One hundred and three

Epidemics are terrifying, but surprisingly, they are coming to an end in less than a month.

The government office made a statistics and found that eight people died of the disease during the twenty days of the epidemic.

Although the deaths from illness are sad, compared with the hundreds and thousands of deaths from illness in the past, these eight people are already an astonishing number.

I am afraid that if this report is submitted to the county government or the court, they will only think that County Magistrate Zhou is making false reports and exaggerating.

But even so, you still have to report it truthfully.

In order to prevent the recurrence of the epidemic, everyone in the yamen still dared not let down their guard. Under the arrangement of the county magistrate, they were doing the follow-up work of the epidemic in an orderly manner.

——Strictly check whether the people entering and leaving the city have fever, cough, sickly complexion and other symptoms.

It is mandatory for the city and villages of Yu County to fumigate with Atractylodes lancea and mugwort, so nowadays, whenever you go out, you will be surrounded by smoke as if you are shrouded in thick fog.

The whole city was filled with the strong smell of medicine, but fortunately it was not unpleasant.

This time the epidemic was discovered in time and handled properly, so we were able to avoid any serious consequences.

Now, when people talk about the county magistrate, they are all grateful to him and they cooperate with the arrangements made by the government office to the utmost.

On the third day after Yu Ying returned from the resettlement center, she went back to Lingshui Village with her elder brother and his wife to pack up.

When Uncle He and Aunt He heard that Yu Ying had returned, they sent eggs laid by their chickens to the Fu family.

Aunt He said, "We've all heard from the yamen runners that it was thanks to you, Liuniang, that you discovered the epidemic in time. You risked your life to go to the resettlement center to care for the patients, and you even returned to Lingshui Village to provide medical treatment to your fellow villagers. We are deeply grateful to you, Liuniang."

Yu Ying smiled and said, "I just happened to notice it."

Aunt He said, "That was your discovery. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened now. Aunt He's family doesn't have anything good, and besides, we haven't been to Yu County. But it just so happens that our chickens have laid a lot of eggs, so I sent them to you. Take them back and use them to nourish your body."

Yu Ying was about to refuse, but Aunt He seemed to see through her thoughts and said first, "It's just a few eggs. Don't be so polite as to say no."

Since Aunt He said so, Yu Ying could only smile and take the eggs.

After collecting the eggs, Yu Ying asked Aunt He, "Is anyone else in the village catching a cold?"

Aunt He said, "Yes, but if anyone caught a cold, they would immediately go to the village head to explain the situation. They would also cooperate and isolate themselves from everyone for two days. After taking medicine and finding no major problems, they would return home."

At this point, Aunt He sighed, "After all, our Yu County magistrate is the best. If it were the previous magistrate, he would definitely try every possible way to escape Yu County and would not care about the lives of ordinary people like us. He would even be more likely to secretly deal with people who contracted the epidemic."

Uncle He, who was standing by, heard this and quickly patted his wife on the shoulder, reminding her, "Although the magistrate has been stripped of his official position, these words cannot be spoken."

If there is a serious epidemic, massacring cities and villages is an unspoken practice in all places and is even tacitly approved by the imperial court.

Aunt He quickly shut up and changed the subject, "By the way, we also want to thank Erlang and Dalang for rushing back during the epidemic and asking about our family's situation. And because they're back, the yamen runners have been taking extra care of our village. We will never forget these kindnesses."

Only when things happen can you know people, and only when things turn into events can you know their hearts. After experiencing this, everyone realized the reliability of the county magistrate and the yamen, and they also knew that the Fu family were all kind people.

While Yu Ying was talking to Aunt He, her eldest sister-in-law suddenly came in and said in surprise, "Sister-in-law, a lot of villagers are outside, and they all said they want to give us some gifts."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying turned around and walked out.

As soon as I walked out of the house, I saw a large group of people waiting outside the yard with baskets in their hands.

When they saw Yu Ying, everyone's faces lit up. Some called her "Madam Yu" and some called her "Fu family Erlang's wife".

Some of them brought eggs, some brought a chicken or a fish, and some people in rags brought a basket of vegetables, saying it was a little gift from their hearts.

Lingshui Village is the poorest village in Yu County. Yu Ying knew that these things were the most respectable and valuable gifts they could offer.

The villagers don’t even have a decent meal to eat, and Yu Ying is not short of these things now, so naturally she won’t accept them.

She said sincerely, "The oxcart we hired to move some items to Yu County is too small to accommodate these things, so everyone should take them back. If you want to thank me, when I'm no longer in the village, please help me keep an eye on the medicinal and grain fields to make sure they don't get damaged by thieves."

Someone responded, "Don't worry, Madam Yu. We are keeping an eye on your medicinal and grain fields. No one dares to run wild in your fields."

"Yes, we are now also planting herbs and beans. We usually stop by Madam Yu's herb field to take a look. If there is anything, we will tell Madam Yu immediately."

In the end, the villagers still wanted to continue pushing gifts, but Yu Ying gave up until she knew they couldn't take them away.

After saying goodbye to the villagers and packing up simply, he said goodbye to Uncle He and Aunt He and returned to the county town.

This time the place they moved to was larger, so before leaving, they invited the He family to come to Yu County in a few days for a housewarming party.

The ox cart went directly to the new yard.

Because the yard at the entrance of West Lane was really too full, we moved there the next day after renting it.

After returning to the yard at the entrance of the east lane and moving the things, Fu Wei just came back from his shift.

The courtyard was not furnished much, but after all, it was just a rented courtyard, so it was enough to have basic furniture.

Fu Wei had a study room that could be lived in, but neither of them suggested sleeping in separate rooms.

