The family discussion continued, and Qin Sen, the only one who could persuade Grandma Qin, did not object for the time being.
He had been puzzled since his first meeting with Zhao Liangcai and settling in this Yangshu Village, wondering what Zhao Liangcai was after. If he wanted to marry the eldest niece, there would be a reason.
Could he have also discovered his eldest niece's uniqueness? That shouldn't be the case.
Or was it not marriage but concubinage?
While Qin Sen was lost in thought at home, Qin Er Niu was also brainstorming in the woods.
"Eldest sister, do you think Grandma has advanced her skills again? Can she count on her fingers and say, 'Hmm~~ My granddaughter will meet a man with eyebrows this thick today...'."
Qin Xiaoyu was so amused by her second brother imitating Grandma Qin that she laughed and fell to the ground, unable to get up from the leaves.
Hou Liang and Hou Shan from the Hou family, carrying mountain peaches, giggled and imitated Qin Xiaoyu, diving into the piles of leaves. Hou Gan's wife, angry, chased the twins with a thick branch, annoyed that they had messed up the leaves she had just piled.
Qin Da Niu watched the children, who had been working moments ago, suddenly start causing trouble. He kicked his brother, "Behave yourself. You can't leave Yaoyao alone on the mountain anymore. If we're not here, you must stay with Aunt Hou."
Qin Er Niu kicked Hou Shan, making him stumble and be caught by Aunt Hou Si. "Aunt Hou usually comes out in the morning and stays home during the day, making shoe soles to sell in Yan County."
Then Qin Er Niu raised his left eyebrow and said, "Or, let Eldest sister sew socks at home."
"Hahahaha," Qin Er Niu started laughing at his own joke.
Qin Da Niu couldn't help but chuckle. Qin San Niu squatted on the ground, diligently filling his basket with leaves.
The next day, Qin Junyao took an ox cart to Yan County for one copper coin. She was almost a regular customer, and people always inquired about her business.
It was because she always carried a basket of potatoes and returned with a basket of potatoes.
"Sister Jun, you're finally here! I've missed you so much," Sheng Yining happily welcomed Qin Junyao as she entered through the back door.
The shop apprentices consciously went outside to push the cart into the yard, check the medicinal herbs, and weigh them.
"Do you miss me, or do you miss the letters?" Qin Junyao took out several letters from her怀 and swayed them in her hand. "My mother brought them back yesterday."
"Ah, there's a letter from my father, and from my second martial uncle and the others. Ah~~ Mother, Grandma, my father sent a letter!" Sheng Yining grabbed the letters and ran into the house in a flurry.
Qin Junyao's hand remained in mid-air. She smiled and retracted it, always happy to see Sheng Yining every time.
"This girl is only a year younger than you, yet she has no sense of composure. Her mother can't control her now," Doctor Sheng complained verbally, but the upward curve of his lips betrayed his true feelings.
"How is Aunt Sheng?" Qin Junyao asked about Sheng Yining's mother.
"She's doing well. Her pregnancy is stable. In a few more months, I'll have another grandson," Doctor Sheng stroked his beard, happy to mention the upcoming addition to the family.
Qin Junyao did not ask about Old Madam Sheng. Ever since her son was taken away, Old Madam Sheng's health had been poor, and her emotional wounds healed slowly.
After the medicinal herbs were weighed, Doctor Sheng paid Qin Junyao six taels and six qian of silver.
Qin Junyao put the silver into her money bag. "Six taels and six qian, what a good omen! It seems there will be good things today."
"There are indeed good things. Didn't you want a puppy last time? The day before yesterday, a patient used a three-month-old puppy to pay for his medicine. It's gentle and affectionate. Take it with you when you leave."
"That's great! I thank you on behalf of my brother. How much silver..."
Doctor Sheng waved his hand. "If you give me silver, it'll be like we're strangers. Find an opportunity to bring him to see me. I also want to know the effectiveness of your animal therapy."
