Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Hundred Herbs Hall
When Madam Liu heard these words, she couldn't help but look up at her daughter-in-law.
Seeing that Qin Xiaoyao didn't seem to be forcing herself, she was a little surprised.
Did her daughter-in-law really change?
Or did she return to her old ways and was playing the same tricks that she used before she married her eldest son?
At that point, the children's father had not died yet, and the daughter-in-law suddenly came to their door and showed great care for their family.
She even took the initiative to introduce a doctor and loaned money for them to treat the children's father.
Who would have thought that as soon as her children's father died, she changed her attitude and forced her eldest son to marry her?
After that, she even acted like a tyrant at home and bullied their family.
Alright…
It seemed that she could not blame her daughter-in-law entirely.
After all, the eighty silver taels were indeed spent on their family.
And that silver was the only dowry the Qin family gave their daughter-in-law.
Whoever suffered such a fate would surely feel terrible…
Thinking of this, Madam Liu felt even more guilty toward Qin Xiaoyao.
She couldn't say that her daughter-in-law had returned to her old ways, but perhaps she had re-discovered her original conscience.
Perhaps the previous character was her daughter-in-law's true personality.
Thinking of this, Madam Liu felt that she had to observe more.
"After washing up, we can eat," Madam Liu then said.
"Oh, alright, Mother!" Qin Xiaoyao replied.
Then, she left with the wooden bucket.
After washing her face, she used a willow branch to clean her teeth.
After that, she went to prepare some toiletries and water for Song Que.
Song Que didn't sleep well due to Qin Xiaoyao's snoring last night. Fortunately, he had gotten used to it after more than a month.
Therefore, when Qin Xiaoyao entered the room, Song Que opened his eyes.
Seeing Qin Xiaoyao, Song Que didn't look happy as usual.
Feeling helpless, Qin Xiaoyao brought the things to the bedside.
Then, she wrung the face towel dry and handed it to Song Que to wash his face.
Qin Xiaoyao only left after she was done serving Song Que.
She didn't say a word throughout the whole process.
After Qin Xiaoyao left, Song Que frowned as he looked at her departing back profile.
Even after she had disappeared through the door, he still didn't look away.
That woman didn't even talk to him now, yet she was still serving him with all her heart. Did she really change?
Hmph! It's good that she didn't speak, but even if she did, she would only be noisy and annoying.
Qin Xiaoyao didn't know what Song Que was thinking.
She didn't say anything because she didn't want to be despised by her attractive husband, making him annoyed.
At this moment, it would be useless for her to say anything more. She might as well conserve her energy.
Later, when she brought the doctor back and cured his leg injury, he would know her sincerity.
She returned to the kitchen.
Madam Liu had already laid out the dishes.
The rice was congee that had just been cooked. It looked slightly thicker than the watery rice from yesterday afternoon, but it was still very diluted.
The dishes were naturally the leftover hare meat from yesterday, as well as the stewed Chinese yam and pheasant meat.
Qin Xiaoyao frowned when she saw the congee.
"Mother, Husband is still nursing an injury. Yun'er and Ye'er are still young. How can they eat such meager food?"
Seeing Madam Liu's worried expression, Qin Xiaoyao continued. "You don't have to save the brown rice I brought back yesterday. We can't afford the fine rice and noodle flour at the moment, but we can still afford the brown rice and rough noodle flour. "
"Mother, from this afternoon on, you'll cook proper rice. I'll think of a way to get food." Qin Xiaoyao continued.
If she ate watery food all day, her body's recovery would slow down, and it might also affect the use of her ability, not to mention slowing down the recovery of people with injuries or children who were still growing.
She was now the pillar of support for the family, so she must pull her weight.
"But…" Madam Liu hesitated.
Seeing this, Qin Xiaoyao sighed in her heart again.
Then, she saw the Chinese yam on the ground not far away.
She knew that Madam Liu was worried that the family would consume too much if she prepared rice instead of watery congee, resulting in an increase in their expenses, so she said, "How about this, Mother? When you cook the rice, cut some Chinese yam and mix it in to cook. This way, even if you put less rice, you can still end up with dry rice."
Chinese yam was a type of tuber, and the starch content was relatively high, so there was no problem using it as a staple food.
Recalling of the taste of the Chinese yam, Madam Liu's face lit up.
"Alright!" she quickly replied.
Qin Xiaoyao couldn't help but laugh as well. Then she went to deliver food to Song Que.
After that, she returned to the kitchen to have breakfast with the three of them.
After the meal, Qin Xiaoyao wanted to go to town, so she didn't do the dishes.
After instructing Madam Liu to take care of the house, she put the things she wanted to bring into the bamboo basket backpack and went to town with the backpack on her back.
What was in the backpack?
There was a bowl of blanched hare meat, a bowl of stewed Chinese yam, two pieces of hare skin, and a bundle of raw Chinese yam that Qin Xiaoyao had set aside last night.
Among them, the Chinese yam was the heaviest, weighing about 20 to 30 catties.
To Qin Xiaoyao, a strength-type special ability user, this was naturally no big deal.
With the basket on her back, she didn't feel any impact and walked quickly.
She arrived at Mountain Spring Town in just half an hour.
After wiping the sweat off her forehead, Qin Xiaoyao followed the commoners entering the town and began to line up at the city gate to enter the town.
Indeed, Mountain Spring Town was a big town in this dynasty. Not only did it have a government office, but it was also guarded by soldiers.
The commoners even had to pay a toll to enter the town.
The cost was not high. It only cost one copper coin if the visitor did not bring any goods.
If they were carrying goods, they would be charged an additional one or two copper coins based on the amount of goods.
The queue moved very quickly, and soon it was Qin Xiaoyao's turn.
In the end, Qin Xiaoyao paid two copper coins before entering the town.
Qin Xiaoyao touched the money bag and sighed in her heart, thinking that the money was being used up too easily.
Before she set off, she took all the 75 copper coins that Aunt Wang had returned to her.
She had spent two copper coins just like that, leaving her with only 73 copper coins.
She had to make the best use of her time to earn money…
After entering the town, Qin Xiaoyao chose to go to the medical clinic as her first stop.
Of course, it was not the best, but the Hundred Herbs Hall had a better reputation and a more affordable price.
When she arrived at the Hundred Herbs Hall, there were four to five people waiting in line for a consultation.
Qin Xiaoyao looked at the old doctor in front of her and joined the queue.
The old doctor's attitude was gentle while he performed his diagnosis, and his efficiency wasn't slow either. It didn't take long to reach Qin Xiaoyao's turn.
When he saw Qin Xiaoyao, the old doctor didn't show a disdainful expression. Instead, he bade her sit down.
Qin Xiaoyao looked at the small chair and turned down his offer with a smile.
"I don't need to sit."
"Doctor Li, I'm not here for an illness. Instead, I'd like to invite you to make a house call," Qin Xiaoyao said.
Doctor Li stroked his beard.
"House calls are in the afternoon, so you can tell me about the situation first. If it's feasible, you can register, and I'll visit you in the afternoon."
"Alright," Qin Xiaoyao said hurriedly.
Then, she told him about Song Que's condition.
Seeing the doctor frowning, Qin Xiaoyao asked, "Doctor, can my husband be cured? How long would it take to be cured? Er… how about the medical fees?"
Doctor Li stroked his beard again.
"Er… I won't lie to you. Your husband was bitten by a wild wolf. I haven't seen how deep the wound is and where the wolf bit him, so I can't make a diagnosis for the time being."
"However, the teeth of wild wolves are toxic. I'd advise you to treat them expeditiously."