Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 47 - Serpent Vine Chrysanthemum_1

Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Serpent Vine Chrysanthemum_1

Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Serpent Vine Chrysanthemum_1

Lady Wu advised, “Yueyue, although these are clothes worn by maids, they have no patches and are much better than the ones you are wearing now.”

Cheng Yue shook her head and said, “Sister said that there is a difference between master and servant, I cannot wear the clothes of a maid.”

It was the first time Cheng Yue spoke of the past, and though it was only a fragment, it still filled Qian Yixiu with unexpected joy. She quickly pressed on with questions, “Sister? Which sister did Mother mention? What’s her surname? Where does she live?”

A barrage of questions confused Cheng Yue, and with her innocent big eyes she blinked and asked in return, “Sister… what sister?”

Great, she’s gotten silly again.

Qian Yixiu regretted her impatience immensely; it was her fault for asking too many questions.

No matter how much her family members persuaded her, Cheng Yue simply wouldn’t accept the clothes. She didn’t mention anything about sister again, only saying she didn’t like them.

Qian Manxia said with a smile, “If my sister-in-law doesn’t want these clothes, it’s my gain. I won’t mind wearing them.”

In the eyes of the little girl, these old clothes were made of silk without exception and better than those new ones.

Qian Yixiu then dragged the peach-red fine cloth that Lady Song had given over and said, “Mother, in the future, we will make even more money. This piece of cloth should be used to make new clothes for Mother and me. I don’t want to wear this beggar’s attire anymore.” She said this while contemptuously tugging at the small clothes wrapped around her body.

Seeing this piece of cloth, Cheng Yue’s eyes also lit up with delight as she exclaimed, “Yueyue likes it too.”

Lady Wu disagreed, “This fabric is of good color and quality; it should be saved for Auntie Xia’s dowry to make a good impression. I will go to town another day and get some coarse cloth to make new clothes for Yueyue and Yixiu.”

Qian Yeejin then spoke up, “Mother, let’s use this cloth to make a set of clothes for my mother and sister. When the women of our house are dressed well, it reflects well on us men, too. Not just for Mother and sister, you should make a set for yourself as well. By the time Auntie gets married, I will have made something of myself and will buy better silk than this fabric for Auntie’s dowry.”

Qian Manxia, however, stomped her feet in embarrassment, disagreeing with a protest, “If they want to make clothes, just let them be, why drag me into it?”

Qian Sangui laughed and said, “By the time Jinwa makes something of himself, your aunt will have become an old maid.” He then addressed Lady Wu, “Since Yixiu has worked hard this time, just make a new set of clothes for the two of them. Jinwa is right, you should also make one for yourself. Use this blue cloth to do so and also make a long shirt for Jinwa to wear to school.”

Qian Sangui then assigned tasks, “The farm work in the fields cannot be delayed any longer. Manjiang mother and Auntie Xia will clean up the land tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they will join the eldest and second brothers to plow and sow. Once these few busy days are over, we’ll go to the county town to repay Xiang Niang’s money. With this silver, life at home won’t be difficult. We will plant an acre of corn, half an acre of sweet potatoes, and another half-acre of peanuts, which we can use for oil and also eat. Tomorrow, let Jinwa and Yixiu go pick flowers.”

Lady Wu nodded and said, “That’s what I was thinking; Xia Grass and I will go to the fields tomorrow. However, I fear we won’t be able to sell Xia Grass for a high price anymore; I’ve heard some people that saw us selling flowers say they will come to the countryside to pick Xia Grass. Such an easy business is bound to spread quickly, and these two little ones will likely not be able to compete with the others.”

Qian Sangui frowned in thought and said to Lady Wu, “Then we shouldn’t set our sights on harvesting Xia Grass. You don’t have time to go to the county town to sell flowers, and the children can’t pick much, not to mention I don’t feel at ease about them going to town to sell. How about we talk to the first and second branch of the family? They have enough hands. If they’re willing to make some extra money by picking, it’s better to benefit our own family than outsiders.”

Qian Yixiu felt the same way. Now that they had a small nest egg, she didn’t want to chase after petty cash. Moreover, she didn’t dare to go to the county town to sing for money anymore; selling flowers alone really didn’t bring in much.

After Qian Sangui finished his medicine, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

In bed, Qian Yixiu looked at her mother’s petticoat patched all over. The white had been washed to yellow, and there were even a few black patches sewn onto the white ones. Even in such tattered clothes, her mother refused to wear new clothes that a servant girl had worn. It seemed that the deep-seated notions of social hierarchy had been firmly engraved in her heart; even in her confused state, she was still instinctively clinging to them.

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Her mother wrapped in burlap-like clothing, though hiding some of her beauty, was truly a waste of natural gifts. When she earned more money in the future, she would buy a few nice clothes for her mother, intuitively feeling that her mother must love beauty.

The little lad knew he was going to start school and was beyond excited. After his mother and sister had gone to bed, he was still reading an old book. Normally not allowed to light an oil lamp, the boy huddled next to the window, using the starlight to read.

Qian Yixiu advised, “Big brother, there will be plenty of time for diligent study later. Don’t ruin your eyes now.”

Only then did the boy go to bed. Over their mother, he mumbled, “In the future, sis shouldn’t go to the city to sing anymore, it’s dangerous… You’re good-looking, and the bad guys could get ideas… Without your brother with you, it’s best not to leave the village…”

His voice grew fainter and then his head fell onto the pillow as he fell asleep.

Hearing her mother and brother’s deep sleep sounds, Qian Yixiu still found herself restless. She was thrilled to have made a connection with the Zhang family. Going forward, she would need to make sure to stay visible to them. Once she got hold of certain items, she could sell them to their family or maybe through them to other families. She didn’t quite trust anyone else; it’s rare to find people who don’t covet small wealth, but those who could resist the temptation of something of great value, especially from a family as vulnerable as hers, were even scarcer.

Zhang Zhongkun was shrewd yet fair, an absolute gentleman, which was the conclusion she had drawn from over two years of observation.

She recalled Zhang Zhongkun mentioning that a nobleman from the Capital City would come to him every year for acupuncture to treat his “horse epilepsy.” Horse epilepsy was one of the six types of epilepsy, which in modern terms would be referred to as epilepsy.

Under his and an Old Monk’s combined treatments, the nobleman’s condition was very well controlled. Since the age of three, he had never suffered an episode again, so much so that no one in the outside world knew he had the condition.

Hearing the accents of those two duck-voiced men, they were both from the Capital City. Could one of them be the nobleman with horse epilepsy? Whether it was the imposing Young Master Liang or the handsome Young Master Song, it was a shame for either to have such a condition, which couldn’t be cured even in the previous world.

However, she also heard from Zhang Zhongkun that there was a legendary herb called Serpent Vine Chrysanthemum that was rumored to be able to cure all six types of epilepsy. The existence of this herb was only mentioned in his family ancestor’s notes passed down through generations. No one, including his ancestor, had ever seen it; it was only referenced in an ancient medical book that had long been lost, so whether the Serpent Vine Chrysanthemum truly existed was uncertain.

…………………

Thank you for the idle fragrance sachet, thank you Hera@Qian Lin for the purse, and thanks for everyone’s support and recommendations. Qing Quan has been a bit unwell and busy lately, luckily there’s some manuscript saved up, what a misery.