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

Chapter 296

The good news of Zhao Minglang's success in becoming the top scholar spread like wildfire throughout Changzhou City, and the entire Zhao family was immersed in jubilation.

In Changzhou, the atmosphere in front of Baicaotang was joyous.

"Our second son has become the top scholar in the imperial examination, and the landlord is giving out celebratory money."

The steward brought out a basket of copper coins: "Don't push, everyone gets some, everyone gets some."

If it were anyone else, they would just throw money around, but Old Master Zhao wouldn't allow it. He wanted it distributed directly, and everyone, regardless of age or gender, would receive two copper coins—not much, just enough to share in the joy.

Even so, a whole basket of copper coins! Two copper coins per person, how long would that take? Never mind, the whole family, young and old, men and women, all pitched in, lining up to receive them. If that didn't work, they could line up a second or third time. Wouldn't it be great to get ten or twenty copper coins a day?

"Congratulations, Mr. Zhao."

"Congratulations, Mr. Zhao."

"Bai Cao Tang has always been dedicated to helping people and saving lives. The Zhao family's ancestral kindness and accumulated good karma have naturally produced talented individuals."

"Yes, yes, the Zhao family are all good people, which is why they produced a top scholar."

"The top scholar is not married yet. I wonder which family's daughter is so fortunate."

……

In Changzhou Baicaotang, all the Baicaotang clinics in the town are distributing lucky money.

The Zhao family also faced an important choice—whether to stay in Changzhou or move to the capital to start a new life.
"Minglang was the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination. His talent and hard work were recognized by the court, and he was granted the position of compiler in the Hanlin Academy."

Old Master Zhao said, "Minglang, that child, has always known what he should do and knows the direction he should take."

Zhou... Old Master, that's not what you said back then.

Back then, Minglang wanted to go to school but didn't want to study medicine, which greatly displeased his grandfather.

"You rascal, you need brains to succeed in politics, and your brain isn't very sharp. Studying medicine is worse than studying literature. Medicine is so much better..."

Anyway, everyone was skeptical of him.

But now they're saying this.

"It's good that Minglang has brought honor to our ancestors and decided to move the whole family to the capital." The old man sighed at the end, "I, an old man, will not go to join the fun. You go ahead and hopefully you can create a new world there and make our Zhao family shine in the capital."

"Grandpa, are you really not going to the capital?"

Zhao Mingqing asked.

"I won't go. I'm too old. I'm afraid my body won't be able to handle the bumpy ride to the capital." The old man said, "Mingqing, Baicaotang is a century-old shop in Changzhou. I've passed on all my skills to you. You should carry on the Baicaotang business."

"Yes, Grandpa."

"Minglang goes into politics, Minghua goes into business." The old man stroked his beard and chuckled. "Mingqing inherits the family business, not bad, not bad. All three of my Zhao family's grandsons are talented."

Zhou smiled, for it was indeed something the old master should be happy about.

When the Zhao family moved to the capital, Zhou was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

But she had no choice but to go.

After all, the second son, Zhao Minglang, is not married yet.

According to the third brother, the second brother has a sweetheart, and she must be a young lady from the capital.

Now that he has passed the imperial examination, it's time for him to get married.

As parents, they absolutely must be present.

Furthermore, the younger daughter-in-law, Chunnuan, was originally from Beijing. This time, she moved to Beijing to reunite with her family.

She was leaving her parents' home, while he was returning.

People's joys and sorrows are indeed not shared.

In the courtyard, Chunnuan was directing the maids to pack their luggage.

"Young mistress, what should we do with these books?"

Bai Zhi knew that the young mistress loved reading, but moving to the capital was a very long journey, and books were so heavy.

"Pack it up and take it with you."

These books are the belongings that Chunnuan acquired in Changzhou.

Several of these books were gifts from Zhao Minghua; they were all medical books or manuscripts, and all were unique copies. People think that moving house means acquiring gold and silver treasures, but little do they know that some things cannot be bought with gold and silver treasures.

“My uncle wrote that Chun’an and Muyang both want to study medicine. Take these books back with you and let them study them carefully.”

Chunnuan didn't know what had happened at home, but she knew that if Chun'an and Muyang chose to take this path, her third aunt and eldest sister-in-law would be very unhappy.

I couldn't understand it before, but now that I'm a mother myself, I understand that I worry about everything concerning my children.

Moreover, this concerns their future prospects; I wonder how they managed to convince their respective mothers.

"After returning to the capital, Chun Shu and Chun Yan should get married."

Spring warmth filled her with mixed emotions. After her grandfather's accident, the Xiao family had gone through so many hardships since returning to Changzhou. Fortunately, they had all found their own happiness.

Chunshu's marriage was arranged by her aunt, who proposed to the second son of the Lin family; Chunyan was to marry her sister-in-law's half-brother, who was also a capable man and a scholar who had passed the imperial examination.

Chun Ning's betrothal was to Zhong Lan of the Zhong family.

Spring warmth makes me happy just thinking about these things: back in the capital, good news keeps coming one after another. Sure enough, after enduring the cold winter, spring will arrive.

"Young Madam, those pills..."

"Take some with you, and send the rest to Doctor Chen at Baicaotang so he can sell it."

The rest are the items from Chunnuan's small warehouse.

"Young Madam, these..."

Spring is here... and now I realize how difficult moving can be!
The last time we moved was when the whole family moved to Changzhou.

At that time, the Xiao family's home was ransacked, and the soldiers even took their jewelry.

Back then, a few horse-drawn carriages were all they had.

How many carriages would she need by herself now?
The small storeroom also contained many valuable items, many of which were gifts from Zhao Minghua.

It's amazing how much wealth I've accumulated without even realizing it.

"Let's pack them up by category."

Chunnuan knew that the Zhao family would definitely hire bodyguards to ensure their safety along the way.

Therefore, none of these precious items can be left behind; they must all be taken with us.

The same applies to the Zhou family.

"No, moving like this is too exhausting."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou said, "We can leave some in Changzhou and take some with us."

In addition, she selected some brightly colored fabrics and left them for her eldest daughter-in-law.

Zhou was reluctant to leave Changzhou.

But I really look forward to the warmth of spring.

Before leaving, she visited the Luo family again.

"Nuan Nuan, I've also prepared some sausages and cured meat for you," Aunt Luo said. "Don't be offended; this is the only thing I can offer."

"Aunt Luo, you're so kind." Chunnuan took out a prescription: "This is the recipe for medicinal wine. Uncle Luo can make his own medicinal wine from now on."

"Warm..."

This is a secret of the Xiao family, and she just gave it to her own family like that?

"This is too precious, Nuannuan..."

“Aunt Luo, you have taken good care of us since we came to Changzhou. In the future, we will rely on you to take care of our family’s business.”

"Nuan Nuan, we will definitely take good care of you, don't worry."

Aunt Luo was extremely grateful for Chunnuan.

Back then, my family was just a tenant farmer, but now we own dozens of acres of land and have built a big house. All of this was made possible by Chunnuan's help.

“Our two families are destined to meet,” Chunnuan said. “Aunt Luo, just come find us when you get to the capital.”

"Very well, I do hope that one day I can go to the capital."