It's already past the New Year.
Heavy snow blocked the doors, Anzhi Hall had no customers.
Jin Shanyao back in her chair by the fireplace, propping her head up, gazing at the white expanse of ground outside the window, and muttered lazily.
So this is what 'being alone in an empty room' means... not even a ghost in sight...
Just as she was feeling bored, the shop door was pushed open, and a woman covered in snow walked in, brushing the snow off her cloak.
He sat down opposite her without saying a word, "Going to the doctor..."
Oh dear, who is he trying to act all high and mighty with?
Jin Shanyao the table lightly with her finger and casually asked, "Did you bring any money?"
The woman took off her hat, revealing her slightly flushed face. "Don't you recognize me, Shopkeeper Jin?"
A familiar face? Jin Shanyao straight involuntarily, carefully examined the person, and then shook her head...
"More than a year ago, outside the examination hall in the prefectural city, Miss Jin and her apprentice were helping a woman give birth."
Qiao Qingran was inspecting the shops when the attack suddenly broke out in Qingzhou Prefecture. Fortunately, Jin Shanyao and saved the day.
Seeing that Jin Shanyao's eyes were glazed over and she didn't recognize her at all, she called out to the door, " Nanny Qi."
The curtain was lifted again, and an old woman walked in.
After recognizing the person who came, Jin Shanyao stood up abruptly, pointed at Nanny Qi, and said angrily, "I remember you, you're the one who called me a midwife and a fraud."
"You helped your master onto the carriage without looking back, as if I were some kind of filthy thing."
Nanny Qi looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I left a bad impression on Miss Jin."
Jin Shanyao a light snort. She knew her memory wasn't that bad! Her gaze fell on Qiao Qingran again, but she still couldn't recall her...
She tentatively asked, "Were you the one who gave birth back then?"
Qiao Qingran nodded.
Jin Shanyao frowned, almost pressing his face against the woman's, and after a long while, he finally formed a vague impression. "Wait, how did you change?"
Qiao Qingran smiled wryly, "Some things happened at home, so it's no wonder I look a bit haggard."
Is she just a little haggard? She's become so thin and gaunt. What could have happened to turn this once charming young woman into someone so weathered and worn?
"Tell me... what happened at home?" Jin Shanyao was so bored she was practically growing mushrooms, and since business was finally coming in, she couldn't resist chatting a bit more.
Qiao Qingran didn't know where to begin, so she just casually started a conversation, " Fu Congxi and I are very close friends..."
"Who is Fu Congxi?" Jin Shanyao her hand. "Want to hear a story? You need to know the relationships between the characters."
Qiao Qingran gestured for Nanny Qi to go outside and wait for her. " Fu Congxi is Fu Congheng's cousin and Fu Congzhao's older sister."
Jin Shanyao was bewildered, unable to grasp the relationship between the three, so she simply gave up on thinking about it, since they were all related to Old Madam Su. "You continue."
Qiao Qingran: "I gave birth to twins more than a year ago. My family loved them very much, especially my father-in-law, who doted on them. However, the two children didn't get along with my father-in-law."
Every time I go to pay my respects to my father-in-law, I end up crying and then getting sick when I get back. My family is used to it; my father-in-law has a gentle personality, but he's not exactly popular with children.
My brother's children only became close to their grandfather after they turned five. It wasn't until Fu Congxi came to visit me that my youngest son pulled the sachet off her waist.
The two of them weren't paying attention at the time, but while they were talking, the father-in-law sent someone over, saying he wanted to see his grandson. Fu Congxi got up to say goodbye, and I took the two children to visit him.
The eldest son continued to cry, but the younger son acted as if nothing was wrong, nestled in his father-in-law's arms and giggling.
Jin Shanyao noticed Qiao Qingran was shivering, picked up the kettle from the stove and poured her a cup of hot water, "Warm yourself up..."
"Thank you..." Qiao Qingran held the teacup with both hands, took a small sip, and continued, "When I returned to my own courtyard, I saw Fu Congxi had left, anxiously searching for something."
I asked her and found out she had lost her purse. I teased her, saying what kind of purse was so valuable that it was worth her, a rich young lady, personally looking for it.
