Xiaolian, who spends every day with Xu Zifan, has changed a lot in temperament. Now she almost completely disregards feudal values and listens to Xu Zifan in everything. From a young age, she knew that a girl's future depended on her brothers after marriage. If her brothers were useless, she would likely have no one to turn to for help if she suffered grievances. Later, seeing the lives of her eldest and second eldest sisters, she became even more afraid of getting married because her three brothers were simply not supportive.
But the situation is different now. Although her eldest and second brothers still show no intention of helping their sisters, her third brother has become her most reliable support. She can clearly sense that her third brother is different from before; he has become unusually attentive to her and their parents, and now it seems he also values his two married sisters. This is a great opportunity, and she must help her two sisters.
Sisters usually find it easier to talk to each other. By the time everyone went home that evening, Xiaolian had already found out about her eldest and second eldest sisters' daily lives over the past two years. Her eldest sister's husband, Li Sheng, was tall and strong. Besides farming, he also helped people build houses and move goods—all hard and tiring jobs, but he was very hardworking and earned more than most people in the village. Her eldest sister, Xu Xiaolan, was somewhat timid, but she did a good job both inside and outside the house and was exceptionally diligent.
Logically, this couple should have had a good life, but the problem lies in Li Sheng's blind filial piety. He gives all his earnings to his parents and ignores any requests his mother makes to Xu Xiaolan. When they had a son, because he was the eldest grandson of the Li family, his mother took him to her own room to raise him and raised him in a way that made him distant from Xu Xiaolan, while being closer to his grandmother. Xu Xiaolan is the eldest daughter-in-law in the Li family, with a younger brother and sister-in-law, yet she is treated like a servant, doing everything from washing clothes and cooking to farming and feeding pigs—it's incredibly hard work for her.
He Yao, the second brother-in-law of the second sister, was a peddler. He was the second of the three brothers in the He family, a smooth talker, and he liked Xu Xiaohe very much. However, Xu Xiaohe had only given birth to one daughter in four years of marriage, which greatly displeased He's mother, whose expression grew increasingly grim each year. He Yao often carried his goods to sell in town or other villages during the day, unable to protect Xu Xiaohe, and separating the family property would be difficult, so he could only endure it. Unfortunately, Xu Xiaohe was not one to tolerate such treatment, and she clashed with He's mother many times. Living under the same roof was very unpleasant for everyone, and even her three-year-old daughter was often disliked and lived an uncomfortable life.
Xiaolian reported all this to Xu Zifan, looking at him expectantly, "Third Brother, how do you plan to help Eldest Sister and Second Sister? This is their family matter, even though we are their own family, it's not appropriate for us to interfere, right?" She frowned slightly and asked doubtfully, "Third Brother, I've often heard people say that brothers from one's own family will stand up for their sisters, but how will they do that? Our families don't usually have much contact, are we supposed to go to their house and warn them? But we can't watch them every day, and if we leave, won't they be in trouble?"
Xu Zifan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and said, "The kind of support you mentioned mostly relies on the brothers' numbers. When they go there, they give people the impression that they are not to be trifled with, so they will naturally be more cautious, but they may also feel resentful. If the brothers can no longer be relied upon in the future, the sisters will be in trouble. Our move to town is an opportunity. Whenever you have free time, invite your eldest sister and second sister to town and bring the children. Bring some pastries and snacks for the children each time. That way, their mother-in-law will be more willing to let them come."
"But what if they take the pastries back with them and the other brothers' children snatch them away?" Xiaolian had seen this kind of thing many times before, so she couldn't help but worry.
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "It's alright. It's one thing to rob once or twice, but can they rob every time? Besides, Third Brother won't be just an accountant for life. Once I have a better status and a wider network of connections, they won't dare to go too far. It's just that we don't have enough relatives in town yet. Right now, we're just starting to send out signals, inviting more sisters over, so they can all get used to this situation and accept that our Xu family is moving up in status. Any in-laws will think more carefully. Take it slow, and Eldest Sister and Second Sister's lives will get better."
Xiaolian nodded as if she understood, then said with full trust, "Alright, leave this to me. Third Brother, you can go and study medicine without worry. Don't let these things interfere with your studies. The three of us sisters will be counting on you in the future."
Xu Zifan chuckled and said, "You think you can rely on yourself? Did you memorize the herbal medicine book I asked you to memorize a couple of days ago? Recite it for me."
Xiaolian showed no panic at the sudden test; instead, her eyes sparkled, and she fluently recited the assignment Xu Zifan had given her, demonstrating her diligence. Xu Zifan listened attentively to her recitation of the herbal medicine record, and upon discovering that she hadn't made a single mistake, he immediately smiled. "You recited it all correctly, and you recognize all the characters I taught you. Very good." He picked up a book recording medicinal herbs and said, "Today I'll read this book through. Take it home and memorize it well. I'll test you in seven days. If there's anything you don't understand or haven't memorized, you can come and ask me."
