While getting the medicine, Xu Zifan chatted with Fang Mingda for a while and learned about his situation. He thought it was a good idea to stay at Fang Mingda's house temporarily, so he went with Fang Mingda to see his house.
This house was bought for him by the Fang family before they left. Perhaps because they might not see him again after they left, or perhaps because they felt they owed him something over the years, the house they bought for him was in a pretty good location, with five rooms and a fairly spacious yard. This was to prepare rooms for him to have when he got married and had children. Although each room was quite small, it would be just enough for Xu Zifan and his family to live in when they moved in.
Fang Mingda had lived in the clinic for many years. Doctor Tong, widowed early, had a son who, after passing the imperial examinations, went to the capital to live with his maternal grandparents. Unwilling to leave his homeland, he stayed alone in the clinic's backyard. Fang Mingda had been his companion for many years, their relationship more like that of grandfather and grandson. However, considering that Fang Mingda was now 15 and of marriageable age, Doctor Tong wanted him to become independent and moved into his own house, hoping to make him more aware of his responsibilities as a family.
Fang Mingda felt lonely living alone, and he felt uncomfortable sharing with others. He found it rare to get along with Xu Zifan, and he also felt a bit of admiration and envy. So he strongly recommended his house, hoping that Xu Zifan would move in and keep him company.
Xu Zifan was very satisfied with the house after inspecting it, and said to Fang Mingda, "I haven't discussed moving to town with my parents yet. I'll go back and talk to them, and I'll get back to you when we've discussed it. Besides the wild ginseng, I also picked some other medicinal herbs this time. I'll process them in a couple of days and take them to the clinic. We'll talk about this then."
"Brother Xu, did you gather any other medicinal herbs? Are the medicinal herbs easy to gather in the mountains of your village? I'd like to go too!"
Xu Zifan rolled up his sleeve to show him the wound on his arm and said, "Do you think I got those tiger bones and tiger penises from somewhere? I almost lost my life this time. Good medicinal herbs aren't so easy to find. But don't tell anyone about this. My family doesn't know. If they did, they definitely wouldn't let me go into the mountains again."
Fang Mingda was startled and nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, I definitely won't tell. But going into the mountains is so dangerous, Brother Xu, you'd better not go. Even my master, as a doctor, rarely goes into the mountains to collect herbs; he just buys them. Now that you have money, you don't need to take such a risk."
"Yes, I know, I'll be careful."
After leaving Fang Mingda's house, Xu Zifan inquired about housing and rental prices in town, getting a general idea of the market. He then quickly took the purchased jars and various medicinal herbs back to the village. He had also received some news at the clinic: Fang Mingda told him that their accountant had made another mistake. Doctor Tong had a meal with the accountant and, after a long talk, agreed that the accountant would be let go at the end of the month. Therefore, it was certain that Xu Zifan would start working at the beginning of next month.
With definite news, it was time to begin preparations. However, Xu Zifan was still concerned about Zheng Chuan's injury, so after returning to the village, he went to Zheng Chuan's house first. He gave Zheng Chuan several doses of medicine, told her how to take them, and then washed the jar and began to soak the medicinal wine. Zheng Chuan had reverted to her male attire, and Xu Zifan glanced at her several times while he was busy.
Zheng Chuan frowned and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xu Zifan's gaze swept over her face a few times before he said, "I'm just curious, how did you do that? No one has noticed anything amiss all these years. What are you wearing on your face? I can't see your natural skin tone at all."
Zheng Chuan turned slightly to the side, looking away awkwardly, and said, "It's nothing special. This is a kind of ointment that my master got when he was young because he got sunburned. It was a gift from a wandering monk and it can protect the skin. My master remembered the recipe wrong and made the color like this, which is perfect for me when I'm disguised as a man. I applied the ointment to all the exposed skin, then drew thick eyebrows to fix it up, put on thick armor, and then wore men's clothes. I also put some padding in my boots to make it look like this. Normally, no one pays attention to me, so naturally no one noticed my disguise."
Xu Zifan thought about it. In everyone's perception, Zheng Chuan was a man who could kill wild beasts alone, so there was no need to look for any flaws. They didn't usually interact with each other, so it was normal not to notice. Even he, who initially assumed Zheng Chuan was a man, hadn't carefully examined her clothes and appearance. Zheng Chuan was also disguised so carefully, so it was no wonder he couldn't notice.
Xu Zifan exclaimed, "You're really amazing, managing to keep it a secret for so long. But have you thought about the future? What are your plans? If you suddenly change back into women's clothing and tell everyone you're a girl, I doubt anyone would accept it."
