When Jiang Zhi came over, Xiao Man was busy roasting rabbit meat for several soldiers.

He squatted beside the red-hot charcoal grill, his face glowing red from the heat.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi, Xiao Man wiped away her sweat and quickly introduced her to everyone: "Brothers, we are able to stay on the mountain thanks to my Aunt Jiang, who knows about medicine."

We're here now to deliver medicine to the medical tent.

Xiang Junhan and the others had already heard Xiaoman talk about the neighbor's aunt's deeds, especially her method of using the mountain to escape the fire at night, which was truly ingenious.

Upon seeing him in person, they were all curious and greeted him regardless of their age.

"Aunt Jiang!"

"Sister Jiang!"

...a bunch of random shouting!

Jiang Zhi was caught off guard by the call, but also secretly pleased.

Fortunately, I am already a grandmother in this era. Grandmothers are a species that cannot distinguish between men and women anywhere, and they don't need to blush when entering the men's restroom.

At this moment, he didn't care about the difference between men and women when facing these soldiers, and could shamelessly say without any restraint: "Haha, hello brothers and nephews!"

It was a chaotic exchange of gifts, with everyone claiming their own seniority.

Age can't be changed, so why not take advantage of this opportunity?

After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Zhi told Xiao Man that she would be back late and not to wander around causing trouble.

Xiaoman readily agreed, "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll stay here in the clinic and won't go anywhere."

Jiang Zhi was still worried, so she said to the soldier surnamed Xiang next to her, "Brother, I need to help Physician Xu brew medicine. I'll be back late, and I'm afraid Xiaoman might get into a conflict with others here. I'll have to trouble you to look after her."

The medical shed was incredibly boring, and these wounded soldiers were just as good at gossiping; everyone knew about the recent incident of refugees coming to the mountains.

Moreover, Xiaoman recounted the events of that night in detail and was currently seeking advice from others on how to hone her skills to protect her homeland.

Hearing Jiang Zhi's entrustment, the soldiers laughed heartily: "Sister Jiang, just go ahead and do your work. Come and call us when you're done."

They were also itching to give pointers on Xiaoman to pass the time.

The dozen or so pairs of straw sandals that Xiaoman brought were very good, and they were divided among several handymen. They weren't paid, but instead given a brand new thick quilt.

A dozen or so pairs of straw sandals could only fetch a hundred or so coins at most, which wouldn't normally buy a quilt, let alone now.

However, judging from the manner of these handymen, the bright red satin quilt was "found" by them.

We can't ask for details about when or how it was found.

It was almost afternoon when Xu Errui, who had promised to pick up his mother and take her home, set off.

He hadn't seen anyone when he reached the halfway point up the mountain, but instead encountered several refugees picking red berries to fill their stomachs, including Li Laoshi, whom he had seen before.

How did the migrants from Xujia Village end up so far away?

Xu Errui, with a knife at his waist and an empty basket on his back, watched these people warily.

No, we must tell Sister Chunfeng and Qiaoyun immediately, and warn them to be on guard against someone making a move.

Just as he was considering whether to go down the mountain to fetch his mother or hurry back to tell his family, someone stopped him: "Hey! Brother, where are you going? Go back and take care of the house!"

"Go back? Go back to guard the house?" Xu Errui stared at the two "vagrants" picking red flowers.

"Go back, no need to go down the mountain!"

………………………………

Inside the medical tent, after six hours of simmering, a pot of loquat leaf syrup was finally nearing completion.

Jiang Zhi skillfully stirred the thick juice with a copper spoon to prevent it from sticking to the pot and burning, and kept cooking it until it was thick and concentrated. She took a small amount and dripped it onto straw paper. The juice solidified on the paper and did not seep through.

"Physician Xu, it's ready!" Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

The most difficult part of making the paste is the final concentration. It takes several hours of painstaking effort, and if the heat is not controlled properly, not only will a whole day's work be wasted, but a pot of valuable medicinal herbs will also be ruined.

