If something happens to these villagers, some unreasonable people might blame Jing'an's wife, which would only make people feel disheartened.
After thinking it over carefully, the village chief said, "Jing'an's wife, how about this? You can teach them about herbs as usual, but focus on teaching them herbs from safe places. The rest you can just talk to them normally."
“They all have families to support, and it’s not fair to risk their lives for money. If someone values money more than their life, then surviving a trip to dangerous places to collect herbs is a stroke of luck. But don’t worry, I will definitely make things clear to them.”
"You mean well by teaching them how to gather herbs, but every household should think it through before doing so. If anything goes wrong, they're not allowed to come and cause trouble for you!"
Ning Huan nodded: "Then thank you, Village Chief."
The village chief smiled and said, "Jing'an's wife, it's me who should be thanking you."
But the village chief didn't rush to tell anyone about this. Ning Huan said that once Zhou Jing'an's health improved a bit and he didn't need her to take care of him as much, she would make time to teach the villagers.
The village chief nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Just as the village chief was about to go back and say a few more words to Zhou Jing'an, a woman walked in anxiously and said, "Village chief, my daughter is missing! Could you ask the villagers to help us find out where she is?"
The visitor was Ke Ruxiu's biological mother. The Ke couple had waited all night yesterday but had no news of Ke Ruxiu. Their daughter had neither gone to her husband's family nor returned to her parents' home.
They had initially considered reporting it to the authorities, but after inquiring with several people, they all said that the government officials were unreliable and that it was better to find her themselves. That's why she came to the village chief to ask for his help in finding Ke Ruxiu.
The village chief frowned: "Where is Xu Xian's wife? When did she disappear?"
Ke glanced at Ning Huan, her eyes filled with disgust.
Her favorite son-in-law was Zhou's third son. If it weren't for this woman, her daughter would have married Zhou Jing'an long ago. Perhaps she wouldn't still be here today.
But she only glanced at it, then looked at the village chief and told him everything about Ke Ruxiu.
Ning Huan knew that the woman in front of her was Ke Ruxiu's mother, so it was normal that she didn't like her. She simply turned around and went back into the house to pour water for Zhou Jing'an.
Upon hearing Ke's words, the village chief frowned: "Could it be that Ruxiu ran away on her own? Maybe the young couple had a fight, and she ran away in anger? There was a family like that in our village before, wasn't that the daughter-in-law of Granny Shuang's family?"
"I argued with my husband and ran away to do odd jobs for half a month, then I came back on my own."
Ms. Ke shook her head: "Our Xiuxiu isn't like that. Although she's a bit willful, she still knows her limits. Even if she doesn't go back to her husband's family, she'll definitely come to find me and her father."
Seeing that Ms. Ke was really anxious, the village chief comforted her and told her not to worry. He then asked the villagers to help search and inquire around.
But after that day, Ke Ruxiu seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing from the village.
Ning Huan went in and gave Zhou Jing'an water and medicine. The villagers praised her, saying, "Jing'an's wife is really good at taking care of people now, and she's so considerate."
Just as Zhou Jing'an was about to speak, he felt his leg start to hurt again. But in front of so many villagers, he could only endure it and not cry out in pain.
But Ning Huan saw Zhou Jing'an's furrowed brows and knew that he must be in pain again.
However, the anesthetic powder from yesterday cannot be given to Zhou Jing'an anymore; that medicine is meant to be used on people during surgery.
Ning Huan's consciousness space does have painkillers, but taking too much of them will more or less harm Zhou Jing'an's body.
But seeing how much pain Zhou Jing'an was in, they couldn't think about it any further.
Just as Ning Huan was about to go back inside to get painkillers, Zhou Lan walked in from the doorway.
She said with a joyful expression, "Sister-in-law, I've come to see Jing'an. I heard that the surgery he performed in town was particularly successful?"
Ning Huan smiled and nodded, replying, "Big sister, you'll see when you go inside. The village chief is talking to my husband with the villagers."
When Zhou Lan saw Zhou Jing'an, her eyes reddened slightly: "Third brother, has your leg been healed?"
Zhou Jing'an nodded and replied, "Yes, Dr. Si, who performed my surgery, said that as long as I recover well during this period, I will soon be back to normal. Big sister, this is good news, why are you crying?"
Zhou Lan didn't say anything, she just kept shaking her head.
The villagers also knew that Zhou Jing'an was closest to the eldest daughter of the Zhou family. Since the siblings wanted to have some casual conversation, it wasn't appropriate for them, as outsiders, to stay.
After giving Zhou Jing'an a few more instructions, they all left.
After everyone had left, Zhou Lan spoke up. She said to Zhou Jing'an with a guilty expression, "I was sorry that I couldn't accompany you to the doctor that day, Third Brother."
Zhou Jing'an shook his head: "Big sister, there's no need to apologize to me. I know you wanted to come with me, but you had some difficulties."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lan's eyes reddened even more.
It wasn't that she didn't want to come that day, but her parents wouldn't let her go, saying that everyone in the family had to go to accompany Zhou Jing'an for treatment, and that the house couldn't be left unattended. As the eldest sister in the family, she was the most suitable person to stay in the village and look after the house.
How could Zhou Jing'an not know the reason? When Zhou Dashan and Yao Shi brought Zhou Dasheng's family and Zhou Yan yesterday, Zhou Lan was the only one missing, and he could guess what was going on.
"Third brother, your eldest sister really wants to go with you."
The surgical procedure sounds extremely dangerous, and his parents are known for causing trouble; who knows if they've upset Zhou Jing'an.
Seeing Zhou Lan's serious expression, Zhou Jing'an smiled and said, "Big sister, you don't need to explain anymore. I really understand you. You didn't come because your parents wouldn't let you."
Seeing that he had put his mind to it, Zhou Lan stopped trying to explain.
She was initially very upset about Yao's arrangements, and her grandmother comforted her for a long time after she got home. But when she heard that Zhou Jing'an could really understand her, she felt much better.
"Jing'an, now that your leg has recovered and is back to normal, can you go back to school?"
Zhou Jing'an nodded: "That's right. After I've recovered for a while, I can go back to the academy. If I'm in time, I might be able to take the next imperial examination."
Hearing this, Zhou Lan said happily, "That's wonderful! Putting aside whether you can make it to the next imperial examination, it's good that you can go back to study, little brother!"
Her third brother is capable; he shouldn't be stuck in this small mountain village.
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