Chapter 146: Acupuncture is More Interesting than Embroidery
Bai Ruozhu was very smart, so how could she not understand the sarcastic man’s intentions? But how did he know she was short of money for shopping? Was he in the vicinity just now or did he come on purpose?
Actually, Bai Ruozhu didn’t normally wear the Jade Pendant. It was so precious, what if she knocked it and scratched it? However, she felt she might bump into the sarcastic man just before leaving the house, so she decided to wear it and return it to him as soon as they met.
Unexpectedly, she did meet him. Is her intuition too accurate or is she just lucky or unlucky?
"No need, I can run the errand again," Bai Ruozhu pulled her thoughts back and wanted to reject his offer immediately. She hadn’t even returned the Jade Pendant yet. How could she let him help?
"Stop staggering. I’ll just buy your Dried Fish by helping you out." He suddenly looked at Bai Ruozhu, with a hint of teasing in his eyes peeping through the mask. "So you won’t refuse to sell it to me."
"I..." Bai Ruozhu thought of her previous refusal to sell Dried Fish to him. However, he had saved her life and helped her out, compared to him, she seemed a bit petty.
"You saved my life. I should give you the Dried Fish, it’s not right to take your money," said Bai Ruozhu defiantly.
"Really?" he spoke these two words in a teasing manner.
The shopkeeper of Fushou Hall was enjoying the scene but was feeling a bit anxious. Were they going to buy or not?
Jiang Yichun didn’t want to tease Bai Ruozhu any longer, handed five silvers to the shopkeeper and said, "What? Do you want me to pay for it all?"
Bai Ruozhu blushed. She had no choice but to accept, hastily took out all her money, and said, "I’m just short by a little over one silver. It doesn’t require that much."
"Never mind, it’s hard to calculate the spare change. Plus, can’t you buy Dried Fish with a little more than one silver? Otherwise, wouldn’t I be taking advantage of you?" he said nonchalantly.
The shopkeeper, being astute, quickly said, "Madam, you need just pay twenty silvers more. Don’t be too polite with this gentleman. Keeping a few silvers in hand could come in handy during emergencies."
Bai Ruozhu indeed needed to take a donkey cart. Eventually, she acceded to Jiang Yichun’s goodwill and obtained the set of silver needles she had eyed.
Thinking that a set of silver needles had drained all her capital made her feel too underpaid. It’s enough in the village, but it falls short as soon as she steps out of it.
The shopkeeper was very detail-oriented. He even offered a package to Bai Ruozhu and helped her pack the silver needles. As Bai Ruozhu carefully stored the silver needles, she turned to thank Jiang Yichun again only to find him preparing to leave.
"Hey..." Bai Ruozhu wanted to stop him, but when she opened her mouth, she didn’t know how to address him. Calling him "benefactor" seemed nauseating to her.
"I didn’t even ask how I should address you. Also, how should I give you the Dried Fish?" She braced herself to speak again. Either talking to him would rile her up, or she would toughen up throughout the conversation.
Jiang Yichun looked at her as if he was hesitating for a moment, "My surname is Jiang. You can give it to Officer Li at the County Government Office and ask him to pass it to me, or you may bump into me if you stroll around the town."
"Oh." Bai Ruozhu started to think to herself. What was his occupation? Why was he lingering in Anyuan Town and not leaving? He seemed to be wandering around the town, as if investigating something.
Moreover, why did he only mention his surname, Jiang? Was it the case that his full name was inconvenient to disclose? Or did he think that his full name was not worthy of her attention? Bai Ruozhu felt annoyed again, muttering to herself that there was definitely no good when meeting him.
But she couldn’t deny his favor in helping her as she hadn’t completely stored away the silver needles, right?
Jiang Yichun left quickly. Bai Ruozhu felt that in the blink of an eye, she had already lost sight of him. She also found a donkey cart and returned to Mountain Village soon.
After she returned home, she greeted Lin Ping’er and Rongrong, and then began to make medicine for her mother. Shortly afterwards, her father and elder brother returned home for lunch. Because she just got home, they only had a simple meal of fried rice which they all still found delicious.
After the meal, Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao had to return to the farm while Bai Ruozhu took out her set of silver needles, wiped them carefully, and disinfected them with a highly concentrated alcohol she had prepared.
"Ruozhu, are you sure you can do it? It won’t hurt too much, will it?" Lin Ping’er saw the long silver needles and became apprehensive.
"Mom, you’re not a child. Why are you still afraid of pain?" Bai Ruozhu joked with her and explained, "Though the silver needles look long, it won’t hurt at all if you hit the correct acupuncture points. Moreover, this method is better than just taking medicine."
Lin Ping’er, by nature an industrious person who didn’t want her family to work hard, disregarded the pain upon hearing that she could recover sooner.
"Okay, but you’ll have to take it slowly. Don’t turn me into a sieve," Lin Ping’er made a joke at the end.
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t worry, mom, at most you will become a hedgehog, not a sieve."
Rongrong’s mother and Rongrong curiously watched from the side, wanting to see how Bai Ruozhu treats illnesses. They had heard of acupuncture, but there weren’t many competent doctors specializing in it in their small town. As they hadn’t been seriously ill before, they were very curious, especially about Bai Ruozhu’s skill in acupuncture at such a young age.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t care what others thought. She took out the silver needles and pricked them one by one. As she hadn’t practiced acupuncture for a long time, she deliberately slowed down. However, in Rongrong’s mother’s eyes, it was so stunning that she could barely call out.
She felt Bai Ruozhu’s embroidery was as fast as sticking acupuncture needles in. This was unbelievably fast. However, she observed Lin Ping’er’s expression and didn’t see any signs of pain. How was it possible that, with this amount of needles pricked in her, it didn’t hurt?
Not long after, Bai Ruozhu began to pull out the needles one by one and stored them in the box.
"Alright, from now on, I will periodically perform acupuncture on you. All we need to do is nourish you through meals. Moreover, you need to be more careful during your menstruation next time. You can’t work so hard, let alone touch cold water or do heavy work," said Bai Ruozhu.
Lin Ping’er was obviously not listening to the latter part and asked in surprise, "It’s better now?"
Bai Ruozhu laughed, "What? Have you become addicted to being punctured? Aren’t you afraid of becoming a sieve?"
Lin Ping’er playfully hit Bai Ruozhu, "You always tease your mom. I just feel it’s not painful at all, it’s unbelievable."
Rongrong’s mother chimed in, "I saw it. There were a lot of needles sticking in. I wanted to ask you, does it really not hurt at all?"
Rongrong, with her big eyes sparkling, looked at Bai Ruozhu and said, "Sister, you are so amazing. I also want to learn acupuncture. It’s much more interesting than embroidery!"
Hearing Rongrong compare acupuncture to embroidery, not to mention Bai Ruozhu, even Rongrong’s mother and Lin Ping’er were speechless. Children’s thoughts truly were unpredictable.