Transmigrated Farmgirl's Scheme to Get Rich - Chapter 206
Twelfth Day (1)
Importing goods was just the excuse they were using in front of Ms. Zhao. After Mo Yan’s reminder, Lu Junming finally remembered that Jiangqi and Liuba were Lu Hong’s men, and there would be no detriment from asking them for news. [1]
After thinking of that, Lu Junming couldn’t wait a second longer. He made an excuse that he wanted to go back home to see his grandfather, and led his horse out.
Mo Yan sent him out, and was about to get on the horse with him when Lu Junming pressed it back down, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to import goods with you!” Mo Yan laughed and said.
“Quickly go back and help me comfort my mother, and don’t raise her suspicions. I won’t be gone for long and will be back soon,” After saying that, he swiftly leapt onto his horse and galloped off.
It’ll be Zao’er’s twelfth day ceremony in two more days, and it was an important occasion for children in the countryside. During the third day ceremony, the mother was usually still weak and the child was too small, so it wasn’t good to see outsiders. Therefore, it was normally celebrated privately with your family members. On the other hand, the twelfth day ceremony needs to be a large affair, and all of your good friends need to be present. [2]
When Mo Ling was married, Mo Yan couldn’t go, but this time, the natal family would be allowed to go, especially the daughters, so Mo Yan naturally couldn’t miss out.
She didn’t know what Ms. Liang would prepare, but she asked Ms. Hua. There weren’t any rules about what could and couldn’t be given as gifts on this day. The child could be given gifts fit for adults and given a red packet afterwards.
Mo Yan prepared restorative medicine fit for adults, a longevity lock and a silver bracelet for Zao’er, as well as soft fabrics suitable for making children’s clothing.
Ms. Liang prepared a standard gift given to mothers of newborns in the countryside. A basket of ninety-nine chicken eggs which represented longevity, two old hens, and a red packet with an unknown amount of money in it.
To prevent the Zhong family members from saying anything untowards, Mo Yan even rented a carriage and went to the Zhong family with Ms. Liang. Mo Feng was too lazy to go, so he just stayed at home.
As soon as they entered the Zhong family’s courtyard, they saw a lot of people in the courtyard and the house. Zhong Cheng’s parents, eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law and their two children are all here.
There were also a lot of people they didn’t know, which seemed to be relatives of the Zhong family. After looking carefully, Zhong Yi and Mrs. Lin were also there, hurriedly welcoming their relatives and asking them to drink tea.
Mrs. Jiang, who was busy working in the kitchen, saw Ms. Liang and Mo Yan and immediately called out, “Our in-laws have arrived, come inside the house.”
She ushered Ms. Liang and Mo Yan inside the house, and the two elderlies of the Zhong family swiftly got up to greet them, “In-laws, please have a seat.”
Ms. Liang wouldn’t feel like having a headache when this scene happens, and would definitely remain courteous without falling flat.
She pulled Mo Yan to sit down at the square table in the living room. She sat in the seat of the guest of honour, while Mo Yan sat next to her, “We’ll sit here for a while to drink some hot tea and disperse the cold from our body before going to look at the child.”
Mrs. Jiang went over to pick up the kettle on the table and pour tea for them, “Yes, yes, the child is too small and delicate right now! It can’t withstand the cold. Our in-laws are really meticulous and careful.”
After sitting for a while, Ms. Liang and Mo Yan got up to see Mo Ling, while Mrs. Zhong accompanied them.
Mo Ling, who was sitting on the bed, said, “Mother, Yan’er, you’re here!”
Ms. Liang, “We’ve come, if there weren’t things I had to keep my eye on at home, I’d have arrived a long time ago. How’s your body?”
“It’s alright, it’s just that I’m not producing enough milk and the child isn’t getting very full.”
“Drink some more soup, fish soup is the best for inducing milk. Your village is right next to a river, you won’t worry about not having fish.”
At this time, Zhong Cheng came in from outside, “We have fish, I’ve opened up a hole on the surface of the river and cast a fishing net down, and I’ve been able to catch fresh fish every day for eldest sister-in-law to make soup for Ling’er.”
Mo Yan said, “These strategies might not work, it’s still better to let the doctor take a look and prescribe two doses of medication for lactation.”
