When the pears are green

Chapter 198 Buying Plaster

Song Li readily agreed, and the three of them agreed to take a ox cart from the town to the county town early the next morning.

After Wu Mingshu and Yang Jing left, Jiang Qingzhou pestered Song Li, who was digging spinach, and asked, "Xiao Li, do you really not want me to go with you?"

Song Li glanced at Master Li who was teaching Li Yi to read in the yard, and explained to Jiang Qingzhou in a low voice: "Qingzhou, I want to go with you too. But if only Li Yi and Master Li are left at home, I'm afraid they will feel uncomfortable. I'm going to the pharmacy to buy some gypsum powder, and Sister Wu and Jing'er are going to the county school to visit Mingde and Master Li. The three of us won't wander around or cause trouble, and we'll probably be home in the afternoon."

"I'm worried about you. Things have just calmed down, and I'm afraid you'll meet bad guys on the road." Jiang Qingzhou said as he put the spinach handed to him by Song Li into the basket.

After hearing this, Song Li smiled and told Jiang Qingzhou: "Qingzhou, don't worry. Jing'er has learned some martial arts from Mr. Hu recently. Plus, she is very strong, so she will have no problem dealing with ordinary thugs. You can go fishing with Master Li and Li Yi the day after tomorrow. I am waiting to eat the fish you catch!"

Jiang Qingzhou said nothing more and just looked at Song Li with a resentful look on his face.

"Qingzhou, do you know what you look like?" Song Li teased with a smile.

Jiang Qingzhou touched his face and asked, "What does it look like? Is there dirt on my face?"

Song Li smiled and shook her head, then told Jiang Qingzhou: "Like a grudge woman!"

"Then wait, Xiaoli. You'll know at night whether I'm a grudgeful woman or a grudgeful husband." Jiang Qingzhou gritted his teeth and whispered in Song Li's ear.

Song Li felt her face getting hot. She smiled and asked Jiang Qingzhou to restrain himself, then hurriedly picked up the basket full of spinach and ran to the kitchen.

The sound of footsteps attracted the attention of Li Yi and Master Li. Li Yi asked Master Li in confusion, "Grandpa, why is my sister running?"

"Maybe Madam Jiang has something urgent to do. Come, tell grandpa how to pronounce this word?" Master Li asked, pointing at the words on the ground.

Li Yi turned around, looked at the words on the ground and answered, "Zhu, the word for sudden rain. Grandpa never asked me to learn to read before, why does he want me to learn now?"

"Niannian, grandpa can't always be with you. As the saying goes, misfortunes may come and go. I want to teach you more things so that you can live on your own even if grandpa is not by your side in the future." After saying this, Master Li stroked Li Yi's hair lovingly.

Li Yi's eyes instantly turned red. She reached out and tugged at Master Li's goatee, sobbing, "Grandpa, don't talk nonsense."

"Okay, okay, grandpa deserves to be beaten. Grandpa can't speak, so let's continue learning to read." Master Li laughed heartily. He had become indifferent to life and death, but he couldn't bear to leave the helpless Li Yi.

The sun rose and set, and soon it was the day for Song Li and the other two to go to the county town.

Just after dawn, Jiang Qingzhou accompanied Song Li to the vicinity of Hu's Restaurant, where ox carts heading to the county town were picking up passengers.

Wu Mingshu, Yang Jing and Yang Yu were waiting beside the ox cart. When they saw Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou, they waved to them.

"Qingzhou, go back!"

"Yang Yu, you and brother-in-law Jiang should go back together!"

"Brother, it's too cold. Don't wait here."

Song Li, Wu Mingshu and Yang Jing urged the two men in front of them to go back at the same time. It was chilly in the early morning of late autumn.

Jiang Qingzhou and Yang Yu looked at each other, and both insisted on waiting until the ox cart left before going back.

The chilly autumn wind blew, and Jiang Qingzhou and Yang Yu hurriedly shielded Song Li and Wu Mingshu from the cool wind, leaving Yang Jing alone in the wind, looking sadly at Yang Yu, who forgot his sister for the sake of beauty.

"Ahem, ahem... Jing'er, Mingshu is close to me. No matter how strong the wind is, I will block it for you." Yang Yu explained embarrassedly to Yang Jing who was staring at him.

Yang Jing smiled without saying anything. At this moment, she missed Li Yun'an a little.

Just as Yang Jing was stunned, the middle-aged man driving the cart came over and said to everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, the ox cart is leaving."

Song Li, Wu Mingshu and Yang Jing quickly found a suitable place to sit on the ox cart. The three of them waved to Jiang Qingzhou and Yang Yu to go back quickly.

Jiang Qingzhou and Yang Yu agreed with a smile. They stood side by side at the street corner and watched the ox cart slowly go away until it disappeared.

"Master Yang, let's go back. How is the situation between you and Sister Wu going?" Jiang Qingzhou asked as they walked.

Yang Yu thought of the tenderness between himself and Wu Mingshu. He quickly followed Jiang Qingzhou and replied with a smile, "On October 6, my family will formally propose to her family. My mother has asked someone to calculate the dates. One is December 28 and the other is January 20 of next year. I wonder which one her family will choose?"

Jiang Qingzhou congratulated Yang Yu hastily. He said goodbye to Yang Yu when passing by the clinic, then turned to ask if the clinic sold mulberry leaves and Xanthium sibiricum.

