Xu Zifan carried the paper. His parents, worried it would get dirty, told him and Xiaolian to wait by the donkey cart while they went to sell bamboo baskets, straw hats, and food boxes. After his parents left, Xu Zifan looked around and said to Xiaolian, "Come on, your third brother will take you shopping. We didn't make much money this time, but we'll buy you clothes later when we have more."
Xiao Lian said happily, "Third Brother, really? Then don't forget!" She followed closely beside Xu Zifan, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked around, constantly asking Xu Zifan this and that, just like a child.
Xu Zifan was very patient, answering all her questions. When he saw someone selling candied hawthorns, he even bought a skewer for Xiaolian.
Xiaolian took it shyly and whispered, "Third Brother, I'm not a child anymore, why did you buy me this?"
"You only ate it twice when you were little, so just eat it when you come across it." Xu Zifan walked beside her, protecting her, and said with a smile, "You should learn everything you need to learn from your mother. It's okay to be a child at other times. Your third brother can support you. You've seen it yourself, your third brother is now making money by copying books. In the future, just tell your third brother what you want, and I will buy it for you."
Xiaolian took a bite of the candied hawthorn and asked curiously, "What does'should be bought' mean?"
"It means not to squander or waste money, and not to become spoiled and go astray just because someone pampers you."
"I will never be spoiled and go astray."
The siblings chatted as they strolled through the streets. Xiaolian's eyes lit up whenever she saw clothing stores or jewelry shops, and she would also glance at the roadside stalls. Unfortunately, a single wooden hairpin cost twenty coins—enough for two meals of pork—so Xiaolian had to withdraw her gaze and sensibly look at other things. Xu Zifan didn't try to impress others; he genuinely didn't have the money, and what would be the point of buying something cheap and making his family feel bad?
Following the original owner's memories, he visited all three clinics in town, gaining an understanding of the doctors, patient flow, and size of each clinic. After Xiaolian had finished exploring, he took her to wait by the village's donkey cart. They had been wandering around for a long time, so when they arrived at the donkey cart, Xu's parents returned quickly, beaming with smiles; their bamboo baskets were already empty. Because they were outside, they didn't say how much they had sold for, but judging from their expressions, they seemed quite pleased.
After a while, villagers gradually came over. Some of the vendors had sold out, while others had plenty left. Some of the buyers had large bags and small packages, while others carried only a small basket. Their joy and sorrow were mixed. Xu Erlang and Su Qianyun returned with baskets full of things, but the pastries in their baskets had been replaced with candy, red dates, and other delicacies.
Upon seeing this, Xu's mother asked, "Have these been sold? Why did you buy so many things?"
Su Qianyun smiled and said, "They're all sold out. I plan to make some other pastries to sell tomorrow."
A bystander asked, "Those pastries look pretty good, they must have made a lot of money, right?"
Su Qianyun waved her hand and said, "How could that be? It's just a little something I came up with myself. It only earns me a little money to feed the kids. But little by little, I'm thinking of selling pastries in town when I'm free. Maybe I can get the kids some new clothes."
When others heard her say that, they hesitated to ask further. They hadn't thought much of it; people in the village would occasionally ask how someone made something new, but it was just for their own consumption, and nobody made a living from food. This person was making it to buy clothes for their children, not to make a living, so it was best not to ask.
Su Qianyun smiled slightly, pleased with her own cleverness. Turning her head, she noticed that the large bamboo baskets that Xu's father and the others had brought were all empty. She asked in surprise, "Mother, have you sold all those things you brought?"
Xu's mother nodded and said happily, "We sold them. The third son's classmate liked them, saying they were elegant ornaments that scholars would appreciate, so he bought them all. Later, your father and I went to sell the rest, but they weren't as easy to sell. However, there weren't many pieces in total, so we sold them all."
Some people had initially wanted to ask about the bamboo products, as they looked quite novel. However, after Su Qianyun's earlier remarks, they naturally recalled Xu Zifan's comments in the fields about his family's financial difficulties and how they had even started selling bamboo hats, indicating they were eager to earn money. It wasn't appropriate to ask. Besides, they didn't know how to make such things and weren't particularly interested.
Su Qianyun was quite interested. She had seen the items; they were beautiful and exquisite. They probably wouldn't have been cheap if the scholar had bought them. Why hadn't they made bamboo products before if they had this skill? All they knew was to exploit the eldest and second wives for work. If the family hadn't separated, she would have thought Xu's father only knew how to weave bamboo baskets. This made her very uncomfortable. Seeing the paper and books Xu Zifan was holding, she looked surprised and asked, "Third brother, you bought books? And they're medical books? Are these... are they even useful for you to read yourself? They must be expensive! Didn't you say you were going to take the imperial examination? Why didn't you buy any books for the civil service exam?"
