When she heard that Madame Wang had successfully broken off the engagement, Lin Yue breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Before long, the Lin family and the Chen family held the ceremony for establishing their adoptive kinship. It was conducted with great solemnity; the two families exchanged gifts, and Lin Yue kowtowed and served tea to Doctor Chen, Uncle Chen, and Aunt Chen in front of everyone, sealing the arrangement.
The next day, Lin Yue began a daily routine of commuting back and forth between the village and the town.
Before dawn, Madame Wang urged her out of bed, handing her a few wild vegetable cakes and a bamboo tube of water to sustain her on the mountain path to town. By the time she arrived, broad daylight had broken.
Having just arrived at the medicine shop, Lin Yue knew nothing and could do little, so Doctor Chen had Chen Ping lead her around to familiarize her with the various medicinal herbs and their locations.
Chen Ping gave a brief overview of the situation. As the only medicine shop for miles around, a handful of people came for medical treatment every day, making it neither desolate nor overly busy.
The two went to the backyard, where Chen Ping pulled out a sack of thin white medicinal slices and sniffed them. Then he looked up and glanced at the intently focused girl before him; unusual people always drew a bit more attention.
Perhaps because she had come to work in the shop, she no longer wore that heavily patched coarse cloth shirt. Her loose new clothes made her look slender and frail; though she wasn't as pretty as the girl next door, she possessed an aura that was difficult to ignore.
If you called her a rural village girl, she carried a trace of scholarly air; if you called her a gentle lady, she ran faster than a rabbit. He couldn't quite describe what she was like, perhaps because he had never encountered such a person before.
"These are wind-clearing slices. Take them to a shaded spot in the courtyard to dry."
Lin Yue agreed, took the sack, poured the contents out in a shaded area of the courtyard, spread them flat, and then did a few other chores.
"Hey! Why did my grandfather enter into an adoptive kinship with you?"
After a few days, Chen Ping couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. He knew full well whether his father had been injured or not. The whole thing had been his grandfather's idea, but he had only told his father, leaving Chen Ping completely in the dark.
Lin Yue shook her head. "I saved my adoptive father."
Hearing this, Chen Ping pulled out a piece of malt sugar candy and coaxed her with a smile, "Good sister, tell me about it, won't you?"
Lin Yue took it, popped it into her mouth, and shook her head.
Chen Ping: "..."
"Teach me to read, and I'll pay you. One copper coin per character," Lin Yue said.
Although the characters of this world were pictographic, they differed somewhat from those of her previous life. They were traditional characters as well, making Lin Yue, who had a background in science and engineering, feel her vision go dark at first glance.
Furthermore, in this remote backwater, most of those who could read were the children of the village chief, town mayor, or families with spare money. Even though literacy was priceless here, she had to treasure every opportunity.
However, Chen Ping was more interested in the secret. "Tell me, and I'll agree to teach you."
"Two coppers for three characters, and you only need to teach each twice. How about it?" Lin Yue shook her head and produced copper coins. When the time was right, Doctor Chen would tell Chen Ping himself; it was not her place to blab.
"What does a girl need to learn to read for?"
Lin Yue gave a reason: when she grew older and it became harder to marry off, literacy would give her a better advantage.
Chen Ping thought about it and felt it made some sense. His married sister knew how to read, so her in-laws valued her and even had her teach the children. He nodded. "Alright then. But I don't have much time, so I'll only teach each one twice."
Lin Yue agreed. Chen Ping went to fetch a beginner's primer and started teaching from the beginning. Before long, Aunt Chen came over and saw the two of them slacking off. After asking for the reason, she cast a strange look at Lin Yue and said:
"Do the work you're supposed to do. No slacking off."
Lin Yue had thought Aunt Chen would object, but she hadn't expected her to be so open-minded. Breathing a sigh of relief, she knew the matter was now out in the open.
Rural areas were small; if someone in the east village was bitten by a venomous snake, news would reach the west village within a day.
