The villagers, having collected their water, returned home laden with their belongings, leaving behind their earlier dejection and smiles on their faces.
After returning to the camp, Lu Qiqi went first to Liu Tong's tent where he was recuperating. Zhu Zi was guarding the bedside, his eyes fixed on his master. He only turned around when he heard Lu Qiqi enter the tent and called out, "Miss Lu."
Then she asked, "When will my master wake up?"
Lu Qiqi stepped forward, used her hand to lift Liu Tong's closed eyelids, and checked the state of his pupils. "It depends on your master's recovery. If he recovers well, he will wake up within three days."
Zhu Zi quickly stood up to make room for Lu Qiqi, "Miss Lu, I wiped Master's body as you said, and then applied herbal medicine."
Lu Qiqi withdrew her hand, her pupils focused without any problems. Hearing Zhu Zi's words, she nodded and praised, "Well done! Your master's condition is alright now, there's no swelling. But we can't let our guard down. If he gets a fever tonight, call me immediately."
Zhu Zi nodded in agreement, "Yes."
Lu Qiqi left the tent, intending to find the village chief. The villagers were injured and had lost a lot of blood. They were currently malnourished and would need to put in a lot of effort to recover.
"Doggy, hurry up and try it, this water is so sweet!"
"Wow, Mom, this water tastes so good, it's like honey!"
"Have you ever tasted honey? You know it's as sweet as honey!"
"I just know!"
As Lu Qiqi passed by the entrance of a tent, she saw a woman giving water to a little boy. She went over and asked, "Sister-in-law, was this water boiled before?"
Gouwa's mother stood up, saw that it was Lu Qiqi, and smiled, "Oh, it's Lu family girl. Thanks to you, we can have such sweet water to drink!"
When Gouwa's mother saw Lu Qiqi staring intently at the empty bowl in her hand, she asked, "Is there something wrong with the water?"
Lu Qiqi frowned slightly. The villagers didn't have the habit of drinking boiled water, which was a bad habit. Boiled water in the wild contains a lot of bacteria, and there might even be planktonic organisms like horsehair worms. She secretly decided that she must change the villagers' bad habit.
Lu Qiqi said, "Sister-in-law, this water must be boiled before drinking, otherwise you may get sick."
Gouwa's mother laughed, thinking that Lu Qiqi was making a mountain out of a molehill. "Girl, we country folk don't have such formalities. If everyone drank tea like the city gentlemen, how would we grow our crops?"
Then he added, "Everyone in the village used to drink like this, and they're all fine now, aren't they?! Don't worry, just relax!"
Seeing that she couldn't reason with Gouwa's mother, Lu Qiqi stopped talking and left, saying she needed to find the village chief.
Upon arriving at the village chief's tent, Lu Qiqi discovered that Song Yanqing and Li Qingshan were also there.
Song Yanqing said, "We shouldn't stay here any longer!"
The village chief, sitting on a stool, nodded. "I know it's not wise to stay any longer, but with the villagers dead and injured, how can we continue our journey?"
As Lu Qiqi entered the tent, she overheard Village Chief Li Mu's words and said, "The wounded and children will ride in donkey carts, and the rest of us will walk!"
Upon seeing Lu Qiqi enter, the village chief hurriedly asked, "Girl, the villagers are so badly injured, are you sure you can travel safely?"
Lu Qiqi thought for a moment and said, "As long as the wounded don't move around too much, they'll be fine. Besides, if we stay here and more Tartars come, can we wounded soldiers fight them again?"
These words struck a chord with the village chief. After a moment's thought, the village chief nodded emphatically. "Get a good rest tonight, and we'll be on our way tomorrow!"
Lu Qiqi remembered the purpose of her visit. "Village chief, the wounded have lost too much blood and need nutrition. Could you discuss with the village about slaughtering some of the village's poultry to help them recover? Otherwise, it will be difficult to make up for it in the future!"
This time, the village chief did not hesitate. The injured were all young men from the village. If they couldn't be healed, there would be no hope for Li Family Village in the future. He said, "I'll take charge of this matter. Since you found water today, kill a few chickens and give them a good rest. After all, they were injured for the sake of the villagers. If anyone dares to object, let them come and talk to me!"
Having achieved her goal, Lu Qiqi thought of Gouwa's mother and said, "Village Chief, I've noticed that everyone in the village is drinking raw water and doesn't have the habit of boiling it before drinking."
The village chief nodded. Everyone drinks it this way. These days, it's good enough to have water to drink. Who would bother to boil it before drinking it?
But the thought of Lu Qiqi's medical skills gave the village chief a bad feeling that took root in his heart. He asked, "What's wrong with it?"
Lu Qiqi explained to the village chief why they couldn't drink unboiled water. Upon hearing this, the village chief was filled with dread. He coughed and said, "We've been drinking it this way since ancient times, and nothing like this has ever happened! How could it be so serious!"
Lu Qiqi said, "There have never been droughts or floods before, but now we haven't seen a drop of rain for three years. Isn't that unusual?"
This is so abnormal that it makes one feel like God is trying to take people away in a different way!
At this moment, Song Yanqing also came out. "When I was traveling in the past, drinking boiled water could reduce diarrhea. This must be the reason!"
Lu Qiqi nodded, "That's right, diarrhea leading to dehydration can also be fatal."
Lu Qiqi was not exaggerating at all; persistent diarrhea and dehydration can lead to electrolyte imbalance and shock.
Boiling water and letting it cool before drinking is a bit of a hassle, but when you hear that diarrhea can kill you, you have no choice but to do it, no matter how troublesome it is, because nobody wants to lose their life in this forest!
The next morning, the villagers were boiling water, the women were busy making breakfast, and the men were busy taking down the tents.
Li Changlong dragged the tent aside, intending to lay it flat and fold it neatly, but he found that the tent was too big to carry away!
He asked Lu Qiqi, who was standing to the side eating a pancake, "Qiqi, this tent is too big to take with us!"
Lu Qiqi thought the pancake was too big to finish, so she tore off half and gave it to Song Yanqing, saying casually, "Let's break it up and share it. If we encounter refugees on the road, we can hide our food to avoid attracting attention."
Song Yanqing didn't stand on ceremony with Lu Qiqi and took the pancake to eat. Lu Qiqi thought he ate in a refined manner, like a pale-faced scholar from a storybook.
Li Changlong thought Lu Qiqi's idea was good, so he immediately went to find a knife and started unraveling along the stitches.
While disassembling the box, he praised Lu Qiqi, "Qiqi, you're so smart! Where did you learn all this stuff?"
Lu Qiqi took a sip of the spiritual spring water and said, "My mother taught me."
Lu Qiqi's mother was shrouded in mystery; she was literate, beautiful, and skillful.
When Li Changlong heard that it was Chen who taught him, he didn't suspect anything and laughed, "Second Aunt is really amazing!"
As Song Yanqing ate his pancake, he heard Lu Qiqi say that everything he knew was taught to him by her mother. He couldn't help but wonder where her mother was, since she was so capable. However, when he thought about how Lu Qiqi had fled with her third uncle Lu Dahai's family, he guessed that she was probably no longer alive, so he didn't ask.
However, he still couldn't figure out how the pond he and Lu Qiqi had walked through the day before had suddenly become watery. He clearly remembered that the pond had dried up and was filled with only withered branches and leaves!
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