A month later, Niu Dadan brought Niu Zhuangzhuang for a follow-up visit. From afar, he saw Chen Maimiao sitting outside the Anzhi Hall, placing his son on a soft couch.
Taking advantage of a break in the acupuncture treatment, she leaned close to Zhou Xiaosi and asked in a low voice, "Are you here to wait for someone again?"
Zhou Xiaosi put down the medicinal herbs, glanced out the window, and whispered, "He comes over every few days, and always doesn't leave until night."
Niu Dadan was puzzled. "Pregnant women, sitting all the time is tiring... Her husband is working outside, what is there for her to worry about? She might as well go home and wait."
Zhou Xiaosi smiled and changed the subject, "How's Zhuangzhuang's illness? It should be getting better, right?"
"I'm much better now, and sometimes I can even sit for a while," Niu Dadan said with emotion. "I never dared to imagine this before."
Looking at his son's chubby little face, he felt a pang of sadness. If it weren't for Shopkeeper Jin sending him food and medicine, his family would still be struggling to make ends meet.
Niu Dadan looked away. "Alright... I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to the backyard to chop some firewood. Do you have any other chores to do? Tell me, and I'll do them for you."
Anzhi Hall only has Zhou Xiaosi as a man, and he's still quite young. Niu Dadan wants to take advantage of this time to do all the heavy and tiring work.
Zhou Xiaosi suddenly remembered, " Qing He seems to need to grind soybeans into flour, why don't you ask her... if she still needs to grind them?"
"Okay... I'll ask right away," Niu Dadan said as he walked towards the backyard.
Chen Maimiao sat by the window, her belly already showing. She had a soft cushion behind her back and was gazing at the street corner, seemingly lost in thought... Knock, knock, knock... The familiar knocking sound rang out.
Chen Maimiao turned her head and saw a plate of Hongdou cakes on the windowsill. Looking up from the Hongdou cakes, she saw Jin Shanyao, who was separated from her by a wall, looking down at a book.
Chen Maimiao thanked him hesitantly, but didn't touch the plate of Hongdou cakes. She silently withdrew her gaze and continued to stare at the street corner. In fact, she was grateful to the Anzhi Hall.
No matter when she came, there was always a chair outside the Anzhi Hall, covered with soft furnishings, and sometimes with pastries and sweet soup. She felt awkward and embarrassed.
She felt like a dog seeking shelter, hiding under someone else's eaves, putting on a show... Stealing a moment of peace, she always wished Anzhi Hall were right next door.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly...
Inside the Anzhi Hall, Meng Anzhi put away the silver needles, dressed Niu Zhuangzhuang, and said gently, "Zhuangzhuang... he didn't even cry out in pain."
Niu Zhuangzhuang blushed deeply, "Sister Anzhi... how much longer until I recover?"
"I think... by the time you're seven, you should be able to run all over the place."
Niu Zhuangzhuang exclaimed in surprise, "Really?? I can really run all over the place?"
"Of course..." Meng Anzhi took out a candy mixed with ginkgo powder and fed it to Niu Zhuangzhuang's mouth, "Ah..."
Niu Zhuangzhuang giggled, obediently opening his mouth and letting Meng Anzhi put the candy in. The sweetness melted in his mouth; this was the only sweetness in his life.
When Niu Dadan finished grinding the soybeans and came out, Niu Zhuangzhuang's sweat had dried, and he was in much better spirits. He took the medicine from Zhou Xiaosi and handed fifty coins to Jin Shanyao.
" Shopkeeper Jin, it's been over a month already. I can't keep taking your medicine for free."
Although Niu Dadan was a rough man, he knew the nuances of human relationships. He couldn't keep taking advantage of the fact that he had saved someone.
The rice his family ate and the medicine his son drank made him restless, always feeling like he was taking advantage of others.
Jin Shanyao and said, " Zhuangzhuang's illness is almost cured, and he won't need to take many more doses of medicine. Keep this money safe, and when you've saved enough, buy a decent woven frame."
"Nothing makes as much money as making burlap sacks with hemp rope. You two have this skill; once you have some capital, you can specialize in making burlap sacks, and your life will definitely improve little by little."
