Medicine Master Disciple’s Cultivation Notes

Chapter 121: Hu Caiyi Moves In, Bags and All

Li Qiuchen's days had been extraordinarily full and busy of late.

Mainly because Boss Hu was down, and Hu Caiyi's response to any difficulty was to whimper.

Running the kind of business Boss Hu ran was considered something of an eccentric choice within his particular circle.

As a result, there were no other members of his clan working in the shop. All the staff were ordinary hired hands.

The moment he went down, there was nobody left to manage things.

Under normal circumstances that might have been manageable, but of all the times for unwelcome visitors to come calling, they chose now.

The four Chang brothers showed up at the shop demanding a feast.

The man wasn't dead yet. What feast were they expecting?

It didn't matter. They wanted a feast.

Hu Caiyi and her mother were so frightened they hid inside and wouldn't set foot out the door.In the end it took Li Qiuchen arriving to sort out these four distinguished gentlemen.

If they wanted to eat, let them eat.

The Chang brothers were, in truth, well-intentioned. Having finished their work they had no particular rush to leave, and were thinking of staying on to keep the shop's prestige visible and discourage any small-timers from coming around to cause trouble.

But Hu Caiyi's mother was an ordinary woman, and Hu Caiyi herself was timid as a mouse. The elder brothers had no patience for explaining themselves to women, and so nothing was communicated.

Thanks to the overbearing manner of these four gentlemen, Li Qiuchen got his first look at Hu Caiyi's mother.

He could only say she was reasonably pleasant-looking, nothing like the striking beauty he had vaguely imagined.

So Hu Caiyi's looks came entirely from her father's side.

Whatever Boss Hu's reasoning had been, that was other people's business and not Li Qiuchen's to comment on.

Boss Hu lay in bed looking bloodless and hollow, with the look of someone barely holding on.

The moment he saw Li Qiuchen come in, he forced himself upright and clasped Li Qiuchen's hand, thanking him repeatedly.

"She's my only daughter, and if not for your intervention she would have come to serious harm. I have no way to repay a debt of this magnitude. If you wouldn't find it beneath you, I'd like to entrust her to your care."

Li Qiuchen didn't know how to respond.

Come on. What are you performing for?

What kind of demon spirit recuperates from an injury by lying in bed waiting for someone to brew medicinal soup for him?

Entrusting his daughter, no less.

If I agreed on the spot, would you spring up right now and bite me?

"Boss Hu, you're being too gracious. Helping someone in danger is only natural, nothing worth mentioning. The young miss was frightened, but she came through safely. It's your own condition that deserves more attention."

"I'm not joking with you."

Boss Hu's expression turned serious. "I was dealt a hidden blow that day and lost my wits. The injuries I sustained are genuinely severe. Under ordinary circumstances I should return to my hometown to recover in seclusion for a time, but there are various matters with the county government still unresolved. If I left without a word, misunderstandings would be difficult to clear up later."

In plain terms, he was waiting to hear how the authorities would handle things.

"The education back home is nothing like what the county town offers. If I took Caiyi with me, her studies would suffer, and if she fell in with the rowdy young fellows of the clan and ran wild in the mountains, that would be harder to undo later."

"So I thought, since your employer is away as well, she could come and stay with your young miss and keep her company. You're a steady and reliable person, young Steward Li. I'm comfortable placing her in your hands."

Li Qiuchen thought it over. Hu Caiyi was at the Tang house every day as it was. It was no more trouble than setting an extra place at the table.

Anything that concerned Tang Xiaoxue's wellbeing fell within his authority to decide.

But things still needed to be said plainly.

"Our household is fairly modest. I'm not sure the young miss would find it comfortable... is there nowhere suitable on her mother's side?"

Boss Hu shook his head. "Her maternal grandparents are still living, but they're not young. If something were to happen, as it did twice now, what could the elderly folks possibly do?"

That was fair enough.

Li Qiuchen understood what was really being said.

As for studies, given where Hu Caiyi's abilities actually stood, what was there to discuss?

What Boss Hu truly valued in Li Qiuchen was that in both dangerous incidents, he had managed to pull Hu Caiyi back from harm in time.

Not every family in the world could afford a personal bodyguard at their side.

Even if you had the money, you might not find the right person.

And even if you found the right person, they might not be able to do what Li Qiuchen had done, which was pass the inner hall entrance examination on their own ability and remain close at hand.

Yun County had gone many years without serious trouble, but nobody could guarantee the future would be the same.

After turning it over from every angle, Boss Hu had arrived at this arrangement.

One sheep or two made the same amount of work. A little more effort on young Steward Li's part, and his daughter would have someone looking out for her going forward.

As for compensation, that was hardly a concern.

After years in the fur trade, money was the one thing Boss Hu was never short of.

He handed his personal seal over to Li Qiuchen on the spot, and drew a thousand taels in banknotes against the account under the name of providing for the young miss's expenses.

More if needed.

Since he was returning home to recuperate, the shop would nominally be left to Hu Caiyi.

These past few days Li Qiuchen had been running back and forth, primarily helping Hu Caiyi move her belongings.

Unlike Tang Xiaoxue, whose possessions barely filled a room, the young miss of the Hu household measured her personal effects in cartloads.

She had four maids of varying sizes in constant personal attendance, and changed her everyday clothes daily for all four seasons. To the outside eye there was no visible difference between outfits, but in practice she maintained seven identical sets of every single garment.

