“Name your price, Miss Su.”
After enjoying such a wonderful meal, Mu Xun was completely won over.
He was so used to spicy food that he could barely eat anything without facing-heaven chili peppers. But after tasting Miss Su’s cooking today, he finally understood what truly delicious food was.
Whether it was spicy or not, special or ordinary, everything was simply… delicious!
How could that not tempt him?
Su Wan’ning had already carefully considered the medicinal diet suitable for Mu Xun.
“We’ll divide the treatment into three stages, with ten days for each stage.”
The first stage was the most important.
The amount of chili peppers needed to be gradually reduced. He should eat lean meat, along with plenty of light ingredients such as winter melon, bean sprouts, tofu, and Solomon’s-seal rhizome. This would satisfy his appetite while also strengthening the spleen and clearing internal dryness.
As for the main medicinal decoction, it would contain Ophiopogon root, chrysanthemum, bamboo leaves, licorice, and other herbs, boiled according to the proper proportions.
Besides that, there would also be a daily tea.
Snow pear and fresh reed root would be boiled in water, with white honey used instead of sugar. It could reduce the burning sensation in his mouth while promoting fluids and relieving dryness.
“As for the second stage, we’ll have to see how you’ve recovered by then. We’ll take it slowly and adjust accordingly.”
Su Wan’ning calculated the dates.
There were only about ten days left until the old madam’s birthday banquet. She estimated that Xu Lingxi would probably ask her to move to the estate three to five days before the banquet.
So she arranged with Mu Xun to come to the shop for lunch during the first five days. He would take the tea, medicinal decoction, and dinner home with him.
They would discuss the later stages depending on his condition.
None of the ingredients or medicinal herbs required for the entire treatment were particularly expensive. The total cost came to about two taels of silver.
However, there were very few people in the county capable of preparing a properly balanced medicinal diet.
So asking for ten taels wasn’t unreasonable, right?
“Ten taels for ten days?”
Mu Xun felt that the price was a little expensive.
But Miss Su was a former Imperial Food Bureau cook, and her food was genuinely delicious.
The price was worth it!
Su Wan’ning was just about to explain that the treatment course actually lasted thirty days when Mu Xun had already pulled out his silver.
“Then I’ll pay twenty taels first. When the treatment is finished, we’ll look at the results. As long as you can really help control my temper, I’ll immediately pay the rest. How about it?”
“Rest assured, Shopkeeper Mu.”
Ten taels had turned into thirty.
Su Wan’ning readily agreed.
She really wasn’t bold enough when it came to pricing.
These wealthy people didn’t care about a few taels of silver at all!
This shop was meant to specialize in medicinal cuisine. If she priced everything too cheaply, it might actually be difficult for wealthy customers to recognize its value.
A single ham at the Li family cost five taels of silver.
She was providing the ingredients, medicinal herbs, and careful preparation.
And she was only charging five taels for five days.
How could that be expensive?
Having convinced herself, Su Wan’ning finalized the schedule with Mu Xun.
She would prepare the ingredients tomorrow and come to the shop at noon the day after to officially begin his treatment.
Once their discussion was finished, Xu Lingxi knocked and entered.
“Shopkeeper Mu, let’s make a deal. Are you selling those facing-heaven chili peppers?”
“I’ll go see how the child is doing.”
Su Wan’ning found an excuse to leave them to their discussion.
She could freely use the facing-heaven chili peppers needed for Mu Xun’s treatment, but if Xu Lingxi wanted to eat spicy dishes, it was better for her to buy her own supply.
Su Wan’ning had originally wanted to remind her.
She hadn’t expected Xu Lingxi to think of it herself.
Su Wan’ning felt that Xu Lingxi wasn’t actually as careless, spoiled, and hot-tempered as she appeared.
She was quite thoughtful.
Just now, while Su Wan’ning had been discussing the medicinal diet with Mu Xun, Xu Lingxi had also deliberately avoided listening in.
A young lady from a wealthy family who had been carefully educated since childhood was indeed different.
The little beggar had been settled in a large room in the back courtyard.
Qingfang had been taking care of her all afternoon.
When Su Wan’ning arrived, Qingfang helplessly shook her head.
“She won’t say anything. After I applied the medicine, she just hid under the blanket.”
“I’ll take over. Thank you, Sister Qingfang.”
Qingfang nodded and left.
Su Wan’ning sat down beside the bed.
“Does it still hurt?”
