Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Zhao Dashan didn't hesitate at all to spend money on grain because he knew that if he didn't buy now, it would only become more expensive later.

Qingzhou Prefecture was so large that Guangping County was only considered medium-sized, with larger counties above it and smaller ones below. Tongjiang Town, being under Guangping County, saw grain and salt prices that hadn't yet skyrocketed, simply because the chaos from outside hadn't fully reached it yet.

He had to hurry and convert all his silver into supplies he would need before grain and salt prices went crazy.

This was probably what they called having the inside track.

For example, people in town always knew before villagers when rich households were hiring laborers. That was the benefit of getting information early—more opportunities.

One catty of salt could last about a month. They had bought ten catties in the prefectural city earlier, and there was still some left at home, enough to last about a year. This time, Zhao Dashan directly bought fifty catties, spending nearly three taels of silver.

After putting the coarse salt into the back-basket, they went to buy sugar next.

Sugar was something Ma had specifically asked for, especially brown sugar. Brown sugar boiled with eggs was said to replenish qi and blood. Farming families didn’t have access to precious medicinal herbs, so they relied on these expensive but still affordable items to nourish themselves. This was especially true for women during childbirth—if they lost strength midway, a bowl of brown sugar water with eggs might save their lives at a critical moment.

Wang Shi thought of her three daughters-in-law at home. They were still young and might have more children in the future, so the family needed to stock up on brown sugar. This was especially true for Third Brother’s wife. It was said that after childbirth, women’s menstrual cycles would no longer torment them. Third Brother’s wife was weaker than her two sisters-in-law; on those two days each month, she would be in so much pain that she could only lie in bed, her face pale and hands trembling—a frightening sight.

Their family had never lacked brown sugar, and Sun Shi consumed the most, needing two bowls each month to feel somewhat comfortable.

Brown sugar was expensive, costing two hundred and forty wen per catty. White sugar was even more so—only wealthy families could afford it, with prices starting at one tael of silver and going up from there.

Zhao Dashan bought over twenty catties and asked the shop assistant to round it up to a whole number, totaling five taels of silver.

With the major purchases done, Zhao Dashan spent money freely. Seeing his little sister staring eagerly nearby, he asked the shop assistant to weigh several types of pastries and also bought maltose candy. These assorted items cost another two taels of silver.

After paying, he packed everything into the back-basket and called out to Zhao Xiaobao, who was licking a piece of maltose candy, to leave the pastry shop.

Next, they went to the butcher shop and bought half a pig—yes, half a pig. The half carcass, hanging from an iron hook, included two legs and half a head, costing nearly two taels of silver.

If raised well, a pig could weigh around two hundred catties by the end of the year. When butchers came to the village to buy pigs, a fat pig weighing about two hundred catties could sell for around three taels of silver. After slaughtering, aside from offal and other miscellaneous parts, there would be roughly one hundred fifty to one hundred sixty catties of meat. In town, pork sold for twenty-five wen per catty, with prices varying slightly by cut, fluctuating by about three to five wen. On average, a butcher would only make about one tael of silver profit per pig, sometimes as little as eight or nine qian.

If you owned your own shop, it was manageable, but if you rented, after deducting rent, the profit was even less. So, while butchers dealt with pork all day and their families never lacked oil and meat, it was really just hard-earned money.

The lives of ordinary folks weren’t all that different.

Of course, butchers still lived better than peasants like them. At least they never lacked pig offal to eat and drank bone broth made from thoroughly cleaned bones every day. Nine out of ten butchers were plump and sturdy—none were weaklings.

After paying, Zhao Ertian directly hoisted the half pig onto his shoulder and followed his elder brother to the medical clinic.

After Ping’an Clinic closed, another clinic opened in town called Xuanhu Clinic. The name sounded impressive, but the townspeople had a poor opinion of it. It was said the old doctor had a strange temper, and the shopkeeper liked to swindle people—entering once would strip you of a layer of skin.

But there was no choice; it was the only clinic in town. Scarcity drove up value.

Zhao Ertian waited outside with the half pig on his shoulder, while Zhao Wu and Zhao Feng didn’t want to go in either, preferring to guard the basket outside. Zhao Dashan didn’t force them and went in with Zhao Xiaobao.

Xuanhu Clinic was located where Ping’an Clinic had once been rebuilt. Entering through the main door, you’d see the medicine counter, with small compartments densely labeled with medicine names. Two shop assistants were dozing off, propping their chins. To the left was where the doctor sat. An elderly man with graying hair was writing a prescription, occasionally stroking his beard, pondering, and then writing.

