Before they even entered the courtyard, the three of them heard Li Yan whimpering and crying.

Li Xiangdong hurried a few steps and rushed into the room, where he saw Zhao Sufang sitting on the edge of the bed, holding and comforting Li Yan.

Doctor Gu clasped his hands together, breathed on them, and then placed them on Li Yan's fontanelle three times, muttering something under his breath.

Dr. Gu withdrew his movements, and Li Yan miraculously stopped crying. She closed her eyes, her little face pale and sallow. Zhao Sufang gently placed her on the bed and then covered her tightly with a small blanket.

Zhao Sufang, Liu Jiangsu, and Grandma Jiang stayed inside watching over Li Yan. Li Xiangdong pulled Doctor Gu out and asked, "What's wrong with my little sister?"

"Children's eyes are clear; they must have seen something that frightened them. Daxia also seems a bit uneasy."

"So you were scared. Those two moves you made just now were pretty powerful!"

Li Xiangdong felt that Doctor Gu's technique resembled a common method used by doorkeepers to calm the spirit.

Doctor Gu laughed and said, "Medicine and witchcraft are one, and traditional Chinese medicine and witchcraft are inextricably linked. What's so surprising about me knowing this?"

After saying that, he remembered something else, "Did you collect any Five Emperors' Coins before?"

The Five Emperors Coins refer to the Banliang coin from the Qin Dynasty, the Wuzhu coin from the Han Dynasty, the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin from the Tang Dynasty, the Songyuan Tongbao coin from the Song Dynasty, and the Yongle Tongbao coin from the Ming Dynasty.

Because these coins are relatively rare, later generations also called them "Big Five Emperors Coins" and invented a new type of "Small Five Emperors Coins", which are ancient coins minted and circulated during the reigns of the five emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty.

The Five Emperors Coins originated from prosperous times and have been in contact with millions of people. They possess strong yang energy and human vitality, and can ward off evil spirits.

Li Xiangdong hurriedly said, "The most common ones are Zhibai Wuzhu, and there is also one Wanli Tongbao, two Jiaqing Tongbao, one Xianfeng Zhongbao, and three Xianfeng Yuanbao."

"Take them all out, I'll braid them with red string and put them on the children to calm their minds and ward off evil."

Dr. Gu worked through the night to make several ancient coin necklaces for the children, Bai Yufeng, and Grandma Jiang.

Everyone knew of Dr. Gu's skills, and immediately put the ancient coin on their wrists after receiving it, except for Old Mrs. Jiang who refused.

"At my age, what's the point of carrying this around!"

She genuinely looked down on these kinds of items.

Doctor Gu couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he had no choice but to return the ancient coins to Li Xiangdong.

Seeing his dejected look, Li Xiangdong almost burst out laughing. It was truly a case of unrequited love!

Whether the ancient coins were really that effective or not, Li Yan and Da Xia were lively and energetic again after waking up the next day, and even Bai Yufeng, the pregnant woman, slept until late morning.

She was a little embarrassed while eating lunch, saying, "I usually wake up in the middle of the night, but I don't know why, I slept very soundly last night."

"Good sleep is essential for good health. There's not much work to do around the house, so just go to sleep!"

Zhao Sufang peeled an egg for her and put it in a bowl.

Days passed by like flowing water, and everyone reaped their own rewards in the mountains.

The ancient doctor dug up many medicinal herbs in the mountains, such as Ligusticum chuanxiong, Aconitum carmichaelii, Angelica pubescens, Codonopsis pilosula, Achyranthes bidentata, and Dipsacus asper, etc.

Li Lan gained a new understanding of the ingredients and seasonings of western Sichuan. There are green Sichuan peppercorns, Da Hong Pao Sichuan peppercorns, and rattan peppercorns; different types of peppercorns produce different flavors in dishes. There are also many varieties of chili peppers, such as Erjingtiao, which is mellow and mildly spicy; Shizhu Red, which combines fragrance, spiciness, and redness; and Mantianxing, which is both fragrant and spicy…

On a whim, Li Lan made a chili sauce using different types of chili peppers, fermented black beans, and cured meat. It was delicious whether mixed with noodles or eaten with steamed buns.

Looking at the chili sauce his older sister had made, Li Xiangdong felt a surge of excitement, and couldn't help but think of the goddess who had once swept the globe.

If we actually make a chili sauce, we can't call it Lao Gan Ma anymore, we have to call it Big Sister!

Li Ying has been diagnosed with pregnancy and is now under special protection, just like Bai Yufeng. The two of them never lift a finger and just sit around waiting to be fed and cared for.

Grandma Jiang didn't care about these mundane matters. She especially liked to take Liu Jiangsu for walks in the bamboo forest. When she saw wild tea on the mountain, she would pick some, process it, and then brew it into tea.

The children love to pick mushrooms; the huge green mountains are like a vast treasure trove, containing endless treasures.

In short, this group of people seemed to be enjoying themselves in Sichuan and had no thoughts of Zhao.

Life is like the white clouds in the sky, gathering together and then scattering, scattering and then gathering again.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Li Xiangdong and his group finally set off with great reluctance.

He Chaochao and Bai Yulong had already gone to deliver goods, so Luo Hongkai and Luo Yonggang hitched up an oxcart to take them to the train station.

Before leaving, Doctor Gu left Bai Yufeng a few pills in case of emergency.

On the train, Li Ping was reviewing his lessons with his new semester books. It had been a week since the new semester started, and Li Ping was worried that he would fall behind.

Li Xiangdong was particularly pleased with his younger sister's diligent and studious attitude.

Of course, he didn't comment much on Li Jiabao, who was reluctant to leave western Sichuan with tears in his eyes.

Li Xiangdong had very low expectations for Li Jiabao: that he simply be an upright, kind, and selfless person.

As for academics and career, not everyone can become a millionaire or a university professor!

Upon returning to Lijiapo, Zhao Sufang distributed the mushrooms, chili peppers, cured meat, and other local specialties she had brought back to the Fang family and close friends, according to their relationship with them.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, life is better now, and every family is making homemade mooncakes. When they saw Zhao Sufang coming to deliver gifts, they all returned the favor.

Qi Yuexian was the first to arrive, and she brought over a basket of traditional mooncakes filled with brown sugar and melon seeds.

"Sister-in-law, I reckon you'll be back in the next few days. I've already made all the mooncakes for your family, so you don't need to rush to make them."

Zhao Sufang took it with a smile, removed the white tarpaulin, and saw neatly arranged pieces of golden-brown mooncakes, more than twenty in total.

"Yuexian, you've really been a great help. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome to make the filling using the mold."

Other families also came one after another, bringing homemade mooncakes. Zhao Sufang couldn't refuse them all, so she had to accept them.

Homemade mooncakes made by farmers are usually made with unleavened dough and oily crust. The fillings include brown and white sugar, rock sugar, roasted and crushed peanuts, melon seeds, walnuts, and so on.

Then, just like making steamed buns, wrap the filling in the dough, roll it into a ball, and then press it into a mold to create various patterns.

Wealthy families would brush egg yolk onto the mooncake dough, while ordinary families would simply place the dough in a specially made flat iron pan, cover it with a lid, and bake it over a fire on both the lid and the bottom of the pan.

Mooncakes baked in this way are one of the few snacks children have throughout the year. If mothers didn't put them in baskets and hang them on the roof beams to hide them, they would probably be eaten up before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Old-fashioned mooncake mold

Mooncake molds from the National Museum of China