Early the next morning.
Xu Yi left the house to find the cart driver Old Liu waiting outside. Seeing Xu Yi come out alone without the bamboo basket on his back, he asked in surprise, “Doctor Xu, are you not going up the mountain today?”
“Not today.” Xu Yi climbed onto the ox cart and said to him, “Old Liu, please take me to the general store in the South Market.”
Old Liu called out, “Alright~”
The ox cart’s wheels rumbled as they turned, leaving Stone Well Lane and heading toward the main road on South Street in the county town.
Sitting in the swaying ox cart, Xu Yi’s gaze swept around him. He noticed that among the stall vendors in the marketplace, quite a few had appeared selling firewood and charcoal.
Among the country folk, charcoal for winter use was prepared and burned by themselves. Any surplus would be brought to the county town to sell. Those setting up stalls in the marketplace selling firewood and charcoal were all like this.
There were also those who specialized in the charcoal-burning business, selling the burned charcoal to middlemen, who would then sell it to others.
Xu Yi’s trip to the general store this time was to buy charcoal.
The house had firewood, but charcoal also needed to be stocked up.
Soon, Old Liu drove the ox cart to a stop and turned to call out to Xu Yi, “Doctor Xu, we’ve arrived.”
Xu Yi nodded.
He got down from the cart and told Old Liu to wait a moment. He would be out soon.
Receiving Old Liu’s response, Xu Yi entered the largest general store on South Street.
It was still early. A shop assistant was moving goods and, seeing a customer enter, called out without looking back, “Guest, if there’s something you want, look around first. Call for someone when you want to buy.”
After calling out, he paid no more attention to Xu Yi and busied himself taking inventory of newly arrived goods.
In the warehouse storing goods in the back courtyard, another shop assistant was moving things in and out. Everyone was very busy, with no one having time to attend to Xu Yi.
Xu Yi looked around the shelves for a while and saw several bamboo chests about half a meter wide placed in a corner. These bamboo chests were specifically used for storing luggage. Though lighter than wooden chests, they had their flaws, they couldn’t hold many clothes.
After browsing for a while, Xu Yi called to the shop assistant, “I’d like to buy charcoal.”
“Charcoal? Guest, how much do you want to buy?” Hearing the voice, the shop assistant finally deigned to lift his head again and looked at Xu Yi questioningly.
Xu Yi said, “I need five hundred jin.”
The shop assistant was shocked.
He hurriedly stood up and asked with a smile on his face, “Guest, you’re not joking? You really want five hundred jin of charcoal?”
Xu Yi nodded. “Do you have this much?”
“We do, we do.” The shop assistant immediately nodded, though his expression grew troubled as he added, “Charcoal prices have risen this year. If you want five hundred jin, dear guest, the cost won’t be small. Our shop doesn’t do business on credit. Are you aware of this, dear guest?”
In these times, credit transactions weren’t good business.
Their shopkeeper constantly reminded them that unless it was the major households of the county town, they absolutely wouldn’t extend credit to anyone else.
Looking at Xu Yi’s attire, he didn’t seem like anyone’s servant, and his age made him too young to be a household steward. He should be from a small household. If it was truly the latter, could he really produce enough money at once to buy five hundred jin of charcoal?
The shop assistant had his doubts but didn’t dare show them.
The ancients said, “When opening the door, seven things matter: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.”
Firewood ranked first in daily life. The Song Dynasty hadn’t yet reached the time of “firewood shortage,” but prices were rising now because the weather had turned cold too quickly.
Xu Yi’s house had stockpiled quite a bit of firewood. This year’s autumn and winter firewood was essentially taken care of, but charcoal was in short supply.
Thinking the weather was changeable, it would be better to store more to avoid future contingencies.
He didn’t know how to burn charcoal, and Ah Xu and Ah Jin only had mediocre control over the heat and temperature for charcoal burning. Rather than wasting firewood on experimentation, it was better to buy ready-made charcoal.
