Duan Yan had gotten things started at the Song household. During these days in the countryside, whenever he had free time, he would make his way over to the Songs’ home. Not only did he help repair their roof, he also reinforced the walls around their courtyard.
He even built them a separate kitchen, complete with a stove and cooking pot, so that the place where they lit fires and simmered food was kept apart. That way, they would not have to sleep and cook in the same room.
A single room might have been warmer in winter if it served as both bedroom and kitchen, but in summer and autumn, having a fire inside would only make it hotter.
He also dug a reservoir beside the stream behind the house. Together with Song Xuemu, he constructed a bamboo water pipe and diverted the stream directly into the newly built kitchen.
All these arrangements took time, and as a result, Duan Yan began visiting the Song household rather frequently.
Although the Songs’ home was in a secluded spot, now that the epidemic was gradually coming under control and the villagers could go out to farm while keeping their distance from one another, people would occasionally run into them.
Village folk loved gossip more than anything. Before long, everyone knew that Duan Yan had dealings with the Song family. No one dared ask him about it to his face, but behind his back, the rumors spread like wildfire.
Some said the blacksmith had taken a liking to the young ger who had been exiled there and was trying to win his favor. That was why he kept going to the Song household to work, currying favor like a son-in-law.
Others said the Songs were shameless. Life in exile was too difficult, so they had offered up the young ger of their family to the patrol officer in exchange for someone to provide them with labor and supplies.
The rumors grew increasingly vicious. It was not long before they reached the village headman’s ears. Knowing that Duan Yan was on close terms with the Songs, Village Head Zhou abruptly changed his former bullying attitude toward them.
When he found the opportunity, he brought lamp oil, candles, eggs, fruit, and other provisions to the Song household, and arranged the five mu of land that should originally have been allotted to them.
Before this, when he had seen that the Song family had fallen from power and had neither influence nor connections, and that the people from the town office had sent them here, he had treated them as free sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Not only had he withheld the farmland they were entitled to, he had also assigned the family all sorts of farm work.
Every day, the Song family had to clear wasteland. They also had to carry fodder to distant, difficult-to-reach mountain pastures to feed horses and sheep. Even the bridge repairs and road construction assigned by the town office had been pushed onto them, while the villagers who should have been performing such compulsory labor had instead become overseers.
The Songs had not been here long, and then the epidemic had led to the village lockdown, preventing people from coming into close contact with one another. Otherwise, they would have been assigned even more work.
When the autumn harvest arrived, they would have been called upon to work for free, harvesting and drying other people’s grain.
When the Song family saw Village Head Zhou approaching their home, they instinctively felt that something was wrong. They feared that their brief period of relief had come to an end.
Only after Zhou explained the reason for his visit did they finally breathe a little easier.
“These fields haven’t been tended for two years, so they’re rather overgrown and look abandoned. But once you clear them and take proper care of them, they’ll produce just as much grain as any other land. And, of course, they’re close to your home, which will make fertilizing and farming them much more convenient in the future.”
Village Head Zhou pointed out several nearby plots for Song Wushen and Song Xuemu to inspect. As he secretly observed how much the Song household had changed, he thought that the villagers’ rumors were indeed true.
Duan Yan was the landlord of their village. In the city, he also had the iron trade firmly in his grasp. Now, thanks to his good fortune, he had even won Magistrate Kong’s favor and secured a position as a patrol officer. He truly had become even more powerful.
Since the Songs had managed to form a connection with Duan Yan, Zhou had to show them some consideration. Otherwise, with everyone on the estate watching in secret, even the slightest disturbance would reach Duan Yan’s ears. If Duan Yan became displeased, Zhou might be the village headman, but he could not afford to have Duan Yan make trouble for him.
So he added a few polite words. “Though this old man lives in such a poor and remote village and rarely hears news from outside, I have heard a thing or two about Lord Song’s past service to the country and its people.
“Now that Lord Song and his family have settled here for the time being, it is a blessing for all of us. It is only right that we offer them our care and assistance. If your household should need anything in the future, Lord Song, please feel free to send for me. This old man will do everything in his power to help.”
Song Fengsui was hiding behind the door and had not gone out to receive the visitor. He had originally assumed that after they chased away that Zhou boy a few days ago, his father would come today to make things even more difficult for their family. He had not expected the man to be so kind as to allocate the land they had been entitled to all along.
Previously, his father and second uncle had made several trips to see him about the matter. Village Head Zhou had claimed to be busy one day, then said there was no suitable land available the next. Later, he told them to finish some other work first.
Yet now, without being sought out, he had come to their door of his own accord.
