Compared to Gu Lanyin, this Liu Dalang was clearly older.
He Ping'an had heard from Granny Tai that her son was already twenty-five this year, still a bachelor at that age. She had arranged countless matchmakers and introduced him to countless women in the area, but he never took a liking to any of them.
Liu Dalang had truly delicate features. Before he was so sunburned, he must have been quite handsome. Now, after a stint in the army, he had toughened up a lot, but his naturally large build combined with that face was somehow comical.
He looked like a very strong woman who could knock her out with one punch.
She had clearly been overthinking things last night.
Now he was smiling at her.
He Ping'an struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth.
This scene, however, looked to others as if she were terrified—so much so that her shoulders were trembling.
Granny Tai shooed her son out, understandingly: "You've just met him, you're not familiar yet. It's natural to be scared. My son has no bad intentions, he's just tall, and he's good at work. I told him to buy some meat and vegetables; we'll have a good meal today. From now on, you can treat him as an older brother, how about that?"
He Ping'an looked at Granny Tai.
She was a small, thin old woman, and for her to say such words was already very kind to her.
As she smiled, her eyes slowly reddened.
"I thought today you were going to kick me out."
"If I wanted to kick you out, I wouldn't have taken you in in the first place." Granny Tai stood up and patted her shoulder, offering a rare compliment: "You're a capable girl. If our family ever falls on hard times and you want to leave, I won't stop you."
He Ping'an shook her head: "I'm not leaving."
She had struggled so hard to get here; if she left, where would she go?
He Ping'an wiped her face, tidied up the room, and prepared to move to the small side room next to the main hall, returning this room to Liu Dalang.
Seeing her packing clothes, Granny Tai helped roll up the bedding.
She had already made up her mind: "You'll share the main room with me. After his father died, the room felt empty; there's a place for you to sleep."
"If you don't want to share a bed with me, I'll have Dalang make a new one."
"Sharing a bed is warmer and cozier, it's fine, it's fine." He Ping'an laughed. "Back home, I used to sleep with my mother."
"That's good then."
Granny Tai was old; after tidying the room for a while, she was out of breath. Just then, someone knocked at the front door of the clinic seeking treatment, and she began to grumble:
"Dalang, don't just stand there staring, come move things!"
"Everyone wants my life, messing around—what's the point of all this fuss!"
She stormed off to the front, her voice louder than usual. The patients seeking help, seeing this, became even more humble.
Liu Dalang helped Ping'an move her things, then went to the front to take his seat.
The morning's patients were still there. His mother, with trembling hands, wrapped up the herbs one by one and then tossed them into their arms.
"How much?"
"How much money do you have? Seeing how poor you are, give me ten coppers. Don't tell me you don't even have ten coppers..." The old woman stared at him from behind the counter. Seeing his embarrassed expression, she immediately yelled, "Take the medicine and get lost. Keep your lousy coins."
It was the same for the next few people.
After everyone had left, Granny Tai sat there complaining: "Now that you're back, I don't want to see them anymore. Like a swarm of locusts, all of them after my cheap prices. If I don't give them medicine, I'm wasting their trip. But if I do, I'm worried!"
Liu Dalang consoled her: "When Father was alive, he did the same thing often. The family still has some savings; it's not a big deal."
"That's all saved up for you to get married..."
Liu Dalang said: "Why do you always worry about that? If I get married, where would you put this new little sister?"
Granny Tai seemed stumped and fell silent, thinking.
Liu Dalang enjoyed the peace and began grinding ink on the table, flipping through a few pages of the usual prescription paper.
Unexpectedly, several ready-made prescriptions fell out from among them.
Liu Dalang looked at the handwriting—neat and square, a bit clumsy but easy to read.
It was a prescription for wind-cold ailments.
His mother always prescribed strong medicine, but this prescription was completely different from hers. Liu Dalang studied it carefully, then finally smiled: "This is a good prescription."
He brushed off the two thin sheets of paper, folded them, and put them in his pocket.
*
Spring deepened, and the sun hung high.
Outside, poor families continued to come in succession. Liu Dalang turned no one away.
He Ping'an handled the miscellaneous chores in the clinic, resting by the well when tired.
The Liu family's yard had a large apricot tree growing by the well. It sheltered the well from snow in winter and provided shade in summer, having stood there for many years. Now the branches were heavy with blossoms, thick as snow.
She squinted, light filtering through the gaps, a few specks falling on her eyelids, warm and seemingly fragrant, reminding her of spring back home.
He Ping'an covered her face, feeling a pang in her heart.
All for the sake of a little money—she had wasted her entire past life and, in this life, ended up with no home to return to.