Early the next morning, You Jin sisters went to the city to sell their own sour plum soup. When You Yin went back to get the second round of sour plum soup, she brought out Mrs. Su and the pair of twins along, leaving You Bao at home to watch the few younger sister.
This was Mrs. Su's first time entering the city since they moved to Wuliqiao. Sitting on the ox cart and looking at the scenery along the road, it felt like a world away.
Uncle Niu was already very familiar with Su Family. So he directly pulled them to the place where You Jin set up a stall, which saved them from having to bring a few children. Seeing Mrs. Su coming, You Jin rushed to meet her. She stretched out her hand to take the baby in You Yin's arms and then led Mrs. Su to sit nearby in a cooler spot: "Mother, please rest for a while. Wait for us to sell out before going to the clinic."
Mrs. Su nodded slightly: "It's fine. You guys work away first. Don't worry about me. Quickly go serve the guests!"
It turned out that another customer came to buy sour plum soup. Seeing the swift hands and nimble feet and the eloquent appearance of her children, Mrs. Su couldn't help feeling that Eldest Daughter was indeed better at raising children than her, their own mother. Under her teaching, the daughters were much more sensible and smarter than ordinary children of the same age.
Su Family's sour plum soup was now well-known in Luohe Prefecture. And the price was not expensive. Ordinary people can afford it. Many of them drink it themselves and get a takeaway bowl. So You Jin sisters made a rough bamboo bowl from bamboo joints from the mountain. There was no extra cost for takeaway. So more people bought it. The two barrels of sour plum soup were all sold out in less than half an hour.
The mobile stall rented by You Jin sisters was outside a grocery store. The owner of the grocery store was named Li Er Shun. He would ask for some sour plum soup from time to time and You Jin didn't charge him either. The two of them had a happy cooperation.
Seeing her come in with a bowl of sour plum soup, Li Er Shun jollily spoke, "Su Family's lass, you are being too polite!"
He didn't refuse the sour plum soup in her hand.
"Shopkeeper Li, it's thanks to your care that we can set up a stall at your entrance. It's only right." You Jin put the sour plum soup on the counter. Then the simple wooden table fro her stall was brought in and put it in the corner. She smiled and bidded goodbye to him: "Shopkeeper Li, then we'll be leaving first. See you tomorrow."
"Ah!" Li Er Shun smiled and took a sip of the large bowl full of sour plum soup. Then he sighed in content. This damn weather was getting hotter and hotter.
***
After selling the sour plum soup, the empty barrel was left with Uncle Niu. You Jin had already arranged a pick up with Uncle Niu at the west city gate later. Without the ox cart, they can't go back.
In the medical clinic, an old doctor with a gray beard groaned and finished taking Mrs. Su's pulse. Then he spoke: "There is a serious deficiency inside. The body is empty from the loss. Although there's no serious illness now, there will be in a few years if you don't take care of it sooner. It will also affect longevity."
Mrs. Su was shocked when she heard this. If she died, what would happen to her nine children? You Jin, who was holding Kang-er beside her, also frowned. She solemnly said: "Doctor, what do she need to eat? Tell me. As long as it can nourish my mother healthily, we can spend as much as possible."
Seeing that the whole family was wearing coarse clothes that were washed white, the old doctor sighed. If the woman's illness occurred in a wealthy family, it wouldn't be considered a serious illness. But the family in front of him was obviously a poor family from the countryside. How can they afford it? "One portion of medicine costs one silver. I'll prescribe a few portions for you first. Go back and see it goes."
"It's so expensive!" Mrs. Su exclaimed. Although there was some money in the family now, it was too expensive, wasn't it?
On the other hand, You Jin slightly shook her head: "Doctor, please prescribe enough for a month. We have silver." After saying that, she took out a few pieces of silver from her pocket and put it on the table.
The old doctor and Mrs. Su didn't expect You Jin to take out so much money in one go. Seeing that she was rich, the old doctor nodded, wrote down a prescription, and handed it to the medicine boy beside him: "One portion every day. Go collect a month's worth of medicine."
Then he turned his head and said to You Jin: "Your mother's body had been exhausted for many years, so more nourishing medicines needed to be consumed. Wild ginseng and golden Cordyceps sobolifera are both acceptable, but these two are more expensive. Epecially the golden Cordyceps sobolifera, it is useful to your mother's body. But there are no golden cicadas in our clinic recently."
As soon as You Jin heard this, she asked: "Doctor, what does this golden Cordyceps sobolifera look like?"
If it doesn't work, she can go to the mountain to pick it, right?
The old doctor gave a general description and finally said: "The golden Cordyceps sobolifera grows in the bamboo forest. If you are interested, you can also go to the nearby bamboo mountain to look for it."
The two discussed Mrs. Su's condition for a long time. After checking Mrs. Su, it was the two premature twins' turn. Only then, Su Family came out of the clinic with thirty packs of medicine.
After leaving the clinic, the sun was already high in the sky. The mother and daughters hurried to the grain shop to buy five dou of polished round-grained rice and some coarse grains before rushing home.
Since Mrs. Su also came out today, there was no one home to cook for a while. You Jin led the crowd to a steamed bun stall in the West Market and bought one meat filling for each and a dozen or so vegetable filling.
You Yin, who was following You Jin, saw the two dirty little beggars again. She pulled the Eldest Sister's sleeve to catch her attention: "Eldest Sister..."
You Jin sighed: "Boss, I want two more meat buns."
She handed the two meat buns packed in a big leaf to You Yin, "Go!"
You Yin happily took the buns and quickly walked up to the two little beggars. She directly stuffed the buns into the hands of the older beggars: "Eat it!"
Then she quickly ran back to You Jin and the others and they headed to the south gate. You Yin stealthily turned her head and waved goodbye to the two beggars who were still in a daze.