Zhong Cheng repeatedly agreed, “You’re right, you’re right, I’ll go to the physician’s in a minute.”
The child was roused awake and pouted his bottom lip, about to cry, when Ms. Liang bent over to pick him up and coax him. Mo Yan said, “Brother-in-law, take out the items on the carriage. It includes some restorative medicine, but I’m not quite sure how to use them. It’d be better to consult the doctor before using it to prevent misuse.”
Zhong Cheng went out to fetch the items, placing the hens and eggs in the kitchen and taking Mo Yan’s cloth and restorative medicine into the house. Mrs. Lin sauntered over to ask, “Cheng’er, what precious items did your mother-in-law send over? It’s even wrapped so nicely, open it for us to take a look.”
The women in the house also were clamouring for it to be opened to take a look, and Zhong Cheng could only open the gift box with the restorative medicines up on the table. There were six compartments inside, each holding something different. The people looked at it for a long while, but no one recognised those things.
Mrs. Lin said strangely, “You came to see the newborn, and took these strange things over? You can’t eat or drink these!”
Mo Yan got angry hearing her say these inside Mo Ling’s room, and came out to say, “These are all high-quality restorative medicine. Many people from the countryside have never used these before, so it isn’t strange that those of you present haven’t seen this before. Just don’t touch them, these are needed to recover my sister’s body.”
At this time, someone entered from the courtyard gate with a basket in hand, and asked, “Is this Mo Ling’s home?”
Mo Yan said delightedly, “Sister Lan, why did you come?”
The person who entered was Mo Yan’s elder cousin, Liang Lan. Mo Yan ran out to greet her, and took her inside the house. Liang Lan immediately saw the gift box on the table and went over to take a look, and immediately gasped in surprise, “Who sent this gift, these are all high-quality things!”
“Sister Lan, you recognise these things?”
Liang Lan placed the basket in her hand on the table, “For the most part, I recognise danggui, chuanxiong, ginseng and renshen, but not the other two. It’s just those the four I do recognise are all excellent restorative medicines which are perfectly suited for sister Ling.”
The people present didn’t know Liang Lan, and Mo Yan introduced her, “This is my elder cousin from my uncle’s family Liang Lan, she’s older than me by a year and has studied a few years at school.”
After saying that, Mo Yan covered the gift box with the lid, “The remaining two items are astragalus and ejiao, and are both suitable for mothers of newborns. However, I don’t know when they should be used and how much should be used, so that will need to be consulted with the doctor.”
Mo Yan helped Liang Lan sit down and poured tea for her, “Sister Lan, why did you come here on your own?”
“My parents are busy and can’t step away, and were originally planning on not coming. However, I was free, so I came on my own. My gifts aren’t as precious as yours, but are still uncommon.”
Then, she removed the handkerchief covering the top of the basket, and the people in the house came over to take a look before disgruntledly saying, “Aren’t these just chicken eggs, and small ones at that.”
Liang Lan didn’t get mad, and retained a faint smile on her face, “This isn’t your average chicken egg, but silkie eggs, which are really good for the body. We also have this,” After saying that, she removed a small pouch from her waist and handed it over to Mo Yan, “I want to test you, do you recognise this?”
Mo Yan opened the pouch, and inside were small grey pellets which looked like seeds from a plant.
“What are these?” She raised her head to ask.
Liang Lan said cheerfully, “Vaccaria seeds!”
After she mentioned the name, Mo Yan knew what it was. She had noticed this medicine when reading through medicinal textbooks due to its unique name. [3]
She also knew some about its properties, but the textbook only had a rough picture of the plant itself, and didn’t have a drawing of its seeds.
“Sister Lan, you’re truly more caring than me. I only thought about having my sister get better, but never thought about giving medicine which induced medicine.”
P.S. I finally get a break on Saturday…as always, thanks for reading!
[1] Why didn’t he remember sooner? I’d have assumed he would’ve immediately latched onto them as a source of news.
[2] As far as I can tell, both the twelfth day ceremony and the third day ceremony are real folk customs in the countryside. I’ve never heard of either of these, and these aren’t completely faithful translations but (hopefully) close enough.
[3] The literal translation seems to be ‘King doesn’t leave trace’.