Qin Sang felt she couldn't refuse, but she made one thing clear: from now on, any medicinal herbs they brought would be exchanged at the village market rate. Otherwise, even if they delivered them, she wouldn't accept them.
She also gave her In-law some herbs as a sample, so that next time, the variety of herbs they brought wouldn't be limited to just mugwort.
It seemed that people from neighboring villages would gradually start sending herbs over as well.
The more, the better.
Qin Sang wanted to invite them to stay for a meal, but the three men of the In-law family, seeing how busy the household was, declined, saying they needed to hurry back to make drying racks. They aimed to finish them by tomorrow and deliver them, so as not to delay the project.
Seeing the chaotic state of the house, which was hardly suitable for receiving guests, Qin Sang didn't insist. However, she couldn't let the Qin family leave empty-handed. She asked Eldest Girl to go into the room and fetch a package of pastries for the In-law to take back for the children.
Qin Sang kept these snacks out of the storage chests, but Si Jin and Eldest Girl never touched them without permission. Even the most gluttonous person, Third Brother's Wife, wouldn't easily enter Qin Sang's room.
After seeing off the In-law, dusk was approaching. The villagers who had gone to dig herbs in the afternoon came down from the mountain, sparking another wave of exchanges. This time, with everyone else in the family busy making mosquito coils in the yard, Qin Sang handled the exchanges alone. She noticed that the villagers returning in the afternoon brought very little mugwort.
"Is there no more mugwort to be found?"
Qin Sang asked.
Guihua's Mother replied:
"Exactly. We searched all the way to the mountainside. With the whole village gathering it today, there probably isn't a single stalk of mugwort left below the mountainside."
Someone chimed in: "If we want to find more mugwort, we'll probably have to go deep into the mountains."
Qin Sang had anticipated this situation. It seemed necessary to go up the mountain again to search for other medicinal herbs.
Qin Sang opened the rice sack, and the people waiting to exchange herbs surged forward. Qin Sang shouted loudly:
"Everyone, line up first! If you keep pushing like this, what if someone gets knocked over?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a voice cried out:
"Aiyo, this is terrible! Aiyo, it hurts so much..."
Everyone quickly made way, afraid they might have stepped on someone. They saw Tian Yuanshan carrying his brother, both covered in grass and leaves, walking toward Qin Sang.
Seeing Qin Sang, Tian Yuanshan said with a flushed, anxious face:
"Qin Sang, my brother broke his leg digging herbs for your family. How are you going to compensate for this?"
As he spoke, Tian Yuanshan placed his brother on the pile of mugwort that Eldest Sister-in-law Tian had just unloaded. Only then did the crowd see that Tian Jinshui's trouser leg was soaked in blood, hanging limp—a frightening sight.
"Aiyo, how did this happen? To get injured like this..."
"His leg is broken. Won't he become a cripple from now on? Like Widow Xia's Younger Brother-in-law?"
Hearing the surrounding chatter, Tian Yuanshan said with a pained expression:
"Yes, my brother is injured so badly. If he ends up like that crippled Xia, will his wife of just two years run off, just like what happened to the crippled Xia?"
"My brother got injured while working for Widow Tian. Widow Tian must take responsibility for this, right? Otherwise, what if you get injured or bitten by a snake while up the mountain in the future?"
"She's using us to make money; she can't just wash her hands of this, can she?"
As soon as his brother finished speaking, Tian Jinshui wailed even louder:
"Brother, I'm dying of pain, aiyo..."
Hearing the two brothers' words, the people around exchanged glances. Some hesitated, stealing glances at Qin Sang by the courtyard gate, and whispered among themselves:
"What Yuanshan said isn't wrong. If it weren't for Widow Tian wanting herbs, his brother wouldn't have gotten injured."
Seeing that some agreed with him, Tian Yuanshan looked triumphantly at Qin Sang:
"Widow Tian, you're not saying a word. You're not thinking of refusing to compensate my brother, are you?"