Within just a few days, the news of Lin Yue working as a medicine apprentice at the shop had spread. The Lin family drew plenty of criticism for breaking off the engagement for fame and profit, but even more so, they invited envy.
Sacrificing a single girl had allowed them to establish ties with the town's only physician, not to mention earning wages. Whenever anyone in the family suffered a headache or fever, this connection could save them plenty of money on medical care, and the children in the household could secure better marriage prospects.
All in all, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
In Lin Yue's first month doing odd jobs at the medicine shop, she learned many characters and herbs, and earned thirty coppers in wages. When she brought the money home, her family was all smiles—one hundred coppers could buy a bolt of coarse cloth!
"Xiaya, don't slack off at work! Learn to recognize herbs quickly so Doctor Chen lets our family gather one or two varieties!" Her cheap father said, his furrowed brow relaxing.
"I understand."
Lin Yue agreed. That he spoke this way showed she possessed value; everyone coveted benefits, which was a good thing.
Doctor Chen discovered Lin Yue studying characters in her spare time, but after learning the reason, he did not scold her either.
Sometimes he would ponder: now that the only licentiate candidate here had passed away, the rest lacked sufficient learning and there was no one to teach. Who would enlighten the ignorant?
Scholar Wu had often lamented to him, saying that Wu Yang was smart and built to be a scholar; were it not for his chronic illness, his future achievements would surely surpass his own.
As for the illness, the old physician sighed. His medical skills were limited, and though he had treated Wu Yang for over a decade, he could not cure him.
In the past, Scholar Wu's father had been his former classmate and close friend. It was thanks to his help that Doctor Chen had learned his medical skills in the county seat. Having no other way to repay that favor, he continued to treat Wu Yang and prescribe medicine despite Scholar Wu buying on credit time and again, helping as much as he could.
If Wu Yang died, the Wu family line would end.
Doctor Chen simply could not bear it.
He wondered if the immortal blood lingzhi truly possessed miraculous effects as the legends claimed.
He suddenly felt a desire to test it out.
One day, Lin Yue saw Wu Yang's mother, Madame Su, in the medicine shop.
Madame Su wore a faded light-red cotton jacket, her hair streaked with white. She looked weathered and old; though only in her thirties, she appeared to be in her fifties. Only her willow-leaf eyebrows and almond eyes bore traces of her youth's beauty.
As usual, she stooped her shoulders and kept her head slightly bowed, her face clouded with worry, her rough hands folded in front of her in an attitude of submissive resignation.
When the two met, Madame Su merely stared at her in a daze with searching eyes, until her attention was drawn by the old physician's words.
"Lady Wu, bring your child to town. I will examine and treat him one last time. If it still doesn't work, stop wasting your money."
Doctor Chen's words struck Madame Su's heart like a death sentence. Wiping the corners of her eyes, she gave a trembling assent.
The next day, Madame Su brought her son to town, and Old Doctor Chen took Chen Ping to the Su family residence for the consultation.
Lin Yue remained in the backyard accompanying her adoptive mother in drying medicinal herbs, spending her spare time learning characters.
Her adoptive mother talked about how precious Scholar Wu had been in the village, expressing great regret over the Wu family line coming to an end.
Lin Yue remained silent. There was little she could say—just because others suffered, did that mean she had to suffer alongside them?
She quickly finished learning a whole book. To increase her efficiency, Lin Yue practiced writing all the characters with a hard implement first before finally splurging on a writing brush to practice using water.
Controlling pressure with a writing brush was harder than scratching with a wooden stick. Fortunately, she had practiced calligraphy for a time during her school days in her previous life, so she knew some grip techniques and posture. With that foundation, she was soon able to write decently.
"Sister Lin, you're amazing!"
Seeing her handwriting take on the beginnings of its own style, Chen Ping couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. He suddenly recalled Master Wu's words—that smart people learn everything quickly—and thought Sister Lin might be such a person, feeling a touch of envy.
Intently writing, Lin Yue suddenly sensed something. Subconsciously turning to look behind her, she saw Doctor Chen standing behind Chen Ping with his hands behind his back, gazing down at the characters on the ground, his yellowed, murky eyes unreadable.