Xu Yi asked, “What’s the current price of charcoal?”
The shop assistant answered, “One jin of charcoal costs twelve wen.” Seeing Xu Yi furrow his brow slightly, he quickly added, “Guest, if you’re buying this much, it can be cheaper.”
Xu Yi asked, “How much cheaper?”
The shop assistant thought for a moment but didn’t dare answer directly. He said he’d go consult with the shopkeeper.
A transaction for five hundred jin of charcoal was no small matter. It’s not something a mere shop assistant could decide.
He left for a while, and soon a portly middle-aged man followed him back. Seeing Xu Yi, the middle-aged man didn’t treat him carelessly due to his youth. He smiled and invited Xu Yi to speak in the inner room.
“For you to want to buy five hundred jin of charcoal is no small matter. I’ll need to have someone go to the warehouse to transfer the goods.” The shopkeeper poured tea for Xu Yi and continued, “If you agree, young master, I’ll first transfer two hundred jin of goods. The remaining three hundred jin of charcoal can be delivered to your residence two days later. How does that sound?”
Xu Yi had no objection to this. He also needed time to clear out space for storing the charcoal.
“Then the price of this charcoal…”
The shopkeeper said knowingly, “For this charcoal, I’ll reduce the price by one wen per jin for you, young master. How’s that?”
He explained to Xu Yi that the later it got, the more expensive charcoal would become. This batch of goods was purchased at a low price earlier, which was why they could offer this price.
If he came a few days later, forget twelve wen, even fifteen wen would probably have people fighting to buy it.
His words made sense. Xu Yi knew this price couldn’t go any lower.
Five hundred jin of charcoal would cost five taels and five qian of silver. Xu Yi prepaid the shopkeeper three taels of silver, with the remaining balance to be settled when the three hundred jin of charcoal arrived at his residence.
After he paid, the shopkeeper immediately sent the shop assistant to the back courtyard to load the goods.
The general store currently had exactly two hundred jin of charcoal available, which could be delivered directly to the Xu residence.
Hearing that Xu Yi had come by ox cart and wouldn’t need them to deliver the goods to his door, the shopkeeper was very pleased. This way they could save the cost of hiring a cart.
Charcoal was light. Two hundred jin of charcoal filled half a cart.
Old Liu looked at those boxes of charcoal, his eyes gleaming. So much charcoal. How much money must this cost?
As it turned out, when he pulled the charcoal back to the Xu residence, Xu Yi only unloaded half of the charcoal. The rest he had him cart elsewhere.
Old Liu was curious. After asking, he learned that the remaining one hundred jin of charcoal was something Xu Yi had bought to give as a gift.
Old Liu: “…”
He’d seen people give gifts before, but never like this.
–
Before long, the ox cart Old Liu was driving arrived outside that household, and he discovered this family was moving.
Doctor Yan in the courtyard was directing two idlers to move furniture. He couldn’t take this furniture with him and could only sell it to pawn shops, brokerages, and such.
The house was rented, which at least saved him the trouble of having to list it with a brokerage to sell.
He was taking inventory of the furniture that could be sold for money when, unexpectedly, Xu Yi came over.
“Didn’t we agree to meet at noon? Why did you come now?” Doctor Yan walked past the idlers to stand before Xu Yi.
Looking at the chaotic courtyard, Xu Yi said with a light laugh, “Yesterday I heard you mention the many troubles of traveling. Thinking you might not have enough time to pack everything, I brought you some charcoal.”
Charcoal was an indispensable thing for autumn and winter travel. With charcoal, the problem of staying warm could be solved.
It was more convenient than burning firewood. While the donkey cart traveled, placing a charcoal brazier in the carriage for warmth not only had higher safety, but its warming properties were also much better than hand warmers.
Hearing he’d come to deliver charcoal, Doctor Yan was both surprised and delighted by Xu Yi’s thoughtfulness. When he went outside to see the charcoal loaded in the ox cart, only shock remained.