They have been living together for such a long time, and their relationship is already settled. Fu Wei has always abided by his own etiquette, so Yu Ying also feels that there is no need to sleep in separate rooms.

After entering the house with Fu Wei, Yu Ying opened the window and stood behind it, looking out into the yard.

The golden light of the remaining sun fell on the path in the courtyard. Behind the scenery, a smile gradually appeared on Yu Ying's face.

If your heart is facing the sun, there is no need to be sad.

This is probably her current state.

Fu Wei closed the door and turned around to see the relaxed smile on her face. He walked over slowly, stood aside with his hands behind his back, and looked out along her line of sight.

"What are you looking at?"

Yu Ying said, "When I returned to Lingshui Village today, the villagers gave me a lot of things, but I didn't want any of them."

"Um?"

Yu Ying retracted her gaze, turned her head, and looked at the tall Fu Wei with a smile: "Being loved and appreciated is a very pleasant thing."

Fu Wei smiled and looked at her seriously, "You may not know that you can always make people around you gradually like you without realizing it."

Yu Ying covered her lips and chuckled softly: "No, I know, many people have said the same thing to me before."

Fu Wei's expression froze for a moment, and he pretended to be calm as he asked tentatively, "Who told you such a thing?"

Yu Ying could hear the sour taste in his words, and she had evil thoughts in mind. She pretended to be calm and said, "If you want to know, I won't tell you. But if you can call me sister, I will tell you."

Fu Wei: ...

Seeing that he was speechless for a moment, Yu Ying felt better and then looked out of the yard.

Fu Wei took a step forward, leaned over, and called out "Sister" in a low voice in her ear.

When Su Jin called Yu Ying "sister", her tailbone felt numb.

Who can resist such a mature, steady, and handsome man calling her "sister"?!

Yu Ying couldn't resist!

She glanced at him with a smile, "My roommate for five years, my classmate for five years." She added, "She's a girl."

Fu Wei raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a hypocritical tone, "Of course I know it's a girl."

*

After the new house was settled, Yu Ying went to Ji's Medical Clinic to look for Director Ji.

When Director Ji heard that Madam Yu had arrived, he immediately had someone serve tea and went to the pharmacy in person to greet her.

"Madam Yu, how come you're free to come here?" She seemed to have thought of something and asked happily, "Have you decided to become a doctor at the Ji's Clinic?!"

Yu Ying nodded, but then added, "It's just that I might only stay for a year or two."

Director Ji said hurriedly, "Let alone a year or two, I'd welcome you even if you only stay for a month!"

Yu Ying added, "There's one more thing I might need Director Ji's approval for."

Director Ji asked, "What's going on?"

"I have a nine-year-old nephew whom I would like to train, but he is unable to develop his talents at home. So I would like to bring him to this clinic to work as a medicine boy without pay. I wonder if Director Ji would agree?"

Director Ji smiled and said, "I don't think it's a big deal. Since he's Madam Yu's nephew, it's naturally possible."

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "I won't be hypocritical. Madam Yu's medical skills are probably better than those of the doctors in the clinics in Yu County. That's why I thought of letting my granddaughter become Madam Yu's disciple. After all, as a woman, it would be much easier for her to teach. I also hope that my granddaughter can become a female doctor in the future."

In the past, Director Ji thought that women did not need to learn so much and only needed to stay at home to take care of their husbands and children. However, after spending some time with Madam Yu in the resettlement center during the epidemic, he changed his old-fashioned ideas.

It turns out that women can also be heroes and are not inferior to men at all.

"I wonder how old Director Ji's granddaughter is?"

Director Ji said, "He's about the same age as Madam Yu's nephew."

After making this request, he was afraid that Madam Yu would be embarrassed, so he added: "Of course, if Madam Yu's Chinese medicine skills cannot be passed on to outsiders, you can refuse."

Yu Ying didn't have that idea. She replied, "Of course I can, but I'd like to take in two more girls as my apprentices. What do you think, Director Ji?"

"That's not a problem, but Madam Yu wants to accept a female disciple, but do you want to train a woman to be a doctor?"

Having a few more pharmacists in the clinic wouldn't have any impact, not to mention that the granddaughter could learn some skills, and with two more classmates, they might be able to help each other solve problems. What made Director Ji curious was Madam Yu's purpose.

Yu Ying nodded and explained her idea: "I've seen that there are so few female doctors. As a result, some women are too embarrassed to come to the clinic to see men, and in the end, the medicine is ineffective. That's why I came up with this idea."

When Director Ji heard Madam Yu's idea, he immediately clapped his hands and said, "Madam Yu, this is indeed thoughtful, and it's a very good idea. If you want to accept a female apprentice to teach at the clinic, just do it!"

At the end of the conversation, we finally talked about salary.

Director Ji: "Let Madam Yu raise the salary first, and we can discuss it later. How about that?"

Yu Ying said, "The salary of the doctors at Ji's Clinic will be increased by another 20%."

Director Ji was stunned for a moment and said, "Madam Yu, shouldn't you first ask about the salary of the doctor in charge?"

Yu Ying smiled and said, "I haven't been here long, and the salary of a doctor shouldn't be too low."

Since she came here to learn about running a clinic and also to accept an apprentice, she naturally couldn't ask for too much.

Moreover, when she came here, she also inquired carefully about the operations of Ji's Medical Clinic.

Ji's Medical Clinic holds free clinics every year, and Director Ji also sends his apprentices to various villages for training and to provide free medical services to the villagers.

She couldn't ask for too much money, both morally and logically. But because she knew more than most of the doctors in Yu County, her salary couldn't be lower than theirs.