The little beggar smelled the aroma of the hot meat buns in his elder brother's hand and drooled. He anxiously tugged at his elder brother who was looking far away: "Elder Brother, I want to eat the meat bun..."
It wasn't until Su Family disappeared that the older beggar came back to his senses and shared the hot meat buns with his younger brother. His black and greasy fingers were printed on the skin of buns. To others, it was extremely unappetizing. But the two little beggars ate with relish. A bun the size of an adult's fist was demolished by the two of them in a moment. The little one was still smacking his mouth in reminiscence.
***
It didn't cost much money for Mrs. Su's check up. Now the family had a total of more than six hundred silver liang. You Jin knew that she should think about what to do next. Although six hundred wasn't a small amount, there were seven younger sisters who were growing up and will get married one after another. The dowry alone can empty out the family fortune!
The swale by the river had been constantly composting. The sunflowers planted on the wasteland have grown a lot taller. The peppercorns planted from before had grown into three-inch-high sprouts. You Jin had planted eight western region's grape seedlings, that were bought from the western region merchant, in the wasteland near the side of the mountain. Now walking by the river, one can see that the former barrenness had become a thriving one.
Looking at the green, flat land on the other side of the river, she thought of the importance of land in this era. She decided to buy more land. Even if it was leased out for planting, it was better than holding money in her hands.
You Jin was a very efficient person. The next morning, after selling the sour plum soup, she went to find the broker surnamed Chen who had helped her buy the house. Broker Chen still had some impressions of this little girl who bought the haunted house in Wuliqiao. When he saw her, he was worried about whether she was here to sell the house. But when he heard that she was going to buy land, he was relieved: "Little girl! How much land do you want to buy?"
"How much is a mu of high-quality fertile land now?" You Jin took a sip of tea from the teacup in front of her and asked the price before deciding how much land to buy.
Broker Chen jollily responded: "Nowadays the top-quality fertile land can be sold for eight silver liang per mu."
Seeing You Jin's eyes widened, Broker Chen explained: "Little girl, it's like this, the price is the price of fertile land near Wuliqiao. If it's too expensive, then choose farther out. Around three kilometer away from Wuliqiao, there are seven silver liang per mu."
The price was indeed a bit high. In Cuifeng Village, the top quality ones were at most five silver liang per mu. Wuliqiao was so much more expensive! You Jin pondered for a while before deciding: "Uncle Chen, how about we go to the field first?"
After comparing, she could make a decision.
You Jin had stayed at Yue's house for eleven years. So she naturally knew how to tell whether a piece of land was high-quality fertile land. Three and half kilometers south of Wuliqiao was a village called Houjiawan. The sixteen mu of fertile land that Broker Chen mentioned wasn't far from the river bend.
You Jin seriously examined and circled around the place Broker Chen talked about. Then she looked at the water canal and personally checked the soil with her hands. She was quite satisfied.
Broker Chen didn't expect the little girl to look at these things. It seemed like he had underestimated her. Now he dared not anymore. Under the sun, he merrily spoke: "Su Family's girl, this place is wonderful. What's rare is that 16 mu of fertile land are connected together. Very convenient to irrigate. And the official road is next to it. Except for the fact that it is far away from Luohe Prefecture, the rest is top-notch. If not, we dare not ask for seven liang per mu, right?"
You Jin nodded. But she didn't say she would buy it right away. She just uttered, "Uncle Chen, let's go back and look at Wuliqiao's side."
Broker Chen understood. After all, buying a field wasn't a trivial matter. So he nodded and the two got on the mule cart and headed back to Wuliqiao. There were only eight acres of fertile land at Wuliqiao. It was just behind the houses on the east side of the river. It was a little distance from Wuliqiao River. Irrigation wasn't as convenient as Houjiawan.
After checking Wuliqiao, You Jin had already made up her mind. It had only been a few months since her family moved to Wuliqiao. It was too eye-catching to buy so much fertile land. If it attracts people with bad intentions, then it'll be trouble. In comparison, Houjiawan had already won.
You Jin and Broker Chen walked in a single file on the edge of the river toward Su's house: "Uncle Chen, can the land in Houjiawan be cheaper?"
"If you take all sixteen mu, how does six liang and seven coins per mu sound?" Broker Chen thought for a while before offering a fairly favorable price: "Miss Su, that land is really nice. It is flat and convenient for irrigation. The rare feature is that it is connected in one piece."
You Jin pushed open the courtyard door. The four dogs who were sitting or lying down in the courtyard immediately became alert. Seeing that it was their master, they all came over wagging their tails. You Jin smiled and waved her hands, signaling them to move away. Then she invited Broker Chen to come in: "It's thanks to Uncle Chen, our family is able to settle down in Luohe Prefecture. Since you're here, come in to rest and drink water."
It wasn't the first time Broker Chen came back to this house. In the past, every time he came back here, he felt a ghostly atmosphere. However, today, he felt that the courtyard's fire of life was burning bright. That desolate ghost house had become a warm and tidy small farmyard. Broker Chen sat on the small stool brought over by You Jin. After taking a sip of Su Family's secret recipe sour plum soup, he sighed in comfort: "It seems that you live pretty well here. You must have a good fate with that girl from Qin Family."
You Jin smiled and didn't comment. She brought the topic back to the field in Houjiawan: "Uncle Chen, the six liang and seven coins per mu is a bit expensive. If the owner is willing to sell for six liang and five coins, then I'll buy them all."
Six liang and coin was longer up to Broker Chen to decide. He pondered and replied: "Alright. I will go to Houjiawan tomorrow and if the owner agrees, I will definitely bring you the letter over."
After the two finished talking, Broker Chen had enough rest. He bidded to You Jin with a smile and promised that he would come back tomorrow afternoon.