Chapter 31: Finding a Doctor

Su Sanlang quickly waved his hand. “Master Fu, you misunderstood. I didn’t sell to anyone else. I had been busy with housework, so I kept them at home. I only came to town today.”

Seeing that the basket was full, how could Sun Fu not understand? He smiled and said, “It’s okay. I was just teasing you. Let me see what good stuff you’ve brought this time.”

Su Sanlang put the back basket down and untied the sack. “It’s still the same as before,” he said. “Hares, pheasants and turtledoves.”

The prey Su Sanlang had brought was as good as the last time, every one of them were lively. It was obvious that they had been raised well.

Sun Fu casually picked one up and said, “Good stuff.”

Some people had good hands. Sun Fu had only managed to raise the prey from last time for a day, but they did not eat or drink much. In order to avoid them dying, he could only kill them all in one go.

“Brother, you’re raising them so well. Last time, I only managed to raise them for a day, but they did not eat or drink. How did you raise them?”

Sun Fu asked.

Su Sanlang didn’t know either, but he said truthfully, “It was fed with insects and grass gathered by the children in the family.”

This was true. It was just that the grass and insects might be something special, but Su Sanlang wasn’t going to say anything about this particular reason. He still had that bit of caution, and it was not like he was lying.

Sun Fu did not question further. He just thought that people were different. After all, some people were born to be liked by small animals and could raise them well.

On the other hand, some people would only cause whatever they tried to raise to die earlier.

Sun Fu called his two disciples and quickly went to weigh the goods. They weighed a total of 210 catties. Sun Fu readily calculated the money for Su Sanlang.

The 210 catties, 25 copper coins per catty, amounted to a total of 5250 copper coins, which were exchanged for five taels of silver and 250 copper coins and given to Su Sanlang.

This time, after calculating the money, Sun Fu did not let Su Sanlang leave immediately. Instead, he got his disciple to pour him a bowl of water and bring him two steamed buns.

Sun Fu said, “Brother, I’m the chef of this Sun residence. My name is Sun Fu. What’s your name and where do you live?”

“It looks like you’ve had a long walk. Drink some water and eat some steamed buns to fill your stomach.”

Sun Fu smiled amiably. The big white steamed buns were fragrant and soft. Su Sanlang could not bear to eat it when Sun Fu’s disciple stuffed it into his hand. His three children and wife had never eaten such good steamed buns.

Seeing him like this, Sun Fu understood at a glance. He smiled and said, “Brother, just eat. When you go back later, bring five more home for the children to eat. Don’t refuse. This is worthless in the Sun residence. It’s food for us servants.”

Seeing that the Sun residence was so open, Su Sanlang stopped being coy. After eating the steamed buns and drinking water, he said to Sun Fu, “My name is Su Sanlang. I live in South Mountain Village.”

“How many children do you have, then?”

Sun Fu asked in detail.

Su Sanlang smiled and said, “Four. My eldest son is 11 and my second eldest son will be ten this December. The two younger ones are girls, one of them is six and the youngest was born not long ago.”

“If you’re so good at hunting, why don’t you make a bigger trap? Catch a wild boar or a wild sheep. It’s winter and it’s warm to eat mutton. If you catch it, send it directly to the Sun residence. The price is twenty copper coins higher than these little things.”

Sun Fu said with a smile. He felt that Su Sanlang should be an expert. The prey he caught were all alive and kicking. If he killed and cooked them on the spot, the taste would increase by several levels.

Su Sanlang waved his hand in shame. “I can’t do it. I’m not even a hunter. I’m just trying my luck.”

Sun Fu didn’t think much of it and said with a smile, “Then you can still give it a try. Who knows, you might really catch one. If you catch one or two, your sons won’t have to worry about getting a wife in the future.”

Su Sanlang’s expression darkened when he thought of his two sons. Sun Fu did not miss it. He asked, “Brother Su, what difficulties do you have?”

Su Sanlang didn’t want to say anything, but since Sun Fu lived in the town, he must know more about the town than he did. Su Sanlang looked at Sun Fu and said, “Master Fu, to tell you the truth, my two sons are mentally retarded. My eldest son hit his head when he was little and only learnt to walk when he was two. His mind stopped developing at about four-years-old. I don’t know if he was born stupid or if he became stupid after hitting his head. My second son had a high fever when he was four-years-old and he became stupid after surviving it. I’ve saved some money these days. I want to take them to a doctor. May I ask if there are any good doctors in this town?”

When Su Sanlang finished, he looked hopefully at Sun Fu.

Sun Fu did not expect him to have such a bumpy family background. For a moment, he felt a little sorry. He sighed and said, “You’ve suffered.”

Su Sanlang shook his head with a wry smile. “I’m not afraid of any hardship.”

Sun Fu said, “If you want to know about the doctors in the town, their medical skills are only average. You can try the town’s miscellaneous medicine hall. Even if the results are not good, you don’t have to be discouraged. If you earn more money, you can still go to Furongzhou to take a look.”

Su Sanlang noted it down. He bowed to Sun Fu and thanked him. “Master Fu, thank you for telling me.”

Sun Fu turned sideways and waved his hand. “It’s a small matter. You’re a lucky man. I’ll wish you all the best.”

With that, Sun Fu turned around and instructed his disciple, “Go and wrap ten steamed buns. Cut half a catty of braised meat and pack them together.”

Su Sanlang quickly refused. “Master Fu, you can’t do that. I already have enough white steamed buns. How can I ask for more meat?”

Sun Fu picked up Su Sanlang’s basket and handed it to him. He smiled and said, “It’s fine. Bring it back for the children to try.”

When his disciple brought out the food wrapped in waxed paper, Sun Fu placed it in Su Sanlang’s basket.

Then he walked Su Sanlang out of the house.

Sun Fu sent him off warmly. Su Sanlang could not refuse and could only thank him profusely before leaving.

Since Sun Fu had sent him off, Su Sanlang could not give the servant another twenty copper coins to express his gratitude.

After Su Sanlang left, Sun Fu said to the servant at the door, “Gui, he has a hard life. He has four children, and two of his sons are stupid. He only has his two daughters. His life is not easy. He’s taking the initiative to find a doctor for his children, so I’m afraid he has no parents to protect him. Poor thing, don’t accept his gifts in the future.”

Sun Gui sighed when he heard that. “Then his life is really tough. Uncle Fu, don’t worry. Our lives are much better than his. I won’t take his gifts.”

Although they were slaves, they were domestic slaves. The main family was extremely wealthy, and the servants lived well. They were much better off than ordinary commoners.

Sun Fu patted Sun Gui’s shoulder and said with a smile, “I’ll put in a few good words for you in front of Uncle An another day.”

Sun Gui’s eyes immediately lit up. He smiled and said, “Thank you very much.”

…

Su Sanlang used the 250 copper coins to buy two and a half catties of salt and went home.

As soon as he reached home, he couldn’t wait to take out the big white steamed buns for Madam Zhao and the children to eat. Then, he said, “Darling, we’re so lucky. The Sun residence is really good. These big white steamed buns were given to us by the chef of the Sun residence. They even gave me a piece of braised meat. I heard that this kind of braised meat can only be found in restaurants.”