Following Lin Yue's gaze, Chen Ping got a fright.
"Have you memorized the Eighteen Prescriptions?"
Chen Ping instantly sprang up and slithered off like a startled snake. "I'll go memorize them right now!"
Lin Yue wasn't nearly as intimidated, though she stopped writing as well.
Doctor Chen examined the characters on the ground, deeply shaken. Had he not personally watched Xiaya practice stroke by stroke from the start, he would have thought she had already studied them before, possessing talent far surpassing Scholar Wu back in his day.
Diligent, ambitious, smart—she was built to be a scholar.
What a pity she was a woman.
"Come with me."
In the shop, Doctor Chen pulled open a medicine drawer, fetched processed herbs, and introduced their effects, uses, and processing methods. Lin Yue listened intently.
"Did you memorize all that?"
Lin Yue repeated his words back to him. Doctor Chen continued, "I will now teach you the processing method. After gathering this herb, it must first be washed and dried, then..."
As Doctor Chen explained, he went to the backyard and brought out dried herbs. Lin Yue followed his instructions step by step to process them.
Seeing Lin Yue perform the steps with impressive skill, Doctor Chen nodded in satisfaction and continued teaching her how to process other medicinal herbs.
In the blink of an eye, Lin Yue had spent a year at the medicine shop.
During this year, whenever she had spare time, she went up the mountain to forage for medicinal herbs. Using the knowledge she had acquired, she found a lingzhi and several valuable herbs. She gave the lingzhi to the Lin family to sell, obtaining a few taels of silver in return.
Seeing actual silver land in their hands made the Lin family ecstatic. Armed with that money, her parents secured good marriage arrangements for her eldest and second brothers, and during New Year's, Lin Yue even got a piece of meat in her bowl. Life was gradually improving.
The adults thought she had acquired some genuine skill, so they wanted her to secretly teach the family which herbs treated which ailments, which ones were valuable, and where to gather them, so they could sell them to traveling peddlers for a nice extra income.
Such knowledge was precious; even gathering and identifying herbs was passed down through master-apprentice traditions. Having promised Doctor Chen that she wouldn't teach anyone else, Lin Yue refused.
Everyone was furious at Lin Yue's "selfish" behavior. They took turns trying to persuade her with threats and inducements, cursing her for being ungrateful and pointing out that Doctor Chen wouldn't know if she did it secretly. Yet no one was willing to consider her perspective.
Lin Yue scoffed at their actions, but reflecting that human nature was just like this, she didn't feel much anger.
Just like in her previous life, as soon as people found out about her savings, calls would flood in the very next day from acquaintances and strangers alike—someone was sick, someone needed a loan to buy a car or house—swarming like flies, refusing to quit until they bled her dry.
Even friends and relatives she was normally close with would reveal their greedy faces.
Especially parents and close relatives: if you said they were bad to you, they didn't let you starve or go naked, and they didn't restrict you once your work was done; but if you said they were good to you, they'd turn around and sell you off for betrothal gifts.
The Lin family was precisely like that to her.
Not truly good, yet not completely evil either.
Teaching them to gather medicinal herbs was out of the question, but she could try other things—for instance, starting a business.
Doctor Chen's family ate coarse grains. Lacking the money to pay for meals there, Lin Yue drank wild vegetable soup at home for breakfast and dinner.
Her face had turned as green as grass, lacking a single drop of fat or oil. She genuinely didn't want to drink it anymore and urgently needed to improve her diet.
She knew how to make simple things like jelly dessert, soap, tofu, and maltose, and the raw materials were available here. When it came to what had the largest and most stable market, tofu was undoubtedly top.
Tofu was sold in the county seat, but not here, making tofu production a unique trade in this area.
Lin Yue needed money, space, and helpers.
She was a member of the Lin family; to conduct business openly and uprightly, she could not bypass them.
Furthermore, she had no time since she needed to study medicine, so this business had to be handed over to the Lin family to run.