Zhao Dashan went straight to the counter. The dozing shop assistant suddenly woke up when someone approached, wiped his mouth with his hand, and then extended it: “Here for medicine? Give me the prescription.”

Zhao Dashan smiled sheepishly. “Xiao Ge, I’m here to buy medicine. Does Xuanhu Clinic have medicine for colds, fevers, reducing fever, stopping diarrhea, or preventing insects and epidemics? I’d like to buy some.”

“Xuanhu Clinic has all kinds of medicine,” the shop assistant said, extending his hand further. “Just give me the prescription, and I’ll prepare the medicine for you.”

“Huh?” Zhao Dashan looked at his own hands—he didn’t have a prescription. “Do I need a prescription to buy medicine?” In the past, Ping’an Clinic didn’t require one unless you were a patient seeing the doctor. For common cold and fever medicine, especially insect and epidemic prevention medicine, you didn’t need a doctor’s prescription. You could buy pills or prepared medicine, with prices and ingredients fixed.

“If the doctor didn’t prescribe it, why are you here to buy medicine?” The shop assistant rolled his eyes and pointed at the doctor, who was still meditating and slowly writing a prescription. “See, go queue up. How can the doctor prescribe without examining your pulse? Without a prescription, how dare I give you medicine? If someone dies from taking medicine without a prescription, who’s to blame? What a blockhead—how did you even think of that?”

He wasn’t sick—why would he go to the doctor for a pulse reading? No wonder people in town said it was best not to go to the new clinic unless it was a life-or-death illness. After all, having your pulse read was included in the medicine cost. And if you encountered a black-hearted doctor who prescribed expensive medicine, insisting it could save you, you’d have to sell everything you owned to buy it if you wanted to live.

Zhao Dashan didn’t want to get his pulse read or a prescription, so he simply turned around and left the clinic with his little sister.

“Elder Brother, why are you out so quickly?” Zhao Ertian had just found a spot to squat when he turned his head and saw his elder brother coming out.

“We’re not buying from them.” Zhao Dashan was worried about being fleeced. Earlier in the year, they had bought some medicine, but everyone in the family was healthy—even Xiaobao hadn’t caught a cold. That medicine was still untouched in the wooden hut, so they’d just make do with it for now.

He had actually considered going to the pawnshop but decided against it.

Mother had given him seventy taels, meaning he should exchange it all for grain. But Tongjiang Town wasn’t very big, and the largest grain shop was the one they had just visited. Zhao Dashan thought that since they were already out, they might as well go to a neighboring town to buy more grain.

If they bought enough for six or seven years, they’d truly never starve.

After finishing their own business, they still needed to notify their in-laws. Coincidentally, Third Brother’s wife’s family was in Luoshi Village, a village under Qinghe Town, right next to Tongjiang Town, in a border area.

From Tongjiang Town to Qinghe Town, taking a shortcut would take over an hour—closer than going home. They could go to Qinghe Town first, find a place to stay overnight, buy grain early the next morning, and then go to Luoshi Village to notify the Sun family in-laws before taking the mountain path home.

Luoshi Village was far from Wanxia Village, so it wasn’t easy for Third Brother’s wife to visit her family. They’d notify them on the way, and then the couple could decide whether to make another trip later.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Dashan turned to look at his son carrying the basket and his nephew holding the basket. He bent down, picked up Zhao Xiaobao, and said to Second Brother, who was carrying the half pig: “We’re going to Qinghe Town later. We won’t go home today.”

“Why are we going to Qinghe Town?” Zhao Ertian shifted the pig on his shoulder, looking puzzled.

They rarely went to other towns for market days. Although they all required walking mountain paths, Tongjiang Town was more prosperous than the surrounding towns, so everyone preferred coming here.

“We still have half the silver left. Let’s buy more grain. Buying in another town won’t draw as much attention.” Since it was only a day or two, he’d rather make an extra trip to solve a major future problem.

“Alright,” Zhao Ertian nodded.

Zhao Wu and Zhao Feng had no objections either. The two brothers had maltose candy in their mouths, taking turns carrying the basket, not feeling tired at all.

Before going to Qinghe Town, they went to the cloth shop to buy cotton. This was indispensable—in winter, if it snowed, not having cotton-padded clothes could freeze you to death.

Their family would make new cotton-padded clothes for the women and children every three or four years. No matter how much you aired and sunned old cotton clothes, they were never as warm as new ones. The old cotton jackets were then used to make clothes for Father and the three brothers. Young men had strong internal heat and could get through winter wearing old cotton clothes.

