, and broke it into two halves—one for herself and one for An Chun.
“Let’s eat together, Big Sister. I have something to discuss with you in a moment.”
An Chun swallowed, took the fruit from An Xia, took a bite, and asked, “What is it?”
An Xia said calmly, “Grandma and Stepmother plan to sell all three of us to Luanfeng Village.”
“What did you say?” “Luanfeng Village?”
Even the sweetness of the fruit was gone for An Chun. Luanfeng Village’s poverty was well-known throughout Yunshui Town; families would pool all their resources just to buy a single wife, and sometimes, brothers would even… An Chun dared not think further. And Qiu’er was only ten years old!
She couldn’t stay calm, looking at An Xia in a panic. “What do we do?”
An Xia beckoned for them to lean in, then whispered her plan.
An Chun finally let out a sigh of relief. “To avoid being sold to Luanfeng Village, this is the only way.”
An Qiu added with a smile, “I’ll do whatever Second Sister says.”
An Xia picked out several of the poisonous herbs she had gathered in her basket, placed them on a stone slab, and used a smooth rock to crush them.
“Apply the juice of these herbs to your wrists, ankles, and neck. Once we’ve done that, we’ll head home.”
An Chun and An Qiu followed her instructions. Once they were finished, An Xia said, “Let’s go home. This will kill two birds with one stone, and it will also be our chance to leave that house.”
With that, she went to help An Chun carry the firewood.
An Chun swatted her hand away, glaring at her. “What are you doing? This firewood is so heavy, you can’t carry it—don’t hurt yourself.”
Even though An Xia and An Qiu insisted, they couldn’t win against An Chun, so they could only help carry her basket instead.
Returning to the entrance of the An courtyard, they saw that several people—both men and women—had gathered. It was clear they had come to “inspect” the brides. When buying wives from Luanfeng Village, people would come directly to the girl’s home to inspect them, as the price was high and they needed to ensure “quality.”
An Xia turned to An Chun and An Qiu. “Do you remember what I said?”
“Remembered,” the two replied in unison.
An Xia pushed open the gate. “Grandma, we’re back.”
As soon as the three sisters entered, several scrutinizing gazes landed on them.
The visitors whispered to each other, “A bit thin, but they all look diligent and capable.”
“I think they’re alright, but that girl in the front—she’s too ugly.”
“As long as she can bear children once we get her home, who cares if she’s ugly!”
At this point, An Xia gave everyone a polite smile and walked toward the eaves with her basket. As she passed them, she subconsciously rolled up her sleeves.
“Stop!”
The woman who had been very satisfied with An Xia suddenly changed her expression and called out to her. An Xia turned around, feigning confusion. “What’s wrong?”
The woman covered her nose and mouth with one hand and pointed a finger at her with the other. “What is that growing on your hands?”
An Xia, hearing this, hurriedly pulled her sleeve back down, pretending to be guilty. “There’s nothing on my hands!”
The woman didn’t listen and shouted, “Roll up your sleeves!”
An Xia looked at Zhang-shi, pursed her lips, and said, “Mother, this…” acting as if she were pleading for help.
Zhang-shi and Old Lady Qian were baffled by An Xia’s behavior, but they were so blinded by the promise of silver that they didn’t realize anything was amiss today.
Zhang-shi barked, “Is your skin itching for a beating? Why are you dragging your feet? Roll up your sleeves!”
Hearing this, An Xia reluctantly rolled up her sleeves. Her thin, dry elbows were covered in dense, small red dots, making one’s scalp crawl.
The woman retreated several steps, as if fleeing from a plague. “I don’t want this one.”
Zhang-shi and Old Lady Qian were also startled by the red dots on An Xia’s arms and hurriedly backed away as well.
“Well, there are still the other two, so let’s just skip this one,” Zhang-shi said softly. “The child must have touched a lacquer tree on the mountain and developed this red rash.”
Just as the people from Luanfeng Village were feeling conflicted, An Qiu burst into loud, wailing sobs.
“Wooo! Mother, what is that on Second Sister’s hands?”
“My hands and legs are so itchy, too!” With that, she rolled up her sleeves to show Zhang-shi.