When Aunt Osmanthus saw Qin Sang catching up, she quickened her pace. A woman accustomed to farm work was nimble on her feet, and for a moment, Qin Sang really couldn't catch up.
"It's nothing. It's just that we all discussed it and agreed. You led us to survive, escaping disaster after disaster. We remember it all. We unanimously decided to give you all the roots we dig up from now on."
These words left Qin Sang utterly astonished.
"How can this be? You all..."
Watching Aunt Osmanthus walk away, Qin Sang sighed helplessly.
Just as she was about to head home to reconsider, she heard Third Sons Wife calling out 'Mother'. Only then did she see Third Sons Wife returning, carrying a lantern and leading San Gui. Qin Sang angrily said:
"San Gui, your wife is pregnant, and instead of supporting her, you're letting her carry the lantern? Do you want a beating, boy?"
Tian Sangui loudly protested his innocence, took a few steps to Qin Sang, and showed the things he was carrying in both hands:
"Mother, look! With so many things, could I still manage a lantern?"
Qin Sang saw him holding a basket of roots in one hand and a half-basket of fruit in the other, and asked:
"Your father-In-law gave these?"
"Exactly! I went to deliver things and came back with even more. My Mother-In-law said the roots don't cost us any grain, and these fruits are for Huan'er to get more nutrients."
Because Carpenter Zhao and his sons were helping Qin Sang make a wheelchair and a bed, and one of them had to help build houses for the village, today the Zhao family women used Qin Sang's Mules and Horses to transport the fruits and food they gathered from the mountain.
This...
"Your Mother-In-law told you to take them, so you just took them? And so much too."
Qin Sang chided.
Tian Sangui chuckled:
"What's the big deal, Mother? It's not like we're giving advantage to outsiders."
Qin Sang took the lantern, escorted the two home, and then went with the lantern to find the village chief to discuss the matter.
After listening, the village chief smiled, stroked his beard, and spoke earnestly:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, you should stop refusing. The villagers remember your kindness. Not to mention anything else, just you risking your life to bring back that water vat saved the whole village.
We don't have much else, but these roots are everywhere. Everyone just wants to repay your kindness as best they can.
In my view, when we return to the village someday, the whole village should even build a shrine in your honor. I doubt anyone would disagree.
For now, it's just a few Medicinal Herbs and some fruit, all from the mountains. Everyone just expended a little effort. You should accept them with peace of mind and not feel burdened."
But Qin Sang said:
"Since the village chief puts it that way, I'll accept today's Medicinal Herbs and fruit. But from now on, exchanges must proceed as before.
Not to mention my Wen Mo is a scholar who will become an official someday. If word got out that he took advantage of villagers for free, it would harm his reputation. Even I, selfishly, believe fair trade is the way for lasting relationships.
If everyone gives me roots and Medicinal Herbs for free from now on, it might be fine for a day or two, but what about over time? Might they stop digging for Medicinal Herbs?
When there's no rice to cook, might people say I've received so many benefits from the village, so I should empty my family's stores and give everything out for free?
I'm afraid by then, if I refuse, people might turn against me, come to my house to make a scene, and overturn my cooking pots."
The village chief fell into deep thought after hearing this:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, what you say makes sense too. Time reveals a person's heart, and hearts are prone to change. No one can predict the future."
Qin Sang emphasized more strongly:
"So the grain must be exchanged. Only then will everyone help me gather Medicinal Herbs for longer. If people truly feel indebted, I can lower the price a bit. But if they insist on giving them to me for free, I won't accept Medicinal Herbs anymore in the future."
The village chief looked at Qin Sang for a while, then finally smiled:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, I didn't expect someone so young to think so thoroughly. Alright, I'll tell everyone tomorrow. We'll do as you say."
Only then did Qin Sang feel relieved:
"Alright, then I'll trouble you, village chief."
Carrying the lantern home, she found the pile of Medicinal Herbs and fruit had grown again.
Si Jin said:
"It was Heizi and the others who brought it over."
Qin Sang hummed in acknowledgment:
"What came today is accepted. But starting tomorrow, we go back to how it was before. If they don't want grain in exchange, we won't accept anything."
Although Si Jin and the others didn't understand why Mother was doing this, they obediently agreed:
"Understood, Mother."
The next day, Qin Sang and Third Sons Wife stayed home. Third Sons Wife took her sewing basket to her parents' home to make small clothes for her soon-to-be-born child. Qin Sang went to the tent to sort the Medicinal Herbs from last night.
This mountain forest had never been touched by humans, so Medicinal Herbs were truly abundant. In Chinese medicine, even roadside weeds have some medicinal value. So, even keeping half and selling half, Qin Sang's Mall balance still increased by over seven thousand.
She went to check on the two Mother rabbits. Calculating the days, they should give birth in a few more days.
Qin Sang fed them plenty of carrots and rabbit food. Da Huang wagged his tail in circles nearby. Qin Sang exchanged for a fresh large bone for him, which he happily took to his den immediately.
The Mules and Horses ate hay and beans, plus two apples each. The two creatures bit into the apples, and with a loud crunch, juice splattered as they chewed, eating with great relish.
In the chicken coop, the hens clucked. Qin Sang scattered a handful of corn kernels, then went to the nests and collected a few eggs.
They were still warm. Qin Sang planned to make pan-fried sunny-side-up eggs and cook some instant noodles for lunch.
Construction began on the wooden houses in the camp. The villagers' requirements weren't high; they just needed a place to sleep.
Rows of houses rose from the ground. Qin Sang estimated they'd be finished in about ten days or so.
Qin Sang boiled a pot of Herbal Tea to cool, and also cut a basin of fruit to take to the construction site. She invited everyone to come have a bowl to avoid heatstroke from the intense heat.
In the afternoon, Carpenter Zhao came over to say the wheelchair and crutches were finished, asking Qin Sang to come see:
"In-law, take a look. Is this it?"
Carpenter Zhao pushed the freshly made, still fragrant wooden wheelchair in front of Qin Sang and asked somewhat anxiously.
Qin Sang tried pushing it and tested the wheels. The wheels were wooden and rolled very smoothly, a testament to Carpenter Zhao's craftsmanship:
"Excellent, this is exactly it."
Widow Xia's home wasn't far. Qin Sang directly pushed the wheelchair over, with Carpenter Zhao following cheerfully behind, carrying the crutches.
Qin Sang eagerly called out:
"Sister, come quickly and see! With this wheelchair, Tie Niu can also come out to sunbathe and move around."
It wasn't Widow Xia who came out, but Granny Xia, followed by two Xia family toddlers, just two or three years old:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, my Eldest Brothers Wife went up the mountain; she's not home."
Qin Sang hurried forward to support her:
"Look at me, I was so excited I forgot about that. Granny, you're just the right person to try if this wheelchair works."
Helping Granny Xia sit in the wheelchair, Qin Sang waited for her to grip the armrests firmly before gently pushing it forward.
Granny Xia was quite nervous at first, but gradually adapted, feeling both happy and uneasy:
"Oh, Da Zhuang's Mother, this wheelchair is simply wonderful! It must have cost a lot of silver, right? Can we exchange it for fruit with you?"