Chapter 109 Return, you've worked hard.

Time flies like an arrow, and the days pass like a shuttle.

When Mei Leshu returned to Jinzhou with the Jinzhou medical team, it was already late autumn.

Their group also included Liangzhou people they had brought back along the way, as well as refugees from other states they had "picked up" along the way.

Some of these people had heard that Jinzhou provided free food, some admired Mei Leshu and others for being able to cure smallpox, and some simply wanted to find a place to live where they could survive...

Mei Leshu agreed to let anyone who was willing to follow her join the team.

After entering Jinzhou's territory, Mei Leshu handed over these people to the new local prefect.

The new prefect readily agreed, "Please rest assured, we will make proper arrangements for the people and ensure they can live in our prefecture."

Mei Leshu was very relieved. The new prefect had experience in this area and could arrange housing, land allocation, job search, school enrollment, and family reunification, ensuring that the people could settle down in the shortest possible time.

They continued their march toward the state capital.

When they returned to the city, the chrysanthemums in the courtyard of the clinic were in full bloom.

Mei Leshu met an acquaintance.

It was her master, Doctor Zhu.

The simply dressed, sprightly old man was having a heated discussion with several doctors.

Doctor Zhu: "I think this should be blah blah, because from... perspective, and so-and-so wrote in his medical book..."

A young female doctor firmly shook her head, "No, no, no, I just looked through a medical book. From the perspective of the human body..., the appropriate treatment method should be this or that."

A middle-aged male doctor nodded, "Yes, when so-and-so wrote his medical book, he didn't write that much, and he didn't understand the internal structure of the human body, even with current technology..."

Mei Leshu was shocked.

She watched her master chat with several doctors younger than him for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, ending with her master admitting defeat.

Doctor Zhu said, "One should never be complacent, for there are always people more capable than oneself and heavens beyond heavens."

The doctors quickly declined, saying, "Not at all. In terms of medical skills and pharmacology, we are no match for you, sir. We have simply read more medical books than you."

"Master!" Mei Leshu strode in. "When did you arrive in Jinzhou?"

Doctor Zhu was startled. He looked Mei Leshu up and down and couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, Doctor Mei is back. Are the people in Liangzhou who were infected with smallpox all alright?"

Mei Leshu remained silent.

Doctor Zhu explained, "It's because you've become so famous in Liangzhou that I've heard about it even back in the mountains. I was worried about you, so I came out to check on you."

Mei Leshu didn't believe it. "Then why didn't you go to Liangzhou? Why did you come to Jinzhou instead?"

Doctor Zhu said, "Because I arrived in Jinzhou as soon as I left, and the doctors here told me that you were working in Jinzhou, I decided to stay in Jinzhou and wait for you to come back."

A question mark appeared above Mei Leshu's head.

Doctor Zhu: "I gather herbs in the Miao region."

The master and apprentice didn't have much time for pleasantries.

The medical team first went to the Ministry of Health to report and hand over their work, recounting their experience in treating smallpox and inoculating people in Liangzhou, as well as some lessons learned that other doctors could benefit from.

The following day, the administrative office organized a celebration banquet for the triumphant doctors.

Fine wines, beverages, and snacks filled table after table.

"Apple juice, cider, apple pie, apple donuts, apple tarts..." A young male doctor picked up a piece of apple pie and asked in confusion, "Is there a bumper apple harvest this year?"

"This year's apple harvest is indeed bountiful, but we don't only have apples," the middle-aged man said, raising his glass. "We have chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum cakes, chrysanthemum pancakes, and chrysanthemum soup—we have it all."

A little girl holding a donut in one hand ran past them and happily ran towards He Qinglan.

The goddess held a yellow sunflower-shaped wine cup in her hand, savoring the sweet and mellow osmanthus wine.

The distillery's craftsmanship has improved dramatically; whether it's flower wine, fruit wine, or grain wine, they all brew exceptionally well.

"Goddess!" The little girl skipped over.

He Qinglan reached out in time, her long, slender, fair fingers pressing down on the little girl's head to prevent the two donuts in her hands from touching her clothes.

The little girl didn't mind, and happily held up the apple donut in her hand, a pure smile on her little face, "Goddess, here you go!"

He Qinglan took one and said, "Thank you, let's each have one."

The little girl nodded and then happily ran towards her mother.

Mei Leshu came over with a wine glass to offer a toast.

"Goddess, thank you so much!" The young goddess healer's eyes were filled with tears, and her tone was still filled with resentment as she spoke, "If it weren't for you letting that bastard Xue Rang see the truth about my junior sister before she passed away, he would never have believed that he and his wife were the last straw that drove my junior sister to her death!"

He Qinglan raised her glass and clinked it with Mei Leshu's.

She didn't speak, but listened as Mei Leshu sat opposite her and cursed Xue Rang for half an incense stick's time.

"Oh right, he also came to see me specifically to ask me to deliver a letter to the goddess!" Mei Leshu suddenly said.

He Qinglan nodded. "I know what he's going to say, and I know what he's going to do." Seeing Mei Leshu's conflicted expression, she said in a deep voice, "He knows what he's doing, so you don't need to worry."

Mei Leshu frowned. "It's not that I'm worried, it's just that my junior sister... sigh, as long as that bastard Xue Rang doesn't stop me from taking her back to her hometown, that's fine. My master is here, and he definitely won't agree to let her stay in the capital!"

Mei Leshu's master... He Qinglan suddenly asked, "You've made a great contribution this time, are you going to join the Ministry of Health?"

Mei Leshu was stunned for a moment, then shook her head frantically, "No, no, no, I don't want to go to the Ministry of Health, I want to go to the clinic."

