Qin Junyao found the ointment and came out of the house again. Seeing her mother and the others kneeling, she quickly stepped forward to help them up.
“Grandma, let my mother and them get up and apply the medicine in the house. The sooner it's treated, the better,” Qin Junyao pulled her mother up.
Her mother was uncooperative, slumping down completely and refusing to be helped up.
Qin Grandmother looked at the people outside the yard and said, “Get in.”
Seeing her mother and second aunt get up, Qin Junyao found a basin, filled it with cold water, and carried it into the house.
“Mother, Second Aunt, put your hands in the water first, it will help with the itching. I’ll go and cut some rabbit fur,” Qin Junyao instructed and then went out with the scissors again.
Qin Da Niu and his two brothers pushed the water cart back. Hearing people outside the yard discussing, they dropped the cart and rushed into the house.
Indeed, they saw Qin Grandmother hitting Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt on the backs with a broom.
“Grandma.”
“Grandma, don’t hit.”
Qin Er Niu went forward and snatched the broom from Qin Grandmother’s hand, while Qin Da Niu blocked in front of his mother and second aunt.
Qin Grandmother was so angry that she punched Qin Er Niu’s arm repeatedly. She was infuriated.
“You’ve all grown up and become capable. Look at your mothers’ hands.”
Qin Grandmother pushed Qin Da Niu aside and looked at her two daughters-in-law. “Ever since you entered my house, I’ve told you to use hot water. Now you not only dare to use cold water, but you dare to use poisonous water?”
“You ate an expensive meal at noon, and now you want to use your lives to earn it back in the afternoon, right?”
“Put your hands back where I told you to.”
Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt wanted to kneel to their mother-in-law again, but Qin Grandmother’s shout made them put their hands back into the cold water basin.
“In the past, our family was poor, and we had to stick together to survive. Now that we have land and that food stall, I’m thinking that big trees branch out, and grown children go their separate ways.”
“Mother.”
“Grandma.”
Qin Grandmother’s triangular eyes narrowed. “Silence!”
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Qin Grandmother continued, “I won’t interfere with what happens in the fields; let the eldest son handle it himself. In the house, except for the fine grains, which are in my room, I’ll let you manage the rest.”
“If you secretly give things to this person or that person, I’ll pretend not to see it.”
“From now on, you will all be in charge of your own households. But have you used your brains?”
Qin Grandmother, furious, placed her hands on her hips and spun around.
She raised her hand and pointed at her two daughters-in-law. “Do you want your sons to run back and forth fewer times?”
“Now your hands will be unable to touch water for several days. Who will do the work?”
“They will.”
“Satisfied?”
After Qin Grandmother finished speaking, Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt lowered their heads, tears falling silently.
Their mother-in-law’s words were more hurtful than a beating.
“Grandma, Grandma Li is looking for you,” Qin Junyao stood at the doorway with the rabbit fur and told Qin Grandmother that Granny Li was looking for her.
Qin Grandmother took a few deep breaths, tightened her headscarf, and left the room.
“Eldest brother, second brother, the cart is still outside the yard, don’t let anyone take it. There’s still some wolfsbane root left, wash it with water. I got medicine from Doctor Sheng, and it will be fine in three days if you apply it.”
“San Niu, come help your sister hold the rabbit fur. I need to tie it into a small brush head.”
Qin Junyao looked at the still-crying sisters-in-law, unsure how to comfort them. Their intentions were good, but they had used the wrong method.
.
She and Qin San Niu each took a rabbit fur brush head, dipped it in the ointment, and applied it to Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt.
After applying an even layer, Qin Junyao wrapped Qin Mother’s hand with a white cloth strip, finally tying a bow at the wrist.
“Mother, Second Aunt, does it still itch? Try not to move your hands as much as possible, and don’t get them wet. Apply it once a day. Doctor Sheng said it will be better in three days.”
Qin Mother looked at her heavily bandaged hand. “Jun Yao, it will be difficult to cook with your hand wrapped like this.”
“Mother, don’t even think about cooking. This ointment is expensive, so we’re wrapping it with cloth. If you get the medicine on other places while cooking or working, it would be a waste.”
After Qin Junyao finished speaking, she saw Qin San Niu had bandaged Second Aunt’s hand very well and rewarded him by patting his head.
