Chapter 10: Ambition

In the school, the siblings didn't mention anything about what happened, and naturally, they didn't tell Cao Shi.

"Because I fell behind on a lot of homework, so I came home late..." Gu Hai explained the reason for his late return to Cao Shi.

"It's okay, listen to the teacher and study well," Cao Shi said, busy with needlework, looking at her son with a loving smile.

"Mother, look, this is the firewood my sister chopped..." Gu Hai patted his head and grinned, "It's a little less, but once I catch up with my homework, we'll be able to chop more..."

Cao Shi smiled and agreed.

"I still have homework, Mother..." Gu Hai said somewhat embarrassed, looking at the dishes and chopsticks in front of him.

Cao Shi was about to get up when Gu Shi Ba Niang walked out of the kitchen and quickly tidied up.

"Brother, go quickly," she smiled.

After tidying up, she sat under the pomegranate tree in the courtyard, enveloped in the deep black night, and felt that the dim lights coming from the two rooms were the most beautiful things in the world.

"Shi Ba Niang?" Cao Shi, who hadn't seen her daughter come in for a long time, came out worriedly to inquire.

Gu Shi Ba Niang quickly stood up and walked out from the deep night, calling out to her mother.

Seeing her, Cao Shi breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned her to come over, "The night dew is heavy, don't sit in the courtyard."

Gu Shi Ba Niang nodded and smiled at her mother.

Seeing her daughter's slightly reddened eyes, Cao Shi sighed in her heart. Was the child crying again because she missed her father? But it had been so long, why did she suddenly...

"Shi Ba Niang..." Cao Shi stroked her daughter's soft hair and lovingly pressed her against her shoulder, "As long as Mother is here, don't be sad."

Gu Shi Ba Niang held back her tears, reached out and hugged her mother's waist, and murmured in agreement.

The mother and daughter embraced each other quietly for a while, and Gu Shi Ba Niang's emotions calmed down. Her gaze fell on the two large piles of firewood in the corner of the room, which she remembered Gu Hai had chopped yesterday.

"Mother, hasn't the firewood been sold?" she straightened up and asked softly.

Cao Shi sighed, "...There are many people selling firewood..." After speaking, she patted her daughter's head and comforted her, "Business transactions are not always smooth. If you want to sell, there will be buyers. It's okay, it's okay, everyone is like this..."

It's not easy to sell, Gu Shi Ba Niang thought silently. You don't know the value of firewood and rice until you manage the household, and you don't know how difficult it is to make a living until you try.

To save kerosene, the mother and daughter went to bed early, while the light in the neighboring room stayed on until dawn. The next morning, everyone woke up with swollen eyes and couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Brother, even if you fall behind on your homework, don't be in such a hurry. It's not good to overwork yourself," Gu Shi Ba Niang laughed.

Gu Hai reached out and flicked her nose, "Look at your eyes, little sister, don't be afraid. Mother and I are here. Even if you have nightmares, don't be afraid!"

He patted his not-so-strong chest, "If not, I'll run into your dreams and chase them away!"

Gu Shi Ba Niang smiled and said, "Then I'll rely on you, brother."

"Mother, don't worry too much either. They say there's always a way out. Our family will definitely get through this," Gu Hai said confidently.

Seeing the confident faces of her son and daughter, Cao Shi nodded and smiled.

The determination was there, but how to earn money as soon as possible was a big problem.

After chopping firewood for a while, Gu Shi Ba Niang, panting, wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at her slightly cracked hands, then at the small pile of firewood at her feet, and couldn't help but smile wryly.

Her body was too weak, and it seemed that she couldn't build up her strength in a short time. She turned her gaze to the school nestled in the greenery at the foot of the mountain.

"Hmm..." Gu Shi Ba Niang's gaze stopped at a clump of grass under a rock, swaying in the wind.

A smile couldn't help but appear on her face, "This is Atractylodes macrocephala..."

