Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The next day, Pei Mu's symptoms had indeed improved significantly.

Zhong Yizhu held Pei Mu's face and carefully studied the color of his lips. The bluish-purple tinge had faded even more, and Pei Mu's cheeks had more color in them. Zhong Yizhu leaned in and gently blew on his wound, his eyes stinging with tears again.

Pei Mu was at a complete loss with this little crybaby. He pulled him onto his lap and murmured soothingly. Zhong Yizhu felt awful for needing his patient to comfort him, so he quickly excused himself and ran off to help decoct the medicine.

Feeling a bit stronger, Pei Mu went out for a stroll in the courtyard. Zhong Yizhu's eyes followed him everywhere, and eventually he came over to support him.

The weather was warm and sunny, so the two wandered to the back yard. Sun Yunniang had just finished watering Zhong Yizhu's precious vegetables and was carrying an empty bucket back.

Seeing them approach, Sun Yunniang remembered something and said to Pei Mu, "Oh, by the way, I stored away your bow, arrows, and chopping knife. There was also a bamboo basket with game in it, I think? It was tied tight, so I didn't take a close look. You should check on it when you get a chance. Yesterday morning when I came by, your back door was wide open, and your things were scattered outside. Lucky no one took them..."

Pei Mu said he understood and thanked Sun Yunniang. As she walked back to the front yard, Pei Mu looked down at Zhong Yizhu and spoke softly, "What's wrong, Zhu Ge'er?"

While Sun Yunniang was speaking, Zhong Yizhu had unconsciously tightened his grip, squeezing Pei Mu's arm almost painfully.

Pei Mu was no fool, especially where Zhong Yizhu was concerned. He thought back and quickly put two and two together.

At the sound of Pei Mu's voice, Zhong Yizhu looked up with a panicked expression and pale lips. He opened his mouth but only managed to say his name.

"Pei Mu..."

Pei Mu's heart lurched. He turned and wrapped both arms around Zhong Yizhu's waist, pulling him into a tight hug. He held him tight, completely enveloping him in his arms, and whispered a promise into his ear.

"Don't be afraid, Zhu Ge'er. I promise you, I won't go into the deep mountains anymore. Don't be afraid."

Tears spilled from Zhong Yizhu's eyes. He didn't want to be so selfish—Pei Mu supported him in everything, yet here he was, stopping Pei Mu from doing what he did best.

But he was truly terrified. What if there was a next time? What if next time he wasn't so lucky?

He couldn't bring himself to say "no," so he just clutched Pei Mu's clothes and cried, releasing his emotions.

Pei Mu patted his back gently. "Stop crying. It's me who's too scared to go anymore. Why are you crying? Are you ashamed of me?"

Zhong Yizhu quickly shook his head, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'm too awful."

Pei Mu let out a soft sigh. He reached out, hooked his chin, and wiped his tears with the sleeve of his inner robe. "Where are you awful? You're just a little fool."

Zhong Yizhu couldn't even bring himself to say a word that might trouble Pei Mu, and yet he claimed to be awful.

Pei Mu knew very well that this had been an accident—an extreme one. If he were alone, he would still choose to go into the mountains. He wouldn't let one accident scare him; if he had that kind of mentality, he would have died somewhere long ago, never making it this far.

But now things were different. Zhu Ge'er was terrified. How could he go back into the mountains and leave Zhu Ge'er worrying day and night, unable to sleep? He earned money to give Zhu Ge'er a better life—wouldn't he be putting the cart before the horse?

He could find other work, Pei Mu thought. He could do anything. All he wanted was for Zhong Yizhu to stop crying.

...

Pei Mu's recovery took several days.

Zhong Yizhu stayed by his side almost every moment. Sun Yunniang also came to the foothill cottage daily to help. Pei Mu had always relied on his own strong constitution to pull through, but now with such attentive care, he healed remarkably fast.

Even He Agong marveled at Pei Mu's resilience. If it had been anyone else, such an ordeal would have drained their vitality, but Pei Mu recovered rapidly in a short time—a truly astonishing feat.

Zhong Yizhu was happy, but also felt a pang of sorrow at how quickly he recovered.

Still, it was cause for celebration.

The residual poison in Pei Mu's body was purged smoothly with the medicine. If not for He Agong's warning that failing to properly recuperate would lead to future problems, Pei Mu would have felt his energy and strength had already returned to normal—except for his wounds, which hadn't fully healed.

Zhong Yizhu and Sun Yunniang kept a close watch on him, insisting he avoid heavy labor until he was fully recovered. Pei Mu wasn't ungrateful; he complied with everything. He intended to grow old with Zhong Yizhu, so he wouldn't be reckless with his health.

Once the poison was completely gone, He Agong's duties were fulfilled.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu borrowed the village head's oxcart and set off early in the morning, taking He Agong back to his home.