This was bound to bring a nice income to the Lin family, while she herself wouldn't get much money out of it.
But she was limited by her environment and lacked channels. It was like how the court levied heavy taxes and duties, yet the common people still scraped a living from the soil—if you threw down your tools and quit, you were the one who starved, while those watching with full bellies sneered from the sidelines, talking big because it didn't hurt them.
A person couldn't just fall into a money trap either; if she couldn't grab money, what about other things?
She needed to elevate her starting point to win status and a voice in matters.
Moreover, the original host had been an obedient and sensible child. Given that she had complied with her parents' arrangement for the engagement, she likely wished for her siblings to live well and had no desire to take revenge on the Lin family.
Since Lin Yue had taken over her body, her attitude toward the Lin family still ought to align primarily with the original host's wishes.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be repaying a debt of gratitude—it would be returning kindness with enmity.
Lin Yue made up her mind.
Tofu was easy to make; the hard part was explaining where the recipe came from.
Lin Yue naturally thought of Doctor Chen. Doctor Chen had studied medicine in the county seat, so he naturally understood food properties. Starting with him was undoubtedly the best approach.
"There are two kinds of tofu: one is gypsum tofu, which leans toward clearing heat and is quite suitable for patients suffering from heat ailments; the other is nigari tofu, which is salty and cold in nature, and should be consumed in moderation," Doctor Chen recalled.
Hearing him hit on the key point, Lin Yue knew this plan was feasible. Feigning interest, she asked, "Gypsum and nigari can be used to make tofu? Grandfather, how do you make tofu?"
Doctor Chen glanced at Lin Yue, calmly continuing to flip through his medical books. "I'm a doctor, not a cook. How would I know so much?"
Lin Yue described the method for making tofu: grinding the soy milk, boiling it, and adding gypsum.
"How could it be that easy? You have to adjust the proportions, buy an iron pot..." Doctor Chen gave Lin Yue a small laugh; young people's thinking was just too simple.
"If I manage to make it, how about my adoptive grandfather gives the gathering quotas for two medicinal herbs to my Lin family?" Lin Yue said. The gathering quotas for two herbs were already agreed upon earlier, but she framed it here strategically.
"Deal!" Doctor Chen agreed outright. He hadn't eaten tofu in a long time either; if she could really make it, what harm was there in giving them the quotas for two herbs?
Upon returning home, Lin Yue told the Lin family about this.
"Adoptive Grandfather loves eating tofu. He said if I can make it, he'll give us the gathering rights for one herb next year, and if I perform well, he'll give us the other."
Lin Yue did not mention that Doctor Chen had promised to give all the gathering rights together. If she did, her utility to the Lin family would vanish, and her status would plummet.
Better to keep a card up her sleeve and dangle the carrot in front of them first.
Hearing this, her grandparents looked excited, as if seeing an extra income of over a hundred coppers a month. But their brows quickly drooped in worry.
"How could any of us know how to make tofu!" Grandmother sighed.
"I'll do it. I have confidence. Doctor Chen said tofu is made like this..."
Lin Yue explained the steps, shifting the responsibility onto the elderly Doctor Chen.
Grandfather pondered for a long while before finally nodding. Even if the tofu failed, they could just eat it at home without wasting grain.
"Alright, let's give it a try first. It won't cost much anyway."
The moment she obtained approval, Lin Yue immediately soaked the family's soybeans overnight. The next day, she took them to the village's only millstone to grind, filtered the liquid, boiled and stirred it, then curded it with gypsum powder.
Adding too much coagulant made tofu bitter. Lin Yue intentionally added a bit too much; the tofu curds quickly coagulated into lumps, while the earthenware pot made temperature control difficult, giving off a burnt smell.
"Second Girl, can this really make the tofu sold in the county seat?" Grandfather asked with a frown, his eyes full of distress for the wasted grain.
The adults in the house crowded into the kitchen to smell the bean aroma mixed with the burnt scent, while the children were shooed outside to smell it from there.
