Widow Xie's maternal family lived in Xie Ditch, just west of town. It wasn't too far.
Ji Huan felt it was improper to show up empty-handed and expect a free meal. Knowing that Widow Xie's brother had several children, she spent a few copper coins on twenty malt sugar balls.
Unsure if she would succeed in making any money this time, she kept ten of them, planning to give them to Dacheng and Ximei when she got back.
She had also wanted to buy some vegetables, but the few coins she had left were hardly enough. Widow Xie chided her for being wasteful and dragged her away.
The two of them hurried along and managed not to miss the midday meal. However, the meal itself was far from pleasant.
Widow Xie's younger brother was named Xie Kun, and his wife was a Madam Ma. Her name suited her well—when she saw them arrive, her face was even longer than a horse's.
The Xie family had five children. The two youngest were fine; they just sucked their fingers and stared at Ji Huan curiously. The older ones, however, went straight for Widow Xie's basket. Seeing only a few eggs, they were disappointed and immediately started clamoring to eat them.
"Have I been starving you or something? You greedy little ghosts! Take a look at yourselves, do you even deserve to eat eggs?!"
Madam Ma said sarcastically, grabbing a nearby broom and threatening to hit them. "Those eggs are precious! Your auntie just said they're to be boiled for your grandma. There's none for you little brats!"
The one called Da Wa immediately threw a fit, yelling at Widow Xie, "Auntie, how can you be so stingy? You only bring a few eggs and won't even let us eat them! In that case, you can't eat at our house either!"
Watching from the side, Ji Huan couldn't help but frown.
'He's just a child, but his words are utterly lacking in manners.'
These few eggs were the only presentable thing Widow Xie's family had. She had saved them for days, not even giving any to Xiao'an and Hua when they cried for them. Ji Huan had heard that all the previously saved eggs had been sent here as well. Besides, it was Madam Ma who had sent a message to Dafeng Village asking Widow Xie to come today.
Widow Xie said nothing. Being called stingy to her face by her own nephew was humiliating, no matter how thick-skinned she was.
Ji Huan quickly took out the sugar balls she had bought to ease the awkwardness. While they weren't much, they were a rare treat for village children.
The children joyfully took their share of the sugar balls and ran outside to play. Only then did Madam Ma's expression soften, and she finally added another ladle of water to the pot.
When it was time to eat, the children came to the table with runny noses. The few eggs had been boiled after all. The moment the plate was served, several small, grimy hands descended at once, snatching up all the eggs and cornbread in an instant. All that was left on the table was a bowl of horribly salty pickled vegetables. Ji Huan forced down a few sips of thin porridge before putting down her chopsticks.
After the meal, Widow Xie took Ji Huan to the home of Uncle Xie, the man who delivered horse fodder, and explained the situation. Uncle Xie was a warm-hearted man and agreed to help.
Madam Ma still had things to discuss with Widow Xie, and there was no telling how long they would talk. Since Ji Huan had nothing to do, Widow Xie simply asked her to make the trip for her.
This, of course, was exactly what Ji Huan had hoped for.
It turned out that Uncle Xie wasn't the only one delivering horse fodder; others from nearby villages did as well. Once on the mountain path, Ji Huan saw a long line of carts following behind them, all piled high, with Uncle Xie leading the way.
There was no room to sit on the cart, so Uncle Xie had Ji Huan sit on a crossbar on the other side. Accompanied by the constant crack of a whip and loud calls, they soon took a shortcut around the mountain, and the military camp came into view.
Although Uncle Xie had agreed to let Ji Huan come along, he didn't dare bring her inside. After all, women were strictly forbidden from entering the military camp.
He told Ji Huan to wait on a distant hillside. After he unloaded the fodder, he would find a soldier he knew and ask if there was any news about Sixth Ancestor Grandma's grandson.
Ji Huan had no choice but to wander around outside. 'My goal isn't just to find someone and deliver a letter,' she thought. 'But how can I get in touch with an army doctor from the camp…'
As she wandered, she came upon a small hollow, and from within, she could faintly hear the sound of someone talking.
Ji Huan paused, then tiptoed closer.
Peeking down, she saw a young man in his early twenties lying in a sunny spot in the hollow. He was resting his head on his arms with his legs crossed, and even the blade of grass he was chewing couldn't muffle his curses.
She pricked up her ears and listened carefully. It turned out he was ranting.
"What's so great about being from the capital? All they know is how to put on airs! On what grounds did they kick me out?!"
"My grandfather and great-grandfather were both army doctors! What do you call that? It's a family legacy! And they dare say I'm not up to snuff…"
"Hmph! Just you wait! When I make my comeback, I'll send all of you to the mountains to dig for herbs!"
'So he's a young army doctor who's been ostracized.'
'What perfect timing.'
Knowing this was an opportunity, Ji Huan squatted at the edge of the hollow and tossed a small stone down.
"Who's there?!" The man, who had been lazing about just a moment ago, instantly shot to his feet. "Who threw that at me? Get out here! See if I don't..."
He spun halfway around before spotting Ji Huan squatting above him. Seeing it was just a young girl with bangs, his tone soured.
"Shoo, shoo! Go on home! This is a restricted military area, no women allowed, you hear?! And that goes for half-women who aren't quite there yet, too!"
Ji Huan copied him, casually plucking a blade of grass and sticking it in her mouth.
"And what if this 'woman' can help you climb over the heads of those old army doctors, and even help you rise through the ranks?"
"Ha! You?" He acted as if he'd just heard the funniest joke of his life, almost laughing himself breathless. "On what grounds..."
A quarter of an hour later, the two of them were squatting side-by-side at the edge of the hollow.
"Hey!" He nudged Ji Huan's shoulder. "I'm not even holding it against you that you were eavesdropping on my private thoughts, so why are you the one who's mad? Women are so petty!"
Ji Huan rolled her eyes at him, utterly speechless at this man.
A moment ago, he had gone into full-on mockery mode, his mouth firing indiscriminately like a machine gun for what felt like an eternity. He only stopped when she recited a few of the ingredients from the formula.
It was the first time Ji Huan realized a man could be such a gossip and so sharp-tongued.
'Whatever,' she thought. 'The business deal is what's important.'
The two of them grudgingly set aside their initial animosity, introduced themselves, and the negotiations officially began.
Ji Huan started with his personal interests—by presenting this formula, he could earn merits, and promotions and riches would be well within his grasp. More importantly, he would no longer have to endure the taunts and humiliation from those old army doctors.
Then, she moved on to the interests of the state: in this freezing weather, soldiers on the march suffered from hands that were cracked and festering. They couldn't even hold their spears, let alone wield swords. With this hand cream, the problem would be easily solved.
Finally, she touched upon its economic practicality: the required medicinal ingredients were all cheap. The only slightly more expensive ones were red ginseng powder and danshen powder, but it wasn't impossible to find other ingredients to replace them.
'If only I could produce a small bottle of the finished product for him to try right now, this sales pitch would be perfect.'
But even without it, she could tell that this young army doctor named Zhen Jili was already tempted.
Zhen Jili possessed the characteristic slipperiness of a man of the streets and was already thinking of playing hard to get.
His eyes darted back and forth a few times before he spoke. "This... 'hand cream' of yours isn't that hard to make. I could develop it myself. Don't believe me?"
Following the few ingredients Ji Huan had just recited, he inferred their medicinal properties and named several others.
Then he looked at her smugly. "Well? Am I right or not?"