68 I’ll Leave In Two Days
Since Xie Heng was pretending to be blind, Niu Tongsheng was the one who entertained the officials during lunch.
When Old Mrs. Chen returned the change left from grocery shopping, Zhao Chuchu gave 20 cents to the old woman.
“Take this. Don’t say no this time. I should pay you for helping me out so much. If you don’t take it, I don’t know if I can ask for any more favors from you again,” she said.
“I can’t take this! You…”
“Just take it. Also, can you ask Uncle Chen and the rest if they are willing to help me plow the mountain or not? I’m paying 25 cents a day.”
“You’re hiring?”
“Yes. Tell him to help me find as many people as he can. We have to plow the entire mountain.”
“But, Chuchu, they’re only paying 15 cents a day out there.”
“I know. But isn’t the spring harvest soon? It’ll be hard to hire people, so I’ll have no choice but to raise the pay. I need to finish plowing the mountain in a month. Even if it’s done earlier, I’m still paying a month’s wage.”
Old Mrs. Chen’s heart was racing. She knew that even if her sons found jobs at other places, they would only get paid 15 cents a day no matter how hard they worked.
If Zhao Chuchu paid 25 cents a day, and all her three sons helped out, they could earn two silvers monthly.
“Alright. I’ll ask my oldest son to help find some people.” Old Mrs. Chen quickly nodded and returned home happily.
Zhao Chuchu then pretended to eat in her room while carrying two servings of food.
Yuan Hui had recovered a lot, and Zhao Chuchu noticed that she had a huge appetite.
However, Yuan Hui had yet to leave the room, and since Xie Jun would never enter his sister-in-law’s room without reason, no one knew that another person was living in the house other than Zhao Chuchu and Xie heng.
“Chuchu, I should be able to leave in two days,” Yuan Hui whispered. “I feel much better now.”
“Where will you go?”
“Can you take me to the county office?”
“Are you from the Qiao clan?”
“No, but Magistrate Qiao is my uncle-in-law. I’m sorry for hiding that from you. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“It’s okay. I understand. Alright, I’ll take you to the county office two days later.”
“Thank you.” Yuan Hui turned and took the gold braided bracelet and handed it to Zhao Chuchu. “I have nothing to repay your kindness for now, so, please, take this. I’ll make sure to come back with gifts when I get home. Oh, I haven’t told you this, but I’m from the Yuan clan of the Guangqing Province.”
Since the original Zhao Chuchu had never heard of the Yuan clan, it was natural that Zhao Chuchu didn’t know of them either.
“If you ever come to Guangqing Province, you can come and find me.”
“Will your stepmother let you come out?”
“She will.”
Zhao Chuchu didn’t ask any more questions and said, “I don’t know what happened to you, but please be careful once you get back. You might not be lucky again to meet someone with the medical skill to save you.”
“I used to live a carefree life. But, after hearing the conversations between you and your family, I can only say that you have my respect. I already know what I have to do once I get back. You’re strong, Chuchu, and I’m sure we’ll meet again in Guangqing Province.”
Zhao Chuchu smiled. “Hold back on that thought. Before I cure my husband’s eyes, I can’t leave.”
“I heard that he’s a prodigy?”
“He is, but God decided to turn him blind. He’d never have married me if he could still see.”
“I’m sure you can cure him.”
“I do hope so.” Zhao Chuchu intentionally let out a long sigh.
“Just let me know if you need my help. I can do a lot of things once I get back home.”
Zhao Chuchu turned to Yuan Hui and saw that she meant what she had just said.
Zhao Chuchu thought of asking Yuan Hui to help find the herbs necessary to cure Xie Jun’s poison, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask in the end.
She didn’t want to cause any unwanted problems.