Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 15: Some Pain in the Ass
With no idea what awaited Landlord Li when he returned to his wontons, Zhu Ping’an and his family finished breakfast and headed back to their stall.
By the time they set up their stand, the sun had risen high in the sky, and the market was gradually getting busier. The sounds of vendors shouting, children calling out, and laughter echoed all around. Life had been peaceful for so long, and the bustling atmosphere made Zhu Ping’an yearn for the prosperity of the county town or even the capital.
Zhu Shouyi unloaded the ox cart, tethered the ox to a nearby post, and placed the hay basket down for the ox to leisurely munch on.
Zhu Ping’an, along with his brother Zhu Pingchuan, helped arrange the bamboo baskets and the wild delicacies they had brought. In no time, a simple stall was set up. Once everything was in place, Zhu Ping’an excitedly started talking about his basket of honeysuckle and told his father he wanted to sell flowers.
Zhu Shouyi looked at his son’s round, excited face, which was flushed with anticipation, and he found it hard to bring himself to discourage him. This silly boy really thought wildflowers could sell! Oh well, let him find out the hard way. Boys needed to experience setbacks to grow.
“Dachuan, take your brother around. If you can’t sell anything, just bring him back,” Zhu Shouyi decided, nodding in agreement to his own plan. To be safe, he wanted Zhu Pingchuan to accompany Zhu Ping’an.
Zhu Ping’an could clearly see his father’s disbelief. He recalled his mother Chen’s teasing remarks from the morning and thought to himself that he would enjoy seeing their expressions when he actually made some money.
Listening to their father, Zhu Pingchuan slung the basket of honeysuckle over his shoulder and took Zhu Ping’an’s hand as they headed into the market.
Not long after Zhu Ping’an left, the scheming little girl and the chubby Landlord Li emerged from the nearby eatery. Landlord Li’s face was covered in sweat and the tip of his nose was red; clearly, the wontons his daughter had doctored with chili had done him no favors.
“Exactly! Wasting food is bad. It’s good that Daddy finished eating,” the little girl grumbled as she marched along with her short legs.
Landlord Li forced a smile and nodded repeatedly, the muscles in his face twitching.
As the little girl walked past Zhu Shouyi’s stall, her big eyes sparkled for a moment as she paused to glance at the stand. However, she didn’t spot the “little bumpkin” she was looking for and felt a slight disappointment. How dare he call her ugly! She was determined to make him pay for that!
Landlord Li had no idea what his mischievous daughter was thinking. Seeing her stop in front of Zhu Shouyi’s stall, he assumed she had taken a liking to some of the bamboo crafts.
“Shu’er, tell Daddy what you like and I’ll buy it for you,” Landlord Li said. He never begrudged spending money on his daughter, least of all on inexpensive bamboo trinkets.
The little girl’s spirits weren’t very high, and she casually pointed at a few items with her little finger.
“Alright, buy it, buy it.” Landlord Li patted his belly as he coaxed his daughter, then casually asked Zhu Shouyi, “How much?”
Zhu’s father saw that the few items the little girl pointed to were the small bamboo crafts that Zhu Ping’an had asked him to make a couple of days ago for fun. They included a small woven bamboo flower basket, a small bamboo teapot, and two matching teacups made from bamboo tubes. He didn’t expect to sell them for much, but since they were already made, he brought them along.
“They’re just little trinkets, not worth much. The flower basket and the teapot with teacups count as two sets, ten wen…” Zhu’s father thought for a moment and said somewhat awkwardly.
Without a second thought, Landlord Li pulled twenty wen from his money pouch and handed them to Zhu Shouyi. He placed the little teapot and cups in the bamboo basket, presented them to his daughter like treasures, and led the scheming little girl away.
Zhu Shouyi’s dark, weathered face reddened. He opened his mouth several times, but Landlord Li had already gone too far to hear him.
Zhu Shouyi watched Landlord Li’s retreating back with a rather complicated expression. I said the two sets together were ten wen. And that was only my opening price—I was waiting for you to haggle. The bamboo cost nothing to cut from the mountain; all I put in was a little time. It took less time to make those two sets than to weave a single basket.
Zhu Shouyi might have been taciturn, but he was not inflexible. Landlord Li certainly did not lack money, so he could simply regard the extra payment as a favor owed.
The street was bustling with people, and Zhu Pingchuan led Zhu Ping’an to walk aimlessly down the street.
Of course, only Zhu Pingchuan was wandering without a destination. Zhu Ping’an knew exactly what he wanted, his bright little eyes fixed on the shops along the street.
Tea house? No.
Wine shop? Also no.
Rouge and yarn shop? Not that either.
Floral silk and sweet laughter amidst the willow-laden pathways, uh, that’s the brothel, definitely not.
Although the town was small, it had all kinds of shops, but what I’m looking for is a pharmacy, not these stores!
“Brother, where are we going? I think Mother is right; no one will buy wildflowers, especially dried ones.” Zhu Pingchuan tried to persuade Zhu Ping’an to go back.
“I heard medicine shops sometimes buy tree roots and bark, so maybe they’ll want these,” Zhu Ping’an said, tugging at his brother’s clothes with a chubby hand. “Let’s go to a medicine shop.”
“They only accept medicinal herbs there,” Zhu Pingchuan corrected him.
“Maybe my wildflowers are medicinal herbs too…” Zhu Ping’an blinked his eyes and thought to himself that if they weren’t medicinal, he wouldn’t have picked them.
“Can wildflowers really be medicinal herbs?” Zhu Pingchuan, somewhat skeptical, picked up a honeysuckle and sniffed it, confidently stating, “They can’t be.”
Despite this, Zhu Pingchuan still led Zhu Ping’an to a nearby pharmacy. He had come here with their father once or twice, so he knew the way.
Although shops lined both sides of the street, Zhu Ping’an spotted the medicine shop at once. It was easy to recognize: several signboards outside bore phrases such as “Miraculous Hands Restore Spring” and “Practice Medicine to Save the World.”
This was a busy area, with the pharmacy located on the north side of the street. The entrance faced south, with the pharmacy divided into two sections: the front was for selling herbs, while the back was a space for resting and processing the herbs. From the outside, the pharmacy appeared clean, tidy, and well-organized.
The medicine shop was called Jimin Tang. A wooden couplet hung on either side of the doorway. The left read, “May people always remain healthy,” and the right, “What does it matter if I alone remain poor?” The words had an imposing generosity befitting a healer’s calling.
Inside the pharmacy, a lavishly dressed woman was holding a child, asking an old doctor about his condition, while a maid stood by to assist. A row of intricately carved rosewood medicine cabinets lined the back, and two junior apprentices were busy preparing prescriptions. Overall, the pharmacy was clean and orderly.
As Zhu Ping’an entered, he overheard the old doctor diagnosing a patient. While writing the prescription, the doctor advised the woman: “The lingering early-autumn heat has mixed with dampness. Madam, there is no need to worry about the young master. Use three qian of honeysuckle; one qian and two fen each of wild chrysanthemum, dandelion, purple-flowered ground violet, and zibei tiankui seeds. Add two bowls of water and decoct it down to eight-tenths of a bowl, then add half a bowl of un-ashed wine and bring it to a boil two or three more times. Take it hot. Prepare a second dose the same way and keep him covered until he sweats. He should recover within three days.”
The noblewoman repeatedly expressed her gratitude, while the maid diligently noted down the medical advice for brewing the medicine later.