Zheng Chuan looked down at her attire and frowned. "I don't know. My master said he hoped I would have a happy and fulfilling family in the future, but he didn't tell me how to do it. However, I don't regret dressing as a man. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to hunt freely, and I would have had a lot of troubles over the years."
Xu Zifan nodded, realizing his own ideas were still immature and needed to be addressed, so he didn't voice them to avoid giving Zheng Chuan false hope. After chatting for a while, Xu Zifan started preparing the medicinal wine. Zheng Chuan told him to put the wine, tiger skin, and other items in the cellar for safety. After finishing, Xu Zifan was exhausted. Wiping his sweat, he said, "I still need to keep training; I'm tired after doing so little."
Zheng Chuan said, "Once I'm healed, I can go into the mountains with you. Walking around in the mountains will help you get some exercise."
Xu Zifan shook his head, washed his hands and face with a basin of water, and said, "I won't be going into the mountains often anymore. The Jishetang clinic in town hired me as an accountant and also asked me to treat patients there to gain experience. I plan to move to town at the end of the month and work there from now on."
Zheng Chuan was taken aback. "You're moving to town?"
"Well, no one in the village wants me to treat them; gaining their trust is too slow. Dr. Tong from Jishetang has passed the exam..."
"I know I have the skills, and the fact that he's willing to let me treat patients there is a rare opportunity. I won't have to work so hard gathering herbs or copying books anymore. When there are no patients, I can even study and prepare for the imperial examinations. It's a very suitable job." Xu Zifan wiped his face clean and smiled at Zheng Chuan. "The young man at Jishetang is very kind. He rented us his house, and I plan to bring my parents and Xiaolian with me."
Zheng Chuan couldn't quite describe her feelings; she just felt a sense of loss. She had just gotten along well with someone who even knew her secret, allowing her to relax and be at ease, and now he was suddenly moving out. But hearing Xu Zifan's words, she had no reason to keep him. Perhaps she would have to return to her old solitary life.
[Zheng Zixuan's heartbeat was detected to be irregular; analysis of her various physical data indicated that she was unhappy.]
Xu Zifan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that his behavior would definitely be considered that of a scumbag in ancient times. Although he respected Zheng Chuan's wishes and didn't bring up the topic of taking responsibility again, the fact was that he had looked at Zheng Chuan's body and then wanted his whole family to move out without giving any promises. What else could he be but a scumbag!
But now that the awkward atmosphere had finally subsided, was he really going to bring up the sensitive topic again? Xu Zifan looked at Zheng Chuan and said with a forced smile, "Your injury needs a few more checkups, and it's not convenient for you to go to town. I'll come back to see you every few days. If there's anything you want, just tell me, and I'll bring it to you when I come back from town."
Zheng Chuan lowered his head and said, "No need, I'll take these medicines and then go to town to get more. I've been injured like this before, it's nothing."
"We didn't know each other before, but now that I'm here, you don't have to work so hard." Xu Zifan said this, and then it came out much more naturally. "Don't be so formal with me. Actually, I think you're a very good person. What I told you before was all serious. Think it over carefully. Well, it's getting late, I'll go back first. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
Zheng Chuan thought of how he had taken off his shoes and socks that day and even undressed her. His face flushed, and he turned and went inside. He didn't look out the window until he heard the front door open. She sat on the soft couch, picked up the half-finished dress, her mind in turmoil. After a while, she rummaged through the bed and found her savings from the past few years. She checked them and found a total of 68 taels of silver.
When she went into the mountains to find her master, he was already seriously injured. At that time, her master held her hand and said with remorse that he had made the wrong decision, that he shouldn't have let her dress as a man, and that he had delayed her. He also said that he hoped she would have a happy and fulfilling family life with many children and grandchildren. But her master also said that most men are untrustworthy, especially in her situation, it would be even harder to find one. It would be best if she saved up more money to hire someone to marry into her family, so that she could be the head of the household.
She didn't know how much money it would cost to find a husband to marry into the family. For the past three years, she had been hunting diligently. She had heard that if a woman was still unmarried at 17, she was considered an old maid. Now that she was 18, she felt somewhat uneasy, which was why she started making dresses and observing how other girls lived. However, she secretly paid attention to the eligible men in the village, but she felt they weren't quite right for her. She didn't want to just find someone to settle down with, nor did she want to be disliked by her in-laws; that wouldn't be a happy and fulfilling home.
Now that Xu Zifan has unexpectedly learned her secret and even said he would take responsibility... it's definitely not going to work if she uses all this money to marry Xu Zifan, right? So... would Xu Zifan be a good husband? Xu Zifan always takes his parents and sister with him when he goes to work. Is it only people like that who can bring happiness and fulfillment to a family?