Su Xiaoqi handed the five taels of silver that Shen Yun had given her to Granny Wen.
"Oh my, you mustn't, you mustn't, this is too much, too much," Granny Wen kept waving her hands, refusing to take it.
One must know that with this five taels of silver, as a woman, she couldn't spend it all in a year.
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment and said, "Then take care of my sister for me, I'll be back soon."
She went out through the side door, sticking to the wall and circling around to the "supermarket."
Zhao Dayou and Xiao Liu were busy in the shop.
They were quite surprised to see Su Xiaoqi.
But they were even more delighted.
This was because the stock piled up in the small warehouse was almost sold out, and they were urgently wondering where to find her.
Su Xiaoqi pointed to the wall behind the small warehouse and instructed Zhao Dayou to find people to break it down.
She had rented a courtyard on the other side, and the inventory needed for the shop had already been moved there.
After speaking, she pulled Zhao Dayou over, took twenty strings of coins from him, and circled back along the wall.
She gave Granny Wen ten strings of coins.
She asked her to arrange their living quarters and take care of their meals every day.
At the same time, she took out rice, flour, chickens, and ducks from her backpack and handed them to Granny Wen, asking her to cook them in the back kitchen.
They had been busy until this time and hadn't had lunch yet.
When Granny Wen left with Zhao Xiaozhu, who had volunteered to help, Su Xiaoqi walked around the front yard.
She filled the three rooms in the front yard adjacent to the shop with rice, flour, and cotton moved from her space.
This was more than half of her space's inventory, and it should be enough for them to sell for a long time.
She locked the door and took out the keys to the three rooms.
Suddenly, she heard a loud crash, and the side wall of the small courtyard was broken through.
Su Xiaoqi hurried over to see.
On the side of the collapsed wall, Zhao Dayou stood holding a large stone hammer.
When his eyes met Su Xiaoqi's, they stared at each other blankly.
"Tsk, Manager Zhao, your speed is truly impressive," Su Xiaoqi gave him a thumbs up.
She had only just instructed him not long ago, and he had already started working.
"Heh heh, I've done this kind of work before, and I have all the tools ready.
Plus, we just sold a big order, and the shop is out of stock, so I was a bit anxious," Zhao Dayou explained.
Su Xiaoqi found it a little strange that the goods on the shelves in the shop were still sufficient just now, and they were sold out so quickly.
She was truly amazing.
Su Xiaoqi was only slightly puzzled by this but didn't think too deeply about it.
Her mind was entirely on Little Magpie's condition, and she couldn't afford to worry about anything else for the moment.
She just told Zhao Dayou to clean up the bricks and soil that had been knocked down himself, repair the wall, and find someone to install a door.
At the same time, she informed him that this courtyard had three entrances, and she had rented the entire front courtyard.
However, the second and third courtyards were off-limits, as people lived there.
Zhao Dayou understood.
Anyway, the courtyard was large, and each of the first courtyards had its own door.
They wouldn't interfere with each other.
Su Xiaoqi found the back courtyard and explained the situation in the front courtyard to Granny Wen.
"Besides watching the main gate, you also need to keep the gate to the second courtyard locked."
After all, the "supermarket" had a constant stream of customers, and people coming and going. If someone were to sneak into the backyard through that door, it wouldn't be good.
Granny Wen patted her chest and immediately assured her that there would be no problem and she would keep the gate secured.
After Su Xiaoqi handled these miscellaneous matters, Granny Wen was already calling everyone to eat.
Su Xiaoqi, running around, was anxious and had no appetite.
So she asked Zhao Xiaozhu to take Xiaoyi and the others to eat.
She, on the other hand, stayed by Little Magpie's side.
Her fever had subsided, but her cough was still quite severe.
It seemed the antipyretic she had given earlier had worked, but the other symptoms remained unabated.
Little Magpie's illness was still very serious.
Su Xiaoqi sighed, held Little Magpie's hand, and couldn't help but silently recite, "If only there were a life-saving spiritual medicine now."
"Ding, space spiritual medicine exchange triggered. One pill requires ten shi of rice, ten shi of flour for exchange."
Su Xiaoqi's heart trembled. Her consciousness flickered, and she exclaimed that her space actually had such a function. She was overjoyed.
Without hesitation, she initiated the exchange.
A large red pill, the size of a marble, instantly appeared in her palm.
