"Heizi? Why are you here?"
Qin Sang walked outside and saw Heizi carrying a basket of Medicinal Herbs on his back. Seeing Qin Sang standing safely before him, a relieved smile broke across his face.
"Mother, it's good that you're alright."
After his initial joy, Heizi looked at the courtyard and asked with concern,
"Mother, why are you here? This isn't the backyard."
Qin Sang nodded.
"Those wicked soldiers have been dealt with by Zheng Yuan. It's a good thing, too; otherwise, coming here today would have been like a sheep walking into a tiger's den."
Lin Qi stood behind Qin Sang and nodded to Heizi, confirming her words. "Little brother, thank you for taking care of me earlier."
Lin Qi stood behind Qin Sang and nodded to Heizi, confirming her words. "Little brother, thank you for taking care of me earlier."
Although Lin Qi hadn't been conscious at the time, he had been able to hear and feel things.
He knew it was Qin Sang who had fed him medicine, and she had her son wipe his wounds and look after him while he took his medicine.
Seeing the confused look in Heizi's eyes, Qin Sang explained with a smile,
"Heizi, Zheng Yuan is the commander in charge of suppressing the rebels this time. His surname is Lin; you can address him as General Lin."
Then she introduced Heizi to Lin Qi.
"Zheng Yuan, Heizi isn't actually my son. He's a fellow villager from Tianjia Village; he only pretended to be my son to protect me."
Heizi hadn't expected that his Aunt actually knew a general. Furthermore, this general was the very man he and his Aunt had saved with their own hands. Since the man didn't give off an intimidating vibe, Heizi felt an instinctive sense of closeness. "Greetings, General Lin."
"Greetings, General Lin."
Lin Qi didn't dwell on the matter of them pretending to be mother and son. Instead, he smiled and said,
"Calling me General is too formal. You and Sister-in-law Qin saved my life. You can call me Big Brother Lin."
Heizi naturally knew that having connections in the government made things easier. He wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to befriend a general. However, just as he was about to call him Big Brother Lin, he suddenly remembered that General Lin called his Aunt 'Sister-in-law'. If he became General Lin's little brother, wouldn't the generations get all mixed up?
And in the future, regarding Er Fu...
Heizi scratched his head awkwardly. "I'd better not. I can't have my Aunt turning into an older sister."
"I'd better not. I can't have my Aunt turning into an older sister."
This amused Lin Qi. He hadn't expected this Sister-in-law Qin to be so kind and clever, and even her fellow villager wasn't one to fawn over power and status. "No matter, we can each have our own way of addressing each other."
"No matter, we can each have our own way of addressing each other."
Qin Sang was also laughing uncontrollably. Lin Qi looked to be twenty-four or twenty-five at most. If Heizi really called him 'Uncle', it would indeed make him sound much older than he was. "Just listen to your Big Brother Lin."
"Just listen to your Big Brother Lin."
Heizi finally grinned. "Alright then, Big Brother Lin. Aunt didn't want me to come back originally, but we've been waiting so anxiously these past few days that I brought these Medicinal Herbs to check on the situation."
Heizi finally grinned. "Alright then, Big Brother Lin. Aunt didn't want me to come back originally, but we've been waiting so anxiously these past few days that I brought these Medicinal Herbs to check on the situation."
After speaking to Lin Qi, Heizi turned to Qin Sang.
"Aunt, the people in the village are worried sick. If things are finished here, you should hurry back. I reckon no matter what I say, it won't be as effective as you appearing before them yourself."
Qin Sang nodded.
"I was planning to head back after finishing up here anyway. It's good that you've come. Right, bring that basket over here."
Heizi was delighted and immediately lifted the full basket from his back to Qin Sang's feet.
Qin Sang bent over and sorted through it for a moment, then handed several types of herbs she had picked out to Lin Qi. "These are the ingredients for the Plague Prevention Powder I mentioned. It's best if your soldiers drink a bowl every day as a precaution. This basket of herbs is for you."
"These are the ingredients for the Plague Prevention Powder I mentioned. It's best if your soldiers drink a bowl every day as a precaution. This basket of herbs is for you."
Qin Sang turned to leave, but Lin Qi reached out to stop her.
"Wait, Sister-in-law."
Qin Sang turned around.
"Is there something else?"
Lin Qi looked at the herbs in the basket and spoke.
"During the days I was unconscious, I heard you say that you've dug up quite a lot of Medicinal Herbs lately. Is this all of them?"
Qin Sang understood his meaning.
"Of course not, there are many more. We couldn't possibly give all our herbs to those damn Southern Army soldiers."
Lin Qi's eyes lit up.
"In that case, would Sister-in-law be willing to sell those herbs to the military?"