“This much?” Doctor Yan took a deep breath. By the looks of the quantity, it wasn’t less than a hundred jin.
Xu Yi said, “It’s one hundred jin. I thought you’d use quite a bit on the road, and when you reach Mao Prefecture, you probably won’t have time to obtain charcoal. Since it’s just you using it, this year’s supply should be enough.”
Doctor Yan clicked his tongue. “It’s enough, more than enough.”
He had originally planned to hire only an ordinary donkey cart. Now it seemed an ordinary donkey cart couldn’t fit all these things.
Autumn and winter clothes took up space, and bedding, cushions, shoes, and socks all had to be brought along. Otherwise, when he reached Mao Prefecture, there would be no time to obtain them.
Besides this, Doctor Yan also planned to bring quite a few medicinal herbs on his journey.
Some medicinal herbs at his home that he couldn’t take with him, he wanted Xu Yi to take back.
Xu Yi didn’t refuse and also pulled out two small ceramic jars to give him.
Doctor Yan opened the jars, smelled the medicinal fragrance inside, and after a pause asked, “These are life-saving pills?”
Xu Yi replied, “They’re Musk Heart-Protecting Pills and Ginseng Powder.”
Both were emergency medicine pills. The Musk Heart-Protecting Pills could treat acute myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease. If coronary heart disease suddenly struck on the road, taking them could save one’s life.
Ginseng Powder was the same. People suffering from shock, dizziness, or excessive blood loss could, after taking it, temporarily preserve their heart meridian, buying time for a physician to perform rescue.
As a physician, Doctor Yan naturally knew how precious these two types of pills were.
And Xu Yi had just given him these emergency pills like this.
“You… you…” Doctor Yan said shamefully, “Regarding the young master’s matter, I couldn’t help you with anything, yet you’re giving me charcoal and life-saving pills. Where does that leave my old face?”
Looking at him, Xu Yi said, “Doctor Yan, you speak too seriously. This matter ultimately arose because of me. Though now you’re willingly going to that northern Sichuan region, I cannot do nothing.”
The road to Mao Prefecture was truly perilous. Besides the difficult mountain roads, the greatest worry was encountering bandits and Qiang people along the way.
History recorded that the Beichuan region under Mao Prefecture’s jurisdiction had experienced countless incidents of unrest. At this time, Shiquan County still belonged to Mao Prefecture’s administration. But in the near future, in the ninth year of the Xining era under Northern Song Emperor Shenzong, due to Qiang people causing trouble in Mao Prefecture, in order to isolate the Qiang people in the Shiquan area and prevent unrest from continuing to spread, Shiquan County would be transferred to Mianzhou’s jurisdiction, thereby attempting to block the route between Mao Prefecture and Shiquan.
Thinking of this, Xu Yi felt indebted to Doctor Yan.
Seeing him blame himself, Doctor Yan turned it around to mock him. “I was just saying you had courage, yet you show me this attitude, making me want to scold you. This matter was never about right or wrong between you and me. This old man has come to terms with it. How can you still not see past it?”
Xu Yi smiled bitterly. He should see past it.
The two didn’t chat for long. Doctor Yan still had to continue his work, so Xu Yi left first to prepare for the noon farewell banquet.
Today’s farewell banquet was very simple. Not many people came to attend/ Only Xu Yi, Doctor Yan, Ah Xu, and Ah Jin.
The restaurant run by Tao Qinghao’s family was one of the best in the county town.
Xu Yi only ordered a few good dishes, selecting all the signature dishes the waiter had recommended last time.
Unfortunately, with the weather turning cold, ice cream was unavailable, but the waiter recommended heated yellow wine.
The heated yellow wine went down smoothly, mellow and rich, carrying a heart-warming heat. After drinking it, one’s entire body felt warm.
Having been in the Song Dynasty for so long, this was Xu Yi’s first time drinking alcohol.
