Old Man Wu let out a long sigh; the anger in his eyes faded, replaced by a profound weariness. He packed some tobacco into his pipe, lit it from the embers in the hearth, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke that dissipated into the cool air: "At sunrise tomorrow, Dachuan, you and I will take Kang'er and this foolish woman here to Bai Jing's courtyard."
Zhao looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and asked in astonishment: "Father... to his courtyard?"
What if the other villagers saw her? Wouldn't she be the mockery in future rumors?!
"We must humble ourselves and offer a sincere apology," Old Man Wu said firmly, rapping his pipe heavily against the table: "We will admit our wrongdoing, return those ten coppers if necessary, and beg for his forgiveness. If we don't swallow our pride, the whole village will scorn the Wu family as ingrates and backstabbers; no one in Longxu Village will ever respect us again. Do you understand?!"
Wu Dachuan bowed deeply to his father; "Yes, Father. I will do exactly as you say. Tomorrow, I will personally escort this woman and Kang'er there to make amends."
Zhao lowered her head, no longer daring to argue. Wu Kang wiped his face with his sleeve and nodded listlessly, his heart filled with bitter regret.
...
The next morning, a thin morning mist still clung to the slopes of Longxu Village, shrouding the bamboo groves in a damp, grey haze. In the distance, the crowing of a rooster could be heard, yet the Wu family's courtyard remained so silent that even a falling pin would not be missed. Before the sun had fully come up, Old Man Wu, Wu Dachuan, a pale-faced Zhao, and a dejected-looking Wu Kang made their way along the dusty path toward the western end of the village.
Wu Dachuan carried a small bamboo basket containing a dozen fresh eggs and two small sacks of coarse flour. Beside him, Zhao walked with her head bowed, her chin nearly touching her chest, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her sleeves. Wu Kang trailed behind, his steps dragging; he was deathly pale, with bruised-looking shadows beneath his eyes from a sleepless night.
Upon reaching the gate of Bai Jing's courtyard, they found the low bamboo gate left slightly open. Bai Jing was already up; dressed in a loose, slate-blue outer robe that concealed his somewhat rounded belly, he stood beneath the eaves of his thatched house, carefully turning over medicinal leaves drying on a bamboo tray. Nearby, a fluffy cat sat perched on a wooden stool, calmly licking its front paw.
Old Man Wu stepped forward, nudging the latch aside, and called out softly, "Good morning, Jing Ger." The old man's voice was raspy with age, tinged with a hint of awkwardness.
Bai Jing turned slowly and set down the wooden spatula. His expression remained calm, as his gaze swept, with cool indifference, over the four members of the Wu family standing outside the gate.
"Uncle Wu, Uncle Dachuan," Bai Jing greeted them, offering a slight nod: "You've arrived quite early today, is there something you need?"
Hearing this, Wu Dachuan stepped into the courtyard, ushering his wife and son forward. He then bowed deeply, his tone was humble and sincere: "Jing Ger, we've come today to offer our apologies for the shameless and foolish behavior my wife and son displayed yesterday."
He placed a basket of eggs and a bag of flour onto a small wooden stool by the door, then gave Wu Kang a stern shove. The young man stumbled, his face flushing red with shame; his knees gave way, and he sank onto the ground.
"Jing Ger... I was wrong! I was greedy and arrogant! I thought I could bypass you and seek some gain from the doctor in town... Not only have I brought shame upon the Wu family, but I've also offended you. Please... please forgive my stupidity!" Wu Kang plead
Zhao eyes welled up with tears. She bowed deeply, her hands shaking violently: "Jing-ger, it's all my fault! I was the one who put foolish ideas into his head, I even egged him on to take those two baskets! My own greed clouded my judgment! Please, I beg you, don't hold this against our family!"
Bai Jing lowered his gaze to the young man kneeling on the ground and the weeping woman, remaining silent for a long time. The small courtyard fell into an oppressive stillness, where even the rustling of bamboo leaves sounded too loud.
After a long pause, Bai Jing let out a soft sigh and stepped forward, raising his hand in a gesture: "Uncle Dachuan, please let Wu Kang get up. There's no need for such a grand gesture. We are all fellow villagers after all, I won't hold a grudge just because he had a momentary lapse in judgment."
Hearing this, Zhao let out a long sigh of relief, and the tension in Old Man Wu's shoulders finally ebbed away; "Thank you, Jing ger! You are truly magnanimous!" Old Man Wu exclaimed, gesturing with the long-stemmed pipe in his hand, "So... does this mean our Wu family can continue bringing you medicinal herbs every afternoon?"
Bai Jing offered a faint smile, though his deep, dark eyes remained cool and clear: "I accept your apology, and I will allow the Wu family to bring over a basket of herbs today. However..." He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the herbs drying on the bamboo trays in the courtyard, and added, "I must inform everyone that I will only continue accepting medicinal herbs from the village for another three days."
Upon hearing this, the four members of the Wu family were all taken aback.
"Only three more days?!" Zhao exclaimed, her voice sharpening with alarm, "How can it be just three days, Jing Ger? The hillsides are still covered in Silver-Dew Moss and Iron-Leaf Grass! The entire village is out there gathering them!"
"My house is too small; there's no room left for more stock," Bai Jing replied. He gestured toward the side room, where bundles of dried herbs were stacked so high they nearly reached the rafters: "The physician's prescription only calls for a specific amount of these herbs for medicinal baths. Once this final batch is dried and stored, I'll have more than enough to last through the winter. Continuing to buy these raw herbs would just be a waste of my silver."
A cold sweat broke out across Wu Dachuan's back. If Bai Jing stopped buying the herbs in three days, the entire village would lose its primary source of livelihood, and the villagers would undoubtedly blame the Wu family's greed for it!
"Jing ger, please, reconsider!" Wu Dachuan pleaded, "If you're short on space, we can help you build a drying rack! Or, we could store the dried herbs at our place, you can just come and collect them whenever you need them! I'm begging you, that thirty copper a day is a lifeline for many families in the village!"
"That's right, Jing ger! Please, I beg you!" Zhao cried, clutching her chest: "If you stop buying now, the villagers will tear our house apart! They'll surely say it was us who cut off their only way to survive!"
Bai Jing's expression remained entirely unmoved. "Uncle Dachuan, I've made up my mind. I'm buying these medicinal herbs to restore my own health, I'm not running a charity in Longxu Village. I set my terms from the very beginning: three days, that is my bottom line."
Seeing that there was no room for negotiation in Bai Jing's eyes, Old Man Wu realized that pressing the matter further would only invite humiliation. He said to the others; "Enough, "Jing ger has made his position clear. Dachuan, take that boy, let's go. Thank you Jing Ger, for allowing us three more days."
Before noon had even arrived, the news of the "three-day deadline" set by Bai Jing had spread through Longxu Village like wildfire. By early afternoon, the village's dirt paths were filled with heated arguments.