Qin Sang's expression remained unchanged as she spoke:
"How much do you think the compensation should be?"
Tian Yuanshan's face lit up with joy. If Widow Tian was asking this, it meant she agreed to pay!
"We won't ask for much. Considering we're still relatives, just compensate us with ten taels of silver. I'm not trying to swindle you—my brother's leg is broken!"
The corner of Qin Sang's mouth lifted slightly:
"A broken leg is indeed no small matter."
Tian Yuanshan was overjoyed: "Right? You said it yourself—it's no small matter. Your family can afford to exchange rice for grass; ten taels of silver shouldn't be a problem."
Before Qin Sang could agree, Eldest Sister-in-law Tian beside her worriedly said:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, you can't pay this money! Who says his leg is broken just because he claims it is?"
Her sister-In-law also spoke up: "Even if it really is broken, who knows where he broke it? Maybe he wasn't watching his step and fell on his own, but now he's blaming it on herb gathering."
Guihua's Mother's loud voice boomed out:
"Exactly! Who saw it? I didn't see them go up the mountain."
Tian Yuanshan argued anxiously:
"The mountain is so big; if I saw it, that's enough! Who says we didn't go up the mountain? Look at our herbs—aren't they right here?"
As he spoke, Tian Yuanshan pulled a handful of mugwort from his robe to show everyone. The crowd fell silent.
After flaunting it around, Tian Yuanshan threw the mugwort at Qin Sang's feet:
"Widow Tian, my brother was injured while gathering herbs for your family. Since you've already agreed to give ten taels of silver, go fetch it quickly."
Qin Sang looked at him coldly:
"Who said I agreed?"
Tian Yuanshan was stunned: "You? You just now..."
Qin Sang snorted coldly:
"What? Your brother breaks his leg, and your first thought isn't how to treat him but to demand compensation?"
This single question struck at the heart of the matter. The people around began to sense something was off:
"That's right. In this village, only Tian Qinshi knows how to treat injuries. The Shanshui Brothers didn't even ask about treatment—they immediately demanded money. Could the injury be fake?"
Tian Yuanshan's lips trembled as he argued urgently:
"Nonsense! Where does she know how to treat injuries? I don't believe she has any medical skills at all. I want compensation so I can take my brother to a doctor in town immediately. I don't want her treating my brother—what if she kills him?"
As soon as Tian Yuanshan finished speaking, Qin Sang suddenly pointed at the mugwort pile beneath Tian Jinshui and screamed, jumping back:
"Ah! A snake..."
The cry was sudden and tense. Instinctively, Tian Jinshui leaped away: "Where? Where's the snake?"
Only when he saw everyone's eyes fixed on him did Tian Jinshui realize he was now standing perfectly fine behind someone else, with no sign of a broken leg whatsoever.
"Tian Jinshui, didn't you break your leg?"
"How can you still stand?"
"Not only can he stand, he can jump! He leaped three feet high just now."
Eldest Sister-in-law Tian said angrily:
"So you two brothers were faking it, just trying to extort money!"
Guihua's Mother also scolded furiously:
"And you kept calling yourselves relatives! Any family saddled with shameless relatives like you has the worst luck imaginable."
"Exactly! How could you have the nerve to do something like this?"
"These two brothers are always pulling stunts like this. Last year, they went to town and claimed a carriage hit them, forcing someone to pay two taels of silver."
Qin Sang thought to herself, so the ancients had their own version of the 'crash-for-cash' scam too.
Faced with the crowd's accusations, the two Tian brothers showed no sign of panic or any urge to flee in disgrace. Instead, they retorted righteously:
"I really couldn't move earlier! I was scared half to death after falling off the cliff, so my brother mistakenly thought my leg was broken."
Tian Yuanshan added:
"Even if my brother's leg isn't broken, he's still injured. Don't believe me? Look!"