Old Mrs. Zhao returned in defeat once again.
Yi Qing clapped her hands, looking relaxed. Jokingly, she said to Zisu, who was used to such scenes, and Xiao Tian, who seemed to be lost in thought, behind her, "This is what we call subduing the enemy without fighting. Come on, let's close the door and go home for dinner."
"You talk too much," Zisu said.
Yi Qing said, "… This is what we call a battle of wits against a group of scholars."
"If they were scholars, the country would have perished long ago."
Xiao Tian stared at the backs of the two women who were talking as they walked, his gaze calm.
He bent down to pick up the axe. He always felt that there seemed to be Yi Qing's warmth and the fragrance of medicine left on the axe that he had held for a long time.
After dinner, Zisu did the dishes. Xiao Tian was assigned to make tea, Yi Qing rolled small medicine pills, and Baozi practiced writing big characters with his arm suspended.
Xiao Tian came in with the teapot and teacups. One of the cups was warm water for Baozi.
He walked behind Baozi and watched him write.
For a child of this age to write such neat characters was really not easy.
What was rare was that Baozi had a kind of calmness and steadiness that his peers didn't have.
Xiao Tian gave him a few pointers. Yi Qing muttered, "Can you write better than him?"
Xiao Tian: "…"
Immediately, he picked up the pen and asked Baozi, "What's your name?"
"Yi Duo," Baozi pointed to the book beside him on which he had written his name.
"Okay."
Xiao Tian picked up the pen and wrote these two characters in a swift and powerful manner. The strokes were as strong as iron hooks, carrying a powerful and unyielding force.
"Show it to your mother."
Yi Qing said, "I can't read."
Xiao Tian almost suffered internal injuries from holding back.
Yi Qing's fair hands deftly grabbed the prepared medicine. The amount was exactly right. One by one, the medicine quickly turned into round pills in her palm.
Xiao Tian asked, "What kind of medicine are you making?"
Yi Qing raised her eyebrows, her gaze mischievous. Xiao Tian immediately felt something was wrong.
Sure enough, she said, "Liuwei Dihuang Pills. Do you want some, Guard Xiao? It's great for tonifying the kidneys."
Xiao Tian's face turned as red as pig liver.
This woman, how could she flirt so boldly!
But Yi Qing herself didn't seem to notice. While continuing to work, she said, "They all say it's easy to make money from women, but actually, I make the most money from men."
Xiao Tian said, "What did you say in the previous sentence?"
Yi Qing thought for a while and said, "Liuwei Dihuang Pills. Do you want some, Guard Xiao…"
"The sentence before that," Xiao Tian almost gritted his back teeth.
"I can't read."
"Then learn well, so that you won't be laughed at when you open your mouth!" Xiao Tian finally got the upper hand. "Yi Duo, teach your mother when you have time."
Baozi said slowly, "It's enough for my mother to know medicine."
Yi Qing laughed heartily. The son she had worked so hard to raise would only forget his mother after getting married more than a decade later. For now, he was still on her side.
"Guard Xiao, I'm serious," she said seriously. "There are all men in your military camp and the guards' camp. You help me promote my medicine, and we'll split the profit equally. Don't worry, my medicine is absolutely genuine…"
"Don't even think about it!" Xiao Tian flung his sleeve.
"There's no need to be so strict just because we don't cooperate. Business may fall through, but kindness should remain!"
Zisu lifted the curtain and came in, saying, "You're bullying an honest man again."
Yi Qing laughed and said, "You're taking his side… There's something I wanted to tell you at dinner but forgot. Go buy dozens of catties of pork and mutton tomorrow, and buy more than a dozen live chickens.
Zisu frowned slightly and asked, "What do you need so much for?"
"Make sausage, cured meat, and pickled meat. Keep the chickens. Find someone to build a chicken coop tomorrow," Yi Qing said. "I'm worried that the emperor will order the whole country to mourn Xiao Jinghan. Then no slaughtering will be allowed."
Xiao Tian said, "… The whole country is mourning, and you're going to secretly eat meat at home? Didn't you say that was Baozi's father?"
Yi Qing said righteously, "Baozi is still growing. He can't do without meat. His father never fulfilled his responsibilities. How can he have the face to hold Baozi back after his death?"
Xiao Tian: "…"
He decided not to talk to this woman anymore.
When a scholar meets a soldier, it's hard to reason things out.
Tit for tat. When a soldier meets a woman, isn't it the same?
Baozi lowered his head and stared at the name Xiao Tian had written for him. He seemed oblivious to the verbal sparring among the adults.
This child has great self - control, Xiao Tian thought to himself.
He thought Yi Qing was joking, but a few days later, when Yi Qing really packed the Liuwei Dihuang Pills and asked Zisu to sell them, he realized that she was serious.
"Tell Shopkeeper Feng that the prices of all medicinal materials have gone up recently, so now the price is half a tael of silver per bottle. If he thinks it's too expensive, just leave with the pills. Don't argue with him."
Xiao Tian couldn't help but say, "It's not right for you to raise the price like this."
"It's my stuff. I can raise the price whenever I want. If you're not happy, you can choose not to buy. Those who don't buy should keep quiet, okay?" Yi Qing's pupils were as black and bright as ever, reflecting Xiao Tian's upright face.
Ordinary people are having a hard time even getting enough to eat. Who has the spare money to buy this?
Those who are willing to spend money on this don't really care if it's three hundred or five hundred coins.
Xiao Tian looked at Baozi outside who was feeding the chickens with vegetables and said, "You'll make Yi Duo go bad like this."
"Except for not giving him a father, I've never let him down."