Xiao Lian immediately nodded, sat down next to Xu Zifan, and focused intently on the book as he read. Xiao Lian had a natural talent for medicinal herbs, and she learned to read quickly when Xu Zifan taught her. Perhaps it was this genuine love that fueled her such enthusiasm. Xu Zifan didn't know how long this enthusiasm would last, but he wanted to teach her everything he could while Xiao Lian still enjoyed it. With him as her support, she might very well live a happy and carefree life in this ancient world.
They had trouble sleeping on their first day in their new home, as did the other families in the village. The three rooms in the courtyard were suddenly empty; the old and young had all left, and it felt strangely empty and unfamiliar. Even more unsettling was the fact that their usually unambitious third son had suddenly risen to prominence, moving to town and seemingly with no intention of ever returning. This contrast was immense, and it would likely take them a long time to adjust.
Many villagers gossiped about Xu Zifan late at night, and Zheng Chuan, who lived at the foot of the mountain, was also thinking about the Xu family. After spending the day with them, she felt that Xu's father, mother, and the three older sisters that Xu Zifan cared about were all very nice people; at least she got along well with them.
The eldest sister-in-law, Cai, occasionally spoke in a sarcastic tone, revealing her jealousy. The eldest brother was simple-minded and didn't talk much. The second brother was two-faced, secretly jealous but pretending to be capable. The second sister-in-law seemed particularly dissatisfied that Xu Zifan could change for the better and live a better life than the second wife. The strangest thing was that Su Qianyun approached her several times and said some seemingly caring words to her.
Zheng Chuan was baffled. She went there as Xu Zifan's good friend, but Su Qianyun disliked Xu Zifan yet was close to her? Why? Did she mistakenly believe that Xu Zifan's money came from gathering herbs in the mountains and wanted her to take it with him? Zheng Chuan couldn't figure out Su Qianyun's intentions no matter how hard she tried, so she could only assume that Su Qianyun was capricious and that it didn't really concern her anyway, so she simply put it out of her mind.
Poor Su Qianyun's flirtatious glances were wasted on a blind man; Zheng Chuan didn't understand a single word of her subtle, suggestive words that could easily arouse a man's desire, and even thought she was crazy.
Regardless of what others thought, Xu Zifan had settled down in town and officially became the accountant at Jishetang at the beginning of the month. He was young, good-looking, well-read, and good at handling things. Within a few days, he had established good relationships with the three doctors at Jishetang, their apprentices, pharmacists, and shop assistants.
There were quite a few patients, and sometimes when things got busy, there was a queue. Xu Zifan would help some patients by getting their medicine ready, then settle the bill, all in one go, without delaying anything. The resident doctor saw him a few times and was quite surprised to find that he was really good at dispensing medicine. Later, when Dr. Tong told him that he had been studying medicine and had a solid foundation, but lacked experience, they couldn't help but think more highly of him.
He was paid the salary of an accountant, and his help with dispensing, dispensing, and preparing medicine was all out of kindness, which made him easily accepted and appreciated by everyone. Xu Zifan thus smoothly integrated into Jishetang and received many opportunities to practice. Every time, no matter what he did, he did it perfectly without any problems. The transition from distrust to trust was surprisingly quick; everyone regarded him as a reliable and dependable person, and occasionally they would even proactively seek his help.
And so, with all three doctors busy, Xu Zifan noticed an elderly woman coughing and looking very distressed. He went over and helped her sit down, offering to take her pulse. The other doctors didn't object. The patients, unaware of their identities, naturally assumed he was an apprentice or a young groom, and let him examine her. After taking the woman's pulse and carefully examining her condition, Xu Zifan calmly and confidently described her symptoms and wrote down a prescription. His trustworthy demeanor attracted the attention of the three resident doctors, who were curious whether his self-taught medical skills were truly effective.
At this moment, Doctor Tong heard that Xu Zifan was seeing a doctor, so he came over and personally examined the old lady. After comparing her prescription with the medicine, he said with satisfaction, "This prescription is very appropriate. Don't worry, she will be better in a few days with the right medicine."
Xu Zifan prescribed the medicine for the elderly woman, paid the bill, and personally escorted her to the door. Some of the people in line, seeing this, couldn't wait any longer and came forward to ask if Xu Zifan could examine them. Xu Zifan looked inquiringly at Doctor Tong, who readily agreed. Then Xu Zifan began examining people, while Doctor Tong watched, occasionally checking the patients himself to ensure there were no problems with Xu Zifan's diagnosis before he was truly at ease.
The doctors, apprentices, and pharmacy boys in the clinic were all dumbfounded. Xu Zifan was self-taught? How come they weren't so capable at his age?