The little girl’s body stiffened beneath the blanket.
She hadn’t been asked why she was wandering around.
She hadn’t been asked why she was hiding there or why she had pretended to be a ghost.
Instead, this big sister had asked if she was in pain.
How could anyone care whether she was hurting?
Could anyone really care whether she was hurting?
Her nose suddenly felt sore.
Through a gap in the blanket, she peeked outside.
The big sister who had saved her was smiling at her.
A genuine, beautiful smile.
“Good-for-nothing girl, get out and dig wild vegetables!”
“Boss, there’s a little girl here! Let’s catch her!”
“You filthy beggar! Who told you to beg here? I’ll beat you to death!”
Everyone had despised her, beaten her, and cursed her.
Everyone had glared at her fiercely.
So she had found a good place and pretended to be a ghost, making everyone afraid of her.
But now the shop was going to be sold.
She didn’t want to be beaten anymore.
She didn’t want to be driven away everywhere or captured and sold.
She was terrified.
So she had caused another disturbance, hoping to make the reputation of the “haunted shop” permanent so that nobody would dare buy it.
But this time, she had been caught and nearly beaten to death.
“Go ahead and cry. Once you’ve cried today, we won’t cry anymore after this.”
Cry?
She touched her face.
It was wet.
Her throat tightened, and all the grievances she’d been holding back surged into her eyes before pouring down as tears.
She threw herself into Su Wan’ning’s arms.
“I didn’t want to pretend to be a ghost either. I had nowhere else to go. Big Sister, please don’t drive me away. Sob…”
She sobbed and explained everything.
Su Wan’ning soon understood.
The little beggar had been discovered because of her.
If she hadn’t asked Xie Yan to arrange the purchase of the shop, the little girl could have continued hiding there for some time.
It was precisely because she was afraid of eventually being driven away that the little beggar had risked frightening people.
Su Wan’ning hadn’t considered things carefully enough.
She should have come personally to inspect the property that day.
If she had found the little beggar then, perhaps today’s beating could have been avoided.
But this also proved something important.
Every action she took could cause a chain reaction of unexpected changes.
The memories from her previous life, which she had thought would give her an advantage, could instead change unpredictably because of her presence and actions in this life.
What about Xie Yan?
Su Wan’ning suppressed the uneasiness in her heart and first comforted the little girl.
“Since you have nowhere else to go, stay here and recover properly. For now, you can help me look after the shop.”
“I—I can sign a servant contract!”
The little beggar nodded eagerly.
“You don’t even have a household registration. What contract would you sign?”
Su Wan’ning couldn’t help laughing.
“Recover from your injuries first. Afterward, whether you want to stay or leave will be up to you.”
“Thank you, Big Sister!”
The little girl was very sensible.
She even asked Su Wan’ning to give her a name.
After discussing it together, they finally decided on Su Tang, with the nickname Tangtang.
“I hope you’ll have a sweet and happy life from now on.”
Tangtang had been beaten today, which was painfully similar to what Su Wan’ning had suffered when she was tortured to death in her previous life.
If she could save Su Tang, it would be like saving her former self.
However, if this little beggar betrayed her in the future, Su Wan’ning would never show mercy.
Xu Lingxi also finalized the price of the facing-heaven chili peppers with Mu Xun.
Su Wan’ning asked her to take care of Su Tang for one night and return to the estate to pick her up the next morning.
“You’re not going back to the Lin family tonight, are you? And what about my Third Brother?”
Xu Lingxi was puzzled.
“I won’t go back to the Lin family.”
Su Wan’ning shook her head.
“I’ll also have to trouble you to apologize to Third Young Master Li for me. I have something very important that I must deal with immediately, so I won’t be able to cook for him tonight.”
“Do you want me to help?”
Xu Lingxi didn’t ask what the matter was.
Instead, she simply asked whether she needed help.
Su Wan’ning felt that perhaps she was too starved for affection and friendship.
She was always touched by these little details.
Still, she politely declined.
“No need. I’ll actually be more convenient on my own.”
So they locked up the shop and went their separate ways.
Xu Lingxi took Su Tang back to the estate, while Su Wan’ning went to the brokerage where Xie Yan worked.
She knew that although Li Xuanzhi looked gentle and mild, people who appeared like that could sometimes be even more narrow-minded.
She had already agreed to cook for him and then suddenly canceled.
She might very well have offended him.
But she had to find Xie Yan.