The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Chapter 21 Is this the attitude of asking someone for a favor?

This idea was dangerous, and Yu Tingwan reluctantly rejected it.

She started running up the mountain again.

She left home before dawn and didn't come down the mountain until it was dark. She didn't bother going back to her old house; she ran straight to Old Man Qian's house.

Old Man Qian, who was about to go to sleep, was very confused.

"You want to sell medicinal herbs to me?"

Yu Tingwan nodded.

Old Man Qian was about to chase the man away, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you know about medicinal herbs?"

Yu Tingwan poured out a whole basket of medicinal herbs from behind her, and not a single one of them was a weed.

His eyes suddenly changed.

"You know about these things?"

Yu Tingwan: "No, but I wrote it down."

“Last time in the mountains, the one you pointed out to Aunt Huiniang looked like this.”

But I only pointed to three kinds last time, and you have six here!

Before he could ask, Yu Tingwan was unusually obedient.

“These are the ones drying outside your house when I came here to get medicine for my uncle before.”

That was three years ago.

They are observant, and their minds work quite well.

But Old Man Qian had a strange temper and said irritably, "I can dig up the medicinal herbs myself, why should I take them from you?"

Yu Tingwan sincerely promoted herself: "You're too old, you definitely can't move as fast as me."

Is this how you ask for a favor?

Yu Tingwan pressed on: "The price of each medicine is different. Regardless of the pricing between Doctor Qian and the clinic, I will only take 60% of it, and the remaining 40% will be Doctor Qian's hard-earned money."

"Anyway, Dr. Qian, you go to the county clinic to sell herbs every now and then, so it won't hurt to bring more."

This shows great sincerity.

Yu Tingwan was not greedy; she understood the principle of accumulating little by little.

Old Man Qian scoffed, "Take it away, take it away, don't stand here in the way."

He lives a solitary life, can make a living, and has a few drinks every now and then. Why would he need to earn so much money?

Yu Tingwan was puzzled.

"Why are you so unambitious?"

Old Man Qian: ...

He was also puzzled.

"Can't you carry it to the clinic yourself?"

Yu Tingwan calmly shook her head: "The county town is far away, I don't want to walk."

"Then let's go to the village entrance and take a horse-drawn carriage."

Yu Tingwan said shrewdly, "It costs three coins per trip."

Besides, Old Man Qian and the clinic had been doing business together for years, and it was easier to talk to someone he knew. But she only had a superficial understanding of these things, and since the clinic's staff saw that she was a stranger, they would most likely try to lower the price.

Old Man Qian: ...

"correct."

Yu Tingwan suddenly thought of something. Her eyes lit up, making Old Man Qian's scalp tingle for no apparent reason.

"And one more thing."

He hasn't even agreed to the medicinal herbs yet, and now something else has happened!
Yu Tingwan: "Dr. Qian often treats patients, so he must know a lot of people."

She cast a wide net.

"If there's anyone around me who isn't married yet, could you please help me find a match?"

Old Man Qian: ? ?

They were rendered speechless.

He looked at Yu Tingwan in disbelief, not seeing a hint of a joke in her expression.

Yu Tingwan: "Thank you for your hard work."

"At the wedding banquet, please invite Dr. Qian to sit at the head table."

After returning from Old Man Qian's place, Yu Tingwan tightly clutched the four coins she had received.

Old Man Qian said that the pharmacies didn't lack the herbs she picked, so he bought them cheaply.

Yu Tingwan then asked what the expensive herbs looked like.

Old Man Qian didn't say.

Those places live deep in the mountains, where wild beasts often roam. What could a young girl like her possibly be asking about?

After a busy day, she had finally saved up ten coins!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wei family.

Hui Niang sat sewing shoes, while Wei Shouzhong brewed medicine.

The couple would occasionally glance up at Wei Zhao on the bed.

He wasn't asleep yet, just staring blankly at the amulet, lifeless, like a walking corpse.

The couple were extremely satisfied that he hadn't acted irrationally in the past few days.

