Chapter 41:
That little dumpling finally felt comfortable and stopped crying after a while, babbling “eee ahh”…
Held in his mother’s arms, he revealed the chubby flesh on his arms and legs.
He felt so comfortable, contentedly sucking on his fingers and blowing bubbles…
“Eee, eee, ahh ahh!”
He always kicked her with his little chubby feet, so Luo Zhi’er played with him for a bit…
“Little Doughball, you’re An Ge’er, huh? Shame on you, still sucking your fingers!”
“Hey, so cute! I’m your Fat Aunt… Remember?”
She touched his baby fat, and that woman saw her acting silly while playing with her baby, a helpless smile flickering in her eyes…
Don’t judge a book by its cover. This Fat Lady looked quite formidable when angry, but she wasn’t really that aggressive…
Luo Zhi’er saw An Ge’er’s bulging, transparent eyeballs; he wasn’t comfortable and rubbed them with his hand. She didn’t know what was wrong?
She didn’t feel right asking again, so she’d wait and see what the doctor said later!
At that moment, a young man and woman arrived at the doorway not far behind; the woman was veiled, and the man waited outside…
She was bored too—this ancient time had no phones—so she passed the time observing the various states of life in the mortal world.
She was still young, and the man was half-hidden, his face unclear…
Without listening carefully, others wouldn’t know what they were saying, but Luo Zhi’er deliberately watched…
That woman frowned tightly. “Ren Lang, are you really okay?”
The man kept his head low, seemingly with deep eyes, looking serious. “It’s fine. Go in boldly; your husband is here guarding…”
At the mention of “husband,” the woman’s face flushed red…
“But, really can’t stay? He didn’t fall even in that state… Maybe…”
A flash of frantic anger passed through the man’s eyes, but he feared being seen by others.
“Didn’t we agree? Now this is the only way—for both our sakes, mainly for you… I’ll treat you even better in the future… Believe me…”
“Alright!”
Luo Zhi’er saw the woman unnaturally touch her belly, worry in her eyes…
Looking closely, there was a slight bump. Oh no, could this be another pair of young man and woman without a ticket…
She glanced at the man again, and Luo Zhi’er instantly felt she couldn’t look straight at him—disgusting!
He shouldn’t be called Ren Lang; Three Lang would suit him better. If he sold Indian flying pancakes, he’d definitely do well…
After waiting a bit, she always felt that the white-bearded old man diagnosing faces right in front of her, not far away, would glance at her from time to time…
Strange?
She touched her face—aside from her chubby body, what else was there?
Could he be looking at the restless little dumpling behind her?
Possible!
There were still twenty or thirty people ahead, listless and looking around…
Then she saw a young maid dressed in a green skirt maid outfit buying things at the apothecary counter…
“Waiter, this is the prescription Doctor Li gave last time. Our Second Wife needs top-quality bird’s nest for recuperation…”
Bird’s nest?
Haha, speak of the devil—this opportunity had come without effort…
Her eyes darted around; she quickly perked up her ears to listen…
“Sorry, our bird’s nest is all sold out—not even the ordinary kind is left…”
“Waiter, please, can’t you think of something? My master needs it to save her life!”
“Sorry, I can’t help. It’s really gone… Why not wait here and see if someone from the countryside comes selling wild bird’s nest?”
Saying this was just to comfort her.
He knew the chances were slim… The apothecary acquired medicinal herbs at set times, unless someone unaware of the timing happened to deliver.
There were too few country folk around Taoyuan Town selling wild bird’s nest—they didn’t recognize the goods, and wild bird’s nest was rare. Otherwise, why would they import from outside?
Anyway, they hadn’t acquired any in months.
The quantity was small, and the quality poor…
The young maid was crestfallen; she’d already run to several apothecaries, and all in town were out of bird’s nest.
Taoyuan Town wasn’t big; this stuff basically had to be imported from outside, with the best coming from distant foreign lands across the sea…
Every shipment was quickly snapped up by the Old Lady, Madams, and Concubines of wealthy families throwing money at it.
But it shouldn’t all be sold out.
This time, it should have been available, but suddenly someone bought out everything overnight…
Her family’s Concubine had endured until now, barely surviving childbirth to give birth to the baby—the manor’s only male descendant, naturally valued by the Master!
But the Concubine was severely depleted, hanging on by a thread, needing top-quality bird’s nest for nourishment.
The Eldest Madam, allied with her maternal family, suppressed her openly and covertly; the Master was often away from the manor, and he had more than one inner consort—it’s tough…
Probably, if it continued like this, life is not long…
She couldn’t help but doubt: bought out by others?
Who needed it so badly to buy out the whole town?
But now wasn’t the time for that—her family’s Concubine was originally a thousand gold young woman, but fate played tricks.
The Master fell from grace; overnight the family was ruined. If not for the son-in-law’s regard for old ties, the young woman would have nowhere to live…
Also because of the Master’s matter, the young woman who should have been the main madam fell to become the Second Son’s Family Concubine. The Eldest Son’s Family entered the manor the same day as her, otherwise…
…
Luo Zhi’er saw the maid despondently peering from the doorway, her eyes lighting up with hope at incoming patients, then dimming with disappointment…
Her eyes darted; she said to the woman just now, “Sister, I need to step out for a bit, to use the latrine. Trouble you to hold my spot.”
The woman, holding An Ge’er, said kindly,
“Sure, don’t worry, Luo Niangzi, go ahead!”
Luo Zhi’er wove through the crowd and stopped in front of the young woman… blocking her view…
“Little sister, are you here to buy bird’s nest?”
The maid lifted her eyes and suspiciously sized her up…
“Yes.”
Afraid she was a scammer, she turned her head and ignored her…
