Chapter Sixteen: Nurturing the Ginseng

“Let’s go! There’s still important business to attend to; we can’t delay any longer.” Lu Yu strode ahead briskly, with Ling Yi close behind.

The two reached the backyard of the inn they had stayed at earlier, mounted their horses, and rode out of Sishui Town.

Grandma Sheng anxiously gazed repeatedly toward the city gate. Why wasn’t Wanqiu back yet? Time was running out.

“Has she arrived?” the old man driving the cart approached and asked.

“She should be here soon. Just a little longer, she’ll be back quickly,” Grandma Sheng tried to buy time.

“I say, Grandma Sheng, you’re not going to make all of us wait here just for your Sheng Wanqiu, are you?”

“We have nothing else to do, but we still have to cook and do housework when we get home!”

“This is wasting everyone’s time. Aren’t you ashamed?” Bai Xiaolian seized the opportunity to taunt.

Wanqiu seemed like a completely different person today, and Bai Xiaolian loathed her. She had to vent her frustration whenever possible.

“You’re alive without shame; why shouldn’t I be?” Wanqiu’s voice cut coldly through the air, leaving Bai Xiaolian’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment.

“Wanqiu, how can you say that? Xiaolian only cares about you,” Bai Jiangshi quickly stepped forward in defense.

“I don’t need your concern. I’m not that close to any of you!”

“Grandma, give these mung bean cakes to the aunts to try. No need to give them to those hypocrites—they might choke and cause us trouble!” Wanqiu handed the oil-paper-wrapped cakes to Grandma Sheng, squeezed her hand, and helped her onto the ox cart.

“Uncle, here’s something to stave off hunger,” Wanqiu handed a small oil-paper bundle to the old man driving the cart, then nimbly climbed aboard.

“You’re too polite, child. I thank you!” The old man’s smile was so broad it nearly disappeared, and the grudge he had moments before vanished instantly. With a crack of the whip, the cart set off.

Grandma Sheng understood her granddaughter’s intent and quickly opened the paper bundle, distributing the shiny, golden mung bean cakes to those on the cart—one piece each. Of course, the Bai family mother and daughter received none; the rest were wrapped up for later.

“Oh! Today I’m lucky thanks to Wanqiu. Let me taste what kind of pastries these wealthy families enjoy!” exclaimed a cheerful aunt whose face was creased from smiling.

“Yes! I’ve never seen such beautiful pastries before!”

“Thank you, Wanqiu!”

Voices of gratitude echoed throughout the cart. Wanqiu smiled and waved her hand, insisting it was just a small token and not to be taken seriously.

The Bai family mother and daughter seethed, glaring fiercely at Wanqiu.

Wanqiu shrugged, unconcerned. If a glare could make her lose a pound of flesh, she invited them to glare as much as they liked.

“Wanqiu, about the money pouch?” Grandma Sheng whispered.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. We’ll talk about it at home,” Wanqiu said, gripping Grandma Sheng’s hand and pressing it to her pocket.

Grandma Sheng’s face lit up with pride—her granddaughter was truly resourceful.

Back home, Wanqiu handed over Grandma Sheng’s money pouch and explained that she had found out from a little beggar and, with one firm blow, retrieved it.

She omitted that there were five men involved and that they had knives—she didn’t want Grandma Sheng to worry.

Calling her Sheng Grandma felt more genuine now, as if she truly were her grandmother, without any awkwardness.

“What about the money for the pastries?”

Seeing Grandma Sheng roll up her sleeves, Wanqiu hurried to explain, “The thief compensated me fully—two silver coins! I bought the mung bean cakes with the rest after treating the beggar to some buns.”

“I knew the Bai mother and daughter would nag about my being late, so I cut them off with this excuse.”

“So? Grandma, clever, right?”

Wanqiu struck a proud pose, waiting for praise.

“Well done!”

“Don’t you like that Bai boy?” Grandma Sheng was puzzled. Wanqiu usually chased after him everywhere—what happened to that?

“Grandma, to be honest, I’ve had a change of heart.”

“My father’s dead, and I consider my mother as good as dead too. I don’t plan to marry. I want to take in a live-in son-in-law, raise my younger brothers well, help them study, and care for you in your old age.”

“Besides, Bai Haoyu’s family is too poor. Mother is restless; my sister is a troublemaker; and the youngest brother is lazy. Bai Haoyu himself is neither scholarly nor martial, plus he’s not good-looking or tall—bad genes for the next generation.”

“I was blind before, but now I wouldn’t even let him wipe my shoes!”

“I want to find a man with no parents, tall and handsome, muscular under his clothes, slim when dressed, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and good-looking. Hehe! A child born to such a man would surely be beautiful!”

“Ouch! Grandma, why are you hitting me?”

“Grandma! Ouch! Ouch!” Wanqiu clutched her head where she had been struck and ran out of the yard.

“Grandma, I’m going to the village entrance to see if the brothers are back!”

Once safely away, Wanqiu glanced back with a grin and then ran off.

At first, Grandma Sheng was touched, thinking this girl had truly grown into a filial and sensible young lady.

But the more she listened, the more absurd it sounded, and she couldn’t help but pick up a broom.

Still smiling, she shook her head and put the broom down. This girl was determined; she’d just let her be.

Wanqiu had no time to wait for her brothers; she dashed into the mountains.

Quickly climbing a tree, she surveyed the surroundings to ensure no one was around, then jumped down to bury a ginseng seed in the soil.

She summoned the spring water from her spatial realm with her mind and watered the seed directly.

A miraculous scene unfolded: as Wanqiu’s mouth opened wider and wider, the ginseng seed sprouted and grew visibly before her eyes, rooting itself, budding, and flowering. She hurried to catch the ginseng seeds about to fall.

Hehe, no need to buy seeds from now on.

The ginseng thickened rapidly, and sensing it might become a spirit, she quickly pulled it out.

Holding the ginseng, as thick as a child’s wrist, Wanqiu pondered whether she should drink some of the spring water herself—maybe she could grow to one meter seventy.

Suddenly hearing rustling nearby, she quickly wrapped the ginseng in some moss, recalling from videos that this preserves freshness.

Carrying the ginseng, she climbed back up the tree and looked down, finally understanding what was happening.