Chapter 33: The Injured Auntie Wei

Hehe, the dark-skinned kid again.

“Third Sister.”

The dark-skinned kid was full of enthusiasm, while Tu Shan looked speechless.

“Call me Third Sister.”

“Third Sister.”

Tu Shan glanced at him: “Close your mouth. All those teeth are blinding me. Here.”

Five oranges, plus two cents.

The dark-skinned kid kept grinning until his eyes disappeared: “Thanks, Third Sister. Take care, Third Sister. By the way, Third Sister, I was the one who delivered your things yesterday. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. I run super fast.”

Tu Shan found it amusing: “Are you fast, or ‘super’ fast?”

The kid scratched the back of his head with a silly grin: “Haven’t raced anyone yet.”

What a fool, Tu Shan thought as she walked inside.

Yang Jiajiang waved from afar: “Morning, Third Sister.”

Tu Shan looked at him. She couldn’t play favorites, so she gave him a few oranges too: “Eat up, they’re sweet.”

Yang Jiajiang was delighted: “Thanks, Third Sister. Anything good today?”

“Nothing much today, just over a thousand catties of taro.”

Yang Jiajiang wasn’t disappointed. Everything Tu Shan brought was good, and a thousand catties of taro was no small amount.

“By the way, Third Sister, someone is looking for medicine. Can you find it?”

“What kind of medicine?”

“High-vintage Solomon’s seal, aged dried tangerine peel, and high-quality tiger bone wine.”

Tu Shan raised an eyebrow. These were tricky items.

But her father’s pharmacy had them all.

She just didn’t know if the pharmacy still existed.

Her accident had been sudden. Everything was fine during the day, but by night, she had been drugged, bedridden for days, and then sent to an underground clinic. During that time, she couldn’t contact her parents.

After she died, by the time she regained consciousness, her parents had already been driven to a shack.

She knew nothing about the family’s belongings or their situation. Even after drifting as a ghost for half a year, she never heard her parents discuss these things.

Her father was a master of traditional medicine, and the Tu family had been doctors for generations; their ancestors had even served as imperial physicians. The family possessed countless medical texts and precious herbs.

If that animal Tu Liang had gotten his hands on them or ruined them, he truly deserved to be struck by lightning.

“Who wants it?”

Yang Jiajiang smiled and said nothing.

Tu Shan understood. Industry rules.

“If the person is decent, I’ll help look. If their character is rotten, then let them rot.”

Yang Jiajiang was caught between laughter and tears: “Here is the payment for today and yesterday’s goods. Count it, and the inventory list is here too. Please verify it.”

Tu Shan took a casual glance and put it away: “Do you have soybean seeds?”

“I have soybeans, but no seeds.”

“That’s fine. Give me a catty. How much?”

“No charge. I can afford to give away a catty of soybeans.”

Tu Shan didn’t stand on ceremony and pushed her cart away.

After walking a few steps, she turned back to ask: “You and that dark-skinned kid are relatives, right?” Otherwise, why look after him so much?

Yang Jiajiang was stunned for a moment: “No, but the kid is sharp and quite likable.”

Tu Shan didn’t commit to an answer and walked away with long strides.

When she reached Longgang District, Auntie Wei was waiting there again.

“Third Sister, come quickly, come quickly.”

Tu Shan stumbled, wanting to turn around and leave.

She really didn’t like the name Tu Sanmei.

“Auntie, why don’t you call me Shanshan?”

“Sansan? That’s a unique nickname. Alright.”

Tu Shan… *San san* and *shan shan*.

Auntie, where are you from?

*Sansan* was fine, better than *Sanmei*.

“Auntie, you don’t need to come out so early to wait for me in the future. When I arrive, just have the guard call me.”

Auntie Wei waved her hand: “It’s fine, I’m old and can’t sleep anyway.”

Tu Shan tilted her head: “Poor sleep? If you don’t sleep well, you should eat more fruits and vegetables to supplement vitamins, amino acids, and protein. I brought radishes and oranges today; eat plenty. I’ll find a way to get other things later.”

Although Auntie Wei didn’t quite understand, she felt Tu Shan’s sincerity and her old face bloomed with a smile: “You girl are truly lovable. Come, come, let’s go home first.”

