Chapter 260: Chapter 109: One Must Be Wary of Others

How could he spend her silver while also resenting her for neglecting him to earn it?

If he had even a shred of conscience, he wouldn’t do such a thing.

Zhao Jing gripped Chen Wanqing’s fingers tightly. Chen Wanqing knew his mind was in turmoil.

He was such a proud and aloof young man. In the three years since his father’s death, he had shouldered the family’s livelihood all on his own.

He had never bowed his head to anyone, yet now he had to accept the reality that she must temporarily leave him, all for the sake of that filthy lucre.

He was burning with passion for her and didn’t want to be apart from her for even a moment.

But alas, this was reality.

Chen Wanqing turned her hand over, lacing her fingers with Zhao Jing’s.

She could easily read Jing’s mind, so of course she knew just the right remedy to lift his spirits again.

"Right now, our means are meager, so we can only support each other as we move forward. It doesn’t matter who gives a little more or who gives a little less. As long as we walk this path steadily and get through it safely, that’s all that matters. Once you pass your exams and earn a title, our fortunes will turn. At that time, you will be my pillar of support..."

After lunch, Chen Wanqing and Xu Suying bought a large quantity of incense ingredients and hired Mrs. Ying’s driver to take them back to the Zhao Village.

Once they reached the Zhao Village and had settled Wanqing’s daughter, Xu Suying took the ox-cart back to look after the food and daily needs of the menfolk at home.

Meanwhile, in the Zhao Village, Chen Wanqing personally visited the home of her second aunt-in-law, and then went to the Eldest Aunt’s home.

She asked the two aunts to recruit women from the village to come work for her—specifically, those who were currently idle, had a good reputation, and were nimble with their hands.

"I won’t ask anyone to work for free. The pay is ten cash a day for each person."

At present, an ordinary strong laborer carrying heavy sacks at the docks would only earn about thirty cash a day.

And they could earn ten cash a day just for helping wash, dry, grind, and sift ingredients, and then rolling incense pills or using a press to extrude incense sticks?

The Eldest Aunt wanted to say that the pay was too high.

But Chen Wanqing insisted, "This is the same wage I’m offering at my second aunt-in-law’s. Eldest Aunt, this isn’t just a day or two of work. We could be busy for ten days or even half a month. It wouldn’t be right to have everyone work for nothing."

Since Chen Wanqing was insistent, and with Mrs. Zhao also speaking in her favor, the matter was quickly settled.

After setting up all the workers at her second aunt-in-law’s house and having her take charge of their training, Chen Wanqing did not stop to work alongside them.

She found the Eldest Aunt and asked her to have Zhao Chang take her to town.

It was true that the Zhao Village was under the jurisdiction of Qingshui County, but it also belonged to Pushi Town. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

However, the Zhao Village was clearly closer to the county seat than to the town, so the villagers usually went to the county seat for their daily business and seldom traveled to the town.

The reason Chen Wanqing was going to the town was that there was an apothecary there that often collected medicinal herbs from various places.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t find all the ingredients for her incense in the county seat; rather, she didn’t dare to buy them all in one place.

She was worried about being watched, so she was always extremely cautious.

Every time she purchased ingredients, she would buy a few from one shop and a few from another. She’d buy some she needed, and even more that she didn’t, or she’d have villagers make the purchases for her.

The whole strategy was to mix the real with the fake, making it impossible for anyone to figure out her actual recipe.

She even went so far as to buy herbs directly from local families and grow some herself. Her methods were so varied that anyone trying to crack her recipe could rack their brains and never replicate the exact fragrance.

Since Chen Wanqing had asked, the Eldest Aunt naturally agreed.

But even though she was his aunt-in-law and he her nephew, they were close in age, and it would ultimately be awkward for them to be alone together.

So Chen Wanqing suggested bringing Xiang’er along as a companion for her.

Mrs. Zhao and the Eldest Aunt both nodded as well.

Pushi Town was quite far from the Zhao Village. The ox-cart traveled for more than a full hour before reaching their destination.

After the hassle of buying the medicinal herbs, by the time the ox-cart started on its way back, the sun was already slanting low in the western sky.

But Chen Wanqing didn’t ask Zhao Chang to take them straight home. Instead, she had the ox-cart take another turn, following a path she pointed out, until they found two neighboring houses.

These two households had large quantities of Glossy Privet and Asparagus root.

Glossy Privet, also known as Winter Holly, has a crisp, clear fragrance and is effective at diffusing scent. Combined with other medicinal herbs, it can be made into an incense called Buddha Incense. As the name implies, these incense pills are made specifically for Buddhist halls and temples, helping monks achieve enlightenment.

Asparagus root has a sweet and moistening flavor and a cool nature. It can nourish the lung yin and alleviate dry coughs caused by lung discomfort. It can also be made into a Lung Nourishing Elixir, whose effects are released through burning or fumigation, helping to condition the lungs.

Neither of these two medicinal herbs had anything to do with Moonlight Fragrance, but that didn’t stop Chen Wanqing from buying them as well.

Firstly, she would need them later to make these two types of incense, either for sale or for her mother’s recuperation. Secondly, it was also a kind of smokescreen; she was even being cautious around Zhao Chang.