And he was shamelessly pouring out such a whole basketful of flattering words.
Song Wushen and Song Xuemu had both spent years in official circles. They were naturally adept at responding to such polite formalities.
After a brief exchange of smiles and pleasantries, the village head took his leave.
Only then did Song Fengsui come out from behind the door. Song Wushen and Song Xuemu both glanced at him. After thinking over Village Head Zhou’s radically different attitudes before and after, the whole family understood that it must be because of Duan Yan.
The village gossip might not necessarily reach Duan Yan’s ears, but the Song family was in a vulnerable position, and there would always be people eager to make sure they heard every unpleasant rumor.
Duan Yan had been visiting repeatedly of late, and the family had heard at least some of the gossip circulating in the village.
“Our circumstances have finally begun to improve, yet you’ve had to endure all this and suffer people’s slander,” Song Wushen said.
Hearing his father, Song Fengsui replied, “Given our family’s situation, no matter what we do, there will always be people who bully us and spread rumors. If I took every word to heart, then I would have lived for nothing.”
Before Duan Yan appeared, their family had received help from no one, nor had they offended anyone. Even so, plenty of village women and men had pointed at him and cursed him to his face, calling him a vixen.
At first, Song Fengsui, who had been raised in comfort, had found such treatment deeply upsetting. But by now, he had long since come to terms with it.
When people were weak, what sort of reputation could they possibly hope to preserve? Such worldly things could only be protected when one had enough food, clothing, and the strength and leisure to care about them.
Song Xuemu said, “It’s a blessing that Sui’er can see things so clearly. But Xiao Duan really has gone to a great deal of trouble for our family these past few days. We can’t simply accept his kindness without repaying it. Since you aren’t afraid of what people outside may say, how could we fail to thank Xiao Duan properly?”
“Let’s invite him over for a meal.”
At that, Song Fengsui’s brows lifted slightly. Clearly, he approved of his second uncle’s suggestion, though he still cast a covert glance at his father.
“He comes here every time to help us,” Song Wushen said. “It’s only right that we invite him over as a guest and treat him to a meal. But we have neither wine nor proper dishes at home. What will we serve him?”
Song Fengsui said softly, “I earned a little money treating people when I went out a few days ago. If Father and Second Uncle want to invite Duan Yan over for a meal, I can go buy some food.”
“Summer has passed and autumn has arrived. Once the autumn harvest begins, we probably won’t have any free time to entertain guests. Who knows whether Duan Yan will be busy then?”
Song Wushen gave Song Fengsui a helpless look and shook his head. “You’ve already put it that way. What else is there to say?”
Song Fengsui immediately said, “Then I’ll go to the estate and tell him. I’ll stop by the town afterward to buy the ingredients!”
At that moment, Duan Yan was indeed at the estate. The epidemic in the village had been almost completely eradicated, and with the autumn harvest approaching, the year was entering its busiest season again. Kong Youhua had therefore lifted the lockdown on Liu Village. The town office simply could not afford to keep expending manpower in the area for so long.
Although Duan Yan now had the title of patrol inspector, he was not an official in the proper sense. Unless Kong Youhua specially assigned him something, he normally had no official duties to attend to. Now that the epidemic had been brought under control, he was also relieved of the post.
Though this time he had merely been helping with the government’s work, Duan Yan was by no means free to idle about. He needed to make preparations for the wars and natural disasters that would come in the years ahead, and immediately began planning what should be planted in the fields on his estates.
In the past, the estates had grown only ordinary crops, such as rice and sorghum. There was naturally nothing wrong with planting those; they were everyday staples. But now that he knew several years of disasters would follow one after another, the cultivation of grain would have to be adjusted. They could not grow only those crops that sold well. It would be better to prepare more food that could be stored for a long time.
Even more urgent was the stockpiling of medicinal herbs.
This epidemic had exposed far too many problems, and the shortage of medicine was the greatest of them all. Once the two pharmacies in the city had closed, not to mention ordinary people—even a wealthy household like theirs had no decent medicinal supplies on hand. Finding just a few herbs to treat an illness had become extraordinarily difficult.
Duan Yan knew that he could not rely solely on buying medicine from outside. For one thing, he did not have enough money to purchase and stockpile such vast quantities at will. For another, once the world fell into disorder and the harvests failed, he had no intention of moving elsewhere. The area around Rock City would remain his base, so he also had to consider long-term sustainability.
After weighing everything, he decided that the most reliable course was to set aside some fields and use them specifically to grow medicinal herbs. Later, he could purchase additional herbs from outside to supplement his stores, and they would no longer be in such short supply.
