...Early to go, early to return.
After finishing his meal while waiting for Luo Ge and the others to take a noon break, Gu Jinchen went out.
He first went to handle the matters of the chicken coop, and then headed to the cloth shop.
"Well, well, it's you, young man. How come your wife didn't come with you this time?"
There were only two cloth shops in this town, so Gu Jinchen coincidentally came to the one they had visited before.
The shopkeeper immediately recognized this good-looking couple.
"She's pregnant and can't move around easily. Could you please help me get a few sets of ready-made clothes? Four sets for adult men, two sets for women, and two sets for boys around eight or nine years old."
"Sure, winter clothes, right? Or one set for spring and one for winter?"
It was already October and entering winter, but not the coldest time yet. (Don't argue with me like you did about my mentioning July as the start of autumn. We're going by the lunar calendar here! Spring: months 1-3, Summer: 4-6, Autumn: 7-9, Winter: 10-12. Don't argue!)
Since Luo Ge and the others had visited last time, the shopkeeper had stocked up on ready-made clothing. What Gu Jinchen asked for was all available.
"One set of each, and a few pieces of cloth as well," Gu Jinchen nodded at the shopkeeper's words.
The southern climate was quite strange. Even on very cold days, if the sun came out, it would get unbearably hot in the sun. So it was best to have both thicker and thinner clothes.
After getting the clothes, he also brought a doctor along as Luo Ge had instructed.
...............
"Master."
Although no one was watching in the manor, the people there were all very well-behaved and diligent.
When Gu Jinchen arrived, Uncle Song was digging the ground, Ning Xing was building a fence, and Qiu Niang was cleaning the manor with Ze Han.
Seeing Gu Jinchen coming, Qiu Niang hurriedly brought Ze Han to greet him and pay respects. But hearing him being addressed as "Master," Gu Jinchen felt a bit uncomfortable, though he didn't say anything.
"These are the clothes and fabrics I prepared for you. You can divide them among yourselves since we were in a hurry yesterday."
He handed the parcels to Qiu Niang and explained that they had forgotten to do so yesterday.
"Thank you, Master." Qiu Niang was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Gu Jinchen and the others to be so considerate as to prepare clothes for them. She quickly reached out to take them, but then froze.
In her understanding, servants were not supposed to look their masters in the eye, as it was disrespectful.
So from the time Gu Jinchen arrived, she had only glanced at him briefly to recognize him, and then didn't dare look up again. But now, as she raised her head to take the things, she happened to see the doctor behind Gu Jinchen.
Realizing something, she couldn't help but get excited.
"Go and call Ning Xing back," Gu Jinchen noticed the change in her expression but didn't say anything.
"Yes," Qiu Niang replied and hurriedly ran out with Ze Han.
Her husband's leg had been hurting for a long time, but as lowly servants exiled here, the agency only sold people and didn't care whether they lived or died.
Let alone spending money unnecessarily to find a doctor for them, unless it was truly a matter of life and death.
And Ning Xing's condition was clearly just a matter of spending money, so naturally no one cared.
But seeing him suffering at night due to the pain made her heart ache terribly.
She never expected that the new master they had just met for less than a day would specially call a doctor for them.
She was both happy and uneasy.
Happy that her husband's leg would finally get looked at and some relief.
But also worried that the master's family might find out about her husband's condition from the doctor and disdain him, sending him back.
But now, she couldn't care about all that anymore. Having the doctor see him was the priority.
"Mom, shall I go call Dad? I can run fast," Ze Han also knew that the Master wanted to have the doctor see his dad, so he was very happy and hurriedly ran to call Ning Xing.
"Master." Not long after, Ning Xing came back with him and immediately paid respects to Gu Jinchen upon seeing him.
Gu Jinchen nodded and quickly reached out to support him when he saw Ning Xing about to bow.
"We don't need all that. Let the doctor take a look at your leg first."
Hearing this, the doctor stepped forward, leading Ning Xing to sit down to examine his leg.
Gu Jinchen, Qiu Niang, and the others quietly waited by the side. The doctor first felt Ning Xing's leg bones, then examined his leg, and also took his pulse.
After a thorough examination, the doctor stood up, sighed, and shook his head.
Ning Xing and Qiu Niang seemed to have expected this reaction from the doctor. They froze for a moment, but then their expressions returned to normal, though the dejection could not be hidden.
"How is it?" Gu Jinchen asked.
"His condition is the result of an old injury and cannot be cured. The only thing to do is to take medicine to alleviate the symptoms. I'll write a prescription, and you can follow it to make the medicine, grind it into powder to apply externally and also take it orally. That should provide some relief."
"Also, be mindful of certain things in daily life. Don't get cold or soak in water for too long."
Hearing the doctor's instructions, Gu Jinchen nodded and took out the medicated ointment he had brought.
"Previously when I was in the military, similar injuries would occur frequently. This is the ointment made from the formula I brought back from the army. Please take a look, doctor, and see if it's suitable for him."
Gu Jinchen joining the military that year was no secret in the town, as many young men from there had also enlisted at the same time.
Upon hearing this, the doctor immediately took the ointment, smelled it, tested it, analyzed the ingredients, and then nodded.
"This formula is even better than mine. He can try using it first. It has pain-relieving and soothing effects."
"If he uses this formula, then I don't need to write another prescription."
Hearing this, Gu Jinchen nodded and handed the ointment to Ning Xing.
"You use this first. If it doesn't work, we'll call the doctor again."
"With your leg condition unhealed, there's no need to overexert yourself. The work in the manor isn't urgent."
Hearing Gu Jinchen's words, though calm in tone, they carried a sense of care. Ning Xing froze for a moment, then lowered his head, his eyes reddening like an unmanly man.
"This servant understands." His heart was trembling fiercely, feeling deeply moved and grateful - grateful that the master's family did not disdain him for this.
Grateful that the master cared about a lowly person like him, even specially preparing ointment and making this trip.
"Yes, I've already arranged for a chicken coop in the town. It should be delivered later, and someone will help set it up. You can have them put it in the storeroom by the fence."
"We'll send the chicks and poultry over later."
Gu Jinchen did not know what was on Ning Xing's mind. Upon hearing this, he simply nodded and reminded him again before leaving.
"Yes."
After arranging the matters at the manor, Gu Jinchen did not linger any longer. He paid the physician's fee and took the opportunity to send the physician back to the town.
Then he settled the carriage in the town and rode his horse to the provincial capital.
Earlier at Bu Zhuang, the innkeeper's wife had indeed reminded him of something.
He had arranged clothing for others, but had not prepared any for his own wife.
The clothes he had previously made were still suitable for her to wear now, but as her belly grew larger in a few months, she might not be able to wear them anymore.
He would need to prepare a few more sets. The reason he did not buy them in the town was that he felt the town's offerings were not suitable for his wife.
The provincial capital had better options, so he took this opportunity of going out to make a trip there.
