Heizi scratched his head, not knowing how to speak, and struggled for a long time before saying:
"Aunt, can you lend me ten taels of silver again?"
Qin Sang was a little surprised; Heizi clearly wasn't trying to swindle her money:
"I can lend you the money, but you have to tell me what it's for first."
Ten taels of silver wouldn't be needed for anything less than a major matter. Besides, she had already given Heizi ten taels yesterday. Although he bought an ox cart, there must be a good amount left, and even if someone in his family had an emergency, the remaining silver would be enough for medical treatment and medicine.
Heizi opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't explain himself. It was his brother, who was with him, who spoke up:
"Oh, Brother Heizi, what's there to hide?"
"Aunt, yesterday when we returned to Town, we didn't go to buy an ox first; instead, we went to Butcher Hu's house."
As that person's voice fell, there was a thud behind Qin Sang as something hit the ground.
Qin Sang glanced back; it was the medicinal herbs in Er Fu's hand that had fallen to the ground. It didn't hit her foot, so it was fine. She looked back at Heizi:
"You went to Butcher Hu? About Er Fu's matter?"
With the conversation having reached this point, Heizi had nothing to hide. He hung his head and said with some annoyance:
"I just went to sound out Butcher Hu, saying I planned to use ten taels of silver to redeem... to redeem your second daughter back.
Aunt, please don't be angry. I just wanted to repay your kindness to us; I wasn't really trying to buy your daughter..."
Qin Sang didn't blame him and smiled slightly:
"So, what did Butcher Hu say? Unwilling? Wants to raise the price?"
Heizi nodded awkwardly:
"Butcher Hu looked fierce and said... he said your daughter had eaten his family's meat for half a year and lived in his house for half a year. If I wanted to buy her back, all of that had to be paid for.
So I... I thought of borrowing another ten taels from you...
Aunt, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to repay the money I borrow from you..."
Qin Sang smiled:
"Silly child, my daughter doesn't need you to pay."
Seeing that Qin Sang wasn't angry, Heizi finally looked up:
"But..."
He looked at Er Fu, who lowered her gaze and ran into the courtyard with the herbs.
Qin Sang said:
"Don't go looking for that beast again. Go back and collect herbs peacefully. Don't worry about anything else."
Heizi nodded, half-believing, half-doubting.
By the time they were on their way back, it was already dark, but Heizi and his group of four or five were all men, and they were walking on the main road, so they weren't afraid at all.
With grain in their hands, they wouldn't starve, and they all started joking around:
"Brother Heizi, are you perhaps interested in the Butcher's wife?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? If you keep blabbering, I'll smash your mouth." In the dark, Heizi's ears turned red, but no one could see it at night.
He angrily cursed, but in the end, didn't take action.
The other party immediately begged for mercy, giggling:
"Alright, alright, I won't say it, won't say it, okay?"
Someone came up with a good idea:
"If you ask me, we should dig up an aconite and poison that Butcher Hu to death."
"Come on, do you dare to kill? It sounds simple, but Butcher Hu would be waiting for you to shove aconite into his mouth."
"Alright, alright, the locusts have eaten all the leaves now, where are you going to find aconite?"
Heizi listened to their outlandish talk and said:
"About poisoning Butcher Hu, you'd best not even think about it. Aunt knows herbs well, and she'd definitely see through it at a glance.
At that time, Aunt will definitely think we have ill intentions and will never accept our herbs again."
Everyone was filled with lingering fear:
"No more, no more. Aunt is a good person, and we must also be good people."
"Right, right, right. I think Aunt doesn't even take Butcher Hu seriously. Aunt must have a way to deal with Butcher Hu, so let's not worry ourselves needlessly."
The group walked through the night, and the Qin Sang family also began their daily night school.
While they were all studying, Qin Sang took a stroll outside. The Horse's moss had improved a lot. Qin Sang cleaned him, disinfected him, and applied medicine.
This was the Horse's most comfortable time of day. He obediently allowed Qin Sang to do as she pleased, occasionally lowering his head to chew on a bean cake, grunting contentedly.
Da Huang paced around and received many dog food rewards.
Although there was plenty for Da Huang to eat at home, he clearly had no resistance to the dog food with various ingredients from later generations. Qin Sang even gave him a handful of freeze-dried food to try.
Fortunately, she didn't raise a Golden Retriever. With the appetite of a large dog, Qin Sang exclaimed that she couldn't afford it.
The mule had eaten its fill for a few days and felt a rounder. There was fodder in the stone trough, mixed with beans, which it chewed with a fragrant sound.
The rabbits also fattened up. Qin Sang held up the oil lamp to check and saw that the two mother rabbits' bellies seemed round. She reached out to touch them.
Good heavens, they're pregnant!
Rabbits usually have a gestation period of about thirty days. So, in about a month, there will be little bunnies born?
A rabbit can have several kits in a litter, so they definitely need nutritional supplements. Qin Sang secretly slipped in a few carrots and a handful of cabbage.
Herbs piled up like mountains in the courtyard. Qin Sang touched them, and the herbs in her hand transformed into the cold balance of the Mall.
After all this was done, Tian Wenmo's class also finished, and it was time for dictation and checking.
Today's lesson was everyone's name. Of course, everyone had to recognize them, not just their own.
The first to hand in the paper was still Si Jin.
Qin Sang felt that if Si Jin were in later generations, she would have the potential of an academic prodigy.
As Eldest Girl, Er Fu, Da Zhuang, San Gui, Third Brother's Wife, and Eldest Brother's Wife handed in their papers one by one, Tian Wenmo's relaxed expression gradually crumbled.
Qin Sang walked over curiously to take a look.
Although everyone's handwriting was a bit crooked, when put together, there were no mistakes, which greatly exceeded Qin Sang's expectations. Qin Sang smiled:
"Aren't they all written quite well? Xiao Wu, why aren't you happy?"
Could Tian Wenmo be happy?
Yes, his older brothers and sisters didn't make any mistakes, but how long had they been studying?
He clearly remembered how many times he had been scolded by the master and how much he had been lectured when he first learned to write.
Sometimes he would throw a tantrum and refuse to write, shouting that he wouldn't go to the Private School, and his mother would still coax him gently with eggs.
As if begging him to study.
But what about now?
Everyone in the family seemed smarter than him, and better at studying than him.
What Mother said was right.
He was like an idiot, yet he was conceited and looked down on his older brothers and sisters.
Tian Wenmo, struck by the blow, hung his head and walked towards the room.
His small back seemed to have had its backbone pulled out, making Tian Dazhuang and the others worried.
Xiao Wu never walked with his head down. What's wrong with him today?
Qin Sang followed, concerned. During this time, although Tian Wenmo's performance wasn't as diligent and capable as his older siblings, he hadn't caused any trouble.
At eight years old, being able to help with household chores, Qin Sang was actually quite satisfied, especially since he volunteered to teach his older brothers, sisters, and niece how to read and write, which made Qin Sang feel that he was almost transformed.
Now that he was so dejected, Qin Sang decided to tell him something that would make him happy:
"Xiao Wu, Mother plans to send you to the Private School tomorrow."