Chapter 11: Spending Money on Her

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Jiang Yuan did not rush to leave. First, he climbed up the apricot tree, relying on his tall stature, he stepped on the main trunk and picked some of the mountain apricots that had already turned red at the treetop, saving them for Xie Guanniang as a snack.

Then he picked up the bow and arrows he had placed on the ground earlier and gently reminded Xie Guanniang, “If you encounter danger, shout loudly. I will come back immediately.”

Xie Guanniang nodded earnestly with a smile in her eyes. “Okay, you be careful too.”

Jiang Yuan nodded and strode toward the depths of the forest.

Xie Guanniang stayed where she was, watching Jiang Yuan until he disappeared completely from sight. Only then did she pick up her small sickle and small hoe and slowly start wandering around the area where the apricot trees stood.

As the saying goes, “There is no useless grass in the mountains; all are treasures if you know them.” Along her way, Xie Guanniang had already spotted no fewer than ten kinds of medicinal herbs and wild vegetables.

Now, she was circling around a few apricot trees to collect some herbs and wild greens that caught her eye.

First was mugwort, a plant with a strong fragrance and effects such as warming the meridians, dispelling dampness, relieving cold, stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, easing asthma and cough, and repelling mosquitoes.

Next was honeysuckle, also known as Japanese honeysuckle, which clears heat and detoxifies, disperses wind-heat, cools blood, stops dysentery, has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, lowers lipids, and protects the liver.

Then came purslane, which can be eaten as a wild vegetable or used medicinally to clear heat, detoxify, cool blood, and stop bleeding; plantain, which promotes urination, relieves strangury, expels phlegm, cools blood, and detoxifies; the “noodle vegetable,” which nourishes yin, clears heat, moistens lungs, stops cough, cools and stops bleeding, and regulates menstruation; and thistle (known in medicine as “small thistle”), which cools blood, removes stasis, and stops bleeding.

After circling more than half around those apricot trees with a full harvest, Xie Guanniang shouldered her basket, took her sickle and hoe, and with a smile, waited quietly under one of the apricot trees for Jiang Yuan to come back from wherever he had gone.

Jiang Yuan did not keep her waiting long. After she took out a bamboo tube and sipped some water, hesitating whether to pick a few more apricots to eat, Jiang Yuan returned carrying a string of wild chickens and wild rabbits.

“Jiang Yuan!” Xie Guanniang jumped up excitedly and waved vigorously at him.

Jiang Yuan unconsciously quickened his pace, and soon the lean, tall young man strode over to her side.

“Wow, you’re amazing!” Xie Guanniang exclaimed sincerely, pointing at the two strings tied with grass rope: three wild chickens and six wild rabbits.

In less than two hours, Jiang Yuan had managed to catch so many game in what appeared to be just an ordinary little hill. Xie Guanniang was green with envy.

If only she had Jiang Yuan’s skill, owning a house, farmland, and a shop would be an easy matter.

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Jiang Yuan felt a bit shy under her straightforward and enthusiastic praise. “Heading back?”

Xie Guanniang nodded firmly. “Sure.”

She bent down to pick up the basket, but Jiang Yuan was already one step ahead, slinging it onto his own back.

Xie Guanniang’s outstretched hand grasped at empty air. Looking up, she saw Jiang Yuan transferring the string of wild rabbits—previously temporarily held in his left hand—to his right hand.

Fine then, if you’re capable, do more.

Xie Guanniang smiled brightly and followed Jiang Yuan, while quietly planning what delicious meal she could prepare to reward this diligent and adorable youth at noon.

The two walked down the mountain one after the other. When they reached the small stream at the foot of the mountain, Xie Guanniang deftly picked some tender green mint growing by the water’s edge.

Mint helps disperse wind-heat, clears the head and eyes, soothes the throat, relieves rashes, and regulates liver qi. It could be taken home for making snacks or brewed as tea.

Back at home, Jiang Yuan first inspected the doors and windows, finding no signs of intruders. Only then did he wash his hands and get ready to cook lunch.

But Xie Guanniang had already beaten him to the kitchen. The young girl was preparing a cold dish of purslane, stir-fried thistle with eggs, steamed “noodle vegetable,” and a pot of sorghum rice.

When Jiang Yuan entered, Xie Guanniang was heating water while squatting on the floor, washing the wild vegetables in a wooden basin.

Seeing him, she smiled and reported, “A Yuan, I took some sorghum and a little flour from the lower cupboard, and two eggs too.”

“Good,” Jiang Yuan nodded slightly, then asked, “How do you want the chicken? Soup or stewed with mushrooms?”

Without hesitation, Xie Guanniang answered, “Stewed. I want mushrooms.”

Jiang Yuan chuckled at her subconscious swallowing action. His smile was faint, like a wisp of smoke, disappearing quickly before Xie Guanniang could get a clear look.

One cooked rice and handled the wild greens, while the other soaked the dried mushrooms and started preparing the wild chicken. In the fairly spacious kitchen, they worked in harmonious, tacit cooperation.

Although she had traveled through time, Xie Guanniang did not know that having both chicken and eggs in a meal was an extraordinary luxury for ordinary people of this era, except for the brief hard times she had endured while staying at the Taoist temple.

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As she worked, still astonished, Xie Guanniang asked Jiang Yuan, “Is there only soy sauce and salt at home?”

Jiang Yuan responded with a hum, offering no explanation. But when he went to town in the afternoon, he deliberately bought lard, aged vinegar, maltose, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented black beans.

Besides these, he also brought back a slab of pork belly, ten jin of polished rice, ten jin of white flour, six steamed buns, a bag of puffed rice candy, a bag of sesame candy, a bag of walnut pastries, and a bag of chestnut cakes—all carefully purchased to nourish Xie Guanniang.

Not just food, he bought quite a few daily necessities too: beautiful hair ribbons, cloth and sewing supplies for making clothes, shoes, and socks, as well as fragrant incense cones, straw paper, blue salt, and various medicinal farming tools like hoes, sickles, and scissors.

Seeing him unpack all these items one by one, Xie Guanniang was utterly stunned.

T-this... Jiang Yuan had spent all the money he earned today, no, including some of his savings, entirely on her?

Just as she was thinking this, Jiang Yuan added, “On the way back, I asked carpenter Tong to make you a basin, buckets, boxes, shelves, sieves, and winnowing baskets. Tonight, I’ll also weave you some baskets and carrying baskets.”

What a good man! Xie Guanniang was deeply touched.

It would be inaccurate to call him her savior, because even if Jiang Yuan hadn’t pulled her out, she could have climbed ashore by herself. Yet his help was very real.

He first shielded her from two schemes, giving her a safe place to recuperate, then provided silver to treat her illness and support her daily needs.

Now, he even prepared some simple tools for processing medicinal herbs she might need. How could Xie Guanniang not be moved?

She earnestly poured a bowl of warm water and handed it to Jiang Yuan. “Thank you! You’ve worked hard today and spent so much. I don’t even know how to repay you.”

Jiang Yuan took the bowl and drank the warm water in a few sips. “No need to repay.”

Xie Guanniang: ...

She couldn’t help but smile inwardly, thinking to herself, “Fortunately, this young man met me. If he ran into someone who mistook kindness and generosity for weakness to exploit, he’d be in deep trouble.”