Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

Chapter 22 Brown Sugar Water

The "antique calligraphy and painting" shop is also a low brick and tile bungalow, sharing a gable wall with the neighboring flower and bird shop. A dusty bamboo curtain hangs under the eaves, and the door frame is slightly tilted due to years of disrepair.

The alley was filled with the smell of bird droppings from the neighboring flower and bird shop and the stench of rotten vegetable leaves wafting from the vegetable market. Occasionally, you could hear the chirping of a thrush in a cage next door.

When Tang Huaiyi went inside, he saw that the dimly lit room, which was less than ten square meters in size, had simple wooden shelves nailed to three walls, displaying dusty porcelain bowls, strings of copper coins, and faded New Year pictures.

In the center was a square elm table with a thick patina. Folded pieces of paper were stuffed into the cracks in the tabletop to keep it flat, and a few rusted copper coins were scattered on it.

In the corner, there was a pile of bound scrolls, the outermost layer of Xuan paper already yellowed and curled at the edges. At the bottom of the shelf, there was an inkstone wrapped in newspaper, revealing a chipped inkwell.

A thin man in his fifties was eating corn inside the house.

Seeing Tang Huaiyi walk in, he put down half a corn cob, wiped his mouth, and stood up: "What do you want to see?"

Tang Huaiyi noticed a scar on his left eyebrow, suggesting that his brow bone had been broken.

Wearing a faded navy blue Zhongshan suit, he had the air of a scholar trying to maintain a respectable image, rather than a merchant with a heart full of transactions.

"I have a silver dollar, can you tell me how much it's worth?"

As Tang Huaiyi spoke, he handed him the Guangxu Yuanbao silver coin.

"A silver dollar?" the thin shopkeeper repeated doubtfully, taking a magnifying glass wrapped in tape from a drawer. He held the silver dollar up to the light and immediately looked disappointed: "Isn't this the same one from yesterday? I offered ten dollars, why are you asking again?"

Suddenly becoming alert, she looked towards the door: "What's your relationship with that person from yesterday? What do you two do? If you're trying to trick me into saying anything, I won't deny it!"

Tang Huaiyi laughed and explained, "I'm here to sell things, how could I be trying to trick you into revealing information?"

"My elders asked me to come and inquire yesterday, and when I heard the price was reasonable, I came to sell it to you today."

"Really?" The thin boss looked at Tang Huaiyi with some suspicion.

"Ten yuan, leave your things, and you can go."

Tang Huaiyi reached out and took the ten-yuan note, nodded, and walked towards the door.

The thin boss realized he hadn't said anything else and felt relieved.

It startled me; I thought someone was trying to set me up again.

He carefully put away the Beiyang-made dragon dollar, picked up half a corn cob, and continued to gnaw on it.

He'd barely taken a couple of bites when he saw Tang Huaiyi standing at the door again, and immediately stood up: "Is there anything else?"

"If I have anything else at home, can I sell it to you there?"

"Yes, I can." The shopkeeper looked at him warily. "What do you do? Are your goods legitimate? I don't accept anything illegitimate."

"My family is from the countryside, and this is something from my home," Tang Huaiyi explained. "I'm not selling this because I need money..."

The boss sized up Tang Huaiyi's clothes and demeanor.

His clothes were indeed quite shabby, but judging from his appearance and expression, he didn't seem like the kind of scoundrel or someone who would do crooked things.

"Okay, if you have anything else, you can bring it over so I can see it."

"That's what the thin boss said."

Tang Huaiyi nodded and left with the ten yuan.

The thin boss turned around and saw that half an ear of corn had rolled off the table and was lying quietly on the floor.

Helpless, I could only rinse it with water and continue eating it.

…………

Back at school, Tang Huaiyi didn't feel too tired. Besides, after this round trip, he didn't need to waste time going back to the dormitory, so he simply went into the classroom.

Inside the classroom, seven or eight students were looking down at their books and writing, while Li Xiujuan was hunched over a desk in the back row.

"Why didn't you rest?" Tang Huaiyi asked, sitting down and looking down.

"The pain suddenly became very severe, and it happens every month..." Li Xiujuan said softly, her face pale, as she pressed her lower abdomen. "It hurts in the dormitory too, and it wouldn't be good if my roommates saw me, so I came to the classroom."

"You can't keep pushing yourself like this."

Tang Huaiyi saw that her forehead was covered in cold sweat and knew that she was in unbearable pain. He picked up her teacup, stood up and walked outside.

Where are you going?

Li Xiujuan murmured something, but because of the severe pain, her voice, which was already soft, became even softer.

I bought a bag of brown sugar for two cents from the school store, and then went to the school clinic and bought three tablets of Analgin painkiller for nine cents.

Tang Huaiyi poured hot water into some brown sugar, then quickly carried it into the classroom and placed it in front of Li Xiujuan.

When Li Xiujuan saw the brown sugar water, her voice trembled slightly: "Don't be so kind to me... I'm fine... I'll just have to bear with it..."

"Why are you enduring this pain? You can't even attend class this afternoon. Take your painkillers now." Tang Huaiyi handed her a tablet of Analgin.

Li Xiujuan pursed her lips, her eyes reddening as she glanced at Tang Huaiyi, as if trying to remember his appearance.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and eat," Tang Huaiyi said in a low voice. "Otherwise, your classmates will notice."

Li Xiujuan stopped talking and lowered her head.

Two drops of water slowly rolled down her face and landed in the brown sugar water; it was hard to tell if they were sweat or tears.

After that, she said nothing more, lowered her head, blew on the hot liquid, ate the Analgin, and slowly drank the steaming brown sugar water.

These days, people spend too little money on snacks, so the sweet aroma of brown sugar water mixed with the steam was particularly noticeable, and the other classmates could smell it too; however, Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan had always been rather aloof, and didn't talk to them much or know them well, so they didn't feel comfortable coming over to talk to them or ask them anything.

In the afternoon, the students arrived one after another.

Tang Huaiyi had initially considered asking Guan Xiaolin to change his food rations, but upon reflection, he realized he only had a little over fifteen yuan in total. If the crows could find silver dollars or something similar, he could certainly improve his living standards without worry; however, if they couldn't, he would still be short of money...

Guan Xiaolin treated us to a very greasy lunch today; let's make do for the day and see if the crow can bring back anything useful tonight.

The analgesic effect of Analgin was quite obvious. By the time of class in the afternoon, Li Xiujuan had returned to normal and was concentrating on her studies. However, her eyes would occasionally glance at Tang Huaiyi, always with a unique glint in them.

After two classes, there was a self-study period, and then the students went to eat.

Tang Huaiyi picked up Li Xiujuan's teacup: "I'll go make you some brown sugar water..."

"No need, I'm much better now..." Li Xiujuan quickly said.

"That's due to the medicine. Your energy is already low, so you should drink some water." Tang Huaiyi said, as he brought her some boiled water and poured in some brown sugar.

Li Xiujuan stared blankly as Tang Huaiyi prepared the brown sugar water, thinking: He's so good to me. Whether I go to university or not, I'll stay with him...

After Li Xiujuan finished drinking the brown sugar water, the two went to the canteen to get their steamed buns, where Guan Xiaolin was still waiting for them.

While handing them steamed buns, he asked, "Tang Huaiyi, did you sell that silver dollar? Shouldn't you change your meals a bit?"