"Don't tease me, Uncle Sheng. I just want him to be happy," Qin Junyao said, retracting her hand from the money bag.
She had looked around the village before. Fuzi said that the family with puppies had already sold them all. Other families who kept dogs didn't have any litters.
So she asked Doctor Sheng to help her find one in Yan County, and she actually found one.
"Doctor Sheng, I forgot something. I'll go get it for you," Qin Junyao remembered the dried ginseng leaves and ginseng flowers she had packed.
She reached the backyard and squatted beside the cart, reaching under it to pull out a bag.
"Why didn't you put it in your basket and instead put it under the cart?" Doctor Sheng asked Qin Junyao with a smile.
"Safety."
Qin Junyao thought that if she left the empty basket in the room and didn't put the bag under the cart, she wouldn't be able to get it.
She opened the bag and handed it to Doctor Sheng. "Take a look, it's for you."
"For me? Then I must look carefully. Oh, so much? Are you really giving it to me?"
Qin Junyao nodded.
"You, you... your six taels and six qian means I'm having good luck today! Hahahaha."
"Junyao, every time you come, you sell a cart of medicinal herbs for five or six taels of silver, yet you give me valuable medicinal herbs worth tens of taels. You..."
After Doctor Sheng's explanation, Qin Junyao learned that the entire ginseng plant could be used as medicine, and even ginseng seeds, flowers, and leaves were rarer than ginseng itself.
However, since there were substitute medicinal materials, the price was not too high. Still, the ginseng flowers were exactly what Old Madam Sheng needed.
"Doctor Sheng, I said I'd give it to you, and I can't take your money," Qin Junyao said, her words having to be kept even though she missed an opportunity to earn money.
"I'll take it. This is to treat your Grandma Sheng. The silver is for the ginseng flowers, and the ginseng leaves are your gift."
Seeing Doctor Sheng's determined attitude, Qin Junyao only accepted thirty taels, pushing back the remaining twenty taels.
Carrying the basket with the little yellow dog, Qin Junyao sat on the ox cart returning to Yangshu Village, thinking about the ginseng acquisition price Doctor Sheng had mentioned.
"Ginseng indeed appreciates with age, but I wouldn't dare to buy one that's three to five hundred years old."
"You know, the Empress Dowager's birthday gift was only a three-hundred-year-old ginseng."
It seemed she had to dig up two ginseng roots tonight, just not too large.
At the village center, Qin Junyao alighted from the ox cart and took out the little yellow dog. She lined the basket with clean straw and cloth.
In a place where no one was around, she put in some meat, two ribs, a bone, and some dried mushrooms from her space.
She didn't understand why the mushrooms could grow while the Cistanche deserticola was absorbed by the space's soil.
Qin Junyao walked to the outside of the yard and, through the gaps in the fence, saw Qin San Niu squatting. She quickly called out to him, "San Niu, San Niu, look what your sister brought you!"
Qin San Niu looked towards the courtyard gate along with the sound. His gaze slowly met the little yellow dog's, and the little yellow dog immediately wagged its tail.
"Take it away, sister, hurry and take it away! We can't keep it," Qin San Niu stood up and ran towards Qin Junyao, saying as he ran.
This was the first time Qin Junyao had heard Qin San Niu speak so many words.
Qin Junyao stroked his head. "We can keep it. Look how much it likes you. Tell Grandma you want to keep it, let it guard the house, protect you, and be your lifelong best friend."
"Mm? Brother and sister will help you talk to Grandma. You can give it a name first."
"A name?" Qin San Niu squatted in front of the little yellow dog and reached out. The little yellow dog voluntarily walked over and licked Qin San Niu's hand.
Seeing her brother, who had looked numb moments ago, break into a wide smile, Qin Junyao's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Qin Er Shen, who had returned with tofu, stood behind Qin Junyao, already sobbing.
Qin San Niu looked up at Qin Junyao and his mother with a smile. "Call it Undying, so it won't die."