Growing medicinal herbs involved many considerations. Having land alone was not enough; the soil had to be chosen according to the herbs’ natural environment in order to ensure a good harvest.
None of the three estates he currently owned had ever grown medicinal herbs, and naturally, the tenant farmers there had no corresponding experience either.
Thus, over the past few days, he had sent people around the area to make inquiries and hired a herbalist who made his living cultivating medicinal plants. He intended to learn from him about growing and tending herbs by artificial means.
Unexpectedly, the man arrived so quickly that Duan Yan had not even decided what herbs to plant yet.
Duan Yan had the man rest and eat some refreshments at the estate first. He was just about to go find Song Fengsui when one of the servants came running to report that Song Fengsui wished to see him.
He soon reached the entrance and, sure enough, saw Song Fengsui arriving.
“Why have you come at this hour? I was just about to go look for you.”
Song Fengsui asked, “Was there something you needed me for?”
Duan Yan first led him inside, then instructed someone to prepare tea. Only after that did he explain his plan to grow medicinal herbs.
“That is a sound plan. As the saying goes, it is best to be prepared. For something as urgently needed as medicinal herbs, growing some on your own land is certainly the best option.”
Song Fengsui was very much in favor of Duan Yan’s plan.
“I hired a herbalist with experience in growing medicinal plants. He has already arrived at the estate, but I have yet to decide exactly what to plant,” Duan Yan said. “If I were growing herbs to sell, I could simply ask the herbalist what he recommended. But I am not growing them solely for sale. I want to stockpile and store them for emergencies.”
“You mean you want to grow herbs that are needed in everyday life?”
Duan Yan nodded quickly. In private, he spoke a little more directly.
“For dealing with war, years of disaster, and the like.”
Song Fengsui smiled. “You certainly think far ahead. War is not something one should speak of recklessly. As for years of disaster… the realm has enjoyed peace and prosperity for many years now. Even when floods or locusts occasionally strike a particular region, they are dealt with quickly.”
After saying that, he continued, “But as I said, if you have the means, there is certainly no harm in stockpiling some herbs and grain.”
“That is exactly what I was thinking.”
Song Fengsui then had Duan Yan summon the herbalist, and the three of them discussed the matter together.
The herbalist’s surname was Ye. He appeared to be around thirty or forty years old. His family had been involved in the medicinal-herb trade for three generations, and he could be said to have inherited a family tradition.
His family had once been quite prosperous, but Herbalist Ye’s father had been a habitual gambler. He had squandered the family’s shops, residence, and every other property, until nothing remained. Later, unable to bear it, he had thrown himself into the river and died.
At the time, the herbalist—Ye Xing, the herbalist—had been only twelve or thirteen. With his family ruined and nowhere else to turn, he had been forced to go into the mountains to gather herbs in order to survive.
He was hardworking and capable, however, and by those means had managed to build up a modest household fortune. He bought some farmland in the countryside and eventually began cultivating medicinal herbs.
“The herbs commonly kept on hand for daily needs are generally used for stopping bleeding, treating wounds, and preventing infection; treating gastrointestinal illnesses, reducing fevers, and combating epidemics; nourishing and strengthening the body; and for external application and disinfection,” Song Fengsui said.
“The corresponding herbs would be notoginseng, bletilla, mugwort, and rhubarb; coptis, scutellaria, bupleurum, and honeysuckle; kudzu root, codonopsis, and smoked plum; as well as realgar, atractylodes, sulfur, and the like.”
Song Fengsui listed the herbs, then continued, “Herbalist Ye, of the ones I mentioned, which are easy to grow in this region?”
“Herbs such as coptis and notoginseng usually grow in fertile mountain soil, so cultivating them is extremely difficult. Scutellaria, bupleurum, and codonopsis prefer cool, dry, sandy soil…”
The three of them discussed the various herbs at length. They talked for more than an hour, then toured every plot of land on the estate with Herbalist Ye. In the end, they decided that the land at Liucun could be used to grow mugwort, honeysuckle, kudzu root, and other highly adaptable herbs that were easy to establish.
The soil at Tianshui Estate was fertile. If they were willing to make the necessary investment, they could try growing coptis there, though they would still have to inspect the land in person before knowing for certain.
As for scutellaria, codonopsis, bupleurum, and rhubarb, those herbs required sunny, sandy slopes. None of the fields belonging to the first two estates met those conditions. Only Little Wild Goose Village had suitable land.
