Tao Hongying was afraid that her daughter would get infected, so she picked her up and scolded her in a low voice.
"Why did you come here? Go back quickly, or you'll get a fever too and need to drink your bitter medicine."
Jiayin glanced at Doctor Zhang; the old man's face was flushed, and his forehead was so hot it could fry an egg.
Although the old man was usually very arrogant and didn't interact much with the villagers.
But throughout this journey of fleeing famine, the old man did everything he could without hesitation.
In particular, during the previous wolf attack, the old man single-handedly saved everyone's lives.
Gathering and preparing herbs was exhausting, but no one ever said a word.
The old man embodied the spirit of a healer.
Now that the old man is so seriously ill, she should lend a helping hand and save him, both morally and logically.
But this old man had "ill intentions"; he was actually determined to find fault with her.
You should know that after Young Master Ye recovered from his illness, she left no evidence or leverage. Even if Young Master Ye told her, probably no one would believe him.
But this old man was convinced that there was something strange about the Li family…
Just as Tao Hongying was about to take her daughter out, Old Lady Li came over.
Jiayin immediately snuggled into her grandmother's arms and said in her soft, sweet voice, "Grandma, Grandpa is hot."
Old Mrs. Li had been thinking about Doctor Zhang, so she instructed her daughter-in-law.
"Go and get some sleep. I need to comfort Fu Niu anyway, so sit here for a bit."
Tao Hongying was indeed very tired. During the day, she had to collect mountain products, and at night she had to take care of patients. Her eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion.
At this point, she didn't insist and nodded.
"Mother, let's send Fu Niu back in a bit, or she might get a fever too."
"knew."
Grandma Li agreed, and seeing that only she and her granddaughter were in the shack, she whispered to her granddaughter.
"Fu Niu, look how pitifully Dr. Zhang is burning up. Young Master Ye entrusted him to our family, and we can't just stand by and watch him get so sick. Could you give him one of those little white things, the fever reducer?"
Jiayin pouted, glanced at Old Man Zhang, and finally softened.
Hmph, considering how many silver ingots Young Master Ye gave me…
She reluctantly stretched out her little hand, in which lay a small white pill.
Grandma Li was overjoyed. She kissed her granddaughter deeply and then quickly fed the food to her husband.
Although Dr. Zhang was seriously ill, he still remembered to swallow, showing an extremely strong will to live…
In his dream, he felt like a fish in a sea of fire, almost roasted alive.
He was so angry that he cursed loudly, but he couldn't escape.
Finally, an inexplicable force seemed to gradually extinguish the flames, giving him a chance to catch his breath.
Then, cool water refreshed his body, making him feel even better.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he instinctively reached out and grabbed hard, "Finally caught you!"
The village chief was helping Dr. Zhang and feeding him water when suddenly his wrist was grabbed, spilling the water onto the bedding, which startled him.
"Dr. Zhang, you're awake! That's wonderful! You had a fever for most of the night, and if you hadn't woken up, everyone would have been worried sick."
The redness in Dr. Zhang's eyes hadn't faded yet, and he looked around in confusion.
This is a newly built shack. He is lying on his bedding, and there is a small campfire burning at the door for warmth and light.
Jiaren tended the fire, adding firewood, and with a branch in his left hand, he slowly practiced writing on the ground.
He looked over at that moment, his face full of concern.
"Grandpa Zhang, are you hungry? Would you like me to bring you a bowl of porridge to tide you over?"
Doctor Zhang blinked twice, released the village chief's hand, and asked, "What medicine did you give me just now?"
The village chief and Jiaren exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. "No, we only gave you two bowls of water."
What kind of water?
"It's the water we boiled last time we camped. There's no water source here, so we can only drink what we've stored."
"You really didn't give me my medicine?"
Doctor Zhang kept pressing him for answers, but seeing that the village chief and Jiaren kept shaking their heads and didn't seem to be lying, he hesitated.
Could it be that I'm delirious from the fever? But something just doesn't feel right.
"Dr. Zhang, please sleep a little longer. Your fever has subsided. Don't let yourself get chilled."
The village chief helped him lie down, dismissing his earlier questions as delirious ramblings from a fever.
Doctor Zhang was indeed still a bit weak, and he fell into a drowsy sleep again after lying down for a short while.
Soon, Jia Huan and Li Laosan came to relieve them, and Jia Ren and the village chief went back to rest.
And so, everyone took turns watching over him. When Doctor Zhang woke up again at dawn, he had recovered somewhat.
Tao Hongying was making breakfast, but her daughter, rubbing her eyes, insisted on coming along.
Having no other choice, she tied her daughter to her back.
Jiayin hunched her shoulders as the wind blew, and while her mother turned away, she quickly filled the bag of flour in the house halfway again.
There was only a thin layer left, and if she didn't add some more, it would probably be completely gone after one or two more meals.
Tao Hongying picked up the basin and was about to lift the bag to check its contents when she discovered that the bag was half full, which startled her and made her heart pound.
When I came to my senses, I turned to look at my daughter, who was already rubbing her eyes and yawning.
She quickly took her daughter back to the shack and whispered a few words in her mother-in-law's ear.
Grandma Li nodded, picked up her granddaughter and gently rocked her, then told her daughter-in-law, "Don't make a fuss, I've seen this before when we were at home."
Tao Hongying couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. How could things be the same at home and here? At home, finding more food meant improving our lives, but here it meant saving our lives.
She turned and went out, and immediately started cooking a small pot by herself.
The big pot was used to cook noodle soup for the patients, while the small pot was used to steam a bowl of egg custard for the daughter. The other women didn't say anything when they saw this.
Firstly, Jiayin is the youngest in the whole group, and secondly, the eggs were picked up by Grandma Li, so it's not unreasonable to give her granddaughter special treatment.
Once breakfast was ready, everyone took their share and ate heartily.
Dr. Zhang, wrapped up tightly, drank his dumpling soup while scrutinizing each member of the Li family, but eventually gave up.
Forget about finding some hidden master; take care of yourself first.
If he were to die in these mountains, it would truly be a disgrace to his reputation as a divine healer.
None of them were delicate or pampered. After taking their medicine, sleeping all night, and eating and drinking their fill the next morning, they were mostly recovered and could continue their journey.
The group walked all the way to noon when they heard some noise in the forest ahead. Everyone instinctively gripped their machetes tightly, wary of wild animals.
Unexpectedly, it was Jiayi who emerged, and he shouted happily upon seeing everyone.
"Grandpa Village Chief, Grandpa Zhao, we've found a place to stay! It's just ahead. Master asked me and Liu Yang to come and meet you."
Sure enough, before he could finish speaking, Liu Yang also walked out of the woods, panting heavily.
He was already overweight, and despite fleeing the famine, he didn't lose much weight.
Everyone was overjoyed and quickened their pace to follow the two boys.
After walking for about half an hour, the group emerged from the woods and arrived at a slightly wider valley.
Calling it a valley isn't quite accurate.
This is actually a scree beach, sandwiched between two cliffs.
On one side of the cliff, a waterfall flows down from a height of several dozen feet, crashing down to form a sizable pool below.
Once the pool is full and the water flows out, it becomes a small river.
Walk about twenty feet across the river to reach another cliff.
At a point two zhang above the ground on the cliff, six or seven caves of varying sizes were carved out, sometime during the day.
The mountain winds have blown for many years, and some wormwood and vines have grown at the entrance of the cave, making it look somewhat desolate.
Liu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), was standing in one of the booths, peeking out and waving to the crowd with a smile.
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