Chapter 284: Socializing

“Dogzi’s Dad, why aren’t you calling out to attract customers?” Madam Cui kept her voice low, mindful of being outside.

“In our line of work, we don’t hawk. We wait for patients to come to us,” Physician Cui replied with a reserved air.

Madam Cui couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.

“I’ve been married to you for years, given you two sons. You think I don’t know that already?”

What irritated her was that if he couldn’t shout, couldn’t he at least hang up a sign or a banner? Was writing a couple of characters really beyond him?

He just sat there with all the herbs tightly wrapped up. Who on earth would know what he was doing?

“Eldest Nephew, did you bring paper and a brush?” Madam Cui turned to Yan Xiangheng beside her.

She hadn’t expected much, but to her surprise, Yan Xiangheng was well-prepared. He never went anywhere without his brush pouch.

Not only did he have a calligraphy brush, he even had charcoal pencils.

Madam Cui was too frugal to use paper or cloth, so she dragged Physician Cui a bit farther away, found a tree stump, borrowed some tools from Qi Wu, and split it down the middle. On the clean, flat surface, she asked Yan Xiangheng to write a single character: “Medicine.”

He traced over it several times to make it bold. When they placed it in the center, it was clear enough to read from a distance.

With a sign in place, the effect was immediate.

A crowd quickly gathered to see what was going on.

Everyone recognized that character—it was the one usually seen hanging above a pharmacy.

Madam Cui then sat down with a show of formality and stretched out her arm.

Under her threatening gaze, Physician Cui had no choice but to place his fingers on her wrist and take her pulse…

That did it. Everyone immediately understood—he was a physician!

Since he was already checking her pulse, he couldn’t just stop without saying anything.

Madam Cui shot him a look and asked in a deliberately hoarse voice, “So, what’s wrong with me?”

The onlookers were curious too. This woman looked healthy, glowing even. What kind of illness could she possibly have?

Physician Cui wasn’t half-bad at his craft. “Your liver fire is excessive… I’ll prescribe you some herbs to help regulate it.”

He didn’t mention that aside from the liver fire, his wife also had some women’s health issues.

If it were just the liver fire, he’d tell her to drink more chrysanthemum tea, eat more wild greens, and cut back on meat. But the other issue needed attention. Right now, it was mild and could be resolved with simple treatment. If ignored, it might worsen.

Madam Cui was quite pleased, a smile spreading across her face.

This blockhead was finally catching on. Wasn’t this cooperation going smoothly?

She urged Physician Cui to go ahead and prepare the medicine, showing none of her usual impatience. While waiting, she chatted with the women nearby, describing her symptoms—tightness in the chest, irritability, occasional dizziness, a constant feeling of heat…

The women of Guanzhou were far more open than those from Qishan. Seeing there were no men around, they gathered around her, chattering away as they compared ailments and shared experiences.

By the time Physician Cui had finished preparing the medicine, Madam Cui tossed out a casual, “I’ll come pick it up later,” and strolled off arm in arm with the other women, deep in lively conversation.

Physician Cui: …

You were the one who insisted on getting the medicine right away. Now you’re the one who’s not in a hurry.

Still, their little performance had done the trick. The people around now knew what he did, and they understood that the bags he carried were full of medicinal herbs.

Since they felt awkward asking the physician directly, they took the neighborly route and asked Yan Xiangheng instead.

Yan Xiangheng answered every question without holding back.

It was clear that someone educated spoke and acted differently from those who weren’t.

Their respect for him grew, and their curiosity about his background increased as well.

Which was just as well.

Xiao’an Village had officially settled here, and it was important for the surrounding villages to know they existed.

So it wasn’t long before word spread throughout the Grand Market.

Turns out, Xiao’an Village had a physician named Cui. His fees were reasonable, and if you didn’t have coins, you could pay with grain.

Even more surprising, the village had two scholars.

One was a Xiucai, the other a Tongsheng. Both had been invited by the magistrate of Crouching Tiger City to work at the yamen as household registrars!

Of course, Yan Xiangheng would never boast like that.

All this was thanks to Madam Cui’s enthusiastic promotion.

She hit it off instantly with a few of the women at the Grand Market.

Their conversation was warm and animated.

“The one collecting money at the steamed bun stall is the scholar’s wife…

The one selling marinated eggs, that’s the eldest son of Liang Tongsheng’s family…

And that one over there, that’s the scholar’s son…” She pointed around, then gestured to Yan Lao’er. “That one, the one grilling fish on the slate, that’s the scholar’s younger brother, the second son of the Yan family.

My second brother is really something. He’s great at organizing things, friendly and outgoing, has seen the world, and knows a lot. There’s nothing he can’t figure out.

Give it some time and you’ll see—his whole family’s full of good people.

Our village has a good atmosphere too. Our old home was too dry to live in, so we came here. But we’re not just here to live off others.

You should come visit our village sometime. Every household tends their land with care. The vegetable seedlings are already a finger tall.

When harvest time comes, my second brother said he’ll help us pickle vegetables. We’ve already asked around—winters here are tough, right? So we need to stock up on food, isn’t that so?”

“Oh yes, it’s not just about storing vegetables. Have you built your houses yet? What about the kang beds? Without a kang, you won’t survive the winter,” one of the women said kindly.

Madam Cui beamed with pride. “Of course we have! My second brother found a master builder named Lu. He stayed in our village for quite a while, gave us lots of advice, and helped every household build a kang. Let me tell you, your kangs here are amazing—so warm they make you woozy. You fall asleep and wake up the next morning feeling great, ha!”

“The houses are all going up now. Even the slower families will be done in the next couple of days. Our Village Chief said everything has to be finished before the fifteenth, so we can enjoy a proper festival.”

“Master Lu, huh? You folks really found the right guy. His family’s been in the trade for generations. The houses he builds are solid.”

“Your village planted all vegetables this year? When it’s time to pickle autumn greens, can we come trade for some? Our winters are so long, we’re stuck at home with the stove going all day, and if we don’t eat enough veggies, our mouths break out in sores. We mostly grow rice over here, not much in the way of vegetables. The whole family barely gets by, and by the time the new year rolls around, there’s hardly anything left to eat.”

“Why not? Let’s trade. We’re short on grain ourselves. This is what you call a win-win, mutual benefit.”

“Then tell me clearly, how do we get to your village? Is it far?”

“Heh! It’s real close to Xiqiao Town. Just head west from Dashi Bridge and go through the woods, and you’ll reach our village. There’s a big stone in the center of the village. Once you’re there, just shout for the Cui Family, and I’ll definitely hear you. When the time comes, don’t worry about a thing, I’ve got you covered,” Madam Cui promised confidently.

Every household in the village needed to stock up on grain. With each family tending ten to several dozen mu of vegetable fields, if this deal went through, they could stay home and trade veggies for grain. Her two brothers would definitely owe her a big favor for pulling this off!

Yan Lao’er and the Qi brothers had set up a slate grill.

They’d made the real deal—grilled fish on hot stone.

Charcoal burned steadily beneath the thick stone slab, heating it evenly. Yan Lao’er moved with practiced ease, brushing on a layer of oil. He laid out the small fish, cleaned and marinated in coarse saltwater, one by one on the sizzling stone. The fish crackled as they cooked. He flipped them skillfully with chopsticks, revealing a beautiful golden crust.

With grilled fish on hot stone like this, what a life! Even the homebodies were jealous~o(╥﹏╥)o

(End of Chapter)