Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Not Easy

Translator: 549690339 |

The door opened with a creak, and Zhou Daya, her face streaked with tears, supported Mrs. Han, who was equally tearful, out the door.

“Miss Zhou…”

Before Zhang Lin could finish his sentence, Zhou Daya and Mrs. Han had both knelt down in front of him, surprising him so much that he quickly extended his hand to help them. “What are you doing? Get up.”

“Thankyou, Mr. Cha, thank you, Master Ding. You saved Daya’s life,” Mrs. Han sobbed tearfully, her voice shaky as she spoke, “I truly want to thank you.”

“Master Ding specifically asked me to relay his message that all of this is expected of us, and you shouldn’t dwell on it.”

Zhang Lin said, “Qi He and Qi Shen have been captured and the rumors about the Water Ghost have been dispelled. You should feel at ease from now on. And regarding the people in the village…”

Even though some are selfish, a small part of them should still be good and willing to help these two generations of grandmother and granddaughter.

“You just relax.” said Zhang Lin.

“Yes, we’ll be at ease, at ease.” Mrs. Han agreed readily.

But could her heart really be at ease?

After getting deceived by the two villains this time, some people saw that their family had no one and started bullying them. Who knew if there would be another villain in the future, would there be another incident?

Mrs. Han didn’t know, nor did she dare to think. She could only sigh in her heart, not revealing any of her thoughts on her face, simply echoing Zhang Lin’s words.

Zhang Lin could see it but didn’t point it out. Instead, he started to chat with Mrs. Han and Zhou Daya about other topics to build a closer relationship.

He even ate his midday meal there and didn’t return to the County Government Office until the sun was westward.

“Grandma, you should rest a bit,” Zhou Daya suggested, noticing the fatigue on Mrs. Han’s face, planning to help her into the house for a nap.

“Let’s not rest, let’s tidy up a bit.” Mrs. Han sighed, “Take all the things we can carry. Valuable things, things we use often, grab all of them. Don’t take what we can’t take. We’ll figure it out later.”

“Grandma, are you… ” Zhou Daya straightened up, “Are we moving?”

“Let’s move. I fear we won’t have peace if we stay here.”

Mrs. Han sighed, “You heard those people earlier, they only care about their own feelings, never considering ours. Who knows what they’ll gossip about us being cautious in the future. Living like this… it’s all right.”

“Your grandpa and I were not originally from this clan. We came here to escape famine. As outsiders, we were never warmly welcomed. Your dad is quiet and does not know how to socialize, his temperament is not likeable, so when things happen, no one helps our family. Living rootless here, it might be better for us to go to your aunt, at least we can help each other.”

“Take as much as you can, let’s leave early tomorrow.”

“Alright, grandma, I’ll listen to you.” Zhou Daya nodded, and went into the house to pack.

“Ah,” Mrs. Han sighed deeply.

It’s such a pity, in this lifetime, there’s not a single moment of stable life.

After Zhuang Qjngning had rested for a while, she took Zhuang Qingsui with her to the pharmacy to start making the mosquito repellent herbal packs.

Normally, these mosquito repellent herbal packs need a variety of herbs like cloves, calamus, mugwort leaves, mint, patchouli, honeysuckle, etc. These materials are many and expensive. But with the secret mosquito repellent powder, they don’t need to include the expensive herbs, only need three – mugwort leaves, calamus, and mint leaves. Once mixed with the mosquito repellent secret powder obtained from her system, these mosquito repellent herbal packs can be made.

The shop assistant at the pharmacy was a young man about the same age as Zhuang Qingning, named Yuansheng. He greeted Zhuang Qingning with a smile, “Manager Zhuang is making mosquito repellent packs, right? We have ready-made packs here, they aren’t expensive, five coins for a pack. On a day like this, if you put six or seven packs in the house, they can last for seven or eight days.”

“If you choose a larger one, it lasts longer and is more effective. If you put five packs in a room, you can guarantee there won’t be any mosquitoes. But it’s slightly more expensive, ten coins per pack.”

A mosquito repellent pack costs between five to ten coins, and it lasts for about ten days, requiring at least fifty coins. That calculates to five coins per day. If you spent this amount on tofu, it would be enough for a family of four or five to eat for two or three days.

The summer days are long, and if you use this every day, it’s quite an amount of expenditure.

No wonder ordinary people only use mugwort leaves and mint from their home to repel mosquitoes, and no wonder Yuansheng was so eager to sell these, presumably it’s not very easy to sell.

“You don’t need to, I just need these three things,” Zhuang Qingning said, “I’ll sew the bags myself when I get home, trying to save some money.”

She hadn’t yet tested the mosquito repellent powder and hadn’t decided whether to sell it in the market or how to sell it. Zhuang Qingning didn’t mention it to outsiders, and just gave a simple excuse of saving money.

Ordinary households live frugally, saving every coin they can. It’s a common thing for many people to try all kinds of ways to save money, so Yuansheng didn’t remark on it. He just nodded and helped Zhuang Qingning weigh out the items she needed. “Sure, if you drive them away before going to bed, it should be somewhat useful.”

“Don’t let your herbal pack get damp. Put it in a ventilated place. These few days, there’s been heavy rain so some rooms could get damp. If it gets wet it may smoulder and spoil.”

“I’ll weigh it a bit more for you, whether it’s the mugwort or the other things. They are small pieces that have been sun-dried. This amount will be enough to make quite a few.”

Yuansheng knew how to do business, his speech was lively, and he always had a smile on his face, which made him very likeable.

“Thank you,” Zhuang Qingning smiled as she handed over the money, took the well-wrapped items, and led Zhuang Qingsui out.

“Take care,” Yuansheng said goodbye to the two of them, put the money in the cash box, then took up the pestle to grind the medicine his master had told him to grind.

As he worked, he sighed.

‘ ‘What’ s wrong with you, such a young age, and you’ re sighing like an old man,” Doctor Wei, who was finding the prescription, laughed.

“I just think Manager Zhuang has it hard,” said Yuansheng. “Look at her, so young but already running a shop, and although the shop is doing well and looks prosperous, she’s living quite frugally.”

“I heard that a few years ago, Manager Zhuang lost her parents. Because there were no brothers in the family, all the family property, including the house and fields, was taken by her uncle. Only she and her sister are left to fend for themselves. It must be tough.”

“You’re thinking a lot.” Doctor Wei laughed, “But many things are not as you see them.”