Heaven, her father could actually speak in ornate prose. This was truly unbelievable. She racked her brains but couldn't recall when her father had learned to read and write.
As she was thinking, laughter drifted from the alley, mixed with the cries of children.
"Shao De, from now on, just stay here and take care of the children. Don't worry about anything at home."
Saying this, Cai Lihua suddenly turned her head. "Ah."
A Jiu scratched her head. "I saw you hadn't returned, so I came to check. Mother..." A Jiu stepped forward, took her mother's arm, and after leaving the Ziwangyuan, asked:
"My father can also write poetry? When did he learn to read and write?"
Cai Lihua glanced at her daughter's head, and a suspicion arose in her heart. Hearing this question, it was almost exactly what she had guessed:
"Your father started learning before you were born, so naturally, you wouldn't know."
"Is that so?" A Jiu was skeptical. In her limited memory, her father couldn't even write his own name. Could it be that he had been pretending all along?
Cai Lihua quickly changed the subject. "Jiu'er, you don't know what happened just now. When that old scholar said they would employ your father, three of those children wet themselves, and four of them cried, hehehe!"
Saying this, she clutched her stomach and laughed uncontrollably on the street.
A Jiu couldn't help but curl her lips. That was too embarrassing.
After returning home and eating lunch, Cai Lihua began to worry. Water was not a problem, but with the food, feeding this large family was consuming it rapidly.
The silver money given by Madam Wang had all been spent on oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. "I really don't like the look of Steward Li. Do you think he's deliberately overcharging us? One pound of salt costs one tael of gold!"
Cai Lihua gritted her teeth in anger.
"Mother, you don't know, but salt and sugar are the most expensive things right now. Even if prices have risen due to the war, the base price of salt itself is very high, far beyond what commoners can afford."
A Jiu's explanation.
Cai Lihua felt as if she had eaten bitter herbs. She had little memory of this world and was afraid to ask further questions lest she reveal a slip-up.
"It's that rare?"
"Yes, Mother. Those two items are the most expensive. Perhaps we can use less salt in the future. As for food, if we encounter Xiao Yan someday, I'll ask about the war. If it's safe, and there's no other way, we can go back to Heba Village and bring some more to eat."
A Jiu offered a suggestion. The worst thing about the city was that there was no land to farm, so A Jiu was at a loss.
"This can indeed help in an emergency. Alright, A Jiu, don't worry about it anymore. Get some rest early."
The night deepened. As soon as A Jiu lay down, she couldn't sleep. Why hadn't her sister-in-law returned all day? Logically, even with a commendation meeting, she shouldn't have stayed overnight.
The bad premonition in her heart grew stronger.
Tap, tap, tap. There was a knocking at the door from outside.
By the time A Jiu got up, Tongzi was already putting on his clothes and running towards the front hall. "Who is it so late?"
"It's me, Cai'er."
Upon hearing this, A Jiu hurried to follow, helping to pick up the oil lamp and place it on the counter.
Just as Tongzi was holding the door panel and about to move it aside, he was pushed by several people who entered.
A Jiu quickly supported Tongzi from behind. Taking a closer look, she saw five or six people, all old men, the youngest being at least fifty years old.
Liu Cai'er was pushed through the threshold with her hands and feet bound.
"Sister-in-law."
"Sister Cai'er."
The two spoke in unison.
"Quick, tell us, what is the prescription?" The old man leading the group had a white beard, but his spirit was excellent, and his back was straight.
He exuded a powerful aura of authority.
"Hall Master? What do you mean by this?" Tongzi suddenly regained his senses. The elders of several medical clinics had come to ask for this prescription half a month ago.
Hall Master? No wonder he looked so arrogant; he was the chief hall master of the medical world.
"Speak quickly! The progress of patients in the Yi Zhuang is too slow. More people are dying than are being cured. If the Prince investigates, we will all be in trouble."
Another shorter old man had a ruddy face and raised eyebrows, clearly a hothead.
"I already gave you the prescription, but you didn't believe me and wanted to detain me. In short, I have nothing more to say."
Liu Cai'er stepped forward and gestured for A Jiu to untie her ropes.
She hadn't been beaten; these people had only tied her up for fear she would run away midway.
"Don't try to play games. The treatment situation before and after is completely different. You're trying to hoard the secret recipe. If you don't tell the truth, the Hualan Medical Hall will have to close its doors forever."