The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chunnuan pondered in her heart how to share the good news with her mother-in-law.

"Mother, my husband wrote a letter. He said that my second brother has entered Hanwen Academy and has been accepted as a disciple by Headmaster Tian. His future is limitless."

"Really, that's wonderful."

When Zhou heard Zhao Minglang say that she wished she could enter Hanwen Academy in the capital, she never expected that her long-cherished wish would come true.

When a son brings good news, a mother is naturally overjoyed.

Seeing Zhou's face beaming with joy, Chunnuan wondered whether she should ask the next question.

Well, let's talk about my second brother.

"My husband also said that my second brother seems to have someone he likes."

"Oh no, really? Which family's young lady is she?"

This news made Zhou's eyes light up.

Emma's biggest worry is finding a suitable daughter-in-law for her second daughter.

Back in Changzhou, matchmakers practically wore out the doorstep, but that guy just kept saying two words: "No talk."

Zhou had also taken a liking to a girl who she thought was a good match for her second son. She was well-educated, well-mannered, and from a good family, making her a good match for the Zhao family. However, the boy was not interested and disagreed.

Unfortunately, the old master and the master said to let him do as he pleased, thus missing out on a good daughter-in-law. Zhou was so angry that her heart ached for three days.

After that, she gave up on finding a daughter-in-law and let him do whatever he wanted.

Anyway, the master would whisper in her ear from time to time, saying that the second son was not a fish in this small pond, but would leap over the dragon gate, and that his future wife would definitely be the daughter of a wealthy family in the capital.

After hearing this so many times, even Zhou Shi started to believe it.

My son has only been in the capital for a short time, and he hasn't even passed the imperial examination yet, but he already has someone he likes?

Whose daughter is she?

"My second brother didn't reveal who it was, and my husband couldn't guess either. He told my mother so that she wouldn't have to worry about my second brother's marriage."

"How can I not worry? I'm still worried. If I marry a rich young lady from the capital, will I have to increase the dowry even more?"

After saying this, Zhou realized that she might have talked too much.

Chunnuan was also a young lady from the capital. Although she had fallen on hard times, she was still born there.

"Nuan Nuan, what I mean is, should it be the same amount as your betrothal gifts?"

Chunnuan's betrothal gifts were plentiful, but the vast majority were prepared by the third son.

Zhou dared not utter a word since she had gotten such a good deal. The thought of how much her second son's betrothal gifts would cost her a lot of money made her heart ache again.

Sigh, I just feel that raising a son is really mentally taxing.

Just then, a servant reported back.

"Madam, Third Young Mistress, Master is back."

The master is back. He went to Changzhou and didn't even stay to have lunch with the old master before returning.

"Let's add another set of bowls and chopsticks."

Needless to say, they definitely haven't eaten yet.

Zhou quickly got up to greet him.

Chunnuan, the daughter-in-law, naturally couldn't sit down either.

"The daughter-in-law greets her father-in-law."

"Third son's wife, please sit down, please sit down. Third son has written back." Zhao Chengxun said to his wife with a big smile, "Guess what surprise your youngest son has for you?"

A surprise from the youngest child?

What is it?
Nuannuan only mentioned the surprise from the second child; what about the youngest?

"The Emperor himself bestowed upon us the title of Righteous Merchant. Now we are Imperial Merchants. Do you know what that means?" Madam Zhou was stunned by her husband's excitement.

She does know a bit about "royal merchants," which means dealing with the royal family and conducting business within the inner palace.

What then is a "righteous merchant"?

"The third brother has really brought honor to our Zhao family this time. He secretly did something big and actually got the Emperor's personal inscription for a righteous merchant. He has truly brought glory to his ancestors. The Zhao family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke."

"Is it really the third brother? When did the third brother do something so big?"

She knew her own son best. Zhou wondered if her husband had drunk too much and was seeing things.

It's the second son... no, that's not right either. The second son has been studying and pursuing knowledge all along. It's not his time to bring glory to the family yet.

"Yes, the third brother is the one who quietly accomplishes great things." Zhao Chengxun remembered and quickly asked Chunnuan, "Third brother's wife, do you know about these things he's been doing?"

“My husband told me that he also told me not to tell you, so as not to worry you two. After all, it is a very important matter, and if anything goes wrong, it might implicate the family.”

That's something I absolutely need to know; after all, it was her idea.

However, at this time, what she should do is be a good wife, not take credit.

"Oh my, you two, really... really..."

After learning the whole story, Madam Zhou was extremely anxious: "Why didn't the third son tell the master about such a big thing? What if something really happened...?"

“Mother, everything is over and nothing unexpected happened, so you don’t need to worry.”

Look how anxious she is now that she's heard about it. If we had told her back then, wouldn't she have been even more anxious?
“Yes, it’s all in the past.” Zhao Chengxun said with deep emotion, “The third brother is a man of great courage. If it were me, I would probably have to think about it for a long time.”

That was tens of tons of grain, and at that critical juncture, the price of grain had already increased several times over.

A true merchant would never sell grain to General Xia at a fair price; instead, he would take the opportunity to make a profit.

But he didn't. Instead, he sold it to General Xia at a fair price, which helped General Xia recover Changzhou and quell the rebellion.

When Zhao Chengxun heard that General Xia was selling grain at a low price, and that each household could buy a certain amount of grain every day based on their household registration, he was worried for General Xia. How much grain would it take to avoid giving up halfway and losing the trust of the people?

Later, General Xia persisted until the autumn harvest in Changzhou. Zhao Chengxun was impressed by General Xia's decisiveness in mobilizing grain from other places to solve the problem.

Who would have thought that the one truly pulling the strings behind the scenes was actually his own son, who usually seemed completely unreliable.

Tens of tons of grain! How long would it take to arrange that?

The grain was stored at the right time, and then General Xia arrived at the right moment.

If it were any other general in Changzhou, the third brother wouldn't have dared to take such a risk with this batch of grain.

Because he was General Xia and his brother-in-law, he was able to ensure everything went smoothly, gaining benefits that his ancestors for eight generations wouldn't have dared to dream of without any personal gain.

"The third brother is too bold."

Mrs. Zhou was still marveling, "How dare he do such a thing?"

"The third brother is born to do business."

Zhao Chengxun was filled with emotion.

Spring is here... Zhao Minghua would be very happy to know that his father praised him like this.

After all, he had never received his parents' approval.

This time, they finally proved with their abilities that they are no worse than anyone else.

The Zhao family had always forbidden him from going into business, but now that they know that doing business can also bring honor to the family, they probably won't object to him going into business anymore.

“The third brother did a great job, and the second brother is not to be outdone. The second brother has become a disciple of Headmaster Tian of Hanwen Academy and has a bright future ahead of him. The ancestors of the Zhao family… no, I have to go to the ancestral hall to offer incense to the ancestors and let them know so that they can be happy too.”

After Zhao Chengxun finished speaking, he headed towards the ancestral hall.

With spring in full bloom... the Zhao family's ancestral lineage will likely continue to flourish, after all, there's still Zhao Minglang, who is about to take an exam and is also a very promising individual. (End of Chapter)