The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Same Cart, Same Road

After Dabao’s broken bone was set, it was secured with a splint. To prevent it from shifting during movement, he had to remain at the clinic for a few days of observation, so Ji Huan stayed there with him.

The clinic was rather deserted. How deserted? In the few days Ji Huan stayed there, she didn’t see a single other patient.

The clinic had only one doctor and a young attendant. They both lived in the rear courtyard, which was also where Ji Huan and Dabao’s "ward" was located. It had been hastily tidied up for them, which made it easy to imagine how long it had been since the clinic last had any patrons.

Although this Doctor Xin was young, his skills were excellent. Logically, his business shouldn’t have been this bad.

However, Ji Huan wasn’t a particularly curious person. Noticing these things was simply an old occupational habit acting up. The thought crossed her mind and was just as quickly dismissed as she turned all her attention back to Dabao.

Other than a few whimpers of pain when his bone was being set, Dabao hadn’t made a sound since. Every time Ji Huan saw his bruised body, she was filled with self-blame. ’If I hadn’t been so careless as to leave him alone in that dilapidated shack, this never would have happened.’

’Widow Xie was right. I’m really not cut out to take care of children.’

When a person feels guilty, they want to make up for it twofold. Ji Huan borrowed the clinic’s small kitchen and made chicken soup and pork rib soup for Dabao three times a day. The young attendant would watch from the side, drooling, so Ji Huan always ladled out an extra portion for him.

Of course, she didn’t forget Doctor Xin, but the man was too eccentric and refused to eat anything from a patient.

’A stoic with a strong sense of professional ethics.’ That was Ji Huan’s assessment of him.

One day, Ji Huan needed to return to Dafeng Village to get some clean clothes, but she waited until Dabao was asleep before leaving. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to leave earlier; the last time she’d gone out to buy groceries, she had returned to the sound of Dabao’s terrified screams. He had almost knocked his splint loose.

Only when he saw Ji Huan did his emotions calm down a little. He hadn’t been this clingy before. The beating must have left him traumatized, a thought that made Ji Huan’s heart ache every time.

When she reached the memorial archway at the town’s entrance, her luck was good—she happened to run into Uncle Niu’s cart heading back to the village.

Uncle Niu had been delayed in the county on business and thought he would be making the return trip with an empty cart. He hadn’t expected to pick up two passengers.

It was only after Ji Huan climbed onto the mule cart that she realized another person was already there—a young man with a few books stacked on his lap, another one in his hands that he was currently reading.

The evening light had begun to fade, but she could still vaguely make out that he was quite handsome.

’Song Jing.’ The two words suddenly popped into Ji Huan’s mind, even though she had only ever seen his back from a distance last time in town.

After a moment, Song Jing realized someone else was on the cart. He looked up from his book and gave her a slight nod with a hint of a smile, as if in greeting.

Ji Huan was a little surprised. ’Does he know me?’

She immediately dismissed the possibility. ’He probably doesn’t. Otherwise, it’d be a wonder if he could still smile.’

Recalling the praise Widow Xie had lavished on him, she understood. ’It’s just that he’s naturally polite.’

Ji Huan nodded back in response and went to sit on the other side of the cart.

Ji Huan’s brow was furrowed for the entire journey.

She had settled the bill with the attendant earlier today. She hadn’t realized until then, but in less than a week, she had already spent over ten taels of silver.

She knew the going rates, so the clinic hadn’t overcharged her. To minimize Dabao’s suffering and help him recover sooner, Doctor Xin had used only the best medicines. The bill also included their lodging fees and the cost of food in town these past few days.

The problem was that she had been spending money freely. Besides her initial big shopping trip, she had also asked Hu Liang to help her purchase a bathtub and other miscellaneous items. All in all, her thirty taels had dwindled to just over twenty, and now more than half of that was gone in one go.

Dabao still needed another week of medicine. Although the later prescriptions would mainly focus on nourishing his energy and strengthening his constitution and wouldn’t be too expensive, he couldn’t rely on medicine alone. He still needed proper nutrition, which meant the remaining money would shrink day by day...

Ji Huan had originally planned to renovate the dilapidated shack, have some furniture made, and build a heated kang bed before winter arrived. Now, not only were those plans completely dashed, she wasn’t even sure if she had enough money to get by.

’What a crisis!’