She hated anything related to officialdom; she just wanted to be a doctor.

“Then go to the clinic. If you have nothing to do, you can go to the countryside and see how our ‘one doctor per village’ program is going.” He Qinglan said calmly, “Give the village doctors some guidance and suggestions.”

This job suits Mei Leshu's tastes perfectly, so she immediately said, "Okay, then I'll go to the clinic, and I'll go to the countryside in a while!"

He Qinglan said, "Thank you for your hard work."

“No,” Mei Leshu’s eyes burned, “If it weren’t for you, Goddess, bringing books and technology, even if I worked day and night without sleep, I still wouldn’t have been able to save so many people!”

Whether it's the people of Liangzhou Tianhua District or the people of Jinzhou.

The goddess taught everyone that eating well and maintaining good hygiene can reduce many diseases.

It was the goddess who allowed everyone to survive; she only did very small work, which was hardly hard.

He Qinglan took a sip of wine, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You are the ones who do the real work."

She wasn't thick-skinned enough to take all the credit.

After Mei Leshu left, many more people came over one after another, and boldly toasted He Qinglan.

The goddess did not refuse.

The doctors were very happy.

One of the men, who had drunk too much, mumbled to He Qinglan about his experiences over the past few days, "Goddess, you have no idea how nervous I was at the beginning. I was worried that I wouldn't do well and would embarrass you, I..."

A colleague quickly covered his mouth and gave the goddess an awkward smile, "He's drunk, I'll take him away right now."

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh!" I want to talk to the goddess!

"Shut up!" The colleague forcibly dragged the person away.

The doctors from the medical team who returned from Liangzhou were quickly reassigned to different jobs according to their wishes: some were in the prefectural city, some went to the county, some worked in the Ministry of Health, and some worked in clinics.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

People in various places are also harvesting ripe grains and vegetables, or carrying out winter plowing.

"The peanuts are growing very well this year!" A farmer's wife pulled out a peanut stem and leaves from the ground, looked at the large peanuts at the base, and said happily, "The peanuts planted in the spring are growing well, and this batch planted in the summer is also doing well."

"The sunflower seeds are pretty good this year too," a farmer said loudly in the dry field below. "My sunflower seeds are all plump and delicious when roasted."

One villager replied, "Then it seems the harvest might not be very good next year."

The farmer clicked her tongue in disapproval. But farming is sometimes unpredictable; a bumper harvest this year might yield only average results next year or the year after.

"Not necessarily," a villager said smugly, "We have the protection of a goddess!"

The peasant woman glared at her. "The goddess protects this and that, she works so hard! How can we expect the goddess to solve everything?"

The peanut farmers harvested their peanuts and pulled the shelled peanuts off the roots, while the sunflower farmers removed the sunflower seeds from the flower heads.

They were packed into baskets and hampers, then taken home and left to dry in the courtyard.

We're waiting for the oil mill to send people to the village to collect the oil.

The peasant woman didn't intend to sell to the oil mill; she wanted to sell to those in the city who made pastries or ran restaurants.

We'll keep some for our own family to stir-fry and eat.

When she got home, her husband was still at the stone archway and hadn't returned yet, and her children were somewhere in the village catching fish and birds.

The peasant woman was both annoyed and amused. "Next year, when we have extra money, we must buy a cow for them to herd."

But her children were thoughtful enough to have already boiled a pot of bathwater. The area in front of the stove was very clean, and the water vat was full of water, showing that she still remembered the saying "a poor stove, a rich water vat" quite well.

On the mountain where chicken farms are located.

Two staff members were carrying baskets and collecting eggs all over the mountainside.

The thousands of chickens were not raised in vain; hundreds of eggs can be collected every day.

The hen lays her eggs in strange places—in pits, under trees, in baskets, on flat ground—and sometimes they break because of the wrong placement.

Staff member A grabbed a hen by the wing, put it aside, and picked up six eggs from where it had just been sitting.

Staff member B picked up two from under the tree roots and continued walking, finding four more in a pile of dead leaves. He couldn't help but laugh, "It's like a treasure hunt."

The two of them walked almost the entire mountain and collected all the eggs laid by the hens that day.

Carrying the basket back to the rest area, the two handed the eggs to the colleague in charge of recording.

These eggs are mainly supplied to restaurants and inns in the city, with a small portion sold to local residents.

The chicken farm manager reminded everyone, "The veterinarian will be coming tomorrow to check on the babies, so please be on time for work."

Everyone responded in unison, "Understood!"

Lotus pond.

Some staff members were clearing weeds from the pond, some were pruning dead leaves, and some were checking the lotus leaves for pests so that they could kill the pests in time.

To ensure that the lotus stalks, leaves, and roots grow better next year, they also need to pay attention to fertilizing on time.

In the pond, fish swam leisurely to and fro.

When the ducks got tired of playing, they came ashore in groups and were herded to their resting place by the staff.

Staff members wait to feed them.

The next morning, I got up early to collect duck eggs.

orchard.

The staff were busy picking fruit.

They carefully cut the ripe fruit from the branches and put them one by one into the baskets.

At the same time, they removed all the rotten and inedible fruits, while those that were not too bad were stored away for their own consumption.

This year is indeed a bumper year. The fruit on the mountain has not yet been picked. The unripe fruit on the trees that were picked at the beginning is already ready to be picked.

The staff felt both happy and tired, experiencing pain and joy at the same time.

Experienced fruit growers advise, "There might not be this many fruits next year, so cherish them."

As the sun sets, its afterglow bathes the earth, casting an orange glow over the entire world.

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Author's note: Speechless. I've been waiting on my computer for ages, and it still won't pass the review.

I shut down my computer, and the approval was granted.