Everyone on the bus immediately looked at Xu Zifan. Didn't they say their family was struggling financially and didn't even have enough food? How could they afford books? Those books cost a lot of money; these two books would probably be enough for them to live on for two or three years. Is the Xu family's third branch really that rich?!
Xu Zifan calmly shook his head, stroked the book, and said lightly, "Second sister-in-law, what are you saying? The money we were given after the family division was so little, not even enough to buy a book. Could it be that you've misunderstood that our parents were hiding something?"
Su Qianyun's expression changed slightly. "No, I was just worried for you when I saw it was a medical book, I didn't think much of it. That's right, we can't afford books, so what is this book?"
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, you can read? Did you learn to read at home before? Why haven't you mentioned it before?"
"I've only learned a little," Su Qianyun answered cautiously, her body tensing up, afraid that Xu Zifan would ask more questions.
Xu Zifan nodded. "I see. I'm glad Second Sister-in-law didn't misunderstand Father and Mother. They've always treated the three of us brothers fairly. Even though Xiaolian and I aren't married yet..."
I didn't leave you much, just in case you felt neglected. I borrowed this book from the library; I'll earn money by copying books for them in the future, to supplement my family's income. I chose medical books because I like medicine, I enjoy treating patients, and I want to learn more.
This piqued the interest of the others. "How much money can you make by copying books?"
"Ten coins for one hundred characters, but you can't copy it wrong or make it dirty, otherwise you'll have to pay for a page you ruin." Xu Zifan opened the medical book and pointed to the text inside. "Just copy these, and the paper and text should be about the same size as this book."
None of them were literate, and seeing the words made them realize how difficult it was, making them understand how hard it was to earn money. They didn't know how long it would take to copy a hundred words, but it would definitely take them a very, very long time. They didn't know when they would finish copying a single book, and the compensation for any damage would probably wipe out their money. So they weren't envious; they just felt that studying was still useful, as it allowed them to find more work than the others.
When Su Qianyun heard that she could earn ten coins for a hundred characters, her eyes lit up. However, she then remembered that the original Su Qianyun was illiterate. She said that knowing a few characters was already a stretch, and copying books would definitely attract the attention of the whole village. Moreover, she had never written calligraphy before, and writing in such small characters without punctuation would probably be difficult for her. So, she had no choice but to give up with regret.
However, she felt even more disgusted with Xu Zifan. This brother-in-law was never good with words, never gave anyone a way out, and had no tact whatsoever. Now that they had just separated from the family, he had already taken a job copying books. What had he been doing before? If he had been this obedient and sensible before, she wouldn't have had to scheme against him during the separation. She might have even given him some pointers and helped him pass the imperial examinations and become an official. But thinking of the brother-in-law in the original owner's memories, she felt that Xu Zifan was definitely faking it and would surely revert to his old ways in a few days. Whatever, they had already separated from the family. In the future, she should avoid contact with people like him who couldn't speak properly. It was just as well that their second branch of the family was about to prosper, so as to prevent her bloodsucking brother-in-law from clinging to them again.
Su Qianyun was preoccupied with copying books, so she didn't respond further and didn't notice the strange looks Xiao Lian and a woman in the corner were giving her. Her initial reaction seemed fine, but after hearing Xu Zifan's words, they vaguely felt something was off.
As a member of the Xu family, doesn't Su Qianyun know their financial situation? The Xu family has always supported Xu Zifan's education; it's obvious they don't have much money. Xu Zifan just recovered from a serious illness, and the family even split up; how could they possibly afford books? Is Su Qianyun really speaking without thinking, or is she deliberately saying it for others to hear? If Xu Zifan doesn't explain clearly, won't people misunderstand him as a spendthrift? What if they further misunderstand that Xu's parents have secretly given Xu Zifan a lot of money? That would be even worse. So Su Qianyun isn't stupid; why did she ask that?
Xiaolian found it strange and couldn't help but tell Xu's mother when she got home. Xu's mother realized what was going on and was very unhappy. She disliked Su Qianyun, but still told Xiaolian not to talk about her sister-in-law outside and not to mention this matter. That woman didn't have such concerns. People in the village say that gossip is always spread from east to west. The slightest rumor can lead to many different versions, and this time was no exception.
The woman went back and told her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Every family lived together as a large extended family; who wouldn't understand such a simple matter? Hearing this, they assumed Su Qianyun must really dislike Xu Zifan. Every time Xu Zifan was mentioned, it gave the impression that he was terrible. But upon closer inspection, they couldn't find anything particularly offensive about Xu Zifan, which made them side with him. Thinking about the Xu family's division of property, they vaguely felt that the Xu family had married a troublesome second daughter-in-law!