"Doctor Chen said that once soybeans are boiled into curds and pressed into blocks, that's tofu," Lin Yue offered as a meaningless explanation.
After leaving it still for fifteen minutes, she opened it to find tofu pudding. Scooping a bite with a spoon, she tasted it—it was extremely bitter.
Her grandparents also scooped a bite to eat. Bitter beyond endurance, they forced it down anyway.
"Aiyo! Such good grain wasted!" Grandmother slapped her thigh in deep regret. Tofu pudding was supposed to be sweet, but now it had turned bitter.
"It's probably because too much gypsum was added. I'll put less next time."
Lin Yue offered a few comforting words, poured the contents into a cloth-lined bamboo basket to press out the water, and began boiling another earthenware pot of soy milk.
This batch still tasted bitter, but fortunately, when she checked it the next day, the tofu had successfully pressed into shape.
Lin Yue continued making it for over a month, using up more than ten jin of soybeans alone. The tofu turned out bitter, burnt, or unformed—all failed batches.
The children ate happily, but the adults all wore gloomy faces. Reluctant to eat it all themselves, they traded it in the village for other food. Just as they were about to persuade her to give up, Lin Yue finally succeeded.
Grandfather took a bite and widened his eyes in excitement, as if tasting a rare delicacy. He declared approvingly, "Tender! Fresh!"
Grandmother brought a bowl over as well. Lin Yue scooped a piece for her; her eyes lit up like a child eating a piece of candy, and she chewed carefully, savoring the taste.
"My teeth aren't good, but eating this tofu doesn't even require chewing! My old sisters in the village will definitely love it!" Grandmother said excitedly, her words filled with joy. Tofu was even smoother and more tender than soybean porridge.
"Give me a piece too!"
Her cheap father was about to grab a bowl, but Grandfather shooed him away. There wasn't much tofu pudding; if everyone took a bite, none would be left.
That morning, they stewed the tofu, and the whole family praised its aroma.
Packing up the rest, she sent it to Doctor Chen. Seeing the tofu's appearance, Doctor Chen took a sniff, nodded with a smile, and revealed his few remaining teeth.
"That's the look! I didn't expect you to actually pull it off! Good, good! Old me is in for a treat."
Seeing that he was satisfied, Lin Yue played her part smoothly: "Grandfather, enjoy this first. If you like it, once my family starts selling tofu, I'll send some to you every day. As family, you can eat as much as you want."
"Good, good, good."
Old Doctor Chen said "good" several times in a row and offered the gathering rights to the Lin family. Lin Yue didn't accept immediately; she spoke modestly and asked him to give them in a year.
Hearing this, Doctor Chen knew Lin Yue wanted to use this to her advantage. Without calling her out, he chuckled and agreed.
Returning home that evening, Lin Yue told the Lin family that the tofu had gained Doctor Chen's approval and that he had agreed to grant the gathering rights next year.
Furthermore, she said Doctor Chen mentioned that boiling it in an iron pot would make it tastier and more authentic.
Grandfather smiled, then furrowed his brow in worry once more—one tael of silver for a pot was no small sum.
Lin Yue broke it down for him: "Grandfather, look: an iron pot can last three years. We can sell tofu, tofu pudding, tofu skin, soy milk... The cost of one jin of tofu is about two coppers, and we sell it for three. Even if we only sell ten jin a day, we'll earn back our investment in a little over three months, and in three years we can make ten taels of silver."
"And that's a conservative estimate. On festivals or during New Year's, wouldn't we sell dozens of jin a day? Anything we don't sell can be traded for grain, so nothing will go to waste."
"Boiling in an earthenware pot takes too long, easily scorches, and consumes too much time. Plus, one pot can only boil a few jin, yielding just a few coppers. Won't we miss out on making money during holidays?"
Grandfather was moved by her words, but one tael of silver was truly too much, while an earthenware pot cost only a few coppers—much cheaper.
"Let's use the earthenware pots for now. We'll buy a iron pot after we make some money."
He insisted.
