Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 111

The doctor’s expression turned much more serious. He said earnestly, “Your mother has been weighed down by worries all these years, her spirit completely worn out, her body hollowed out. Recovery will have to come slowly, and it can’t be rushed.” 

“Otherwise, her weak body won’t be able to handle the nourishment, it’ll only make things worse. From now on, her eyes must not shed tears again. If she keeps crying, she really will go blind. The medicine must also be used with care.How about this, come back with me first and get a few prescriptions. She can start taking them to regulate her health.”

Ying Su nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you, Doctor.” She had already made up her mind, after some time, she would bring Mother Shen to the capital and find a truly skilled physician. After all, Lin’an Hall was only a small clinic in a market town, and even she could tell that Mother Shen’s condition was like an oil lamp about to burn out.

Ying Su told Father Shen and Mother Shen that she would follow the doctor back to town to fetch the medicine. Mother Shen almost leapt off the bed, clutching tightly at Ying Su’s hand, unwilling to let go, as if she feared Ying Su would never return once she left.

Even Shen Hefu was reluctant, insisting he should go with the doctor himself to fetch the medicine. Ying Su could only persuade them gently, promising again and again that she would be back soon. Only then did the two reluctantly agree.

As Shen Hefu walked Ying Su to the door, something suddenly came to mind. He said, “Cuihua! Your little brother Changyun went to town to sell eggs! I heard he’s on Northwest Street. Go and fetch him back. Today, our whole family can sit down to a reunion meal.”

Ying Su responded crisply, “Alright, I know.”

Shen Hefu grinned, scratching at his graying hair. “It’s been five years since you and your little brother have seen each other. I don’t know if you’ll even recognize him. But don’t worry, if you can’t find him, he’ll come home on his own once the eggs are sold.”

Ying Su smiled. “I’ll recognize him.” She figured Shen Changyun must have never told their parents about finding her, likely because that day she hadn’t admitted she was Shen Cuihua. Changyun probably thought she didn’t want to acknowledge the Shen family anymore, and if he told their parents, it would only raise false hopes.

Thinking of that stubborn, determined boy she’d seen that day, Ying Su couldn’t help but smile. Having a family was really wonderful.

Ying Su first followed the doctor to Lin’an Hall and bought a good supply of medicine. Before she left, the doctor told her, “These herbs will only temporarily regulate the body, they won’t treat the root cause. If you can find a thousand-year-old wild ginseng, it would greatly benefit your mother’s health.”

A thousand-year-old ginseng, naturally, a small town pharmacy couldn’t possibly have such a thing. Even if one existed, it would be worth a fortune, something she couldn’t afford at present.

She realized all the more that expanding her financial resources was an urgent matter.

Since it was mid-July, Northwest Street was lively. Many vendors had stalls set up, selling all sorts of things. With so many southerners from Jiangnan coming to Huangshan Mountain to escape the summer heat, business was much better than in previous months.

Ying Su had once sold fish at a stall on Northwest Street, so she was quite familiar with the area. But after walking the entire street from one end to the other, she still hadn’t seen Shen Changyun.

In a damp, dark alley, two thugs were viciously kicking and punching a boy lying on the ground, his whole body covered in filth. They cursed as they beat him, “Cripple! I warned you last time, if you want to set up a stall on Northwest Street, you have to pay protection fees!”

“That’s right! Don’t you know whose territory this is?” The other thug kicked over the basket of eggs lying on the ground, sending it tumbling across the alley.

Shen Changyun, sprawled on the ground, struggled to get up, shouting, “Don’t step on my eggs! Don’t step on my eggs… please, don’t crush my eggs!”

One thug spat on him with a loud ptui, saliva landing on Changyun’s clothes. In a sudden burst, Changyun screamed, forcing himself up from the ground and hurling himself desperately from the two men, fighting with his life on the line. But ever since Liu An had crippled his leg years ago, his body couldn’t muster any strength. Very soon, the thugs had him pinned down again.

They rained down blows on him once more. Changyun lay on the ground, tears streaming from his eyes, soaking into the dirt until they disappeared.

He couldn’t understand why heaven treated their family this way. He still remembered how life had been when his eldest sister was around five years ago, how happy their family had been! Even if their grandfather disliked them, his second sister was bright and pretty, his eldest brother was talented and clever, the best in the family at studying. Though his siblings teased him, whenever there was good food, they would always give him the first bite.

But now… Changyun covered his face with his hands, tears slipping through his fingers.

The two thugs, seeing him stop moving, panicked, thinking they might have beaten him to death. They yanked his hands away from his face and, realizing he was crying, burst into mocking laughter.

“You bastard! Are you even a man? Crying like a woman!” One of them slapped him across the face, scolding, “You’ve got the nerve to cry? Shameful!”

Just as the second slap was about to land, a cold female voice came from the end of the alley, “Stop!”

The voice was sharp and carried with it a dangerous edge.

The thugs looked up and saw a pretty young woman. They glanced at each other and leered, smirking. “Well, well, who’s this little busybody sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong?”

Ying Su had been asking around Northwest Street when an older woman told her she’d seen a young egg seller dragged into an alley by the thugs who collected money there. His build and looks matched Shen Changyun’s, so Ying Su had followed the trail, only to stumble upon this sight that filled her with rage.

The thugs swaggered toward her, sneering. One said, “Little lady, why don’t you let your brothers here show you some fun?”

On the ground, Shen Changyun saw that it was Ying Su. Struggling to his feet, he shouted, “Second Sister, run!” Limping, he tried to throw himself at the thugs again.

At that moment, Ying Su’s stance shifted. Instead of walking, she burst into a run, and in three quick steps she leapt up. One kick smashed into a thug’s face, sweeping through to strike the second thug as well, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Before they could react, she spun in midair, a whirlwind kick catching one thug by the chin, launching him off the ground and slamming him against the wall before he collapsed with a wail of pain.

The other thug gulped, scrambling back to his feet. “Don’t come any closer! Don’t you dare come closer!” he stammered.