Chapter Eight: An Instant Familiarity

“There are no boats at night. My father says this river has many dangerous rapids, so no night boats run. By evening, several boats will dock, but once it’s dark, no more boats will come,” Luo Xiaogang explained. “Wealthy families on these boats often stay at the inns on the dock—that’s the Xiao family’s big clan inn. There’s also a pawnshop, a fabric store, an oil mill, and a grain shop on the dock, all owned by the Xiao family…”

The Xiao family had grown rich thanks to this busy dock, their initial capital all handed down from their great-grandfather and grandfather. If she tried to start a small business here to support her family, the Xiao family would surely make things difficult for her. Chun Nuan found this thought particularly ironic.

On the way back from the dock, Luo Xiaogang and Chun Ning chatted away, but Chun Nuan was lost in her own thoughts, pondering ways to make money.

The rest of the journey was mostly silent.

Luo Xiaogang kept talking, but Chun Ning clearly sensed that her elder sister was in a bad mood.

“Sis, look! Those flowers are so beautiful.”

Chun Ning pointed to a patch of trees on the mountain. “What kind of tree is that, with such lovely blossoms?”

“Wangchun flowers,” Luo Xiaogang said dismissively. “That whole mountain is covered with them. Nothing special.”

When hunger gnaws at you, there’s little appetite for flowers, and Chun Nuan paid no attention.

“Sis, is it done like this?”

When Chun Nuan left home, Chun Xin had volunteered to help sort mulberry leaves.

Chun Nuan had her set aside the large, old leaves and kept the fresh, tender ones separately.

“Our Xin’er is getting better and better; she can help her sister now,” she said with a smile.

Children respond well to praise; it encourages their enthusiasm for work.

Chun Xin smiled shyly. Before the accident, she was the Xiao family’s most cherished treasure, her chubby little face adorned with two dimples. Now her face was sallow, and the dimples had vanished.

“Sis, how do you eat this?”

Today’s lunch was prepared with the help of Chun Yan and Chun Shu, along with a few adults offering guidance. Piece by piece, they managed to cook the porridge.

“I made it for you all,” Chun Nuan said.

Originally, she planned to simply blanch the leaves and sprinkle some salt, but life was too bitter. She wanted to give her sisters a little surprise.

After washing the tender mulberry leaves, she chopped them into small squares, mixed the flour, and generously poured a bit of vegetable oil into the pan to make pancakes.

“Sis, what is this?”

Chun An came running over, sniffing the aroma, standing on tiptoe to look into the pan. “Sis, I’m just looking, I won’t sneak a bite.”

“Yes, our Chun An won’t sneak bites,” Chun Nuan said seriously, trying to hold back a laugh. “Now go and call grandmother and aunt to eat.”

Seeing there was nothing to wrap the pancakes in, Chun Nuan sent Chun Ning to the riverbank to cut a banana leaf.

The whole family, old and young, looked at the pancakes piled on the banana leaf atop the shabby table, surprised. Was this an improvement in their meals?

“Nuan Nuan…” Mrs. Xu was worried. This girl had never managed a household before. With just one jin of vegetable oil, needing oil for both lighting and cooking, these pancakes wouldn’t last two days. The flour was limited too; there wasn’t much overall.

“Mother, eat,” Chun Nuan said. Right now, she didn’t want to say anything. Her mind was filled with thoughts of mulberry leaves.

Mulberry leaves are cold in nature, bitter and sweet in taste, entering the lung and liver meridians. They disperse wind-heat, clear the lungs, moisten dryness, calm liver yang, nourish yin, and brighten the eyes. They are a common medicinal herb, and the Herbal Hall would surely need them, but now was not the right season to process them into medicine.

Just as she was thinking this, someone called from outside, “Is Miss Xiao home?”

“Who is it?” Chun Ning set down her bowl and chopsticks and went out to see—it was Zhao Huaming.

“Master Zhao?” “Miss Xiao.”

At the birthday celebration… She had never known their third young master to be so formal. Truly, the way he cupped his hands and greeted Xiao Chun Ning looked so awkward.

“Is Miss Xiao at home?”

“Sis is here; we are having a meal, please…”

Normally, guests should be invited inside, seated, and offered tea, but the Xiao household had nothing now, and the women had nowhere to hide. Chun Ning didn’t want Zhao Huaming to see their meager food and had no intention of letting him inside.

“Then I won’t disturb you. I have business to discuss with Miss Xiao.”

Without waiting for an invitation, Zhao Huaming stepped directly through the gate.

Chun Ning… where is your courtesy?

“Grandmother, sister, Master Zhao from the Herbal Hall has come to visit,” Chun Ning called out reluctantly.

The women of the Xiao family immediately grew flustered; they needed to make themselves scarce.

“Grandmother, you all eat first. I will go receive him.”

Chun Nuan set down her bowl and stood up. As she turned, she came face to face with Zhao Huaming.

“Master Zhao.”

“Miss Xiao, I have business to discuss.”

Zhao Huaming was very excited. This time, he was serious about negotiating.

Her father had entrusted her completely with the matter of processing herbs for the Xiao family. Early that morning, Zhao Huaming had gone to the city to ask his elder brother about the herbs needed by the Changzhou Herbal Hall, and he had also consulted Doctor Chen about the herbs in short supply at the town’s Herbal Hall.

Since it was business, they planned to do it seriously, focusing first on the scarce herbs.

“All right.” Chun Nuan felt a bit embarrassed. This person… well, since he was a partner, she said, “May I ask, Master Zhao, why have you come to see me?”

“Here, take a look.”

Zhao Huaming quickly handed over a densely written piece of paper.

“What is this…”

Not only was Chun Nuan puzzled, but the elders of the Xiao family were also uneasy. Chun Nuan, already betrothed, was accepting a letter from a man—was this appropriate?

“These are the herbs needed by our Herbal Hall. It would be best if you could process them as soon as possible.”

Coptis, Scutellaria, Rhubarb, Tangerine peel, Pinellia, Licorice… Chun Nuan counted thirty-one items in total.

“Master Zhao,” she said, seeing a potentially large deal, but in truth, she couldn’t take it on, “I’m sorry, but I cannot provide these.”

“Why not?”

“Many of these herbs I have no funds to purchase, so I cannot process them.”

A young noble, indeed a young noble—he had no idea how hard life was for the poor. Take ginseng, for example: even if she sold all their belongings, they wouldn’t be able to buy enough to cover a fingernail’s worth. Where was she supposed to find these herbs to process?

“Oh, I should have been clearer,” Zhao Huaming slapped his forehead. “If you can process these herbs, the Herbal Hall will supply the raw materials. You handle the processing, and we’ll pay you a labor fee. How does that sound?”

So, it was a contract manufacturing deal.

“Don’t worry, we won’t make you suffer losses,” Zhao Huaming said, thinking she might fear being underpaid. “We’ll pay according to the quality of the herbs you produce. There will be no underpricing.”

“Very well.”

Chun Nuan thought the Herbal Hall was really trying every possible way to help the Xiao family.

“Hey, what are you eating? It looks delicious,” Zhao Huaming said, eyeing the pancakes on the banana leaf. “I haven’t had lunch yet. May I…”

The meaning was clear—he wanted to freeload a meal.

The Xiao family had seen forward strangers before, but never someone this brazen!