Lin Yue did not argue. "I'll do as Grandfather says."
Old people were used to scrimping and saving; they needed to taste sweetness first, as desire was what drove people to strive.
Next, they made tofu to sell every day. Hearing that Doctor Chen ate it too and that it was a dish from outside the village, acquaintances in the village patronized the business, and just a few customers would buy out the entire stock.
Later, people who came to buy found it sold out, so Grandfather added two more earthenware pots for boiling. Sometimes, poor stirring led to scorching at the bottom, resulting in uncurded or bitter batches.
After holding out for about three months, Grandfather finally brought himself to buy an iron pot, and the resulting tofu became even more aromatic, tender, and delicious.
Later, they also made tofu skin and tofu pudding to sell in town, earning over a hundred coppers a month.
Every time he counted the money, Grandfather rejoiced that he had bought the pot early and sang Lin Yue's praises endlessly. Lin Yue's status in the household skyrocketed.
Because tofu could be bartered for eggs, coarse grains, soybeans, and other foodstuffs, their meals became much richer. At the very least, it was no longer wild vegetable soup every day, making the villagers intensely envious.
Lin Yue frequently brought Doctor Chen tofu, tofu skin, and other bean products, occasionally bringing fruit or wooden items that old people liked. Whatever good things she had, she sent his way. After showing such filial respect for half a year, Lin Yue was rewarded with a medical book detailing the human body's five zang organs, acupoints, and meridians.
The old physician even gave her one-on-one lessons.
That the old physician would go to such lengths filled Lin Yue with deep gratitude, and she seamlessly kowtowed to him.
"Grandfather, please rest assured. Medical skill is the foundation of the Chen family's livelihood. I will not teach it to the Lin family or to anyone here outside the Chen family. In the future, I will surely repay the Chen family. If I break this oath, may my Lin family never prosper, and may he and I die horrible deaths."
Old Doctor Chen was startled. "Grandfather is old; I can't bear to hear the word 'death.'"
Lin Yue immediately said, "If Grandfather doesn't believe me, we can put it in writing."
Doctor Chen felt an eerie chill and hurriedly waved his hand. "Alright, stop talking nonsense. Go to the medicine room and fetch the herbs to dry."
Lin Yue assented and went out.
Fearing the old man might back out, Lin Yue wrote a formal pledge anyway and pressed her thumbprint on it for him, hoping that every time he saw it, it would reinforce his conviction to teach her medicine.
After studying medicine for a few months and gaining his permission, Lin Yue finally told the Lin family about it.
The Lin family members widened their eyes in utter shock and disbelief. How could Old Doctor Chen possibly teach his family's heirloom skill to an outsider!
Grandfather went to Doctor Chen to verify it and found that it was indeed true.
That day, the way everyone looked at her changed.
Their gazes grew heavy, no longer just a casual glance.
Lin Yue knew that from this moment on, she was the most promising girl in this household—and even in the entire village and town. No one would dare look down on her.
Her fate and her marriage were now entirely in her own hands!
Having gained status and pushed for her rights, Lin Yue secured a small cup of soy milk every day, and whenever there were occasionally eggs for dinner, she got a share as well. Her thin body gradually gained some weight.
Trouble always brewed around single women, to say nothing of an unbetrothed young woman of age who knew how to earn money. Many people sent matchmakers to propose marriage, but her parents and grandparents turned them back under the pretext of keeping her home a few more years.
Some refused to give up. When she walked along the road, people would harass her, make crude sexual jokes, or even try to touch her.
Why was there persistent harassment? Lin Yue thought it was probably because harassment bore no cost.
Not one for words, she pulled out a cleaver and actually hacked at them—chasing and hacking until blood was drawn before stopping. Afterward, they had to pay a compensation of a hundred coppers; Grandfather felt painful heartache pulling out the cash, and he was thoroughly terrified, but he merely scolded her a few times before letting the matter drop.
If one wasn't ruthless, one's standing wouldn't be secure. She achieved fame in that single battle, and the harassers shrank significantly in number.
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