He knew he was currently in a mourning period. If it became known he’d drunk alcohol, he’d be scolded. But so what? Facing the broad-minded Doctor Yan whose heart was with the common people, Xu Yi finally couldn’t restrain himself.
He wanted to drink freely with Doctor Yan and chat about what could truly be accomplished in these several decades of life.
“Don’t say the mulberry and elm are late—the rosy clouds still fill the sky.”
Doctor Yan drained the hot wine in his cup and laughed freely. “This old man has reached this age with no attachments or worries. Being able to accomplish one thing is enough.”
Xu Yi raised his cup and drained it as well, then smiled.
…
On the day Doctor Yan departed, Xu Yi went outside the county gate to see him off.
The two didn’t exchange many words. Doctor Yan smiled at Xu Yi and said to him, “Brother Yi, take care.”
Xu Yi took a deep breath. “Elder Yan, if there comes a day, I’ll make a trip to Mao Prefecture. At that time, you can treat me to drinks.”
Doctor Yan: “Excellent!”
…
Several days later.
Just reaching the White Dew solar term, the early dawn in Yanting County saw dew condense into white frost. A thin layer of white frost formed on the street pavement. The hemp clothes worn by the vendors setting up stalls in the marketplace were layered one after another, yet still couldn’t ward off this suddenly arriving severe cold weather.
Breathing out white vapor, rubbing their freezing hands, these vendors stamped their feet while hawking their wares.
However, few pedestrians stopped to buy food. All walked hurriedly, anxious to return home.
“It’s difficult.” At a tea-drinking stall, two middle-aged men wearing silk robes and wolf fur scarves were talking.
Their status and position seemed unusual, yet they sat at this simple tea stall drinking the cheapest loose-leaf tea.
The other man sighed. “This year looks like it will be even colder than previous years.”
“Does Brother Pang have any good ideas?” Pan Wenji looked at his friend and inquired.
The one called “Brother Pang” shook his head and said, “How could someone as common as me accomplish this? I’ve already retired from office and am merely a commoner now. Instead, I need Wenji to support me.”
Having spoken, the two looked at each other and laughed mockingly.
Now one was a commoner, the other merely a small county captain.
Though Yanting County was a large county administering several towns below it, truly speaking, it was merely a place to be exploited.
At this moment, the stall owner came over with a teapot, asking ingratiatingly, “Would you two officials like more tea?”
“Thank you for your trouble, old sir.” Pang Boyi smiled and said.
Pan Wenji also nodded, rewarding the stall owner with a few coins and telling him to leave the teapot and step down first.
He said helplessly to Pang Boyi, “How long will you stay in Yanting this time? You can’t stay at the inn every day. The conditions at the inn aren’t good. Why don’t I make arrangements, rent a courtyard, hire a few servants and maids. You’ve always loved good food, so we should also hire a cook.”
“I already have a plan.” Pang Boyi didn’t accept his friend’s kind intentions.
Pan Wenji asked, “What plan?”
Pang Boyi said, “I didn’t bring much money on this trip. I’ve already decided to stay on South Street. I’ll have Uncle Pang find a broker to rent a small courtyard. As for servants and such, forget it.”
Pan Wenji: “…”
South Street—there weren’t many decent courtyards there. If there were any, they’d already been claimed by others and wouldn’t be available for his friend to rent.
“Won’t you reconsider?” he asked.
Pang Boyi shook his head, his eyes falling on the street. The sky gradually brightened, and more and more pedestrians appeared.
He saw a lean young man wearing an ordinary blue robe. While everyone around wore thick clothes stuffed with hemp and cotton, only he wore light clothing, making him particularly conspicuous.
He watched this young man stop at a small stall selling steamed buns and speak amicably with the stall owner. They seemed to say something that made the stall owner laugh out loud.
The stall owner’s laughter attracted his friend’s attention, who suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
“What is it?” Pang Boyi looked at him sideways and asked, “Do you know this young man?”