Her toys alone filled an entire room to overflowing, including no small number of novelties shipped at great expense from the south.

Boss Tang was hardly poor, but beside Hu Caiyi, Tang Xiaoxue looked like a child raised by a stepmother.

Hu Caiyi herself had no objection whatsoever to her father's arrangement. Her attitude toward Li Qiuchen, however, was a great deal more complicated.

She had never spoken to Li Qiuchen directly before. Even when communication was necessary, her eyes would be directed elsewhere, speaking to the air rather than to him.

This wasn't a matter of putting on airs. When she was young, Boss Hu had engaged a female tutor who had carefully instilled the full Chu doctrine of feminine virtue, the three obediences and four virtues, into her not particularly sharp little mind.

One of its more significant provisions was that a secluded young lady must not associate with men outside the family.

There was nothing to be done about it. She had been born at a disadvantage.

In Yun County, what self-respecting family of matching social standing would willingly take a fox spirit into the household?

A half-demon was no better. People would talk.

And if she were raised without any of this training, wild as a fox in the hills, things would be even worse.

Not that she would necessarily fail to find a husband.

But when men came calling, how would you know whether they were after her looks or the Hu family's money?

Those who had never raised a daughter would likely never understand what Boss Hu had in mind.

The teaching had taken hold well enough. Perhaps a little too well.

Hu Caiyi was timid by nature and had never dared step outside the rules she had been given. Even speaking to Li Qiuchen in ordinary conversation required her to hold her neck stiff and keep her eyes fixed directly ahead. Watching it was uncomfortable for Li Qiuchen too.

But now her father had officially granted her permission to go out.

She would be living with Tang Xiaoxue going forward. Tang Xiaoxue's study companion was as good as her own.

So that made him not quite an outside man, didn't it?

As a result, every time Li Qiuchen came to the Hu household over these past few days, Hu Caiyi stared at him relentlessly.

Surreptitiously, of course. The moment Li Qiuchen turned to look, she would affect total indifference.

"Miss Hu, is there anything else you'd like to bring?"

"No, it's fine, I can always come back for things... though I will need to trouble Steward Li to escort me when the time comes."

Hu Caiyi tucked her hands into her sleeves and followed a step behind Li Qiuchen wherever he went, like a small dog that had been thoroughly tamed with food.

Li Qiuchen didn't quite know what to do with this. He turned around and suggested, "Wouldn't you like to sit in the carriage?"

"I'm not tired!"

"Then is there something you'd like to ask me?"

Hu Caiyi twisted her fingers together, hesitated for a long moment, and said quietly, "What do you want as a reward?"

"What do you mean, a reward?"

"Well... you saved me again..."

Li Qiuchen produced Boss Hu's personal seal with a smile. "There's no need to worry about that, young miss. Boss Hu has already given his thanks."

Hu Caiyi puffed up her cheeks and stared at Li Qiuchen without a word, looking as though she'd been annoyed.

"And what would you like to give me yourself?"

"What do you want?"

Well, that was where things ground to a halt.

Li Qiuchen couldn't help laughing. "Perhaps you could offer me something valuable?"

Hu Caiyi reached into her front pocket and produced a gold longevity lock, watching Li Qiuchen with an expectant expression.

Li Qiuchen had seen that longevity lock before. It was always around Hu Caiyi's neck, one of her most personal possessions.

It was also, he recalled, something Boss Tang had given her not so long ago. A small bell hung from the bottom of it, still warm from her skin.

"That wouldn't quite be appropriate."

"It's very valuable."

"I know it's valuable, but it's your personal belonging, young miss. You can't go giving away something like that."

Hu Caiyi put the longevity lock away with a look of disappointment, glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist and the jade ornament at her waist, and then seemed to think of something. She turned and ran off.

After a moment she came pattering back and held out a small box.

Li Qiuchen opened it and found a writing brush inside.

The craftsmanship was quite refined, though the handle was somewhat slender and short, clearly made for a girl's use.

When Li Qiuchen reached out to feel the tip, a flush rose on Hu Caiyi's face.

"This is..."

"Rabbit hair!"

???

Was that what I was asking?

A writing brush was an entirely unproblematic gift, perfectly suitable for exchange between classmates.

Li Qiuchen thought nothing of it, tucked the brush away, and nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the gift, young miss."

"Well... you've looked after me quite a bit. There's no need to stand on ceremony."

Hu Caiyi took his hand for support and stepped up into the carriage, then thought for a moment and turned back. "My tastes are a bit particular when it comes to food..."

"I know. There must be chicken at every meal."

"Wuu..."

The expression on Hu Caiyi's face was that of someone who had been hit squarely over the head.

"It's not every single meal..."

Li Qiuchen gave a nod. "Roast pigeon or grilled quail on rotation, fried sparrows as well. Mornings are stir-fried grouse with salted vegetables and steamed egg custard. No rabbit and no potato."

"How do you know all of that?"

"You and my young miss have been out to eat together enough times that I naturally paid attention to your preferences."

Hu Caiyi flushed crimson, stamped her foot, and dove into the carriage.

Just you wait. I'll deal with you yet.

Li Qiuchen shook his head and put these minor details out of his mind.

Managing children was simple. The real problem was on the county school's side of things.

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