Qin Sang gave a faint "mm," her face showing no ripples of emotion, perfectly playing the part of a majestic elder who remained unfazed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before her.
"Da Zhuang, tell me, how did things get so serious?"
After Da Zhuang's description and San Gui's additions, Qin Sang finally learned that Tian Yougen had not only called the village chiefs and villagers from other villages, but also sent someone to the town to notify the Borough Head. Unexpectedly, the Borough Head's wife was the Village Chief of Wen Family Village, which was why Wen Family Village was bold enough to dam the river.
Seeing that the Borough Head was not taking action, Tian Yougen became anxious and said he would go to the county to ask the County Magistrate for justice. The people who went there intended to forcibly dig out the blocked opening, and both sides started fighting. In the chaos, Tian Yougen got injured.
Qin Sang reasonably suspected that Tian Yougen had been targeted by the Borough Head, who sent people to attack him secretly. As long as the Borough Head testified that Tian Yougen had started the fight and injured others, even if Tian Yougen lost his life, it would be for nothing.
Qin Sang was glad she had done the ideological work for her two sons in advance; otherwise, there might have been more than one person needing stitches today.
Back at home, Qin Sang changed out of her blood-stained clothes. She also told her two sons to discard theirs; they were covered in patches, and it wasn't certain they could be washed clean.
After finishing the pumpkin porridge, Qin Sang told Eldest Brothers Wife not to do anything else today but to make a set of clothes for the two of them first. With Si Jin and Eldest Girl helping, it wouldn't be a problem.
The two sons were tasked with sawing bamboo tubes, while Qin Sang was brewing medicine. Stopping the bleeding was the first step; next, she had to prevent inflammation and bacterial infection.
When Mrs. Tian Li came to collect the medicine, she was carrying a basket of eggs, a chicken, and two smoked fish, insisting that Qin Sang accept them.
Qin Sang couldn't refuse, so she served the brewed medicine to her and handed her a handful of prepared mugwort sticks.
"These can repel mosquitoes and sterilize. Lighting them in the room will keep the annoying mosquitoes away."
Mrs. Tian Li, holding the medicine and the mugwort sticks, asked in surprise:
"So the mugwort you had Da Zhuang and San Gui cut was for this?"
Qin Sang shook her head: "Not just that, there are also those mosquito coils. I plan to take them to the town tomorrow to see if they can be sold."
Mrs. Tian Li leaned in to take a look and smiled:
"They're made so exquisitely; they'll definitely sell for money. Sister, I'll take the medicine back first. Thank you so much for today."
After seeing off Mrs. Tian Li, Qin Sang turned around to see Wen Mo's large eyes filled with doubt.
Wen Mo must also be wondering why his Mother suddenly knew how to practice medicine and save people.
Qin Sang didn't explain much; he would eventually have to accept the fact that the Mother who loved him unconditionally was gone.
"What are you still standing there for? Come over and flip the mosquito coils."
After drying all night and being exposed to the scorching sun all morning, once they were flipped at noon and dried for another afternoon, the mosquito coils could be packed into the tubes.
Wen Mo went about his tasks slowly, his heart full of suspicion.
After spending another afternoon making mosquito coils, Qin Sang didn't plan to work overtime tonight. Resting early was important, as selling the mosquito coils in town tomorrow was the priority.
At dinner time, Qin Sang lit a mosquito coil and found the scent and effect to be quite good; not a single mosquito could be seen in the main hall.
Da Zhuang and San Gui put on their brand-new clothes—grey linen garments that made them look very spirited.
Qin Sang highly praised Eldest Brother's wife's skill. In contrast, the two sons were extremely stiff in their new clothes, wiping their stools over and over before sitting down to eat, as if afraid of getting them dirty. It was both amusing and heartbreaking to watch.
Wen Mo also joined the table today, sitting on the same bench as Si Jin, just as stiff as his two brothers.
The pumpkin porridge from the morning had received unanimous praise. For dinner, they had boiled pumpkin. Since the rabbit from yesterday wasn't finished, they stewed one today, along with steamed rice. Wen Mo's eyes tightened at the sight.
Was the family eating this well every day now?
Then what kind of miserable life was he living at the School, having only green vegetables and thick porridge every day?
Qin Sang distributed rewards as usual. Since they hadn't gone up the mountain or into the fields today and the work wasn't tiring, she gave each person one copper coin. Finally, she looked at Wen Mo:
"Although you did some work today, your speed was slow and your efficiency was low. However, seeing as you've bravely taken the first step, Mother feels this is worth praising. I'll also reward you with one copper coin. I hope you can keep up the effort; may the you of tomorrow be even better than the you of today."
Wen Mo looked at the single copper coin in front of him, wondering when on earth he would be able to save enough money to buy paper and brushes.
Two consecutive days of good food finally allowed everyone in the family to relax a bit. Eldest Brother no longer ate just one bowl of rice, and Eldest Girl dared to pick up meat for herself.
Before dawn, Eldest Brothers Wife had already organized the things for the trip to town. The bamboo tubes filled with mosquito coils were placed in a wooden bucket for Eldest Brother to carry on a shoulder pole.
Breakfast consisted of Pancakess wrapped in clean cloth to be eaten on the way when they got hungry.
"Eldest Girl, Si Jin, do you want to go to town?"
Si Jin nodded immediately. Eldest Girl was about to speak but glanced at her Mother; her eyes dimmed, and she shook her head.
"Grandma, you should take Little Aunt. You're going to town for serious business. I'll stay home with Mother to make mosquito coils and earn lots of money."
Zhou Dahua stepped forward and picked up her daughter, saying:
"That's right, Mother. It takes two hours to walk to town. Eldest Girl has short legs; she'll be tired after walking for just a bit and will delay your business."
Qin Sang didn't force it:
"Alright then. Grandma will bring back some candy for Eldest Girl. Once Grandma earns money, I'll buy an ox cart so Eldest Girl won't have to walk so far."
Eldest Girl was coaxed into a beaming smile, her disappointment at not being able to go fading away.
Qin Sang brought enough water and had the two of them tuck Wood-cutting knives and Sickles into their waists for self-defense.
When they set out, the sky was just barely light. By the time they reached town, the sun was already very hot.
Along the way, Da Zhuang carried the load without switching with anyone, only resting for a while to eat Pancakess and drink some water. When Qin Sang asked if he was tired and offered to take a turn, Da Zhuang waved his hand:
"Mother, I'm not tired. These mosquito coil bamboo tubes look like a lot, but they're actually not heavy—much lighter than the water I carry. By the way, Mother, once we get to town, I'll just set up a stall at the Market to sell them. You and Si Jin find a shady spot to rest."
Looking at her honest and simple eldest son, Qin Sang really didn't know how the Original Body had the heart to constantly mistreat her own flesh and blood in the past.
She smiled and said:
"We're not setting up a stall. Those who set up stalls at the Market are all farmers. How many of them would be willing to buy mosquito coils as a luxury? Farm families just burn a couple of stalks of mugwort to repel mosquitoes; every copper coin they have is spent where it's most needed.
Our target customers for the mosquito coils aren't ordinary folk, but wealthy households. They have money and know how to enjoy themselves; they are the customers we're looking for.
Da Zhuang, Si Jin, think about it now—where can you usually encounter those wealthy households?"
This question was actually a bit of a challenge for the two of them because they rarely came to town and had never dealt with wealthy households. They had only ever heard that the wealthy became rich by earning money from the poor; they had never heard of being able to earn money from the wealthy.
While Da Zhuang was at a loss, Si Jin thought of something and said excitedly:
"Mother, the wealthy should like visiting Shops, right? How about we try the Shops?"