Niu Dadan held the silver coins, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
Ever since his son fell ill, all his relatives have been avoiding him, afraid he'd come to borrow money. He hasn't felt like someone was thinking about him in a very, very long time.
" Shopkeeper Jin..." Niu Dadan opened his mouth, but his heart was filled with gratitude and he couldn't say a word.
Jin Shanyao thought he wouldn't dare to do it, so she immediately patted her chest and assured him, " Dadan, I believe you can do it. If you're afraid that no one will want what you weave, I will."
Anzhi Hall uses countless burlap sacks throughout the year. As long as your burlap sacks are of good quality, Anzhi Hall will get all its burlap sacks from you from now on.
Upon hearing this, Niu Dadan's nose suddenly stung, and tears unexpectedly streamed down his face. He hurriedly turned his face away and wiped his eyes haphazardly with his sleeve.
"Don't worry, Shopkeeper Jin... I'll go home and start twisting hemp rope. I... I..." His throat bobbed twice, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence.
He took a deep breath, picked up Niu Zhuangzhuang, gripped the medicine packet in his hand, turned around Jin Shanyao, " Shopkeeper Jin, rest assured, I, Niu Dadan, am by no means an ungrateful person. From now on, I'll take care of all the expenses for the Anzhi Hall."
After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the Anzhi Hall.
The smile on Jin Shanyao's face suddenly froze.
No... Anzhi Hall uses a lot of burlap sacks every year, you can't handle that.
Jin Shanyao subconsciously wanted to chase after him and tell him that he couldn't bite off more than he could chew, but her raised foot ultimately didn't cross that threshold.
That's enough.
When people have something to strive for, they have hope for the future.
Jin Shanyao never expected that Niu Dadan would keep his word and, in just a few short years, actually become the biggest sack merchant in Qingzhou Prefecture.
The burlap sacks he supplied to the Anzhi Hall were always the lowest priced and of the best quality on the market, but that's another story.
Not long after Niu Dadan left, Wang Xiaohua came in carrying a bag of candied fruit, " Anzhi..."
Meng Anzhi looked up and saw who it was, and said with surprise, "Sister Xiaohua, when did you get back?"
"I got back yesterday... How have you been lately?" Wang Xiaohua placed the candied fruit on the table and pulled Meng Anzhi around, looking her up and down. "It's been over a year since I last saw you, and you've grown so tall!"
Wang Xiaohua's wedding was moved up, supposedly to bring good luck, but things didn't go as planned; her mother-in-law passed away not long after the wedding.
She observed a year of mourning for her mother-in-law, during which she was not allowed to return to her parents' home even once. Now that the mourning period has just ended, she can finally be considered free.
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "You've gained quite a bit of weight. Are you settling in well with your in-laws?"
"Nothing beats the comfort of home, but my husband treats me very well..." Wang Xiaohua looked around, "Where's Aunt Jin? I don't see her."
" Old Medicine Zhou has acquired a batch of medicinal herbs and asked my aunt to go and take a look."
Wang Xiaohua chuckled twice, then took her arm and sat her down at the table, chatting intimately with her... Somehow the conversation drifted to pregnancy and childbirth.
She leaned close to Meng Anzhi's ear and whispered, "Could you check if there's anything wrong with my body..."
"You just finished your mourning period... and you're not that old, isn't it too early to have a child now?" Meng Anzhi placed her hand on her pulse.
Wang Xiaohua didn't speak, but looked at her expectantly. Seeing her withdraw her hand, she asked anxiously, "How is it? Is everything alright?"
Meng Anzhi reassured her, "You're in great shape, there's nothing wrong with you."
Wang Xiaohua chuckled, glanced around, and lowered her voice, "My father-in-law intends to remarry. My husband wants me to get pregnant as soon as possible, so that when it comes time to divide the family property, he might take care of us for the sake of the child."
"You've remarried so quickly?"
"My father-in-law is only in his early forties, how can he not marry? Maybe he can even have a few more children," Wang Xiaohua said, popping a candied fruit into her mouth. "With a stepmother, who knows who will inherit the family property?"