The news that Qu the Hunter’s mute little fool might not actually be mute or foolish spread like the wind throughout the village with the dawn, surprising the village chief’s entire family who then formed a group to visit and gawk.
The village chief pointed to himself and asked, "Jingjing, do you know who I am?"
"The village chief," Qu Jing said.
"And me? Who am I?" asked the village chief’s wife eagerly.
"Grandma Ma Dalan," Qu Jing answered.
Ma Dalan was so excited she almost cried. Ever since marrying the village chief, people had initially called her the Guo Family’s daughter-in-law, later the village chief’s wife, and no one had called her by her real name for a long time.
"And him? What about Gou Dan?"
Qu Jing: "...Guo GouDan."
"Amazing!" Ma Dalan clapped her hands excitedly, "She can talk and she’s not foolish? Old Qu, what magical elixir did you give your granddaughter? It’s so effective! I want a prescription for a fool in the neighboring village from my mother’s side. Their family is quite wealthy, they raise three big fat pigs! If this really cures him, they’ll certainly give you a whole fat pig in gratitude!"
Qu the Hunter laughed so much that the wrinkles on his face almost unfolded: "What magical elixir? Our Jingjing wasn’t foolish to begin with and can speak. She was just shy a few days ago, got scared in the mountains, but now she’s back to normal."
The village chief’s family continued to watch intensely. The village chief, pondering over the situation, sensed something was off and took Qu the Hunter outside to whisper.
"If your Jingjing isn’t foolish or mute, then why on earth would you raise such a pretty girl and just leave her in the mountains?" The village chief frowned, "Could it be some illness that can’t be seen?"
"Just like your first wife, seemed perfectly fine, and then one day suddenly couldn’t make it, coughed up blood and died."
A look of surprise crossed Qu the Hunter’s face, slightly nervous: "What should I do then?"
The village chief thought for a moment: "Willing to spend money?"
Qu the Hunter: "Speak your mind."
"Didn’t they call us to the county for a meeting last time? Talked about policies, saying that even remote areas like ours should have doctors and schools. I heard Wang Dan from Dahe Village mention that the doctors at the provincial hospital are very skilled."
"His brother-in-law was working in the provincial city when a log broke his leg, bled all over the place, seemed like he couldn’t make it, but he was saved at the hospital."
"If you’re willing to spend the money, I can ask Wang Dan how to get to the provincial city and to the hospital, so you can take Jingjing for a look."
"Da yang is also fine, they can also be exchanged for money."
Qu the Hunter hesitated: "I only have 6 Da yang, is that enough?"
"I know the hospital, it’s operated by foreigners, they don’t even let you in without a few Da yang."
"Not operated by foreigners anymore." The village chief indicated that Qu the Hunter had been a bit out of touch after staying up in the mountains for so many years, rubbing his chin, "I don’t know if 6 Da yang is enough, Wang Dan didn’t say how much they spent on the treatment. His in-law’s family has only one heir, they must have spent everything they had."
"Maybe even sold their land."
Qu the Hunter grew more anxious, quietly saying: "I have two small yellow fish, is that enough?"
The village chief’s face showed the expression of having been poor together in the countryside for years, shocked to find out that Qu the Hunter had quietly gotten rich behind his back.
"Where did you get them?" The village chief was shocked.
"When deserting, I knocked out the captain and swiped them from him."
The village chief began to regret having run away when they were conscripting soldiers, missing a chance to get rich.
But then he reconsidered, realizing that many men from the area were taken to fight back then, but few like Qu the Hunter came back alive, most were never seen again, their families could only erect empty graves. The village chief felt a bit more balanced inside.
"It’s definitely enough, no illness could cost two small yellow fish. Jingjing is lucky you found her, even the biggest ailment could be cured." He glanced inside at Qu Jing and lowered his voice further, "But, is it worth spending so much on a girl you found?"
"Worth it," Qu the Hunter said happily, "Last night when Jingjing started to speak, she told me she’d take care of me in my old age."
The village chief shook his head helplessly.
Neither noticed that Qu Jing, being asked East and West by the crowd inside, slightly raised her head and glanced outside when Qu the Hunter said the last sentence.
In the days that followed, the lives of Qu Jing and Qu the Hunter were quite uneventful.
Knowing Qu Jing was neither foolish nor mute, Qu the Hunter felt more relaxed having her stay at home, encouraging her to go play with the village children during the day.
Qu Jing, not actually a child, had no interest in playing with children, she preferred staying home carving wood. However, the village children found her intriguing, mainly because she had money and could always pull out sweet potatoes, corn from her pocket.
The slightly smarter kids would gather wild herbs to trade with Qu Jing for sweet potatoes. The bolder ones even directly stole vegetables from their own gardens to trade.
Qin Huai watched Qu Jing trade vegetables for two days and felt she was early for this, thinking that thirty years later, she could definitely be a pioneer in rural wealth literature.
Finally, by the fifth day of Qu Jing’s vegetable trading, Qin Huai, seeing the contents in the backpack of a child trading for sweet potatoes from afar, was well aware of the value when the village chief came with good news he had gathered.
The route to the provincial city had been figured out by the village chief. The village was too poor for carts, but they could take a donkey cart to the county, where it’s too poor for cars but possible to take a cart to the provincial city.
The trip involved eating and sleeping along the road, with food self-provided. Qu the Hunter, being a hunter by trade, had guns, knives, and bows and arrows, so there was no worry about encountering bandits. The village chief had already arranged everything, so Qu the Hunter and Qu Jing didn’t need to pay for the travel. Everyone traveling together felt a great sense of security having a hunter along, making the cost-value ratio extremely high.