The smile gradually became somewhat bitter. The Shen family had several businesses, including a pharmacy that was handed over to them by their mother-in-law to manage. At first, the business was very poor, but it improved with the help of a skilled pharmacist, and eventually, the name of Shunhe Tang resounded throughout Jiankang...

Gu Shi Ba Niang bit her lip and thought, without them, without them... He is him, and I am me.

Shen Anlin was often away from home, and all the expenses of the entire household were on her shoulders. All her money was tied to the hope of that pharmacy. She had no other ability, only gentleness and kindness, treating the assistants in the pharmacy well, and with frequent stays in the pharmacy, she gradually learned a lot about medicinal herbs. In that life, the only thing she received from the Shen family, apart from humiliation, was probably this.

Medicinal herbs... Gu Shi Ba Niang's eyes lit up. She stood up from the rock and slowly walked to the Atractylodes macrocephala.

"This Atractylodes macrocephala is really good..." Gu Shi Ba Niang muttered to herself, reaching out and pulling it out with force.

As the twilight fell, Gu Hai called out to Shi Ba Niang in the woods, and he heard his sister's clear response.

"Letting you wait, don't go up the mountain first, you just don't listen... Hey? What are you pulling so many herbs for?" Gu Hai's gaze fell on the grass next to the firewood pile.

Gu Shi Ba Niang was shaking the soil off the roots of the Atractylodes macrocephala and smiled, "To sell."

"Sell?" Gu Hai asked in confusion, "These herbs?"

"Sister, these are not just herbs, they are medicinal herbs, Atractylodes macrocephala," Gu Shi Ba Niang stood up and slowly walked along the mountain path, looking around.

"Hey, don't wander around..." Gu Hai hurriedly called out to her.

Gu Shi Ba Niang didn't look back, but waved her hand, "Brother, you chop the firewood, I'll pick some more."

As the dusk fell, Gu Hai, carrying two large bundles of firewood, kept looking back at his sister. His gaze fell on the basket she was carrying, which was already filled with medicinal herbs.

"Is this really medicinal herbs?" Gu Hai couldn't help but ask again.

"Yeah, Yuanshi, the stem and leaves look like those of large Qing and small Qing," Gu Shiba Niang smiled and said, "It's recorded in the Shen Nong's Herbal Classic. I'll find it and show it to my brother when I get back."

Gu Hai knew that his sister was well-read and didn't study for the sake of officialdom, so she had a wide range of knowledge and he didn't doubt her. He waved his hand and said, "I don't have time to look at that... I'm afraid you might have mistaken it."

Gu Shiba Niang smiled. She wouldn't make a mistake. She had been dealing with these medicinal herbs for four years, until her mother-in-law took back the medicine shop later... She bit her lip. Although she had put a lot of effort into that medicine shop, when her mother-in-law asked for it, she didn't hesitate at all. Filial piety comes first for her parents, right? But why, after Shen Anlin found out, did he look at her with even more... It was from that day that he turned and left, only to return with a letter of divorce after achieving success and fame...

What did she do wrong? What did she do wrong?

"Shiba Niang? Shiba Niang, what's wrong with you?" Gu Hai's anxious voice rang out.

Gu Shiba Niang came to her senses, "It's nothing, it's nothing."

Gu Hai still thought she was tired, or maybe the mountain wind had blown on her. In any case, he was deeply worried. After dinner and tidying up, Gu Shiba Niang sat in the courtyard at dawn to wash the herbs she had gathered.

Mrs. Cao was doing needlework on the side, smiling as she watched her busy. She would occasionally ask a few questions. Three or four birds flew down from the tree, chirping and hopping around in the courtyard.

As Mrs. Cao watched, she couldn't help but stop her own work, her face showing a hint of surprise.

Gu Shiba Niang was holding a pestle, lightly tapping the cleaned Yuanshi roots.

"Shiba Niang, are you going to pound this into a pulp?" Mrs. Cao couldn't help but ask.