A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 193: Senior Brothers and Sisters Talk about Self-reliance Under the Moon

Under the full moon, the backyard of Sanxiu Medicine Manor was brightly lit, with warm laughter and a table by the lake filled with food, including mooncakes, dates, chestnuts, oranges, grapefruits, peanuts, and osmanthus wine brewed by Xiuming himself. The medicine boys all surrounded Sanxiu to listen to his stories, and were often amused by the vivid expressions of the manor owner.

Si Yao stood alone in the corridor on the second floor, looking at his master sitting among the group of medicine boys, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised like an old child.

"Every year under the Mid-Autumn Moon, we have to tell the story of Houyi shooting down the sun and Chang'e flying to the moon. Master never gets tired of telling it, and they never get tired of listening to it either." Xiuming came to Si Yao with a plate of cakes and smiled warmly at the crowd by the lake.

"Master loves to talk and they love to listen, which is good too." Si Yao started to laugh, and her cold eyes became a little warmer. After staying in Sanxiu Pharmacy for a long time, the smiles on her face gradually increased.

"Yeah, that's good." Xiu Ming also nodded in agreement. It's easy to feel sad when looking at the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the talents are reunited. With these children accompanying the master, the old man can also divert his sadness.

Afterwards, Xiu Ming handed the plate of cakes in his hand to Si Yao and continued with a smile: "It would be a pity to throw away the osmanthus flowers filtered out of the wine, so I made them into cakes. Try them."

"Brother, when did you learn how to make cakes..." Si Yao was stunned by the plate of osmanthus cake in front of her before she finished her words. The fragrance of flowers mixed with the smell of wine could indeed arouse people's appetite, but the lumps of cake made it really difficult for her to start.

"Well... I'm a beginner and can't appreciate it, but I think it tastes good." Looking at his junior sister's confused hand, Xiu Ming awkwardly unscrewed a piece and handed it over.

"Well, the flower wine blends together and adds a sweet taste. It's not as pure and strong as osmanthus wine, but it's a little sticky to your teeth." Si Yao took the osmanthus cake, took a bite, chewed it slowly, nodded seriously, and spoke truthfully.

"I'll improve it next time." Xiu Ming shrugged embarrassedly and said with a smile.

"It's great to be able to make it like this for the first time." This was not consolation, but Si Yao's true words. She was never particular about food, and she knew nothing about cooking anyway, so she was not picky.

"Thank you for the encouragement, junior sister." Xiu Ming was not a person who liked to go into the kitchen, but his master had always loved to eat. When he traveled with his master in the early years, he also learned some cooking skills, but he was still good at brewing flower wine.

Si Yao smiled without saying anything and continued to finish the remaining osmanthus cake in her hand.

"By the way, why do you look so worried these days? If there is anything that is inconvenient to tell Master, you can tell your senior brothers. Don't keep it in your heart." Xiu Ming looked at the full moon in the sky and asked after hesitating for a moment.

"Senior brother, is it difficult for a woman in this world to be independent?" Senior brother's words made Si Yao's face return to its cold expression. She was grateful for his concern for her, but did not answer directly. Instead, she lowered her eyes and looked at the full moon reflected in the green lake and asked.

"Well, it's difficult. The reason why it's difficult for women in this world to be independent is because the system oppression has always made them lose the ability to be independent. They obey their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage. They are not allowed to have their own thoughts, nor are they given the opportunity to survive independently, so they have no choice but to rely on men like vines." Xiu Ming said sympathetically, but turned to look at Si Yao and encouraged: "But sister, you have ideas and medical skills. Master and brothers will support you to be independent. As for the secular concept, I think as long as you keep your integrity and heart, and live up to the heaven and earth, you can follow the natural way and the great way is simple. You can go directly to whichever path you want. Don't think too much, or you will get annoyed."

"But what if you face a powerful force?" Although the senior brother's words made sense, they did not comfort Si Yao much. After all, the senior brother did not understand that she would have to face the king in the future.

"Alas, this is the greatest injustice in the world. Under the oppression of the powerful, not to mention women, even ordinary people are powerless." Although Xiu Ming didn't understand why his junior sister suddenly mentioned this, he frowned slightly, shook his head and sighed, and then firmly said to his junior sister: "If one day the medicine shop is also oppressed by the powerful, my master and I will do our best to protect you. Then you just run away, the farther the better."

"Brother, what are you thinking? A pharmacy is a place for practicing medicine and treating illnesses. How can it be forced by power?" Si Yao lowered her eyes, shook her head and smiled. She wanted to get rid of the control of the King of the Sect but she would never do so by sacrificing her master, brothers and the entire Sanxiu Pharmacy. Besides, she still believed that the King of the Sect was not such a cruel person.

"Junior sister, why... do you bring up this for no reason?" Seeing his junior sister laugh, Xiu Ming felt that he was overthinking again, but he still asked with concern.

"Maybe I've listened to Guo Ying's stories too much recently, and I've been having some random thoughts." Si Yao said with her eyes still downcast. She was not good at lying, so she was naturally too guilty to raise her eyes.

"Well, Guoying is a young girl who has not learned much, but she is focused on reading storybooks. She makes you uneasy. In the future, you have to let Xiaolu take care of her." Xiuming did not doubt it when he heard it. He knew that his junior sister was now concentrating on studying medicine and had no time to think about other things. It must be that Guoying read some storybooks and ran to her to disturb her mind.

Si Yao didn't say anything else, but she felt a little sorry for Guo Ying. Although Guo Ying did pester her with words, she was not interested and just listened to them for entertainment and didn't take them to heart, so naturally it didn't affect her.

"Junior sister, you don't have to worry about not being able to support yourself in the future. Anyway, Master said that if you don't want to marry into your husband's family and abide by other people's rules, then the medicine shop will recruit a son-in-law." Seeing that the junior sister didn't say anything again, Xiu Ming continued to comfort her.

"Master is really thoughtful." Si Yao's face froze, and then he sighed helplessly.

"It's good to recruit a son-in-law. When you have children in the future, the medicine shop won't become increasingly deserted." Xiu Ming sighed as he looked at the medicine boys surrounding his master. Although they were all orphans, they would have their own paths to follow when they grew up, and they might not stay in the village forever.

"So, senior brother, you must quickly marry a sister-in-law so that the master can have a grandson as soon as possible." Si Yao had a blank expression on her face. She raised her hand and patted her senior brother's shoulder. After saying this in a calm voice, she went downstairs.

"I'm talking about you right now, and you're bringing it up with me again?" Xiu Ming's mouth twitched, he turned around and walked forward and said with a smile.

"There should always be a first come first served, and the order of seniority. Shouldn't the senior brother go first when getting married?"

"Ahem... How can such a thing be sorted out according to seniority? Everything is determined by fate."

"Brother also said it was fate, but when it comes to me, it seems like you and Master arranged it long ago?"

Xiu Ming then realized that Junior Sister was angry because of what he had just said. No wonder there was a sting in his words. He quickly apologized with a smile: "Master and I were just joking. Junior Sister's marriage is naturally decided by you..."

As they were talking, the two of them arrived at the lake. Xiuming stopped talking and instead placed the osmanthus cake in his hand in front of everyone. Obviously, everyone disliked it.