Over the years, cotton hadn’t risen much in price, staying at sixty wen per catty.

Perhaps because winter had just passed, even with the tense situation outside and grain and salt prices rising, cotton remained at this price. After all, this was something you bought once and used for many years. Some families used the same cotton quilt their entire lives, passing it down to the next generation after death. It was something that could save lives when needed but was stuffed into wooden chests when out of season, so the price never rose much.

The warmth of a quilt depended on how much cotton was stuffed inside. Their Qingzhou Prefecture was in the south, where it rarely snowed in winter—at most, a few light snowflakes would drift down. A heavy snow like last year, sealing the mountains, was extremely rare, happening only once every few decades. Although the temperature wasn’t as cold as in the north, it was damp and chilly, and there weren’t many ways to keep warm. During the day, you’d huddle under blankets; at night, you’d put a hot water bottle at your feet. In such times, warm bedding was a lifesaver.

In their family, a winter quilt would be stuffed with two to three catties of cotton, plus the inner lining and outer cover, totaling over four catties per quilt.

With quilts like these, their family only had two: one in the main room, shared by Father, Mother, and Little Sister, and one in the room where the five boys slept, with the brothers squeezing under it together. Zhao Dashan and his two younger brothers used thinner winter quilts stuffed with only one catty of new cotton and one catty of old cotton. And in the years before Zhao Xiaobao was born, they couldn’t even afford cotton quilts, stuffing their bedding with straw, reed catkins, and willow fluff like many other poor families in the village.

Zhao Dashan and his brothers were men and didn’t fear the cold much, but Zhu Shi and the others would have chilblains on their hands, feet, and ears every winter, shivering so much at night that they had to cling tightly to their husbands.

After a winter, many households that shut their doors and hibernated would quietly freeze to death.

Winter was bitterly cold, and without warm clothing, death could come in an instant.

So cotton was as important as grain. When it was cold, food in the pot would cool before it was even served, and eating it wouldn’t generate much warmth in the body, making it impossible to endure.

At sixty wen per catty, Zhao Dashan directly bought one hundred catties of cotton.

If they didn’t take advantage of the current price before it rose, by winter, it might increase daily like grain and coarse salt.

The shopkeeper didn’t expect this seemingly unremarkable man to ask for one hundred catties of cotton in one go. But he was used to big transactions and didn’t show any surprise on his face. He nodded and said, “That’ll be six taels of silver. One hundred catties of cotton is quite a lot, so please wait a moment, customer.”

Zhao Dashan nodded, feeling his mind wasn't sharp. His plans were all over the place. Earlier, he had only considered that transporting grain required a cart, while cotton was light—how heavy could a hundred *catties* be? He could carry it himself. But he hadn't considered that while cotton is indeed light, it takes up a lot of space!

He wished he hadn't returned the cart.

Fortunately, he had bought a large quantity of cotton. The cloth shop knew the tricks of the trade for compressing the fluffy cotton to save space. Zhao Dashan had been sweating over nothing.

When they left the cloth shop, they attracted quite a few glances along the way. Zhao Dashan and Zhao Feng shouldered sacks of cotton bound with hemp rope, Zhao Wu carried a basket filled with pricier goods like coarse salt, brown sugar, and pastries, while the most eye-catching was Zhao Ertian, who shouldered half a pig that occasionally dripped a few drops of blood.

Zhao Xiaobao hurried along on her short legs, huffing and puffing to keep up beside them.

Paying no mind to the looks from those around them, they headed straight out of the town, walked along the main road, then turned onto a side path toward Qinghe Town.

Once there were no outsiders around, Zhao Wu and Zhao Feng kept watch, one in front and one behind. Zhao Xiaobao first put away the half pig, then the cotton, and finally the coarse salt and brown sugar from the basket. She also secretly hid a piece of maltose candy in her palm. Zhao Dashan saw it but pretended not to notice. He picked her up and placed her into the now-empty basket, carrying it as they continued on their way.

They had arrived at Tongjiang Town around mid-morning. Zhao Xiaobao slowly ate her morning meal, then buying the grain, moving it, and hiding it took a good while. After that, they purchased salt, sugar, and other items. By the time they left the town, it was almost noon.

The mountain path wasn't far from the main road. Along the way, they could see donkey carts and oxcarts heading toward Qinghe Town. The donkey carts carried goods, while the oxcarts carried passengers—three or four women sat in the carts, two of them holding small children.

