Qin Xiaoyu learned that her sister had to spend money to see her uncle's appearance. She returned to her room and rummaged through her trunk, taking out the copper coins her sister Qin Junyao had given her bit by bit.
Counting them, there were sixteen copper coins, more than her father had.
After much hesitation, Qin Xiaoyu ultimately chose candy over seeing her uncle's face.
The next day, when Qin Lin returned home, Grandma Qin also took out the mask she had bought for her second son.
Qin Lin tidied his hair, covering the birthmark on his face. Qin Junyao mentally rated him as a handsome, true man.
Although Qin Erniu and Qin Sanniu resembled their second uncle, they lacked his mature aura. Their uncle looked more handsome, and with the mask on, he outshone everyone.
Having spent a considerable amount of time with Grandma Qin, Qin Junyao naturally developed an appreciation for beautiful men and women, even without explicit instruction.
She had even bought a large quantity of meat when she accompanied her mother to Yancheng to purchase New Year's goods, wanting everyone in the family to gain weight, as they were all currently so thin they couldn't fill out their clothes.
Once everyone's health and complexion improved, and they were dressed in fine clothes, they would look striking as they stepped out together.
The once calm and self-possessed Qin Junyao had, in just a month, been somewhat influenced by Grandma Qin's personality, deviating from her original nature.
***
In Yancheng, at the Qubingtang clinic.
"Sister Jun, is this truly for me?" Sheng Yining asked Qin Junyao, holding the wooden box in her hands.
"It is. You've always said you wanted a set of silver needles for treating illnesses. Unfortunately, these aren't new."
"It's not a pity, not a pity at all! Grandpa, Brother, look at the silver needles Sister Jun gave me!" Sheng Yining, overjoyed to confirm the needles were indeed hers, hurried to show them to Dr. Sheng. Sudanchengxiao.net
Dr. Sheng withdrew his hand from Qin Ershen's wrist and began writing a prescription. He didn't look up at his granddaughter, but Sheng Yining didn't mind, standing beside him to watch him write.
"Huanjin, go fetch the medicine."
"Your and your sister-in-law's constitutions are weak. The medicine will need to be taken for a longer period than for others. Your spleen and stomach are deficient due to starvation, and your blood is insufficient. You need to eat normally, and abstain from spicy and cold foods during medication."
Qin Ershen glanced at her niece and son in the room, appearing hesitant to speak.
Dr. Sheng, having treated countless patients, understood Qin Ershen's unspoken concerns. He smiled and said, "You were exposed to cold when you were young, but fortunately, your subsequent care has been good."
"As for what you're thinking, let nature take its course. Having two good sons is already better than most families."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ershen bowed to Dr. Sheng and left the consultation table, returning to sit beside Qin Mu.
She and her sister-in-law weren't like other women who conceived easily. Others might miscarry or have babies who couldn't survive, often due to lack of food. But they simply didn't conceive.
If not for pregnancy, during their confinement period, Grandma Qin would have gone to great lengths to procure eggs for them. The entire family would have gone hungry to ensure they and their sister-in-law ate well. Without this, perhaps none of the family's five children would have survived.
Therefore, no matter how Grandma Qin scolded them, the daughters-in-law of the Qin family harbored no resentment in their hearts, only reverence.
Seeing her grandfather finish, Sheng Yining quickly opened the wooden box and presented it to Dr. Sheng. "Grandpa, look, Sister Qin gave it to me."
As Dr. Sheng picked up the wooden box, he noticed its unusual weight. After taking out eight long needles and fifteen short needles, he brought the box to his ear and shook it.
Everyone in the room was drawn to Dr. Sheng's actions. He brought the box back in front of him, turned it in a specific sequence, and then pressed the bottom. The bottom of the box opened.
Inside, small knives, tweezers, scissors, and other tools were revealed.
Qin Junyao, curious, walked over to Dr. Sheng. "Dr. Sheng, what is this?"