Xu Dong looked at the thick liquid on the straw paper and nodded in satisfaction: "The ointment is done. It seems that Sister Jiang really knows how to make medicine!"

The skill of making ointments alone is enough to make a living; pharmacies everywhere need skilled workers.

"Could I borrow your steelyard, Physician Xu? I'm about to leave!" Jiang Zhi didn't have time for small talk and directly proposed a deal.

With little time left and several hours' journey still required to return to the mountain, Errui was surely on his way to pick him up. Now that even more refugees had gathered in the village, he couldn't afford for anything to happen.

"Okay, here's everything you wanted. Are you planning to make plasters?" Xu Dong asked.

Jiang Zhi thought that the medicine she was making was still in the experimental stage, so she could only give a vague answer: "There are not many medicines on the mountain, so we can't make ointments. Like today, we can only boil some loquat leaf water."

Having received the medicine three times already, Xu Dong could roughly estimate how many medicinal herbs could be produced on the mountain. However, it wasn't enough to prepare a decent prescription, so he could only grind some herbs into powder.

He wouldn't say anything more if he could exchange an extra steelyard for a snakeskin!

Jiang Zhi got the pharmacy's commonly used tools and then hurried off to find Xiao Man to go home.

Outside the medical tent, Xiaoman was energetically punching and kicking amidst cheers.

Xiang Dejin said with a smile, "This kid has the makings of a soldier."

The person next to him said, "Yeah, he's been jumping around all day without complaining of being tired. Others don't have that kind of stamina."

After finishing the first move, Xiaoman, wearing only a thin shirt, was drenched in sweat. She turned to Xiang and asked, "Brother Xiang, have I learned these eight moves?"

Xiang Dejin said, "You're barely qualified, but your strength isn't good enough. You need to practice more."

Seeing that there were many people here, Jiang Zhi didn't want to go around calling out "brothers and nephews" again, so she asked the handyman to call Xiao Man over.

"Xiaoman, let's go back quickly!"

Xiaoman was reluctant to part with these soldiers, but she knew she needed to go home.

Once the two of them had loaded their things into their baskets, they immediately overflowed.

Jiang Zhi was a little better off; he didn't bring a guillotine, only an iron roller and a small steelyard in his waist pouch.

Xiaoman's basket contained quilts and grain bags, which looked quite conspicuous.

Several wounded soldiers came over and looked at the two men's baskets, asking, "Xiaoman, are these things heavy? Are they easy to walk on?"

Jiang Zhi was not one to stand on ceremony. Upon seeing them approach, she immediately said, "It's not heavy, but could you please give us a ride? We just need to get us out of the village!"

As soon as she entered the village, she saw that there were more and more refugees. Xiaoman brought meat and rabbits, which could not be hidden in the tiny Xujia Village and had already been spread by word of mouth.

These refugees are currently lacking food and clothing, and once they learn that someone can sell rabbits, they will naturally have evil thoughts.

Sending out a section of road at this point can have a deterrent effect.

Xiang Dejin was a wounded soldier, injured in the arms and legs but still able to walk. Seeing that Xiaoman needed someone to take her, several wounded soldiers who were about to go out for a stroll came out.

As Jiang Zhi stepped out of the medical tent, she immediately felt several sharp gazes upon her.

She turned around abruptly to look for them, but found nothing; the refugees were all bowing their heads and busy preparing their food.

Several guards also witnessed this scene and immediately shouted sternly, "Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be dealt with according to military law and get out of the village!"

The refugees dared not move and could only watch helplessly as Jiang Zhi and Xiao Man followed several wounded soldiers into the mountains.

Beside the shack, the bearded man stared at the departing figures of Jiang Zhi and her group and whispered, "Someone's following us. What should we do? That brat brought pheasants and rabbits today."

Mentioning the brat made him grit his teeth; his head injury had healed, but the grudge was still unresolved.