Hui Niang: "Tomorrow we'll stew pork bones with radish. Ah Lang, you should drink a few more bowls."

Wei Zhao didn't want to speak.

Wei Shouzhong: "He will." Huiniang: "There are still quite a few pig intestines left. Nobody buys these, so I brought them all back. I'm thinking of stir-frying half of them and braising the other half to keep for the New Year. What do you think, Ah Lang?"

Wei Shouzhong: "He thought it was excellent."

Wei Zhao:......

It's so noisy.

Wei Shouzhong: "I will go to find the village head tomorrow."

Hui Niang suddenly looked at him.

Wei Shouzhong: "I've been incompetent all these years, and you've suffered because of me."

Hui Niang shook her head, knowing all too well that Wei Shouzhong was also suffering.

Wei Shouzhong raised his hand to wipe the moisture from Huiniang's eyes, and then noticed Wei Zhao looking over.

I don't know how long he watched it.

And with that strange look in his eyes.

Wei Zhao was indeed confused and bewildered.

He had witnessed the ugliness and hypocrisy of human nature all too well. Weren't there countless couples in wealthy and powerful families who were only superficially harmonious?

Those filthy people put on a show of affection only to cover up their dirty, shameful deeds.

It is said that poverty-stricken couples face a hundred sorrows.

How come the Wei couple has never had a single argument?
Hui Niang suddenly thought of something: "Why is there still no sound from next door? I saw Wan Niang carrying a basket out early this morning. Could something have happened to her?"

Wei Shouzhong: "Perhaps they came back to rest earlier."

Hui Niang felt uneasy.

"No, I have to go and take a look."

The moonlight was dim.

Yu Tingwan walked in the dark.

The snow was thick, her shoes were already soaked, and she was shivering from the cold.

Yu Tingwan was hungry and tired, and she took difficult steps forward.

She heard someone calling her from afar.

Hui Niang carried a lantern and pounded on the door of the old house.

"Wan Niang, are you home?"

"Jan Niang?"

When no one responded from inside the house for a long time, Hui Niang's brows furrowed tightly.

No, we need to get the head of the household to go find the village head, and then the whole village should search for people.

"Aunt?"

Just then, someone called softly from behind.

Upon hearing the sound, Hui Niang hurried towards her. By the light of the kerosene lamp, she looked at Yu Tingwan's tired face.

She breathed a sigh of relief, but still said, "It's not safe for a young woman like you to be out alone. Which village doesn't have thugs and ruffians? It's hard to walk in the dark. Next time, you should try to get home before sunset."

Hui Niang touched her hand and exclaimed, "It's like an ice cube! Go back quickly."

Yu Tingwan blinked.

She and Hui Niang weren't very familiar with each other, were they?

Hui Niang looked down and saw that the cloth shoes she was wearing were not only worn out, but also soaked through.

She was so cold she wanted to curl up in a corner, leaving only her pitiful eyes showing.

Hui Niang felt uneasy.

"wait."

She returned to the Wei family home and quickly retrieved a pair of worn-out cotton shoes.

"If you don't mind, just wear this."

Yu Tingwan didn't move.

Her gaze held a newfound scrutiny.

What does my aunt want from me?

Seeing her wary expression, Hui Niang couldn't help but chuckle.

"Knowing how to be wary of others is a good thing."

She placed the shoes into Yu Tingwan's arms.

“This is what Xiao Niang wore when she was alive.”

"Your aunt doesn't want anything from you."

"I just feel..."

Her voice trailed off: "I just feel that if someone had been willing to lend Xiaoniang a hand back then, she wouldn't have ended up like this..."

She paused, then didn't continue, only saying...

"If cold air gets into your body, you'll suffer later."

"You're still young, you have a long life ahead of you."

“We live close by, so if anything happens in the future, don’t be shy about asking. I know you young ladies are a bit timid.”

Yu Tingwan remained silent.

She hugged her cloth shoes tightly, her head hanging low.

The last time someone whispered something like this in her ear was her mother.

(End of this chapter)