"Heh heh, this is a good thing," Dr. Sheng said, taking out a small knife and feeling its edge. "Junyao, where did you get this?"
"A pawn shop."
"Alas, another unfilial son pawning his ancestors' possessions. This kind of puzzle box is used by some physicians. For patients with boils, carbuncles, or sores, it's necessary to break the skin to remove pus or excise them."
"Some patients are frightened by these small tools, hence the invention of this puzzle box. Ostensibly for needling, it secretly removes festering sores. Of course, some use it to display their superior medical skills."
Qin Junyao was very interested in this puzzle box and asked Dr. Sheng if there were any carpenters in Yancheng who could make one.
While everyone else was listening to Dr. Sheng converse with Qin Junyao, Qin Sanniu picked up the puzzle box.
He fiddled with it in his hands, then reattached the bottom. He shook it, but it wouldn't open again.
He then sat down by the consultation table and began playing with the puzzle box. Sheng Yining, catching a glimpse of Qin Sanniu sitting on the ground, squatted down to watch him.
Initially, Qin Sanniu couldn't figure it out, but after a few sentences, he seemed to have found the pattern. After shaking the box a few times, he reopened the bottom.
"How did you do that? Let me try it when you put it back," Sheng Yining said, seeing how easily Qin Sanniu opened it, assuming it was simple. She had never seen such a box before.
When she actually tried, no matter how much she shook it, she couldn't open the box.
Qin Sanniu looked at Sheng Yining scratching her head in frustration, which reminded him of the family's dog scratching its ear with its hind leg. He proactively taught her how to open it.
Qin Junyao felt a pang of regret when Dr. Sheng mentioned that there were no craftsmen in Yancheng who could make such puzzle boxes. Upon learning that small iron balls were used as mechanisms within the box, she couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the ancients.
She wanted to look at the puzzle box again, but it was gone. She searched around and saw the two of them sitting on the ground, heads close together.
Qin Junyao saw them, and Dr. Sheng and the others also noticed.
"Sheng Yining, how can you sit on the ground?" Dr. Sheng's tone was somewhat stern. They weren't in the wild; it was too impolite for a young lady to sit on the ground in front of others, especially so close to a boy.
Upon hearing her grandfather call her full name, Sheng Yining obediently stood up. Qin Sanniu also stood up with a look of having done something wrong, his head bowed. Qin Ershen quickly walked over to apologize to Dr. Sheng.
"It's nothing. My granddaughter is mischievous from childhood, so I don't blame your son," Dr. Sheng said, stopping Qin Ershen from bowing. He knew Qin Sanniu was not like ordinary children and wouldn't have any ill intentions towards his granddaughter.
"Auntie, it was me who sat on the ground; it has nothing to do with Brother Sanniu."
"Grandpa, he's so clever! He could open that box by himself. He was teaching me," Sheng Yining said truthfully. She knew her grandfather wouldn't truly scold her.
Dr. Sheng sighed. "Yining, don't be rude. Sanniu is older than you, how can you call him 'Brother'?"
"Sanniu, show Grandpa Sheng how you open the box."
As Qin Sanniu quickly opened the box, Qin Yining silently grumbled in her heart, "He's only a month older than me, how is that considered older? Qin Sanniu acts like a child, so why isn't he a younger brother?"
"Remarkable, Sanniu is truly intelligent. It took me two days to learn how to operate this puzzle box back then," Dr. Sheng praised Qin Sanniu aloud, but in his heart, he lamented his condition, which couldn't be improved with medicine.
Qin Junyao watched Qin Sanniu's focused gaze as he played with the puzzle box. She thought about taking out the Lu Ban lock she had stored in her spatial dimension for her brother to play with.
She worried that Sanniu might get frustrated if he couldn't solve it, so she had only given him some small wooden animal carvings, but Qin Sanniu wasn't very interested.
It seemed Qin Sanniu's interests would need to be explored and nurtured gradually.