Pan Wenji smiled. “The human trafficking case I mentioned to you not long ago, the person who reported it was this young man.”
He paused, remembering that this person seemed to live on South Street. As for which specific lane, he hadn’t remembered.
Hearing this, Pang Boyi raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “For you to remember a young man, it seems this fellow is not ordinary.”
“Not quite ordinary…” Pan Wenji smiled as well.
…
On the other side, when Xu Yi woke in the early morning and saw fog had risen outside with extreme cold.
Seeing the two children breathing out white vapor when they woke and their limbs trembling while practicing martial arts, he had them stay inside the house. Today he would go out himself to buy breakfast.
In the South Street marketplace, quite a few of the stall owners selling food recognized Xu Yi.
Seeing that Xu Yi hadn’t come to buy food in person for a long time, they all asked several questions upon seeing him. Xu Yi was always amicable, answering every question. Even for those he couldn’t answer, he wouldn’t refuse to speak but would offer a few perfunctory words to get by.
When he arrived at the stall selling meat buns.
The stall owner uncle saw him and called out warmly, “Young Master Xu has come! Why didn’t you have Ah Xu come today?”
Xu Yi smiled. “If I don’t come out for a trip, Uncle, I’m afraid you’ll only remember Ah Xu and forget about me.”
The stall owner uncle laughed cheerfully. “What kind of talk is that? I have a good memory. As long as someone regularly buys buns from my stall, there’s no customer I can’t remember. Young Master Xu, you come to support my business often. Even if you send Ah Xu, I’ll remember you too.”
Finishing this, he asked what filling Xu Yi wanted in his buns.
“I need eight meat buns and four vegetable buns.” Xu Yi said.
As he spoke, he saw the stall owner uncle’s hands, cracked open from the cold, as he took out the buns.
“Uncle, you need to treat these hands. Otherwise, when winter truly arrives, it will get even worse.” He reminded him.
The stall owner uncle sighed and said, “The medical halls sell medicinal ointment, but one box costs thirty wen. I can’t afford it.”
Xu Yi raised his eyebrows. The weather had only just turned cold, yet the prices of medicinal materials had already increased slightly.
A few days ago, after seeing Doctor Yan off, he’d gone to the medical hall to buy medicinal herbs for making digestive pills. The apprentice at the medical hall told him that next time he came to buy medicinal herbs, the prices would rise again. Hearing this, he’d bought extra to take back.
Now, hearing the stall owner uncle complain that the ointment was expensive, Xu Yi wasn’t too surprised.
“Uncle, there’s a folk remedy that can treat chapping. Go to the butcher and buy one pig pancreas, wash it clean, then add half a dou of yellow wine.” Xu Yi looked at him and said slowly, “Then rub it with your hands until it’s pulverized. Take its juice and pour it into a jar to seal it. When you use it, apply it to the cracked areas. After a few applications, it will completely heal.”
The stall owner uncle was astonished. “This can really cure it!?”
Xu Yi nodded. “Pig pancreas can treat cracking on hands and feet, and can cure chapped lips from cold as well. It has moisturizing properties.”
The stall owner uncle knew that Xu Yi was now a physician and believed his words without doubt. He happily told Xu Yi that once he closed his stall, he’d go buy a pig pancreas.
Xu Yi reminded him not to go too late, or else the pig pancreas at the butcher’s wouldn’t wait for him.
After Xu Yi left, the stall owner uncle thought more and more that what Xu Yi said made sense. After thinking it over, he had someone nearby watch his stall while he went first to the butcher to buy the pig pancreas.
…
After buying the buns, Xu Yi went to the old woman’s stall to buy two bowls of hot pork offal soup.
Now that the weather was gradually turning cold, more and more stalls in the marketplace were selling piping hot food.
Xu Yi noticed that many stalls that had previously sold cold beverages had all switched to selling hot food.
What sold most were flatbreads, steamed buns, noodles, and various hot soups. Among the hot soups, besides the inexpensive pork soup and pork offal soup, the most popular was mutton soup.
