Sun Fuchun is the only physician in Jinliu Village.
It is said that the Sun Family's ancestors were once healers in the Royal City Imperial Hospital. However, due to a medication error that almost killed a crown prince, the direct lineage was exiled.
Sun Fuchun's branch, being a collateral branch, fortunately escaped to Anyang County.
In the early years, the Sun Family ran a medical clinic in Anyang County, but later, due to targeting from the crown prince's entourage, they were forced to scatter their wealth and hide in Jinliu Village.
Shen Yuan decided to seek out Sun Fuchun after a night of deep contemplation.
He needed to figure out exactly what the Hundred-Year Blood Toad's Exuvia was.
Why would selling the Blood Toad's Shedding attract the attention of martial artists?
Through Sun Fuchun, he finally understood the uses of the Hundred-Year Blood Toad's Exuvia.
The Blood Toad's Shedding was actually the main ingredient of medicinal meals at the Martial Arts Hall, and the centennial grade was a rarity that only noble family members could afford.
No wonder selling it attracted the attention of martial artists.
An innocent man harbors a treasure, and that becomes his crime.
It seems that the Hundred-Year Blood Toad's Exuvia cannot be exchanged for money.
However, knowing that the Hundred-Year Blood Toad's Exuvia could be used to condition the bodies of martial artists, and since he intended for Shi Tou to practice martial arts, there was no rush to sell it.
Later, when Shi Tou starts practicing martial arts, he could eat it, saving money on purchases.
When Shen Yuan returned home, Hu Yufen immediately came to greet him.
Seeing him carrying medicinal herbs, she skeptically asked, "Are you ill, husband?"
The previous night, despite the rain, Shen Yuan was as vigorous as ever, not showing signs of illness. Hu Yufen quickly reached out to feel his forehead.
"It's nothing; Uncle Sun prepared some refreshing tea. The planting season is coming up, so I prepared in advance."
Visiting Sun Fuchun wasn't really for medical treatment.
But if he specifically went there to inquire about the Blood Toad's Shedding, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
Therefore, he used heatstroke as an excuse to buy some refreshing tea.
Upon hearing this, Hu Yufen breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Shen Yuan was the backbone of the family, and with their children still young, the family would be in peril if anything happened to him.
"Did Ah Nu go to Mr. Lu's place?"
Not seeing his youngest son, Shen Yuan asked.
"Yes, I personally took him there. The teacher said Ah Nu could have lunch with him, so we don't need to worry."
"Husband, Master Lu seems to really like Ah Nu."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan smiled and then switched topics: "It's that brat's good fortune that the teacher likes him."
"How about this, after lunch, help me pack two bags of grain to send to the teacher as the brat's ration."
"The teacher might not lack for a meal, but we can't pretend not to know."
Hu Yufen nodded with a smile.
This was precisely why she liked Shen Yuan back in the day.
Despite being common folks from a remote area, he had broad insights, knew etiquette, and was worldly-wise, making people feel comfortable.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
Shen Wenyan's studies with Lu Zhiyuan were progressing smoothly.
The villagers gradually found out that the second son of the Shen Family had been accepted by Lu Zhiyuan as a student, and they were all envious.
That day, the village chief struck the copper chime.
Everyone knew it was time to pay taxes.
The Great Yu Dynasty was in its prime, and except for occasional disturbances from the Barbarian Race in the Western Wilderness, it could be considered a time of peace.
The Shen Family had sixty acres of good farmland and ten acres of woodland. According to regulations, good farmland costs five hundred wen per acre per year, and woodland two hundred wen per acre per year.
Altogether, they had to pay thirty-two taels of silver.
This was the equivalent, though they could also directly pay with grain as tax.
However, Shen Yuan didn't plan to pay taxes with silver. Storing grain required a lot of space, not to mention the need to prevent insects, rodents, and moisture, which was quite troublesome.
Storing a year's worth of provisions at home was enough; the rest would be sold after the taxes were paid.
More importantly, in recent years, the government had been encouraging the common people to pay their taxes in grain, offering certain reductions for doing so.
After packing the grain, the couple drove the ox cart to the village square.
Thanks to two consecutive years of good harvests, the villagers of Jinliu Village had prosperous yields. The tax payment process went smoothly, and there were few scenes of people unable to pay taxes, crying and begging, being beaten by the officials.
After paying taxes, it was time for summer farming.
Shen Yuan hired a few temporary workers, including Fu Gui.
With the help of the temporary workers and the family's old ox, they managed to finish planting all sixty acres of good farmland in a little over ten days.
By mid-September, after the crops were planted, there wasn't much left to do for the rest of the year.
After all the busy work, Shen Yuan planned to take the remaining grain from home to town to sell.
That day, the couple was getting ready to load the packed grain onto the ox cart when Hu Yufen's face suddenly changed, and she hurriedly covered her mouth and ran to the side to vomit.
Shen Wenxing, who was waiting to go to town with his father, hurried over: "Mother, are you alright?"
Hu Yufen dry-heaved a few times without throwing up anything, and she shook her head, her face pale.
Shen Yuan came over, supported her, and said, "Let me take you to see Uncle Sun."
Hu Yufen rolled her eyes at him: "You're the father of two children already, still clueless..."
Hmm?
Upon hearing her words, Shen Yuan was taken aback.
It took him a while to react, and then he exclaimed with joy, "Is my wife... pregnant!?"
Hu Yufen nodded with a complex expression.
Being pregnant again was supposed to be good news.
But it also meant that soon there would be another mouth to feed in the family.
The couple had already decided to let Shi Tou learn martial arts, and most of the family's future income would be spent on him.
Adding another mouth to feed would make life even more straitened.
"Ah Die, what illness... is being happy?"
Shen Wenxing looked at his parents in confusion, not understanding why his father was grinning foolishly when his mother was sick.
Shen Yuan patted his son's head and smiled, "Brat, your mother is going to have either a little brother or sister for you soon."
"Ah!?"
Hearing this, Shen Wenxing opened his mouth in shock.
"Shi Tou, do you want a brother or a sister?"
Shen Wenxing tilted his head, thought for a moment, and smiled, "Either!"
The couple exchanged smiles.
After a brief rest, Hu Yufen came to the ox cart, intending to continue helping load the remaining grain.
Shen Yuan hurriedly stopped her and had Shi Tou bring over a stool.
"Don't disturb the fetus, just sit down; I'll do it myself."
Hu Yufen protested, "I'm not that delicate; there's a lot of grain, and you might hurt yourself moving it all."
At this moment, Shen Yuan immediately displayed the authority of the head of the household, pressing her onto the stool with a stern face: "Listen to me, just sit quietly."
Having no choice against him, Hu Yufen obediently sat by and watched her husband load the bags of grain onto the ox cart.
After all the work, it was already noon.
Hu Yufen took a cloth and gently wiped the sweat from Shen Yuan's body with a bit of heartache.
"Husband, take a rest; I'll go make some food."
Shen Yuan wanted to rush for the kitchen but was pushed out by Hu Yufen with the reason "A gentleman stays away from the kitchen."
With nothing to do, Shen Yuan, after much thought, decided to go to the Sun Family himself and invite the old man to check on his wife.
First, he wanted to confirm this joyful news, and secondly, he wanted to help her maintain her health from the beginning.
When Ah Nu was born, it coincided with floods, and Hu Yufen, unable to properly recover during her confinement, was noticeably weaker than before.