"As you can see, the shops are all closed now. Even if my soldiers fall ill, there's nowhere to buy herbs even if they have money, let alone for a potential plague. So, I want to stock up on more herbs just in case. Don't worry, Sister-in-law, I won't take them for free. I'll pay whatever the market price is."
"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, I won't take them for free. I'll pay whatever the market price is."
Qin Sang naturally wasn't going to refuse. With the debt of saving his life between them, she wasn't afraid of being cheated by the authorities. She had a certain balance in her Mall now, but she also needed to stock up on ancient currency. Moreover, by selling herbs to Lin Qi, this favor would become a reciprocal relationship that wouldn't be forgotten as time passed. "You're thinking of the people, so I naturally won't refuse. How about this: I won't ask for the full market price, I'll give you a ten percent discount. It should take you another day or two to finish things up in Town. We'll deliver the rest of the herbs in three days, how does that sound?"
"You're thinking of the people, so I naturally won't refuse. How about this: I won't ask for the full market price, I'll give you a ten percent discount."
"It should take you another day or two to finish things up in Town. We'll deliver the rest of the herbs in three days, how does that sound?"
Lin Qi nodded. "That works. Sister-in-law, let me escort you out of Town."
Lin Qi nodded. "That works. Sister-in-law, let me escort you out of Town."
Qin Sang waved her hand. "No need. You should focus on reorganizing your soldiers as soon as possible. If you wait too long, some might try to desert."
Qin Sang waved her hand. "No need. You should focus on reorganizing your soldiers as soon as possible. If you wait too long, some might try to desert."
Lin Qi's expression darkened. "Sister-in-law has a point. Then I'll send someone to escort you out."
Lin Qi's expression darkened. "Sister-in-law has a point. Then I'll send someone to escort you out."
"Mhm."
Once they were out of Town, Qin Sang told Heizi about what had happened over the last few days. Heizi was both shocked and regretful. "If I'd known Big Brother Lin and the others were so powerful, I shouldn't have left early. I should have stayed to help kill that dog of a Chief Officer."
"If I'd known Big Brother Lin and the others were so powerful, I shouldn't have left early. I should have stayed to help kill that dog of a Chief Officer."
Qin Sang smiled. "But not everyone knows the outcome before they act, so it's always better to prioritize safety. Entering the Town this time was already very risky. I don't even know how worried everyone at home must be."
Qin Sang smiled. "But not everyone knows the outcome before they act, so it's always better to prioritize safety. Entering the Town this time was already very risky. I don't even know how worried everyone at home must be."
Heizi scratched his head and said, "Aunt, there's something I... I don't know if I should say it."
Heizi scratched his head and said, "Aunt, there's something I... I don't know if I should say it."
Qin Sang slapped him on the back. "A grown man acting all hesitant, that's not like you. Did you do something bad?"
Qin Sang slapped him on the back. "A grown man acting all hesitant, that's not like you. Did you do something bad?"
Heizi gave a bitter smile. "Not at all, it's just... I told a little lie."
Heizi gave a bitter smile. "Not at all, it's just... I told a little lie."
"Oh?"
Heizi lowered his voice and spoke.
"I was also afraid your family would worry, so after I got back, I asked Uncle You Gen to send someone to report back, saying you'd be selling herbs here for a few days and wouldn't return to the camp for a while."
Qin Sang naturally wouldn't blame him. Heizi wasn't just afraid her family would worry; he was afraid Er Fu would worry. This boy might be a bit rough around the edges, but he was quite thoughtful. For now, Qin Sang couldn't find any faults in him. She praised him, "That was a white lie; how could I blame you?"
That was a white lie; how could I blame you?
That was a white lie; how could I blame you?
Talking all the way back to Tianjia Village, Qin Sang noticed a large burial mound by the river. "This is..."
"This is..."
Heizi said, "Over the past ten days or so, Uncle You Gen and the others have been burying the bodies from the surrounding villages that were left out in the wild, so the mound is quite large."
Heizi said, "Over the past ten days or so, Uncle You Gen and the others have been burying the bodies from the surrounding villages that were left out in the wild, so the mound is quite large."
"They've also been catching rats these past few days. They say they catch one or two hundred every day and burn them all."
"They even cleaned out the village well twice. Uncle You Gen said that if they clean it a few more times, the water will be drinkable by the time the villagers return."
"They're also clearing the silt. If you hadn't mentioned the possibility of a plague, they'd probably have wanted to go into the fields and start digging."
Qin Sang was very happy. Such hardworking and honest villagers deserved to live a good life. "Heizi, we'll go to Chen Family Village this afternoon."
"Heizi, we'll go to Chen Family Village this afternoon."