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

The herbs in the cave dwelling were already bundled up, filling a large sack.

Yao squatted down, leaned back, grabbed the rope on the sack, pulled hard on her back, and leaned forward again. A large sack of medicinal herbs was now on her back. She slowly stood up, holding onto the wall with one hand. The sack on her back was so heavy that she couldn't straighten her back at all, so she could only walk out with her back bent.

"Second brother, second sister-in-law, are you home?" Yao asked, pulling on the rope and bobbing her body upwards to keep the sack on her back from slipping off.

"Who is it?" Madam Yang came out.

"Second sister-in-law, it's me—" Yao was still bowing, but she looked up and smiled at Yang.

Yang was taken aback, and stammered, "Nine...Nine-wa's mother, what brings you here?"

Yao was struggling, and the sack on her back started to slide down again: "I heard that your family collects medicinal herbs, so I brought my family's herbs over to take a look."

Yang leaned out of the courtyard gate and looked down at the road. Seeing that Old Lady Ji was not there, she welcomed Yao in.

When Yao entered the courtyard, she saw Old Master Ji sorting through the medicinal herbs on the ground. She quickly put down the sack on her back, untied the rope at the top, and said, "Second Brother, do you think these medicinal herbs of mine are alright? Can we take them?"

When Old Master Ji saw that it was Madam Yao, he was momentarily stunned. He then looked at Madam Yang, who shook her head.

Madam Yao was somewhat anxious. She wiped her sweat and asked, "Second Brother, what's wrong? Can't we accept the medicinal herbs from my family?"

Grandpa Ji got up and came over, bent down and took out a bundle of tied medicinal herbs from Yao's pocket. He looked at them and said, "I've received them. Wait for me to get the scale." Then he called Ji Yongling over to help.

Only then did Madam Yao breathe a sigh of relief.

After weighing the medicinal herbs for Madam Yao, Old Master Ji had Ji Yongling calculate the bill. Madam Yao took the copper coins from Ji Yongling, thanked him, and left in a hurry.

Ji Yongling only knew that her family and Ji Laosi's family had some conflicts, but she didn't know the specific details, so she didn't ask.

Yao hurriedly returned home and saw Ji Laosi squatting at the gate with his arms crossed and his knees on his knees. She pretended that nothing had happened and prepared to enter the yard.

Ji Laosi turned his head and asked, "For sale?"

Just as Yao was about to step over the threshold, she paused, her foot landing on the threshold. With a hint of sarcasm, she said, "What? You already know, why are you asking?"

Ji Laosi turned around, looked at the roadside, and said, "Sell it if you want, don't let Mother know."

Yao rolled her eyes, ignored Ji Laosi, and walked into the courtyard.

……

Ji Yongling thought that she rarely had free time today, so she decided to calculate everyone's wages recently.

The medicine pouches that I gave to several aunties in the village a few days ago were all finished and returned yesterday. Together with those brought back by Ji Shuicao and Ji Shuihua, we only need to deliver the ones to my second aunt Zhao Yunxia.

Ji Yongling held the ledger she had bound with needle and thread and carefully examined it, calculating the accounts for each medicinal herb one by one.

These past few days, she's sometimes not home, so the account book has been kept by Ji Yongbai or Grandpa Ji. It's written fairly clearly, but there are some traditional Chinese characters that neither she nor the original owner of this body recognizes. However, given the medicinal herbs, she can guess about 70-80% of them.

Previously, under Ji Manchuan's tutelage, Ji Yongling's original self knew some characters and could write a little, but not very well. Moreover, he mostly wrote and drew on the ground and almost never wrote on paper. With the addition of Ji Yongling's modern soul, he gradually started writing simplified Chinese characters.

Therefore, Ji Yongsong would ask from time to time whether Ji Manchuan had not taught him well.

Ji Manchuan retorted, "I can draw my toes better than she writes. Writing and reading both require talent, and Ling'er has put her talent elsewhere."

"Ling'er, my little sister—" Maihua's voice came from the courtyard gate.

Ji Yongling looked up and greeted, "Sister Maihua, come in and sit down."

Maihua was a little embarrassed. She squeezed her clothes tightly with her fingers, walked in, and slowly sat down next to Ji Yongling. She said softly, "Thank you so much for these past few days, Auntie and everyone."

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "Don't mention it! My mother told me your medicine pouches are very well made, but this batch is finished, and I don't know if I'll be able to get the next batch, so—"

Maihua nodded, her face flushed, and said, "I know, I didn't come here to work today. My mother told me to come..."

"Your mother asked you to come and settle your wages, right?" Ji Yongling said, picking up another ledger containing medicine pouches.

Maihua lowered her head and softly hummed in agreement.

Ji Yongling opened the ledger, found Maihua's name, calculated it twice, and said, "Sister Maihua, we agreed that each medicine pouch would cost two and a half coins. You've made them these past few days, so you can get a total of 800 coins... But my fourth aunt told your mother that she can probably make thirty a day, so you can keep some for yourself as pocket money."

Maihua hurriedly turned around and glanced at the courtyard gate, then said softly, "Then just give me thirty a day, and keep the rest for now. You can hide them for me."

Ji Yongling wanted to say that it was better for him to keep it to himself, because money matters could easily turn into enemies.

But seeing the sincerity and expectation in Maihua's eyes, she couldn't help but nod and agree, saying, "Okay, I'll keep it for you first, and I'll write you an IOU."

Maihua quickly grabbed Ji Yongling's arm and said, "Ling'er, why write an IOU? People in our village don't write IOUs. If you write one, it'll make it seem like I don't trust you."

Ji Yongling paused, thinking that in ancient times, people relied entirely on an ironclad system of trust to deal with each other. Although there were cases where trust collapsed and people became enemies, in the village, everyone generally valued their reputation, and some people valued their reputation more than their lives.

However, Ji Yongling still insisted, "Sister Maihua, don't easily trust someone, especially when it comes to money. You must clarify things face-to-face and keep evidence."

Maihua's expression was conflicted after hearing Ji Yongling's words. She slowly said, "Ling'er... people in our village have always trusted each other. Writing this down makes me feel uneasy."

Looking into Maihua's eyes, Ji Yongling knew the struggle in her heart. She gently patted Maihua's shoulder and said, "Sister Maihua, money matters are the easiest to cause disputes. I'm doing this just to prevent problems from arising. Besides, I owe you money, what if I deny it later?"

Maihua hurriedly said, "No, no, no, you're not that kind of person. I absolutely believe you, and I believe in your Ji family even more than I believe in my own parents."

Ji Yongling shook his head and continued, "It's always best to be cautious when it comes to money. People die for wealth, birds die for food, and there are plenty of cases where even brothers turn against each other over interests. If something goes wrong, having an IOU in hand will provide some protection."

Maihua was silent for a while, then bit her lip and said, "Ling'er, I can't read. For me, an IOU is no different from not having one."

Ji Yongling stopped writing, looked up at Maihua, and after a moment said, "Sister Maihua, I'll teach you when I have time."

Maihua smiled and nodded, her eyes glistening with tears.

Ji Yongling patted Maihua's hand, counting money from her purse as she said, "Don't trust me so much. Trust can be a heavy burden for me sometimes. I'm still young, and it might stunt my growth." With that, she took Maihua's hand and put a handful of money into it.

"Here are two hundred and fifty coins for you to take home. I'll keep the rest for you."