Qin Second Aunt turned her hands over, a little disbelieving that her youngest son had done such a good job. “Yao Yao, tell me honestly, how much did this bottle of medicine cost? I don’t even feel itchy after applying a little.”
“Ten taels of silver.”
Instantly, Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt froze, unable to move their hands.
Dinner was prepared by Qin Grandmother and Third Uncle Qin Sen. Some of the meat and potatoes left from noon were stewed again, and the staple food was cornmeal pancakes.
Qin Mother and Qin Second Aunt sat at the dinner table like wilted eggplants, too dejected to lift their heads, and didn’t eat much for dinner.
After dinner, Qin Father went to the Yan family to inquire about the land. Qin Junyao called her brothers to help weigh the wolfsbane root and vinegar.
One hundred catties of wolfsbane root could absorb all thirty catties of rice vinegar. If there was less, it wouldn’t soak thoroughly; if there was more, it would be a waste of vinegar.
The sun-dried vinegar, which was also very potent, was weighed. It was more than Qin Junyao had anticipated, yielding about forty catties from one hundred catties.
Deducting the cost of rice vinegar at six wen per catty, one hundred catties of wolfsbane root could earn four hundred and twenty wen.
Of course, Qin Junyao hadn’t accounted for the investment in vinegar vats, drying racks, and iron pots.
Qin Father returned very quickly, his expression somewhat odd.
“Jun Yao, Deng Zi Tui said that Zhao Liang Cai will come to talk to you tomorrow.”
“Got it, Father. There’s hot water in the pot to warm your feet. Tomorrow, we still need to plant Cistanche.”
Qin Junyao had a dreamless sleep. The next day, she indeed saw Zhao Liang Cai on the mountaintop.
“Good morning, Sister Qin. I brought you some buns, they’re fragrant,” Fu Zi, standing in a horse stance, was the first to see Qin Junyao walking up the mountain towards the peak.
Zhao Liang Cai jumped down from a large rock and walked behind his brother, flicking his forehead. “I asked the kitchen to make the buns.”
Fu Zi was not to be outdone. “I carried the buns back. I held them tightly in my arms so they wouldn’t get cold.”
“You sat in front of me, and I held you, so you didn’t fall off the horse.”
“I was brought back by my brother, and the buns were brought back by me. Sister Qin, the buns were brought back by me.”
Qin Junyao watched amusingly as Fu Zi, with his chin raised, looked defiant towards Zhao Liang Cai. She nodded in agreement, “Fu Zi is right, the buns were brought back by you.”
“Hmph,” Fu Zi glanced at his brother and turned his head away.
A smug smile appeared on his round face.
“Try them, baked buns. The lamb has less of a gamey smell.”
Zhao Liang Cai opened a piece of leather. Inside, wrapped in white cloth, were more than ten buns, each about the size of an infant’s fist, baked to a golden brown.
“How exquisite! I haven’t eaten breakfast yet,” Qin Junyao picked one up and took a bite.
The bun wrapper was soft, and the filling was lamb and dried radish, with a rich, slightly gamey lamb flavor.
Qin Junyao ate one in two bites and reached for another. “They’re delicious. You came out quite early, didn’t you?”
Yesterday morning, Zhao Liang Cai had taken Fu Zi to the salt lake and hadn’t left him at home to deal with Qian Shi.
“He played on the sand dunes all day yesterday. By the time Deng Zi Tui arrived, he was already asleep. He said you wanted to buy that piece of land. What for?” Zhao Liang Cai asked Qin Junyao, holding a bun.
“Do you know Cistanche? It grows next to Haloxylon, it’s thick and long. It first blooms white flowers, then turns purple. It’s a plant.”
Qin Junyao noticed Zhao Liang Cai’s expression changing.
“What are you looking at?”
Zhao Liang Cai cleared his throat. “Ahem, nothing. Eat quickly, it will get cold soon. Why did you mention it?” He then scratched his neck.
Qin Junyao took another baked bun. “Didn’t you ask me why I wanted to buy the land? To plant Cistanche. I’m going to plant it with my father later.”
Zhao Liang Cai scratched his neck again, his eyes looking into the distance, misunderstanding. He thought she was offering it to him to eat.