Qi Zhenzhen felt no embarrassment from Aunt Mo’s words. Firstly, she had already settled accounts with Physician Mo yesterday, and secondly, she wasn’t thin-skinned; a few words wouldn't make her feel ashamed. Her purpose for coming out today was clear: at least to secure this morning’s grain.
*Knock, knock, knock.* Qi Zhenzhen knocked on Physician Mo’s door, one rap after another.
Aunt Mo likely hadn’t expected Qi Zhenzhen to be so persistent. She hurried back, yanked the door open, and snapped, “Qi Zhenzhen, are you done? Have you no shame?”
“What are you saying?” Physician Mo emerged, wearing his robe. “It’s cold outside. Zhenzhen, if you have something to say, come inside.”
With that, Physician Mo beckoned Qi Zhenzhen into the house. Aunt Mo’s cheeks puffed out in anger, but she was helpless against Physician Mo. Their family lived more comfortably than most households in the village, all thanks to Physician Mo. Aunt Mo understood the importance of family and rarely contradicted him.
Qi Zhenzhen followed Physician Mo inside, and a wave of warmth washed over her. Unlike their simple earthen houses, Physician Mo’s home was built of blue bricks and large tiles, providing excellent insulation.
“Uncle Mo, I’m sorry to disturb your rest so early this morning. We have no grain to cook, so I was hoping to ask if you had any extra grain,” Qi Zhenzhen began. “Of course, I’m not borrowing it; I’ve come to trade.”
Saying this, Qi Zhenzhen took out the slice of wild ginseng. “I wonder how much this slice can fetch.”
Although she didn’t know the exact value of the wild ginseng, Physician Mo had only accepted four ginseng whiskers for the previous medical fees. Judging by that, the wild ginseng slice should be worth quite a bit, at least enough to exchange for some grain.
As Qi Zhenzhen had anticipated, after receiving the ginseng slice, Physician Mo asked her to wait and personally went to get the grain.
Physician Mo carried out two sacks.
“Zhenzhen, this sack is white flour, and this sack is ordinary japonica rice.”
As she took them, Qi Zhenzhen could gauge their weight. Combined, these two sacks were about twenty catties. Their mother and sons didn’t eat much, so they could eat their fill for at least half a month. This was far beyond her expectations.
Qi Zhenzhen thanked him with a happy smile, completely ignoring Aunt Mo’s murderous glare. She hadn’t received the items for free, so she felt no psychological burden.
Carrying the two sacks of grain out of the Mo family’s door, Qi Zhenzhen was in a good mood. She planned to steam some rice and cook some porridge when she got home, letting Yun Shi and Qi Yi have a good meal.
After watching her walk away, Aunt Mo raised her voice and said, “Mo Shan, tell me what you’re thinking! Do you know how much that flour and rice cost? White flour is four wen per catty, so that sack is forty wen. Japonica rice is even more expensive, six wen per catty, so that sack is sixty wen. That’s a full hundred wen! You just gave it away. Do you think you’re a rich landlord? Or, or is it like what people in the village say, that you’ve taken a fancy to that vixen Yun Shi?”
Physician Mo impatiently shot a glance at the woman who had been married to him for nearly ten years. Although he didn’t want to say much, to get her to quiet down, he explained, “Although a slice of wild ginseng looks small, it can fetch at least several hundred catties of grain.”
Several hundred catties? Aunt Mo’s mouth fell open. “Then you gave Zhenzhen twenty catties of grain. Isn’t that ripping her off?”
Hearing his wife’s question, Physician Mo couldn’t help but purse his lips. Although she was a bit sharp-tongued now, she hadn’t completely lost her kind nature.
“It’s not ripping off Zhenzhen. I’m the only physician within dozens of li. Others might not know the value of this wild ginseng slice. Besides, even if they did, who would accept this wild ginseng slice unless it was to save a life? Even if they accepted it, they might not offer this much grain,” Physician Mo elaborated.
The saying goes that good things are only truly good in the hands of those who can use them.
Aunt Mo nodded thoughtfully. “That’s acceptable. Although I don’t think much of that mother and son, I wouldn’t cheat them.”
When Qi Zhenzhen arrived home with the grain, Qi Yi had already woken up and was carrying firewood from the yard to the kitchen with his short legs.
“Yi’er,” Qi Zhenzhen called him softly.
“Big Sister, where did you go?” Qi Yi asked, sniffing and sounding wronged.
Perhaps the original body’s previous long absences had left a shadow in the little fellow’s heart. Not seeing her when he woke up, he thought she had left home again.
Qi Zhenzhen carried the grain into the kitchen, placed both sacks into the rice jar, and smiled at Qi Yi. “Don’t worry, from now on, Big Sister will stay with you and Mother and won’t leave again. Even if I have to go out, I’ll tell you clearly. Big Sister just went to Uncle Mo’s to trade for grain. Seeing that you and Mother weren’t awake, I didn’t tell you.”
Qi Yi nodded solemnly. “Big Sister, let’s pinky swear. You promised not to leave me and Mother.”
Following the little fellow’s wishes, they solemnly linked their pinkies. Only then did a smile appear on the little fellow’s face. He asked curiously, “Big Sister, what did you trade for?”
“White flour and japonica rice. Later, Big Sister will make dough for you to steam steamed buns, and we can also roll out noodles, make dumplings, buns, and flatbreads.”
Qi Yi’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. He stared intently at the rice jar, as if it already contained steamed buns, noodles, dumplings, and jiaozi.
Seeing his expression, Qi Zhenzhen felt a pang of sadness. She secretly vowed that from now on, she would at least ensure Qi Yi and Yun Shi had enough to eat.
Washing the rice, she put it in the pot and added an appropriate amount of water. She put a handful of dry grass into the stove and stirred it a few times. Sparks flew, and within moments, the dry grass caught fire. Qi Zhenzhen added a few more thin twigs. Once they were burning, she added a few thicker pieces of firewood into the stove opening.
While paying attention to the heat of the main stove, she also added water to the pot on the small stove and threw in two handfuls of rice to cook porridge.
Qi Zhenzhen poured the rice-washing water into a washbasin. In her previous life, she had always washed her face with rice-washing water, and her skin was as delicate as a peeled hard-boiled egg. The original body had a good foundation, but her skin was a bit poor, sallow, and somewhat rough. Since she had taken over, she intended to take good care of it.
After washing her face, Qi Zhenzhen also cleaned Qi Yi. She instructed him to watch the fire in the stove and then mixed some warm water, carried it into the room, and helped Yun Shi wash up.
After taking her medicine and sleeping through the night, Yun Shi felt a bit better. After washing with Qi Zhenzhen’s help, she propped herself up and sat, a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Qi Zhenzhen. “Zhenzhen, you’ve suffered a lot these past few days.”
Qi Zhenzhen’s movements paused slightly. She felt a strange sense of guilt. She wasn’t the original body. Her feelings towards Yun Shi and Qi Yi now were more of a responsibility born from the original body’s request. As for familial affection, to be honest, she was a very rational person and found it difficult to develop such feelings for them at the moment.
“Mother, I’m not suffering,” Qi Zhenzhen said, lowering her head. “As long as your body gets better soon, I’m willing to do anything. I’ll go check if the meal is ready in the kitchen. Yi’er is watching the fire. If it burns too much, the rice will be scorched.”
With that, she picked up the washbasin and quickly walked out.