“The land at Tianshui Estate is easy enough to inspect at any time, but Little Wild Goose Village…”
Images of Old Man Duan, blowing his beard and glaring furiously, immediately surfaced in Duan Yan’s mind. He drew a small breath and said, “Let us inspect Tianshui Estate first and discuss the other matter afterward.”
Herbalist Ye agreed. “I will follow whatever arrangements Brother Duan makes. It is just that the spring sowing season for herbs such as scutellaria, codonopsis, and bupleurum—around the third or fourth month—has already passed. We can only wait until after the autumn harvest, collect the seeds, and sow them immediately. If we want to catch the crop planted in the latter half of this year, there is not much time left, so we must move quickly.”
Duan Yan gave his assent.
The three of them spoke for a little while longer. By then, they had already spent most of the day discussing the matter, so they had the people at the estate escort Herbalist Ye home.
Song Fengsui had spoken at length and then walked around the fields as well. His mouth was dry, so he slouched sideways in a chair and drank some tea to moisten his throat. Only then did he ask Duan Yan, “I seem to recall that Little Wild Goose Village is your family’s village. Why did you sound troubled when you mentioned it just now?”
Duan Yan was drinking water at the other end of the room. When he heard the question, he did not hide the truth.
“I am not on very good terms with my family. I have some conflict with Old Man Duan. If I want to use the land at the estate in Little Wild Goose Village to grow medicinal herbs, the old man will probably chase people out with a stick.”
“Growing medicinal herbs is hardly a bad thing. Is Old Man Duan really that strict?”
Song Fengsui tilted his head slightly. “There’s no room for negotiation?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Given the relationship between father and son in the past, even if growing medicinal herbs was a good thing, Old Man Duan might well deliberately stand in the way simply because Duan Yan wanted to do it.
“After talking it over with Herbalist Ye just now, it’s clear that the land in Little Yan’er Village is the most suitable for growing medicinal herbs. Even if it’s difficult, we ought to give it a try. If we don’t use our own land, then the only way to find suitable fields for the herbs is to buy them from someone else. Land in the countryside isn’t cheap these days. It wouldn’t be wise to spend that kind of money.”
Seeing how determined Duan Yan was—and how carefully he had calculated everything—Song Fengsui felt quite gratified.
“Then go back when you have the time and sound him out. We’ve taken care of quite a few important matters today, so why don’t you take a break for a while and come into town with me?”
At his words, Duan Yan looked at him. Only then did he suddenly remember that Song Fengsui had come over specifically to see him. He had been so focused on growing medicinal herbs and had spoken so enthusiastically with Herbalist Ye that he had completely forgotten to ask whether Song Fengsui had come for something important.
“What are you going into town for?”
Song Fengsui blinked. “My father and Second Uncle want to invite you to our home for a meal. We don’t have much food at home, so I was planning to go into town and buy some.”
“Why bother going into town for vegetables? The estate has plenty. Just take some of those over.”
As he spoke, he caught the key point in Song Fengsui’s words. “Your family wants to invite me over for dinner? Why all of a sudden… Has your family been vindicated?!”
“If that were the case, would you really be able to sit there so calmly without mentioning a word of it, while talking with Herbalist Ye and me for so long?”
Song Fengsui explained, “The village head came over this morning and finally allocated the land that had been withheld from my family. It’s only five mu, but at least we now have fields where we can grow our own vegetables and melons. Life won’t be quite so difficult from now on.
“My father and Second Uncle know that we benefited from your help. You’ve also been busy helping my family with one thing or another these past few days. Since there’s nothing else we can give you in return, they wanted to invite you over for a meal.”
Duan Yan subtly exhaled in relief, then said, “Your family is simply too polite. You always remember the things I’ve done for you, but never count all the ways you’ve helped me.”
“So are you coming or not?”
Song Fengsui drawled, “If you’re busy, then I won’t go into town to buy anything. I’ll just head home now.”
“No, I’m not busy. Everything that needed doing today is done. How could I not have the time?”
Duan Yan hurriedly added, “I’ll have someone saddle the animals. We’ll ride into town—it’ll be faster.”
Watching him react like that, Song Fengsui’s lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile. “How many horses are there at the estate? I can ride, too.”
“There’s only one horse, but we have a mule as well. You can take the horse, and I’ll ride the mule.”
As he spoke, he and Song Fengsui walked toward the stables. “What would you like to eat tonight? Once we buy some meat and vegetables, I’ll cook for you.”
Song Fengsui laughed. “Where have you ever heard of a guest cooking the meal when they’ve been invited to dinner?”
“I know how to make scallions tossed with tofu. You can try it then.”