Su Xiaoqi looked at it carefully, brought it to her nose to smell it. Besides a faint fragrance, there was no other scent.
She hesitated for a long time, choosing to trust her space.
At the same time, she was acting on the principle of a dead horse being treated as a living one, and fed it to Little Magpie's mouth.
She sat by the bedside, holding her wildly beating heart, and watched carefully.
Her big eyes didn't dare to blink, for fear of missing any subtle signs.
"Cough, cough… Sister Xiaoqi… Where, where am I? Am I already dead?"
Little Magpie suddenly opened her eyes, looking at Su Xiaoqi with a blank expression.
Su Xiaoqi was startled but quickly reacted.
She realized the spiritual medicine had taken effect.
She excitedly touched Little Magpie's forehead, her heart filled with joy.
"Silly girl, you're not dead, you're alive and well."
"But, here, it's so beautiful, I, wasn't I lying on a haystack? As soon as I opened my eyes, I could see the Bodhisattvas in the temple..."
Su Xiaoqi held her in her arms with one hand and took her pulse with the other.
A miracle happened. Her pulse was strong and vigorous, showing no signs of illness. In fact, it was as if she had taken a powerful tonic, beating with strength.
There was no doubt that Little Magpie was healthy.
"Little Magpie, your illness is cured. Get up quickly, wash your face, and go eat," Su Xiaoqi helped her up.
The new clothes hadn't been bought back yet, so she had to wear her tattered old clothes.
Holding her hand, she walked towards the flower hall in the backyard.
Granny Wen had taken it upon herself to set out the meal.
Before they even entered, they saw small beggars sitting around the steps.
Each of them held a bowl of white rice, piled high with vegetables and meat, devouring it like wolves.
Their eating posture was as if they were afraid someone would snatch the food from their mouths.
Su Xiaoqi didn't show any disgust. She only felt heartache.
She thought about where she lived.
Most children of this age would be pampered in their parents' arms.
They would have enough to eat, be warmly dressed, and be unaware of the hardships of life.
"Hey, Little Magpie, you, you're better."
"Brother Xiaoyi, Little Magpie is better."
Someone saw Su Xiaoqi and Little Magpie and shouted inside with a mouthful of rice.
As soon as they shouted, the rice sprayed out and fell to the ground.
He quickly, and with heartache, bent down and used his hand to pick it up.
Carefully removing the grains of sand, he blew them clean and put them back into his mouth.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes welled up with tears, and she momentarily forgot to stop him.
For someone who had never had enough to eat since birth, how could she tell them that the rice grains in their hands were dirty and should be thrown away?
She knew she couldn't say such a thing.
Xiaoyi, in the hall, heard the shouts, put down his bowl, and rushed out.
He grabbed Little Magpie in a hug.
He felt her forehead and patted her face, then looked at her thin, skin-and-bones face, still somewhat disbelievingly asking, "How, how are you better?"
"Sister Xiaoqi saved me," Little Magpie said with a sweet smile.
However, her face was so thin that when she smiled, her cheekbones jutted out prominently, making it uncomfortable to look at.
"Oh my, you're better, that's great. Hurry and come eat," Granny Wen had quickly added two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and thoughtfully scooped rice and served dishes.
There were not many dishes on the large round table.
There was only stewed chicken with taro and chestnuts, and braised duck with radish.
Granny Wen had clearly calculated the portions beforehand, and the servings of the two dishes were extremely generous.
She had chopped up the three chickens and three ducks that Su Xiaoqi had handed over and put them all in the pot.
After cooking, they were divided into six large earthenware basins, each filled to the brim, looking very substantial.
Su Xiaoqi bowed to Granny Wen and thanked her.
She had done such a wonderful job, it had been a great help to her.
Little Magpie was truly hungry. As soon as she received the bowls and chopsticks, she didn't even sit down. Standing in front of the round table, she began to eat heartily.
After eating about ten bites, Su Xiaoqi thought that she had just recovered from a serious illness and was worried about her weak digestive system, so she stopped her from eating more.
She only let her drink two bowls of chicken soup.
Little Magpie longed to eat more, but Sister Xiaoqi's words were like an imperial decree. No matter what, she would obey.
Little Magpie didn't eat enough, but the others were all full.
At this time, they finally remembered to ask Su Xiaoqi how she had saved Little Magpie.
Su Xiaoqi was stumped...