Fu Congxi said that it was Talisman of Safety that her younger brother had brought back from Qingzhou Prefecture at a high price. The Fu Household been military officers for generations and had committed many killings, so her family told her to make sure she carried it with her.
She also said that her uncle had survived thanks to this talisman, and if her family found out she had lost it, they would be in serious trouble, if not dead.
Qiao Qingran smiled slightly as she said this, "We searched for quite a while, and it wasn't until the maid was changing our youngest son's clothes that we found that he had stuffed it into his arms."
Fu Congxi, hugging and kissing my youngest son repeatedly, saying that her life had been saved.
Qiao Qingran's smile vanished. "A few days later, when I took the children to see my father-in-law again, the old problem resurfaced; the two children kicked and ran around, refusing to be held by their grandfather."
*Crack... Qiao Qingran's train of thought was interrupted. She looked up and saw Jin Shanyao take out a small winnowing basket from somewhere, which was filled with melon seeds.
"Crunch..." Jin Shanyao seeds, her eyes sparkling, and said, "Continue..."
Qiao Qingran pursed her lips and stared at Jin Shanyao for a long time without saying a word. Jin Shanyao thought she also wanted to eat melon seeds, so she placed the small winnowing basket between the two of them.
Qiao Qingran saw that her eyes were clear and she didn't seem to be deliberately picking a fight, so she took a deep breath and continued, "They say children's eyes are clean, and I'm afraid there's something unclean in the house."
She went to the temple and prayed for two peace charms, which she hung on her son. When her father-in-law found out, he felt guilty and, apart from sending some tonics and toys to the child, never dared to show his face to see the child.
He would secretly peek into the courtyard from the gate, and his cautious manner made my husband and I uncomfortable. So I found Fu Congxi and learned your exact location from her.
Qiao Qingran looked at the pile of sunflower seed shells on the table and, for some reason, didn't want to talk anymore.
"I specifically inquired about you before I came; your reputation in the prefectural city isn't very good."
Jin Shanyao paused, then tossed the melon seeds into a small winnowing basket. "Don't listen to their nonsense. I'm a perfectly good person."
Qiao Qingran glanced at the sunflower seed shells, speechless.
Jin Shanyao followed her gaze, quickly put away the melon seed shells, and secretly made a mental note that she must never eat melon seeds while listening to customers talk.
It will damage our reputation!
"Miss Jin, do you think my child would stop crying if I bought your talisman back then?"
Jin Shanyao her head. "It's not too late to buy now. I have all kinds of talisman paper here, fifty taels a sheet."
Qiao Qingran vaguely remembered that it was about twenty taels per talisman, because she shouted loudly at the time, "Miss Jin, buying talisman paper is a small matter. I mainly want to invite you to my home for a visit."
My father-in-law is getting old; if he comes into contact with anything bad, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle it...
Jin Shanyao didn't really want to leave the city. Her purpose in coming to the mortal realm was to take care of the children. She usually did divination and searching for things just for fun. It would be a different story if she took the children to travel through mountains and rivers to catch ghosts for others.
Isn't this just neglecting one's proper duties?
Qiao Qingran glanced at Jin Shanyao's face and knew what she was thinking. "Miss Jin, I heard you have two children. Why don't you take them to the capital for a visit during the New Year holiday when you're not too busy?"
Just consider it a trip. Kids need to go out and explore to broaden their horizons.
Jin Shanyao Qiao Qingran a deep look. "Outside the city, that's a different price."
"Don't worry, Miss Jin, you can charge whatever price you want. I won't haggle. I just hope you can rid my house of all evil spirits."
"Don't worry about that. Now that I've taken your order, I won't give up halfway."
Qiao Qingran's heart finally settled down, and a rare smile appeared on her face. She was extremely grateful that she had a good memory and had caught a glimpse of Jin Shanyao banner in her arms during childbirth.
When she heard that Jin Shanyao was the manager of the Anzhi Hall, she took advantage of this fortuitous opportunity and shamelessly came to ask for her help. She had only told her husband about this.
She also told him to keep it a secret, and if she couldn't persuade them, the Fu Household would step in.