Along the way, the old lady’s smile never faded. When they arrived home, the two old men and the nanny were there, but the smiling uncle was absent.

The nanny came over to help push the cart: “I told her I’d go out to meet you, but Sister Wei wouldn’t have it; she insisted on going herself.”

Tu Shan grinned, looking cheeky and mischievous: “I can feel the old lady’s love for me, but it’s impossible. I have a man, and I’m devoted to him.”

The four people in the courtyard took a while to process her cold joke, shivering at how chilly it was.

Auntie Wei was so angry she patted Tu Shan: “You brat, no sense of propriety.”

The nanny laughed heartily: “Oh my, look at how you’ve hurt our big sister. You’re too heartless; how could a man be better than our big sister?”

Auntie Wei blushed and lunged at the nanny: “You have no filter! See if I don’t tear your mouth apart.”

Tu Shan shook her head with a *tsk*: “Old lady, you’re not up to the task. You’re so old and still shy? It’s no big deal, look at how flustered you are. Is the smiling uncle incapable of sweet talk?”

Auntie Wei was panting with rage, not knowing whose mouth to tear first.

The two old men felt awkward listening to the women’s banter, but the courtyard was small and there was nowhere to go, making them even more uncomfortable than Auntie Wei.

“Alright, alright, the gate isn’t closed, don’t let people see us making a fool of ourselves.” Elder Zongzheng rescued his daughter-in-law: “Girl Tu, your smiling uncle is very protective of his wife. You’d better watch it.”

Auntie Wei was speechless, looking at the stern old man in disbelief: “Dad, why are you teasing me along with them?” The old lady felt that at her age, she had never been teased like this before, and she wanted to hide in her room.

There was no helping it; the old lady came from a highly educated family, lived for fifty or sixty years without suffering, and had never been grounded in reality. Those around her were either fellow ladies of high standing or juniors who respected her status. How could they ever joke with her like this?

For a moment, she was truly flustered.

Elder Zongzheng cleared his throat and changed the subject: “What did you bring today, girl?”

Tu Shan smiled and handed an orange to each of the two old men: “Eat up, they’re sweet, no need to avoid them. I brought some tender corn. You can boil it, stew it with ribs, shell it and stir-fry it, or shell it and make porridge. You can even grind it into paste to make pancakes. It’s all delicious.

I also brought some radishes. These are good, like eating ginseng; they’ll make your body strong. And taro and sweet potatoes—these aren’t hard on the teeth, have some every day.

There’s also some sesame, just for flavor, not much.”

The four of them watched as she moved things into the kitchen one by one.

Elder Zongzheng asked: “Girl, it’s all vegetarian. No meat?”

Tu Shan turned her head to look at him: “Craving meat? What kind of meat do you want?”

The old man shook his head: “I’m not picky.”

“Alright, I’ll get two pheasants to make soup to nourish your bodies. You’ve lost your teeth, so other meats are hard to chew.”

The old man…

The nanny laughed uncontrollably. She felt the little girl was the bane of the Zongzheng family; from top to bottom, everyone was left speechless by her.

However, since she arrived, this serious, cold house had become much livelier.

Auntie Wei, who was always stiff, had become grounded.

The old man, who always wore a fake smile, was now genuinely happy.

Even Elder Ming, who had kept a cold face for seventy years, had started to smile.

“Both old men are craving meat, but the doctor won’t let them eat too much, and they feel uncomfortable if they overeat.

Before, Big Sister bought your soft-shelled turtle for soup, and the two old men felt great after eating it, so they’ve been waiting for your fish every day. The fish is good, too. The fish you catch makes them feel comfortable, and they can eat as much as they want without issues.

It’s just that you haven’t delivered fish for two days, and the supply at home is gone, so they’re craving it.”

She understood the craving for meat, but there had been about ten fish and twenty or thirty catties of loach before—they had eaten it all?

“The two old men have huge appetites. I said there was no need to avoid food, but you two didn’t have to gorge yourselves.”

Both old men blushed. Ming Zhan was a man of few words; even when wronged, he just glared at Tu Shan without speaking.

Elder Zongzheng said indignantly: “We didn’t eat that much! It was those unfilial sons who ran back every night to steal food from us two old fossils. Truly raised them for nothing.”