CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: OLD CHEN CAN’T WALK ANYMORE

Looking at his wife threatening him like this, Uncle Luo was both angry and amused.

In the end, he also decided to rest for half a month before going back to work.

However, he couldn’t stop praising the medicinal wine.

"When I first applied it, there was a bit of burning pain, but after a while, it started to itch, and the itching wasn’t uncomfortable but very soothing." Uncle Luo said, "Chun Nuan, is this medicinal wine expensive? If it’s not, I’ll tell my old buddies about it, and they can buy some to use as well. It’s only when one’s body feels good that they can work well, otherwise there will always be some kind of discomfort."

"Uncle Luo, this is all the medicinal wine I have. If you need more, I’ll brew some later." Chun Nuan handed over the wine, "It can be shared among five people."

"How much?"

Uncle Luo thought it would definitely be expensive.

"This wine is mixed, so since they are Uncle Luo’s friends, I’ll just charge a symbolic amount, just twenty wen per person."

"Alright, alright, I’ll go get you the money."

The price greatly surprised him; the effects were good and yet not expensive. He had expected it to cost several hundred wen, making it so cheap that he couldn’t believe it.

"Chun Nuan, isn’t this price too cheap?"

Aunt Luo saw through the situation, "Make sure you don’t lose money, and since this medicinal wine is so good, if others find out, they will definitely come looking to buy it too. Are you really only selling it for this price?"

"Uncle Luo, Aunt Luo, I forgot to mention something." Chun Nuan said, "This medicinal wine is only sold to Uncle’s friends. Others can buy it for ten taels of silver per jar. Also, don’t say I brewed it, just say..."

Aunt Luo was stunned for a while.

An old man’s ancestral formula from the mountains, this kind of saying can truly convince people,

As for Old Luo’s friends, they were the trackers.

The brothers who pulled together were truly of one heart and dared to come forward when needed.

For others, of course, the wealthy gentlemen, but do those wealthy gentlemen buy this kind of medicinal wine?

"This is effective for joint pain, cervical spine pain, dizziness, back pain, and waist ache." Chun Nuan said, "It’s also suitable for some old cold legs."

As people age, who doesn’t have times of back pain or waist ache?

This means the medicinal wine has a wide range of uses, not just for trackers.

Aunt Luo is a smart person and understood this was Chun Nuan caring for them.

After Chun Nuan left, the husband and wife talked again about the Xiao family’s affairs.

"My grandfather said that back in the day when the Imperial Physician returned to his hometown to visit relatives, he was particularly good. He didn’t charge diagnosis fees for poor people who came to see him and had dealings with the Zhao family at the Hundred Herbs Hall, saying as long as it was his prescription, the cost of the herbs wouldn’t be too expensive, worried they wouldn’t be able to afford them and wouldn’t get medicine."

"No wonder Mr. Zhao from the Zhao family still has dealings with the Xiao family now." Aunt Luo suddenly realized, "It seems their ancestors had contact, this is the fabled enduring friendship between families?"

"That’s right, the initial Xiao Family wasn’t some big family, just a number of people with the same surname living in rented fields, lands, and houses. It was the Xiao family’s eldest branch in the Capital that produced an Imperial Physician, who later became the head of the Imperial Hospital, and the people of the clan relied on his family, eventually electing the Imperial Physician’s father as the Clan Leader."

"The leader of a family must contribute to the clan. The old Clan Leader obtained a few acres of sacrificial land, held annual Qingming events, and the Xiao family began to thrive. When the son of the Imperial Physician also became an Imperial Physician, he moved his branch to the Capital. But every year he would still send gifts and sacrificial land to the clan, over time the Xiao Family became a major family in Changzhou, even the White Cloud Pier became Xiao’s territory..."

"But in the end, the Xiao family repaid kindness with enmity and expelled Chun Nuan and her family from the clan."

"Yes, this matter showed how ungrateful and heartless they are."

"Ah, when you’re rich in the mountains you have distant relatives, when you’re poor in busy places, no one asks." Aunt Luo said, "Honestly, I think us poor folks are more conscientious than their rich folks, we would never hit a man who’s down."

"They say when the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam ends up the same, if the main beam isn’t straight it’ll eventually fall, the current Clan Leader of the Xiao Family isn’t up to par." Uncle Luo said, "Don’t be fooled by the Xiao Family being so impressive on the outside. Inside, it’s chaotic, who knows who the next Clan Leader will be."

"No matter whose hands it falls into, it’s all the same." Aunt Luo said, "They’re all heartless anyway."/p

Uncle Luo nodded, sighing.

Every family has its own difficulties, poor people have their struggles, rich people have their troubles.

"Forget it, other people’s business isn’t related to us." Uncle Luo said, "Since Chun Nuan gave me the medicinal wine, I’ll take some to Old Chen, he hasn’t been able to walk properly recently."

"Go ahead, go early and come back early, remember, don’t do the river hauling, a person’s life is important."

"Got it, got it, you haven’t even aged yet you’re already nagging."

"You dislike me for nagging? I’m too lazy to manage you, but I’ve told you, if something really happens to you, I’ll..."

"Yes, yes, can’t let you have the chance to remarry."

The couple bickered while each went off to do their own tasks.

Old Chen’s family lived near the Xiao Family Pier, upon hearing Old Luo had come he could only let him enter the house to talk.

"How’s it going?"

"Ah, very difficult, hurts so much at night I can’t sleep, can’t even walk, brother, I’m afraid I’m finished." Old Chen’s eyes were red, "I’m only forty-six, am I really going to spend the rest of my life in bed? A family of thirteen mouths, some old, some young, all need food and drink, how’s it going to work? How’s life going to be?"

"I’ve been thinking, is there going to be a day I have to take a bowl to the pier to beg?"

"Brother, don’t say that."

Seeing Old Chen’s knees red and swollen, seeing how much he had withered, Uncle Luo felt uneasy.

Thinking of Chun Nuan’s words, he affirmed to himself: he had to rest for half a month, had to take the medicine properly.

He didn’t want to lie in bed crying at such a young age.

"Brother, look what’s this?"

"What?" Old Chen suddenly smelled alcohol, "Brother, are you inviting me for a drink? This little porcelain bottle, probably doesn’t even have two taels, can’t drink much."

They also drink, especially in winter, before working they’d take a few gulps of liquor, when their bodies were warm they’d jump into the river not feeling the cold. After pulling the boat ashore, they’d take a few more gulps.

That is to say, during the whole winter, they lived by liquor!

Just that this time Old Luo brought the liquor, drinking it is pointless, can’t work anyway.

"Brother, this isn’t liquor for drinking, it’s for rubbing."

"Rubbing?"

"Hmm, rub it on your legs, rub it where it hurts," Uncle Luo remembered Chun Nuan’s words, purposely being mysterious, "This is an ancestral secret recipe from a hunter I found, that’s very effective."

"Really?"