Zhao Dashan had only been to Qinghe Town once before, when his third brother was meeting a potential bride. They had specifically gone to Qinghe Town for the market. Back then, Sun Shi, then just a young girl, had gone with her mother to sell eggs. Under the matchmaker's guidance, the two families had caught a glimpse of each other from a distance.

Later, after the marriage was settled, his father took him and the third brother to Tongjiang Town to sell some hens. They waited until the market was almost over before selling just one. His father simply closed up the stall and led them along this small path to Qinghe Town, where he bought a packet of maltose candy. Along with the unsold old hen, he had the third brother deliver them to the Sun family.

Perhaps because of this, after the wedding, the third brother had always been well-liked by his parents-in-law. The young couple got along well, and his sister-in-law was also very filial to his parents.

Zhao Ertian didn't know about these events. To pass the time on the uneventful journey, Zhao Dashan shared them as amusing anecdotes. Zhao Ertian listened happily, remarking that the third brother had had a silver tongue since he was a kid and was sure to please his mother-in-law.

It was the hottest part of the day, but the hour-plus walk on the mountain path wasn't too strenuous. The forest provided shade, and although the path was rough, they didn't suffer much.

By the time they reached Qinghe Town, it was mid-afternoon.

Qinghe Town wasn't as prosperous as Tongjiang Town. Its city gates were low, the streets seemed more run-down, the road surface was uneven, and there were several potholes.

"This is my first time in Qinghe Town. It doesn't seem as big as our Tongjiang Town," Zhao Ertian said honestly after looking around.

"Qinghe Town hasn't produced any notable figures. It's not surprising it's not as big as our Tongjiang Town." The Yu family were officials recorded in the county annals. As the ancestral home of the Yu family, Tongjiang Town naturally enjoyed some residual benefits. Officials understood human affairs far better than ordinary folks like them.

For instance, when it came to road and bridge repairs, the county authorities first thought of Tongjiang Town. Qinghe Town, as a neighboring town, also benefited. The main road connecting the two places was built years ago through corvée labor. At that time, Zhao Dashan was just a half-grown boy, and it was his father, Old Man Zhao, who went to serve.

Although Qinghe Town wasn't large, it was lively. Villagers with carrying poles and baskets were wandering the streets, who'd sold their wares and were now buying household necessities.

After walking around, they quickly located the streets with the grain shops, cloth shops, and even a clinic. To Zhao Dashan's surprise, Qinghe Town actually had a Ping'an Clinic, and the clerk there was someone they knew—the young man who had filled their prescription before, the one Zhao Dashan had helped retrieve the medicinal herbs.

It was a coincidence. Just as they were passing by the Ping'an Clinic, the clerk was helping a woman support a lame man out. Meeting again after several months, the clerk recognized him immediately and said with delight, "It's you! Aren't you from Tongjiang Town? What brings you to Qinghe Town?"

"I came to Qinghe Town to buy some things." The experience at the Ping'an Clinic in the county town had left a shadow on Zhao Dashan, making him instinctively wary at the sight of any Ping'an Clinic. Unexpectedly, the clerk's attitude was even friendlier than last time. Zhao Dashan couldn't help but smile back and asked, "How did you end up in Qinghe Town?"

"The owner closed the clinic in Tongjiang Town. With nowhere else to go, I was transferred here." The clerk helped the man onto a cart. The woman thanked him repeatedly before pushing the cart away with effort.

Once they were gone, the two stood talking at the clinic entrance.

Zhao Dashan wasn't sure how to broach the subject. He wanted to ask what had happened at the clinic after they left, why the clerk at the county town Ping'an Clinic had been so hostile toward them, and why the owner had even closed the Tongjiang Town branch.

"Seeing you dare not even enter the door, do you know something?" the clerk asked with a smile.

"Ah," Zhao Dashan rubbed his hands. "I won't hide it from you. Some days ago, my brothers and I went to the county town. As soon as the clerk at the Ping'an Clinic there heard us speak, his tone turned very impatient. In the end, we were turned away without even entering the main gate. Afterward, I thought and thought but couldn't understand. We helped the clinic retrieve all the medicinal herbs, and later the townsfolk bought quite a lot of medicine. Logically, we shouldn't be so hated. Even the robbed grain shop is operating normally now. Why is it only the Ping'an Clinic that resents us from Tongjiang Town?"

This was something Zhao Dashan couldn't figure out. It wasn't until today, meeting the clerk again and seeing his candid attitude, that he dared to voice his confusion.

The clerk fell silent for a long time after hearing this.