Common people had difficulty eating beef, but the county town didn’t prohibit killing sheep. Right now in Yanting County, there were many mountains and wilderness areas. On the small hillsides outside the city, what was raised most were sheep.
Therefore, mutton soup wasn’t expensive.
But few made it taste good. Smelling the mutton soup with its gamey odor, Xu Yi lost any desire to buy it.
Next time, he’d better go buy it at the night market. The stall selling “sheep white intestines” that Madam He had recommended, their mutton soup was most delicious.
After tasting it once, it became unforgettable.
When he returned home carrying the food, the two children in the house had already been busy for quite a while.
After Xu Yi left, they hadn’t been idle either. Ah Xu carried water buckets to queue at the well to fetch water. Being small with limited strength, he only carried two half-full buckets each time.
After going back and forth several times, he could fill the two water vats at home.
However, the neighbors all knew he was Xu Yi’s servant and were quite accommodating when they saw him, actively helping him carry water.
Ah Xu thanked them and carried the water buckets back. At this time, his sister Ah Jin was mending clothes for Xu Yi.
Xu Yi’s clothes somehow always tore more easily than theirs. After not wearing them long, there would be another tear.
Seeing her brother return, Ah Jin said, “Brother, today let’s only wash the young master’s clothes.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Ah Xu nodded in agreement.
If they washed their own clothes every day, they would end up like the young master’s; good clothes ruined in just a few days.
“Should we tell the young master?” Ah Jin sought her brother’s opinion. “The young master’s clothes are torn again. I’m worried that if we wash them every day, in a few days the other sets of clothes will also become worn from washing.”
Ah Xu thought for a moment and shook his head. “The young master loves cleanliness. If you make him wear dirty clothes, he’ll feel uncomfortable.”
Hearing this, Ah Jin silently pressed her lips together.
The young master was the most cleanliness-loving person they’d ever met. Previously in their village, even the village head didn’t wash his clothes every few days. They’d never seen anyone like the young master who changed clothes daily and washed up every day.
Even though the weather had turned cold these past two days, he still wasn’t willing to just simply wash his face and wipe his feet. He didn’t even need others’ help. He’d go to the kitchen himself to heat water, at least half a bucket, and have her and her brother soak their feet together, saying foot-soaking was good for the body.
Even after being with Xu Yi for so long, Ah Jin still wasn’t used to it.
“Creak—”
The door sounded.
Ah Xu put down his work and ran out, calling happily, “The young master has returned.”
Ah Jin also put down her needle and thread and ran out to welcome him. Seeing Xu Yi return carrying hot breakfast food, she immediately went to set up the folding table and stools.
This folding table and stools were an improvement on folding stools. At this time, carpenters only made collapsible stools, rarely making this kind of folding wooden table.
Xu Yi had commissioned a carpenter to make an enlarged version so that eating in the courtyard would be more convenient.
“Woof woof woof~”
Little Huang came over with its bowl in its mouth, wanting to join in.
Xu Yi rubbed its head, took out two meat buns and one vegetable bun and tossed them into its bowl, then gave it some pork offal soup.
Ah Xu and Ah Jin didn’t find this strange at all. Since they’d come to the Xu household, this was how Xu Yi had always fed Little Huang.
After feeding Little Huang, Xu Yi called them to eat together.
“Shortly, I need to go into the mountains again. This time Little Huang will come with me.” Xu Yi assigned them tasks. “Ah Xu, take money and go to the ready-made clothing shop to buy two baskets of cotton, and also get half a bolt of cotton cloth.”
“This cotton and cotton cloth, Ah Jin, you give to Madam He and ask if she can rush to make a few outer robes in the coming days. Remember to calculate extra wages.”
The weather had turned cold. Once it snowed later and the mountains were sealed, he couldn’t continue going up the mountains.
He needed to make several more trips into the mountains before it snowed.