Chapter 16

Set Up

Song Xiuyan immediately said that it didn’t matter. He took a pen and paper and said to Ding Yao, “You tell me. I’ll write it.” Unfortunately, Song Xiuyan didn’t understand Chinese medicine. Although he could understand the name of the medicinal herb that Ding Yao mentioned, he couldn’t write the correct name of the medicinal herb. The words used in daily life were okay, but when it came to professional knowledge, Song Xiuyan couldn’t do it.

Ding Yao thought for a moment and gestured to tell Song Xiuyan, “There’s no need to go through so much trouble. Bring me to the pharmacy to buy medicine tomorrow. Normally, the pharmacy will mark the name of the medicine. I’ll show you when the time comes.”

Song Xiuyan nodded and accepted Ding Yao’s suggestion.

After settling the matter of buying medicine, Ding Yao had a chance to look around the study room. There were many calligraphy and paintings hanging in the study room, as well as unfinished pigments and ink. From the name and the inscription, these calligraphy and paintings were all Song Xiuyan’s masterpieces. She secretly praised Song Xiuyan in her heart. This man was quite talented. In this backward and poor village, he could still learn to paint and write well. His paintings and calligraphy could be sold for a lot of money. No wonder Song Xiuyan dared to guarantee that she wouldn’t starve to death.

Song Xiuyan saw Ding Yao looking at the paintings and calligraphy in the study, and he said, “Sell the reishi mushroom you picked tomorrow. Because the money in the family isn’t available, I may have to use a part of it first. I’ll find a job in the town to write letters to people and then give you this money...”

Ding Yao interrupted Song Xiuyan’s words. She gestured with her mouth and said, “I’m living in your house now, so I don’t need to split the money so carefully. You can use it all you want.”

Song Xiuyan understood Ding Yao’s meaning and was secretly happy. He made up his mind that he would definitely make more money in the future and let Ding Yao manage all of it.

Ding Yao was very interested in Song Xiuyan’s paintings. In her previous life, every painting of those painters could be sold at a sky-high price. She didn’t know how much a painter’s painting could be sold for in this backward parallel world. Ding Yao pointed at one of the paintings and asked Song Xiuyan with her lips, “How much can such a painting be sold for?”

Song Xiuyan pursed his lips. “I can sell it to the people in town for twenty to thirty yuan and sell it to the people in the county for two to three hundred yuan. If you meet someone who knows the goods, it will go up even more.” In his previous life, when he went out to earn money, in order to have enough start-up capital, he had no choice but to sell his paintings on the streets. By chance, he met someone who knew the goods and bought his paintings at a price of one thousand yuan each. Later on, he became famous and the person who bought his paintings recognized him. Then, he sold his paintings. Each painting was priced at 100,000 yuan, which was immediately snatched away. Therefore, it wasn’t that his paintings weren’t valuable, but it depended on where they were sold and when they were sold. The price of his paintings was closely related to his own value.

Ding Yao heard the hidden meaning in Song Xiuyan’s words and her lips moved. “200 to 300 yuan is a bit of a loss.”

Song Xiuyan didn’t dare to reply. He had almost let it slip just now. After all, the current him wasn’t supposed to know the price of his calligraphy and paintings in the future. In order to prevent Ding Yao from asking further, Song Xiuyan changed the topic. He looked at Ding Yao and said, “From tomorrow onwards, I will teach you how to read and write.” It wasn’t a discussion but a decision. After Ding Yao learned how to write, she would be able to communicate with his younger siblings without any obstacles. His younger siblings all knew how to read.

Ding Yao nodded helplessly. This was the best solution. After all, her throat couldn’t be cured in a day or two. It was really a headache. She didn’t expect that one day, she would have to learn how to write and read like a primary school student! Most importantly, Song Xiuyan seemed to be quite strict. As expected, Song Xiuyan’s next words were, “You originally knew some words. You’re smart, so you should be able to learn them quite quickly. First, set a small goal. How about learning fifty words a day?”

“Ah Ah Ah...” Ding Yao immediately gestured to protest. “Fifty words is too much. I only accept twenty!” The words in this world were very complicated. How could she learn fifty words a day?! She didn’t have supernatural powers!

Song Xiuyan smiled easily. “Then twenty words a day. I’ll test you personally.”

Huh? There was a test? Ding Yao felt that she had been tricked by Song Xiuyan. He said fifty words on purpose just to wait for her to bargain with him. She was digging her own grave! What was even more depressing was that Ding Yao saw affection in Song Xiuyan’s eyes. She was treated like a child by him!

Today’s dinner was very rich. There was white rice, braised rabbit meat, stewed pheasant soup, fried rape and cold cucumber on the table.