Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Jin Hehua was the last to arrive. She said to the shopkeeper, "My master lives in a Taoist temple outside the city. You'd better not try to renege on your debt!" After saying that, she slammed a yellow talisman on the door of the shop and strode away.

As Jin Hehua walked, she looked back at the general store and asked, "Master, are we leaving now? What if the shopkeeper tries to renege on the payment? What if we cured his child, but he insists he didn't?"

Granny Huang's gaze fell on a fortune-telling stall to the side ahead, and she said, "He doesn't know how, and he wouldn't dare. I've had Qiuju keep an eye on things around his stall."

Jin Hehua was still somewhat puzzled: "Why is Master so certain?"

Huang Daopo did not answer.

This wasn't her first time in Qingzhou Prefecture; she knew the streets and alleys here intimately. For example, the embroidery shop opposite the general store was run by the wife of a wealthy man in the city. She also knew that the wealthy woman's only son had a similar illness to the general store owner's son, though not as severe.

As Huang Daopo predicted, the shopkeeper of the general store came looking for her the next day.

Jin Hehua had just returned from fetching water when she ran into the general store owner, who was asking other people at the Taoist temple for advice. She beckoned him over.

Huang Daopo had just finished reciting the "Taishang Jiuku Jing" when she saw Jin Hehua leading people in. She closed the scripture and looked up to ask, "What brings you here, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper said sincerely, "Taoist nun, no, fairy nun, I came here specifically to express my gratitude! You are truly a living Guanyin, my child's illness has greatly improved."

Huang Daopo's lips curled slightly as she asked, "Did your child take my medicine and pass a lot of white worms?"

The shopkeeper clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Fairy, you are truly a prophet! My child drank the magic water you gave him yesterday morning and went to the toilet. Oh dear, you don't know, he pooped out a bunch of white worms, some long, some short, some fat, some thin, and many of them were still alive, crawling everywhere like cricket pupae."

There were even a few long snakes trying to crawl out and blocking the entrance to the ditch. I had to use tongs to pull them out. My wife was so disgusted by them that she hasn't been able to eat anything since yesterday.

Huang Daopo nodded in satisfaction.

Jin Hehua felt nauseous and clutched her chest, looking at the shopkeeper with disgust.

The shopkeeper, seemingly oblivious to being looked down upon, proceeded to describe the scene of his son taking the medicine. Finally, he carefully pulled a cloth bag from his chest, opened it layer by layer, and inside were ten taels of gleaming silver.

He held the silver in both hands, walked up to Huang Daopo, and respectfully handed it over, saying, "Fairy, this is the agreed ten taels of silver, please accept it."

Granny Huang stood up, took the silver with both hands, gestured for Jin Hehua to put it away, and then smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, although your child's illness has improved a lot, he still needs to take the medicine one more time to be completely cured."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Please, Fairy, bestow medicine upon me. My child's illness has been terrifying me."

Huang Daopo said, "No rush, no rush, just have another drink, no need to pay extra."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately bowed and scraped, expressing his gratitude profusely before leaving.

After the shopkeeper left, Jin Hehua asked softly, "Master, wasn't the child already cured? Why does he need to take medicine again?"

Huang Daopo smiled and said, "This medicine should be given to one child, but since this is the first time we've given medicine to a person, we should be careful and divide one dose into two."

What she didn't say was that if drinking half a dose was also effective, then she could earn twice the money from one dose of medicine.

Jin Hehua asked again, "Master, Qiuju has already found out that the people from the embroidery shop across from the general store have already told the rich man that you cured the shopkeeper's child. But, Master, how did you know that the shopkeeper's son and the rich man's son had the same illness?"

Huang Daopo looked out the door and said, "I lived in Qingzhou Prefecture for two years. As you know, I have some grudges here, so I would come here every year before the New Year. Therefore, I have already found out the details of the wealthy families in the city. When I left Qingzhou Prefecture after the New Year this year, the shopkeeper of that general store and the rich man's wife were seeking medical treatment everywhere."

What she didn't say was that she was almost invited to the rich man's house for a "ritual," but luckily she was sharp-eyed and ran away quickly, otherwise she would have run into the wrong people.

But it's not a big deal if we run into each other; given her current appearance, the other person probably wouldn't even recognize her.

Jin Hehua exclaimed with delight, "Master, it seems we'll be able to earn a lot of silver this time in Qingzhou!"

Huang Daopo shook her head and said nothing more.

At this moment, the shopkeeper, who had already left, returned.

Granny Huang lowered her eyes slightly and looked at the person in front of her, asking, "Shopkeeper, is there anything else?"

The shopkeeper slapped his forehead and said, "The woman who owns the embroidery shop across from my shop also has a child with the same illness as my child. This morning she asked me to help her get some 'miracle water' to take back, but I just forgot about it."

Granny Huang took the water from Jin Hehua, took a sip, put down the bowl, and said, "Oh? There are other children with the same illness as yours?"

The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, the embroidery shop owner's wife is also extremely anxious."

After thinking for a moment, Huang Daopo said, "Then go and tell her to bring her child over. I can only give the medicine after I have examined the child."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper of the general store immediately said with delight, "Good, good, I'll go and tell the embroidery shop owner's wife right away."

After the shopkeeper left, Jin Hehua asked in confusion, "Master, why didn't you just give him a bowl of magic water and have him take it with him?"

Looking at the young Taoist practicing outside the door, Huang Daopo said, "That rich woman comes from a powerful family. If I only give her a bowl of medicine, she might look down on us three, and she might even think I'm deceiving her. Besides, we're in the business of healing and saving lives, so it's best to examine the sick person in person to ensure everything goes smoothly."

Upon hearing this, Jin Hehua immediately agreed, saying, "Master is right. That rich woman is very wealthy. She has more than a dozen embroiderers in her embroidery shop alone, and I heard they are all young girls bought from various places. Moreover, this rich woman has a particularly bad temper, like a firecracker that can be lit at any moment. She often beats and scolds the embroiderers in the shop. You should keep an eye on her and make sure she charges you more money."

Granny Huang tilted her head slightly to look at Jin Hehua and said, "Don't be fooled by this woman's behavior. She's like any other businesswoman, burning incense and praying to gods on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, believing in fortune telling and consulting deities. But business people are often the richer they are, the stingier they become, and they're very shrewd. They usually have their own trusted masters to guide them and won't easily trust an unknown itinerant fortune teller like us. However, there are ways to make money off these kinds of people."