Lost in her anxious thoughts, she eventually noticed the sound of pages turning beside her from time to time.

’A top student is a top student,’ she thought. ’It’s already this dark, and he’s still racing against the clock to read.’

When they reached the entrance to the village, Ji Huan handed the fare to Uncle Niu and went on her way.

A moment later, she heard footsteps following behind her.

The village chief’s home was at the eastern end of the village, so the two of them happened to share the same path for a stretch.

Ji Huan didn’t pay it any mind and continued to walk, lost in her own thoughts.

A man’s stride is wider than a woman’s, so it didn’t take long for Song Jing to catch up from behind. Just as he was passing her, Ji Huan, as fate would have it, stepped on a jutting stone. She stumbled and swayed to the side, bumping right into Song Jing’s shoulder.

Song Jing quickly reached out to steady her, but in doing so, the books in his arms fell to the ground.

After steadying herself, Ji Huan said, "Thank you." She felt a little awkward. ’He doesn’t think I’m trying to scam him, does he?’

Fortunately, Song Jing didn’t seem to think much of it. He simply said, "It was nothing," and crouched down to pick up the scattered books.

It was clear that he cherished his books. With each one he picked up, he would inspect it carefully and then gently brush off the dust with his sleeve.

How could Ji Huan just stand there and watch? She also crouched down to help him pick them up.

"Thank you."

She was the one who had knocked the books over, yet he was thanking her.

Ji Huan glanced at him and saw that he was wiping the inner page of a book. The book was only half-filled; the other half was still blank, and the ink on the filled pages was still moist, as if it had been written not long ago.

"*Zhongyong*... You copy books for people?" The thought slipped out before she could stop it.

"You can read?" Song Jing asked, a little surprised.

"Er..." Ji Huan traced her forehead with her little finger. "...My mother taught me."

Song Jing nodded thoughtfully. "These are all copied for a bookshop, to earn some money for living expenses, ink, and tuition."

He wasn’t shy about his financial difficulties, which made Ji Huan’s impression of him even better.

"I wonder what the rates are?" The question was actually a bit forward, but when you were short on money, being prim and proper was just nonsense.

Song Jing smiled, clearly seeing her intention. But he wasn’t secretive and told her the truth.

Ji Huan did a quick calculation. The bookshop provided the ink and brushes. In a month, you could earn a few maces of silver. If your handwriting was good and you were fast, you might even make a full tael.

"Then could you please tell me which bookshop it is? I’m in urgent need of money."

Song Jing pondered for a moment, and Ji Huan thought he was about to refuse.

"The owner there only does business with regular clients. How about this: I’m heading back to town tomorrow afternoon. If you have time, you can come with me. It should be easier with an introduction. But you should be prepared; they’ll probably want to test you..."

Not only did he not refuse, he was even willing to make the connection for her and warn her beforehand about what to expect.

No wonder everyone praised him. Compared to Ji Liantang, who looked down his nose at people, the two were like night and day.

But admiration was one thing; Ji Huan couldn’t actually go to town with him. Dabao was still waiting at the clinic, and besides, the man was being kind enough to help—she couldn’t cause trouble for him or start idle gossip.

"I’m staying at the clinic in town for the next few days, so I’ll just wait for you at the academy entrance tomorrow afternoon. By the way, my name is..."

"I know," Song Jing said with a smile, finishing her sentence. "You’re Ji Huan."

Now Ji Huan was truly surprised.

’Since he knows who I am, he must have heard about my reputation. Yet not only did he not shy away from talking to me for so long, he’s even willing to help.’

Ji Huan clucked her tongue in admiration internally. ’As expected of a highly educated intellectual. His way of thinking is just on another level.’

Song Jing, unaware of her inner monologue, just then remembered that Ji Huan might not know who he was.

"I almost forgot, I haven’t told you who I am. I’m..."

"I know," Ji Huan replied, returning the favor. "You’re Song Jing."

Song Jing was taken aback for a moment, then they looked at each other and smiled.

Since they were heading in the same direction, the two walked and talked for a while. It wasn’t idle chatter; the conversation was mainly about book-copying.

They continued until Song Jing suddenly stopped and said with a hint of apology, "My mother is here to meet me. I... should get going."

Ji Huan followed his gaze and saw someone standing at the fork in the road ahead, holding a lantern. It looked like they had been waiting for a long time.

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