RFGCF 12

Chapter – 12

The Vicious Woman Blocking the Way

When Qin Shuhe saw Ye Xiaohua hesitate, he thought she didn’t know how much silver to ask for, so he prompted, “The usual consultation fee is two or three taels, but given your situation… how about I give you five?”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Xiaodouzi, who was busily stuffing his face with pastries and fruit.

Qin Shuhe thought he was being generous and that the little girl would be happy. But he didn’t realize who he was dealing with.

Normally, she wouldn’t have minded—no one complained about having too much silver. But the way he’d phrased it—*given your situation*—genuinely rubbed her the wrong way. What exactly was her “situation”?

She might be poor, but she wasn’t a beggar. She wouldn’t hold out her hand for charity.

“Whatever the usual fee is, that’s what I’ll take. However, I’d like these silver needles.” She said nothing more. Qin Shuhe was clearly a shrewd businessman—he’d understand her meaning.

In truth, Qin Shuhe hadn’t meant anything bad by it. Although he did feel some pity, his offer of extra silver came from genuine admiration of her medical skills. Even the white-bearded old doctor who’d practiced for decades had hung his head in shame before her. Even if this girl had started learning medicine from birth, she’d only been at it a few years—yet her skill was already so profound. He truly appreciated her talent.

But the fact that Ye Xiaohua refused the extra money only made the stubborn little girl earn even more of his respect. At such a young age, she had such pride and integrity. Truly remarkable.

Ye Xiaohua left the Qin estate with a well-fed, burping Xiaodouzi in tow, carrying her hard-earned three taels of silver as consultation fees. She then went to another medicine shop and sold the mantis eggs for seventy copper coins.

She kept the three taels of silver close to her body, and carefully tucked the silver needles into her sleeve. Without needles, she was like a warrior without a weapon—all her skills rendered useless.

With the remaining seventy-odd coins, she planned to buy some immediate necessities. There were far too many things she actually needed, but she couldn’t rely on Xiaodouzi to help carry things, and she could only carry so much herself. She’d have to prioritize the most urgent items.

She’d spent over an hour at the Qin household, so now she had to hurry. If she took too long shopping before heading back, it would be dark by the time she got home.

During the time she’d been at the Qin house, Jin Dashan—who’d told her to wait—had indeed come back looking for her. But when he couldn’t find her, he’d gone home. Passing by the village entrance, he’d run into Old Mrs. Ye and casually mentioned the matter—unwittingly stirring up yet another batch of trouble.

It was already past noon. Fewer people were buying vegetables now. After a midday of harsh sun, the once-fresh greens had wilted. The market was about to close, so prices were naturally cheaper than earlier.

But the vegetable vendors, seeing the two shabbily dressed children, wanted nothing to do with them and even kept their distance, afraid the pair might try to steal their produce.

Though she now had some silver, there were countless things to spend it on at home. Even three taels of silver would disappear quickly—let alone if she’d had thirty. Still, there were ways to get by on a tight budget. Ye Xiaohua planned to use every coin wisely, ideally in a way that would make the money grow.

Passing by the meat stall, Xiaodouzi’s eyes locked onto the pork like a hawk. From the look on his face, Ye Xiaohua knew the little guy was craving it. She couldn’t even remember the last time the original family had eaten meat.

Oh well—she’d made a decent little profit today. Ye Xiaohua bought not only vegetables but also some meat, as well as rice, flour, and seasonings. Any more and she wouldn’t be able to carry it all.

But this body was honestly too weak. Walking the distance alone was already a struggle, let alone carrying all this. With Xiaodouzi in tow, the siblings walked and rested in turns. By the time they made it home, smoke was already rising from every household chimney in the village.

Dragging her exhausted body, Ye Xiaohua prepared to go home and cook. She’d only bought two steamed buns to stave off hunger at noon—eating out was far too expensive, not cost-effective, and the food wasn’t even that good.

Carrying her basket, Ye Xiaohua tried to keep a low profile, taking the small paths on her way back. But she still ran into a woman. “Well, well, little fool, where have you been?”

Without any pretense, the woman reached out to rummage through Ye Xiaohua’s basket, but Ye Xiaohua dodged out of the way.

“Oh, the little fool has a temper now? What treasures do you have in there? Clods of dirt? Pebbles? A bunch of junk—what’s the harm in me taking a look? I’m not going to steal from you.”

The woman’s true nature revealed itself as she lunged forward, but Ye Xiaohua dodged her again. In the original owner’s memories, this woman had bullied her plenty. Not only had she encouraged her son Tiedan to beat up the original owner, but she’d also laid hands on her herself.

After all, beating a fool was no big deal. Her so-called mother was such a coward that even if she witnessed it, she wouldn’t dare start a conflict. That only made the village bullies bolder—and this woman, Tian Shi, was one of them.

Tian Shi still treated Ye Xiaohua like the old fool. Her husband was a restless sort, having an affair with a widow in a neighboring village. After Ye Xiaohua’s father died, Tian Shi discovered that her own man had been making advances toward Li Shi—and that was simply unacceptable.

It was too far to go settle scores with the widow, but dealing with the spineless Li Shi was easy enough. Li Shi was a coward—even when Tian Shi cursed her to her face, she wouldn’t talk back.

Whenever Tian Shi was in a bad mood, she’d take it out on Ye Xiaohua instead of her own kids. If anyone saw, she’d just blame it on the fool—after all, no one thought twice about a simpleton getting into trouble.

Tian Shi planned to pull the same trick again. Truth be told, she was just curious. She’d heard the little fool had come back from the mountain with a pile of useless junk. Last time, the whole village thought she’d gotten her brother lost again—but now here she was, back with another load of stuff. Tian Shi just wanted to see what it was.

“Just let me see—it’s not like you’ll lose a piece of meat.”

Ye Xiaohua thought to herself: if she saw what was in the basket, that piece of meat really might disappear. Not that anyone would believe a fool’s basket could actually contain pork.

“Move aside.”

“Oho, the little fool’s gotten bold! I don’t believe I can’t handle you. When your mother was still around, I could beat you whenever I wanted. Now you’ve got no father and no mother, and I still can’t teach you a lesson? Let me see—what’s in there?”

Ye Xiaohua was no longer the pushover she used to be. Holding Xiaodouzi’s hand, she waited for the right moment as Tian Shi lunged at her—then drove her foot hard into Tian Shi’s knee.

A heavy thud sounded as Tian Shi’s body, a full head taller than Ye Xiaohua’s, crashed to the ground, yelping in pain.

Ye Xiaohua looked down at her coldly. Tian Shi immediately started cursing at the top of her lungs. “You bastard brat of a whore! Just like your mother—a little slut! Your slut of a mother stole my man! Shameless fox! I spit on you, adulterer and adulteress!”

Wait a minute. Ye Xiaohua was a bit confused. “My mother… and your husband?”

Tian Shi burst into a loud, wailing sob.