Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 175 - 141: Proposing a Partnership_1

Chapter 175: Chapter 141: Proposing a Partnership_1

The most valuable possessions were all gone. Qian Yixiu glared at Monkey Brother, who didn’t seem to understand the value of treasures, and discussed with it and Dashan, "The meat is for you, and the rest is inedible for you, just give it to Old Master Zhang for medicine." Seeing that Monkey Brother kept silent, she instructed Huang Tie to come over with a knife to handle it.

When everyone entered the main hall, Lady Wu also carried Qian Yixiu inside. Zhang Zhongkun presented his gifts and sincerely apologized to Qian Sangui and Lady Wu. Qian Sangui hurriedly said, "Old Master Zhang is too kind, it is our fault for not teaching our child properly, causing such a disaster and worrying your household. It is us who should be apologizing to you."

Sitting on a stool, Qian Yixiu bowed to Zhang Zhongkun to apologize, admitting her mistake and saying that she would visit the Zhang Mansion another day to apologize to Old Lady Zhang and Mrs. Zhang, for causing them concern.

She also took the opportunity to plead with Zhang Zhongkun on behalf of Old Uncle Zhang, choking up as she begged Old Master Zhang to forgive Old Uncle Zhang, insisting it was all her fault and if blame must be assigned, it should fall on her. However, judging by Zhang Zhongkun’s stance, her plea seemed useless, as it was certain that Old Uncle Zhang would be punished.

Later, she asked Huang Tie to specifically inquire at the Zhang family. Huang Tie returned and reported that because Qian Yixiu hadn’t met with misfortune, Old Uncle Zhang had been dealt with leniently: he was flogged twenty times and had half a year’s salary withheld. Qian Yixiu felt extremely remorseful and asked Huang Tie to buy some gifts and took twenty taels of silver to apologize to Old Uncle Zhang. But that is a story for another time.

Huang Tie finished dealing with the snake, handing the meat over to those from the House of Animals who were watching him intently, worried he might embezzle it, then brought the snake’s head and bones into the main hall.

Zhang Zhongkun instructed the servants to take them and then smiled, "This Double-headed Golden Black Dragon Snake is an extremely rare snake. In all my years, this is only the third time I’ve seen one. This snake is highly nutritious, especially the Golden Black Dragon Gall, which can cure many diseases. Keep two three-inch-long pieces of bone and soak them in liquor with deer whiskers and ginseng. Drinking it regularly over the years will strengthen and invigorate the body." He then turned to those from the House of Animals, wolfing down the snake meat, "Your livestock are not only discerning but also fortunate to have eaten so much Golden Black Dragon Snake meat; their strength will surely grow."

He presented Qian Sangui with a silver note worth a hundred taels of silver, saying, "The head and bones of the Double-headed Golden Black Dragon Snake are not as valuable as the gall and skin, but they are still rare medicinal materials."

Qian Sangui quickly waved his hands, "Old Master Zhang and Doctor Xiao Zhang have saved the lives of my son’s wife and myself several times, and we have nothing with which to repay you. This snake was caught by the monkey by accident. If you hadn’t come to our home today, we would have disposed of these items as waste. How can we possibly take your silver? It is out of the question."

Qian Yixiu also felt that they shouldn’t take the money. She had already wronged them greatly by sneaking out relying on the Zhang family. Now that her family wasn’t as poor as before, awaiting to earn some silver to buy rice for cooking, she also vehemently declined along with Qian Sangui.

To Zhang Zhongkun, one hundred taels of silver wasn’t much, and to insist on giving it would only show pettiness. He took back the silver note with a smile, "In that case, let me present a token of my gratitude in another way; let us enjoy a famous dish today. Use a hen to stew one of the snake heads—it’s delicious and very nutritious." His face turned red as he added, "Please save a bowl for me to take home to my mother. I can’t bear to eat the other head; it shall be used in medicine."

Then he said to Lady Wu, "Find a golden-haired chicken, for this soup is called..." He paused for a moment before saying, "Call it Black Snake Golden Chicken Soup."

Qian Yixiu thought, its real name must surely be Black Dragon Golden Phoenix Soup; he simply didn’t dare to say the real name.

Lady Wu hurried off to prepare the chicken.

While Lady Wu was busy cooking and stewing the soup, Qian Yixiu called her little aunt to bring over the winnowing basket filled with tea leaves. She said to Shopkeeper Cui, "I saw a tea plant on the mountain that was extremely fragrant; you could smell its aroma from a distance, so I picked some leaves to bring back. Shopkeeper Cui, please have a look at these tea leaves and see how they are?"

Shopkeeper Cui glanced at the tea leaves, then suddenly stood up, snatched the winnowing basket, and carried it outside to examine and smell them under the sunlight.

Returning to the room, he asked Qian Yixiu, "Where did you pick this tea? Could you take us there again?"

Qian Yixiu replied blankly, "I’ve already lost the way. The day before yesterday, I followed Monkey Brother deep into the mountains, climbing up and down, even crawling through caves. I simply don’t know one place from another; roaming around until I couldn’t find my way out..." She looked quite frightened, even patting her chest before adding, "We saw it on a mountain peak. I thought the leaves were very green and the fragrance rich; they were far more aromatic than the wild teas on the mountain behind our house, so I picked them."

Shopkeeper Cui, after hearing this, stamped his feet and beat his chest in exasperation. These mountains extended for dozens of miles east to west, spanning two counties, and for hundreds of miles north to south, crossing two provinces. It was a needle in a haystack to find this superb tea plant that the child had seen on a mountain peak somewhere in the vast mountain range.