Sun Yunniang came along as well. Despite He Agong's protests, they first went to Songyun County to buy pastries and fine wine, then stopped at Yao Sheng's meat stall for half a side of pork, and finally visited a cloth shop to purchase cotton for winter quilts. They loaded the oxcart to the brim before taking He Agong back to his village.

Zhong Yizhu paid He Agong a consultation fee of ten taels of silver—He Agong refused to accept more. So the family decided to buy him useful items for food and clothing instead.

He Agong lived in a village not far from Songyun County. When they arrived, it was still morning, around the time farmers returned from weeding their fields.

The villagers were stunned by the sight. A crowd gathered behind the oxcart, watching the commotion.

He Agong had a son who died young from illness, and the child's mother had also passed away years ago. He Agong never remarried.

He had raised most of his younger siblings, and they remembered his kindness. When they saw he was getting older, they offered to take care of him, but He Agong refused. He preferred to stay in his own home, tending to his medicinal herbs.

His two younger brothers had settled in the same village, and their children and grandchildren were filial toward He Agong, always looking out for him. If not for the knowledge that Gong Laosi wouldn't harm He Agong, they would have come to demand his return long ago.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions. With no word from He Agong, his third younger brother, He Xiaocai, got up early, paced around for a while, and finally stomped his foot, saying he was going to see him.

His eldest son tried to dissuade him: the patient was still being treated; what if they caused trouble by going there? He would go to the county and ask Gong Laosi if there was any news to relay.

Just as they were discussing this, someone shouted from afar, "Old He is back!"

He Xiaocai pushed past his son and hurried out the door. In the distance, he saw a crowd gathered in front of his elder brother's house. Ignoring his son's nagging, he sprinted over.

When he got close, he immediately spotted his elder brother by the oxcart. He Agong's face was glowing with health, his complexion even better than before. Relieved, He Xiaocai heard the people around him talking about how the gifts on the cart were thank-you offerings from the family.

As he pushed forward, a protruding pig's hoof jabbed him in the chest—whew!

Even the villagers had never imagined anyone would give Old He such generous gifts.

Everyone knew He Agong had been taken to treat a patient and had been gone for days. They didn't know how the treatment was going. Some had even whispered privately about what kind of fool would go out of their way to hire a village herbalist. Now, their jaws dropped.

The crowd stared at the loaded oxcart, marveling at the sight. What a heavy thanks!

He Agong knew that since the gifts had already arrived at his doorstep, there was no room to refuse. Pei Mu offered to help unload, but He Agong stopped him. Spotting He Xiaocai calling out to him, He Agong turned and saw Da Zhuang and other great-nephews who had rushed over upon hearing the news. He waved them over.

The He family descendants helped carry the items into He Agong's house. Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu noticed that although He Agong lived alone, his nephews and grandnephews were filial. They showed no greed upon seeing the gifts and treated them politely, which put their minds at ease.

Not that it was their concern, but a life-saving grace was no trivial matter to be brushed aside lightly.

Once everything was unloaded, the three took their leave of He Agong again.

The villagers speculated that this must be some wealthy family to be so generous. Although their village was close to Songyun County and relatively well-off, they were still farmers. Even for a life-saving favor, which family would be willing to give such lavish gifts? Whether they could afford it was one thing; whether they were willing was another.

Even He Xiaocai thought so, but when he asked his elder brother about the family's background, He Agong didn't tell him.

It was only in later years, when the family came bearing gifts every Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year—starting with food and clothing, and later with ginseng and medicinal herbs for nourishment—that He Xiaocai realized it wasn't about wealth at all. It was about the sincerity of that family.

Meanwhile, since they had set out early, by the time they returned to Songyun County after all this running around, it was still before noon.

They were planning to set up a stall today.

Zhong Yizhu had finished making incense last time, intending to sell it at the market on the previous big market day, but Pei Mu's injury had prevented him. Now that Pei Mu was recovering well, they couldn't miss the Mid-Autumn market.

However, before setting up the stall, they first went to the herbal medicine shop.

The herbal medicine shop was recommended by He Agong, and the doctor who diagnosed Pei Mu's pulse and prescribed the medicine had a white beard that hung down to his belly, yet he was in excellent spirits and appeared very skilled in taking care of his health.

He started Pei Mu on a month's supply of medicine, saying that later he would adjust the dosage or stop the medication depending on the situation. This duration was much shorter than Zhong Yizhu and the others had anticipated, indicating that Pei Mu's health condition was not severe—another encouraging bit of news.

After picking up the medicine, they hurried towards the West Market.

Pei Mu paid to store the oxcart at a designated area near the market entrance for livestock and vehicles, then together with Zhong Yizhu and Sun Yunniang, they carried their goods toward their usual stall.

Both Zhong Yizhu and Sun Yunniang had rushed to carry the back baskets, leaving Pei Mu, the tallest of them, with only the lightest basket. Zhong Yizhu even specially turned back to remind him not to use his left hand.

Pei Mu had never been looked after so carefully; these days he’d gotten a real taste of it. He obediently switched to his right hand and slowed his pace to follow behind the two.