Zhao Dashan gave an awkward laugh and waved his hand, about to change the subject and pretend he hadn't asked, when the other man spoke in a hoarse voice: "After you left, another group of people came to the town, all seeking Doctor Lin to save lives. When they learned Doctor Lin had died and I had sold the herbs to you, they went mad on the spot. They rushed over, beating and robbing us. One of our clinic's guards died during the earthquake; the surviving one was lying on a plank, barely alive. Yu Wu and I were quick-witted. Seeing they outnumbered us, we took the chance to throw out all the herbs and silver we had on hand. That's how we survived."

"The others weren't as lucky as Yu Wu and me. Some were beaten to death, some were stabbed to death. Even the guard who had luckily survived with half his life didn't escape—they all died."

The disaster struck without warning, in the dead of night when everyone was deep asleep. Countless people in every village died or were injured. Everyone wanted to live. Suddenly hearing that the doctor who could save lives was dead, and the medicine had been taken by others first, the usually honest countrymen's eyes turned redder than the next. Innocent people died in the chaos. Reporting it to the authorities afterward was useless.

No one knew who they were. They took the remaining medicine, stole the silver from selling the medicine, killed people, and ran.

He and Yu Wu were terrified out of their wits. Surviving was already a great fortune; they didn't dare pursue the matter.

The clinic in Tongjiang Town closed. Secretly, he felt relieved. He didn't want to stay there any longer. It was only in the last couple of months that he started feeling better. Before that, he had nightmares every night, filled with the bloody scenes from that day. Seeing colleagues he had worked with day in and day out die horribly before his eyes—that kind of psychological trauma couldn't be explained in just a few words.

He didn't like the people of Tongjiang Town either, but toward Zhao Dashan, he held no resentment. He was a kind-hearted man, different from those others.

The clerk said, "If you need to see a doctor or buy medicine in the future, you can come to Qingping Town and find me. I'll introduce you to a doctor. Otherwise, as soon as you speak with that Tongjiang Town accent, you won't even get past the clinic's main gate."

He said it with a somewhat joking tone, but Zhao Dashan knew he wasn't lying. After all, they had already experienced such cold treatment in the county town.

Now understanding the cause and effect, Zhao Dashan felt a strange discomfort. It wasn't his wrongdoing, yet he was affected by it. However, he understood. How innocent were those clerks? The clinic's approach wasn't wrong either. If they continued operating in Tongjiang Town and ended up indirectly treating those murderers in the future, the thought alone would be sickening.

"What a coincidence. I really need to trouble you for help. I actually wanted to buy some medicinal herbs." Zhao Dashan looked at him somewhat sheepishly. With this connection and the other's offer, he felt he could take the opportunity to buy some.

"Just buying herbs, not consulting a doctor for a diagnosis and prescription?" The clerk smiled, looking at Zhao Ertian and the two boys behind him. This family was peculiar. To say they looked kind-hearted—not really. At first glance, they didn't seem easy to get along with. Yet their words and actions gave off a very honest impression. It just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover.

There are beasts in human clothing, and also those with fierce faces but kind hearts.

"Everyone in the family is fairly healthy. It's just that I've heard the outside world isn't very stable lately, so I want to prepare some medicine that might be needed in the future." Since the other had said that if he needed medical treatment later, he could come to the Ping'an Clinic in Qinghe Town and find him, Zhao Dashan didn't really want to lie to him. He was willing to reciprocate with equal sincerity. Moreover, he knew they had been to the county town, so it wasn't strange for them to know the situation was tense.

"How much do you want to buy? What kinds?" The clerk directly led them into the clinic. With him guiding them, the two unfamiliar clerks behind the counter, who had been reciting herbs with their eyes closed, only glanced up at them and said nothing.

Recently, quite a few people had come to buy medicine, especially well-informed wealthy families who had bought a lot several days earlier. Even they had privately stockpiled some, and their relatives and friends had bought some too.

In this world, there are no fools. Usually, in times of turmoil, the first to die are ordinary folks who are isolated from news and have no connections.

"Medicine for colds, fever reducers, diarrhea medicine, deworming and epidemic prevention medicine, and medicine for bruises and sprains to reduce swelling and stop bleeding..." Zhao Dashan listed many in one breath. He also wanted to buy some medicine to replenish qi and blood, but then he reconsidered. Back when the ginseng didn't fetch a high price, the old gentleman had said Xiaobao hadn't dug it properly, carelessly and impatiently breaking off the root hairs.

He thought, why not go home and dig up those broken root hairs?

After all, it's ginseng. Even the scraps should be more effective than brown sugar and egg water, right?