After seeing Jiang Qingzhou, the old doctor in the clinic immediately asked Jiang Qingzhou: "Young man, has Master Li's condition changed since you came here?"

After hearing this, Jiang Qingzhou hurriedly explained to the old doctor: "Old sir, Master Li is in good condition now, and the big lump behind his head is almost gone. I came here this time to ask if you have any Xanthium sibiricum and mulberry leaves?"

"Oh, how many mulberry leaves and Xanthium sibiricum do you have? This is a small shop and I can't buy much." The old man asked with interest. He has always had the habit of buying medicinal materials from the village. Although he needs to prepare them himself, it is much more cost-effective than buying them from medicinal material dealers.

"There are about one pound of Xanthium sibiricum. My family has three acres of mulberry fields. I wonder how many mulberry leaves you have, sir?" Jiang Qingzhou answered respectfully.

The old doctor pondered for a moment, and asked Jiang Qingzhou to bring some Xanthium sibiricum and mulberry leaves to the clinic first. He wanted to inspect the goods first before giving a price and the required quantity.

Jiang Qingzhou and the old doctor agreed to meet again in the afternoon, and he would bring the things for the old doctor to review.

After Jiang Qingzhou returned home, he took the eagerly awaited Li Yi and the calm and composed Master Li to go fishing. When he threw the Kongming fishing rod into the water, he couldn't help but recall the scene of him fishing with Song Li before, and kept wondering where Song Li had gone.

The middle-aged man drove much faster than Li Yun'an and Wu Mingde. It used to take an hour and a half to reach the county town, but now it only took one hour to reach the south gate of the county town.

"If anyone wants to go back, Shen Zhengshi should leave from here, and don't miss the time." The middle-aged man kept reminding the people getting off the car.

A young man asked with a smile: "Brother, when is Shen Zheng?"

"Just wait until the sun sets below the treetops and come back before then." The middle-aged man shouted loudly to ensure that everyone getting off the bus could hear him.

Song Li, Wu Mingshu and Yang Jing followed the people who got off the bus and lined up to enter the county town. The three of them decided to go to the pharmacy to buy gypsum powder first and then go to the county school at noon.

Wu Mingshu was familiar with the county town, so she took Song Li and Yang Jing to a medium-sized pharmacy on Haiyan Street.

"Chunhong brought me here before. She said that this pharmacy is the most affordable in the entire county. The doctors are kind and the herbs are relatively cheap." Wu Mingshu explained to Song Li and Yang Jing as they walked, and the three of them soon arrived at the door of the pharmacy.

Song Li looked up at the drugstore in front of him. A black wooden plaque with the words "Jishengtang" was hung just above the door lintel. People kept coming out of the drugstore carrying medicine bags.

When Song Li and the other two walked into the pharmacy, a waiter in a blue jacket and long pants came up to them and asked, "Do you want to see a doctor or get medicine?"

"Brother, I want to buy some plaster powder." Song Li replied to the waiter with a smile.

The waiter quickly led Song Li and the other two to the counter and smiled as he told the young man standing behind the counter, "Brother Zhao, this lady wants to buy gypsum powder."

The young man nodded, then asked Song Li with a smile: "Madam, do you want to buy raw gypsum or cooked gypsum?"

Song Li was stunned by the question. She didn't know that gypsum also has different types.

Seeing Song Li's confused expression, the young man asked what she was going to do with the plaster.

"I want to use it to make tofu." Song Li answered in a low voice, expecting the young man to know which kind of gypsum can be used to make tofu.

The young man pondered for a moment, then smiled and told Song Li: "So the lady wants to buy gypsum. The tofu maker in the county town often comes to the store to buy gypsum. Gypsum is ten cents per ounce. I wonder how much the lady wants to buy?"

"Let's buy ten taels first."

"Okay, wait a moment, ma'am."

The young man turned and walked to the medicine cabinet behind him. He first used a square dagger to take out the gypsum powder from the fourth medicine cabinet on the second layer and put it on the spread out mulberry paper. Then he weighed it with a scale, skillfully wrapped the mulberry paper with a hemp rope and handed it to Song Li.

"Madam, the total is one hundred coins. When you return home, it's best to put the gypsum powder into a sealed ceramic jar to prevent it from getting damp. Since you are going to use it to make tofu, it's best to use up the gypsum powder within half a year. Old man Wang, who makes tofu at the north gate of the city, once used spoiled gypsum powder to make tofu, which made people sick and he lost a lot of money." The young man kept instructing Song Li.

Song Li thanked the young man with a smile, then took out a piece of change from her purse and handed it to him. The young man weighed it with a scale and gave the remaining money to Song Li.

After Song Li and the other two left the pharmacy, a man in a dark blue plain robe walked up to the counter and asked, "Zhao Chengye, what did those three people buy just now?"

Zhao Chengye first looked at his boss curiously, who had never asked about such trivial matters, and then answered respectfully: "Boss, I want to buy some cooked plaster for making tofu."

"Can we register now?" the man asked.

Zhao Chengye quickly showed the account book to the man, who said softly, "He is indeed a relative of the old family."

The man raised his hand and called his servant over. He first gave instructions in a low voice, then said with a smile, "Gao Xing, go ahead and do it. Since you have met the boss's relative, if I don't treat him well, the boss will say that I am stingy."

"Yes, young master." Gao Xing hurriedly walked out of the pharmacy, wailing in his heart: If the eldest young master knew about this, I would be the one to be punished.