This was Sun Yunniang's first time following along to the market in Songyun County. As soon as she stepped in, she saw bustling activity everywhere. As they passed a stall selling incense, she took a closer look and quietly remarked to Zhong Yizhu, "The tablecloth and display on that stall look a lot like yours."

No sooner had she spoken than she heard an unfamiliar male voice from the side: "Pei Xiongdi! Congratulations!"

Sun Yunniang looked over and saw a man at the neighboring stall enthusiastically greeting Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu. He even reached over and patted Pei Mu's shoulder, clearly delighted for him.

Sun Yunniang figured this was the Gong Laosi that Zhu Ge'er said helped them get He Agong. Zhong Yizhu introduced Sun Yunniang to Gong Laosi. Since the market was crowded, their exchange was brief. After bidding farewell to Gong Laosi and moving forward, Zhong Yizhu finally had time to answer his mother.

"He just copied my setup. Originally, my stall was right over there."

Just a simple sentence, without any anger, yet Sun Yunniang immediately connected this to the period when Zhong Yizhu had seemed off previously.

She sighed inwardly. Indeed, business was never easy anywhere. She wondered how her Zhu Ge'er had sorted it out afterward.

But now wasn't the time to ask.

To Sun Yunniang's complete surprise, even though they had arrived at an odd hour, before they had even finished setting up, customers were already coming.

Sun Yunniang saw Zhong Yizhu too busy to arrange the goods, immediately stepping in to help Pei Mu unload the baskets. As they unloaded, a few more young women and a young man came over, all saying they wanted to buy the scented balm.

Zhong Yizhu was overwhelmed attending to customers. Sun Yunniang's family ran an incense shop, so although she had never directly handled business, she could still tell apart basic incense items.

She stepped forward to help these customers with the scented balm, while Pei Mu handled the money. In no time, the family was busy at their respective tasks, and everything ran smoothly.

The small stall was thriving.

On the other side, seeing that Zhong Yizhu had made a name for himself with his scented balm, Qian Jinbao, though he had learned his lesson, couldn't resist the idea of another switcheroo. But this time, no one was buying it.

Word had spread about what he had done before. Somehow, many people had learned about the counterfeit incense ball stall. Not only did his scented balm fail to sell like last time, but even the incense balls wouldn't sell.

The incense ball stall owner he had partnered with turned his back on him. Though Qian Jinbao was a rascal, the other guy was a market veteran who didn't cave to threats.

The other party suffered no losses, but Qian Jinbao had turned all his money into the current stock that was impossible to move. Over these days, he had lost all his previous arrogance, and his face looked much gloomier.

Seeing so many customers flocking to Zhong Yizhu as soon as he arrived, Qian Jinbao's eyes turned red with jealousy. But even underhanded tactics had failed to shake Zhong Yizhu's business, and now there was nothing he could do.

With the foundation from the previous batch, Zhong Yizhu had expected decent sales this time, but he hadn't anticipated such a frenzy.

He had prepared enough stock for a full day at the last big market, yet everything sold out in less than four hours.

This was partly due to the Mid-Autumn Festival, when people were more willing to spend, but more importantly, despite missing the previous market, so many people still came seeking him out because of his reputation.

There were incense shops in the county and several other stalls at the market, yet customers still chose to wait for him and buy at his little stall. That meant his scented balm had truly made a name for itself.

Those seemingly "wasted" samples might have planted seeds for future sales. After all, customers came from all directions. Even if they didn't buy, they wouldn't wipe it off.

Wherever they went, the scent went with them. Those who liked it would ask about it, and that could be the next new customer for their incense stall.

Sun Yunniang stared blankly at Zhong Yizhu, who was handling everyone smoothly and with ease. Fortune and misfortune were intertwined. Perhaps it was a good thing that her Zhu Ge'er, thanks to the scheming of the third branch of the family, hadn't been confined to the inner courtyard.

They had arrived just past noon, yet left before the afternoon had truly started.

The family came late but closed early. Not only Qian Jinbao but also other stall owners were envious. Packing up so early and still having the whole family celebrate the festival together—some people have all the luck.

The three of them said goodbye to Gong Laosi and headed towards Spice Street.

Having just spent a large sum of money and encouraged by this successful market outing, Zhong Yizhu was much more generous this time when he approached the spice stalls.

Before, to control costs and reduce risks, he had only bought enough spices for one or two market days. Such small quantities weren't worth the stall owners' time, so they didn't offer discounts.

Now that he was buying in bulk, his purchase volume was incomparable to before.

The spice stall owners all became much warmer. Zhong Yizhu bought not only a large quantity but also a wide variety. Seeing that it was heavy and awkward to carry, the stall owners even hired a porter to help deliver it to the market entrance.

Zhong Yizhu looked at the pile of spices filling half the cart and did some mental math. With the house soon to be built, he would have much more space for making incense.

He was ready to go all out.