The two rushed back to the pharmacy, where Su's father had already fainted again, and Su's mother was by his side with swollen eyes.
Seeing Shitou come in, she hugged him and started crying again, "Shitou, your father..."
Stone put his hand on her shoulder and comforted her, "Mother, it's alright, I'm here."
After comforting Su's mother, Shi Tou went out to thank all the uncles and elders who had come, and then led everyone to find accommodation. After settling everyone in, he returned to the clinic. The doctor said that tonight was particularly crucial and that someone had to stay with them.
There was a bed next door. Shi Tou asked Su's mother and Liu Huan to go sleep there, but neither of them would go. Finally, seeing that Liu Huan was dozing off and almost fell to the ground, Shi Tou carried her to the bed.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Su's father developed a high fever that wouldn't go down. Shi Tou kept wiping his body with alcohol, and it wasn't until the morning that the fever subsided.
Liu Huan was momentarily disoriented after waking up, suddenly not knowing where she was.
Shi Tou brought in water: "You're awake. Come and wash your face. Mother has gone to buy food."
She got up and dressed, only then realizing she was in a clinic. Shi Tou wrung out a handkerchief and handed it to her, then retied her hair.
Su's father woke up around noon, or more accurately, he woke up in pain. His face was covered in fine sweat, indicating that he was being subjected to inhuman torture.
Su's mother grabbed his hand: "Dad, don't move, be careful of your wound."
Su's father forced out the words through his teeth: "My foot, what's wrong with my foot?"
"The bone is a bit cracked, but they said it will heal with rest. Luckily, there was ginseng, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable." Su's mother told him what the doctor had said.
"You have no idea how dangerous it was yesterday. We were all terrified. Huanhuan managed everything by herself." Su's mother is still scared when she thinks back on it.
"Shi Tou went to buy you porridge, and Huan Huan is making you medicine. Eat some porridge first, then take your medicine."
Su's father nodded sadly, then closed his eyes wearily.
In the backyard, Liu Huan was guarding the medicine pot, while the doctor casually struck up a conversation with her.
"How old is the little girl this year?"
Liu Huan answered calmly, "Six years old."
The doctor chuckled twice: "Great job, you know you're six years old."
Liu Huan: "..."
"Uh... um..." The doctor hesitated for a long time but couldn't say anything.
"Please let me know if you need anything."
The doctor rubbed his hands together, a slightly lewd smile on his face: "I'd like to take another look at your ginseng."
Liu Huan teased him on purpose: "Didn't we see it yesterday? They're all the same."
"I want to take a closer look today." He felt that it was not a hundred-year-old ginseng at all, but a thousand-year-old one, otherwise how could it be so effective?
"Oh, he's with my brother. Go find him!"
Just as the doctor was about to ask where your brother was, Shi Tou returned: "Huanhuan, is the medicine ready?"
"Oh, here it comes."
Liu Huan pouted: "See that? That's my brother."
Su's father stayed at the clinic for a few days until the doctor checked his wounds and felt they were almost healed before telling them they could go home.
"You should continue taking this medicine, but you don't need to add ginseng anymore. I'll come over every two days to change the medicine. Give me your address." If I didn't tell her, her family would probably use that top-grade ginseng as ordinary medicine, which would be a complete waste.
Su's mother was embarrassed and distressed. "No, doctor, my home is in Maocao Village, which is very far from here."
The doctor immediately disagreed: "That won't work. His injury is best left unattended; he needs to rest. Besides, it's too far for me to come to his home."
These words stumped Su's mother. She subconsciously looked at Liu Huan and asked, "Huanhuan, what do you think we should do?"
Liu Huan knew the doctor was right, and she had already come up with a plan, but she wanted to wait for Shi Tou to come back and see what he had to say.
"Mom, let's wait until Shitou comes home from school before we talk about it."
Stone was sent back to school a couple of days ago, and he comes over as soon as class is over.
Upon hearing that Su's father was unable to move around, his first thought was to rent a house.
"Mom, let's just rent a house in town and go back after Dad gets better."
Su's mother knew this was the only way, "But where can we find short-term rentals?"
"I have one at home." The doctor came again.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to rent out the house. I just happen to have one that's vacant."
Mother Su was moved to tears: "How could I possibly accept that..."
"Hey, don't thank me yet. I have conditions. If we can discuss it, I'll let you stay for free and I won't charge you for your medicine these next few days."
Liu Huan knew that he hadn't given up on his idea of getting the ginseng.
How do you want to cooperate?
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to take it all out. I only need a little bit. I'm keeping such good ginseng for myself and I can't bear to give it to others."
Liu Huan looked at the stone.
They all knew that the best solution was to negotiate; otherwise, they probably wouldn't be able to leave this place with the ginseng.
Stone said expressionlessly, "Let us discuss this."
After saying "Please go ahead," he politely withdrew.
Although Su's mother was reluctant, she could only nod after hearing Shi Tou explain the pros and cons.
Su's father had no objections; he was already in this state anyway.
"Okay, but let's make it clear beforehand, we can't give you too much."
The doctor shook his head. "I'm not such a greedy person."
Liu Huan took out the remaining ginseng. The doctor only took the largest few rootlets, which were estimated to weigh about two ounces each. "This thousand-year-old ginseng, even with just a few rootlets, will have the same effect if soaked in wine."
He also kindly reminded them: "Let me give you two a piece of advice: don't just take out such a good thing so casually. Not everyone is as easy to talk to as I am."
This is a classic case of someone who benefits but then complains, but what he said is also true.
Liu Huan pressed her advantage: "The house the doctor mentioned..."
"It's near the academy, in a small courtyard. It used to be a place that made pancakes. Because they left in a hurry, they didn't take anything with them. I'll have someone take you there to see it in a bit. We'll give you a 50% discount, and you can leave whenever you want."
They said it was free just now, but now they're offering a discount.
"Don't talk about me behind my back. I really will pay for your medicine for free, but my wife knows about this house, so it can't be free."
Liu Huan and Shi Tou went to check and found it to be convenient, only a five-minute walk from the academy.
"Stone, this place is great! You can come here every day after class."
Students are allowed to leave the academy; many students who don't like the food there will eat outside.
"Um,"
Looking at the stone mill inside, Liu Huan said, "Stone, can I stay here too? I'll cook for you later."
Although Shi Tou nodded, what he was really thinking was, "Is the food she made edible?" Oh well, as long as it doesn't kill anyone, it's fine.
Liu Huan had already made up her mind. She would stay and cook, then sell the food at the entrance of the academy. She had seen that there were many vendors selling things at the entrance of the academy.
He brought out his best dishes from his past life; he was sure he could win over the hearts of these students.
After returning home and saying it was good, Su's mother couldn't wait to go there. It was inconvenient here; even eating something cost money, which she couldn't bear to do.
Liu Huan told her about her plan, and Su's mother was very interested, but she was also afraid that no one would eat what she made.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm here. I'll go and learn from them, and when I come back we'll do it ourselves. Otherwise, how much money would we have to spend working here for months?"
Money is Su's mother's Achilles' heel.
"Well... okay," if Huanhuan fails, then I'll just eat it myself, as long as it's not a waste.
If it succeeds, then the family will have a livelihood.
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