Duoxi wiggled his chubby little body, following closely behind his second brother's formation: "Auntie, I want to go eat Ai Ai."
Yu Rujia: "Okay, let's go up the mountain now. Guojing, go tell your brother we're going up the mountain and we'll be back in an hour or two. If any patients come, just tell them to wait or call me from the other side of the mountain."
It's the busy harvest season, and it's July. Working outside in the sweltering heat can easily lead to heatstroke. If a patient comes and she's not home, something could easily happen.
Gao Guojing responded and went out the door, peeking into the front yard where Gao Shujing was: "Brother, we went up the mountain to pick mugwort. Sister Rujia said that mugwort can not only be used to make soap, but also to make delicious food. Let's try it tonight."
Gao Shujing poked his head out from the bicycle shed: "Don't go up the mountain, just wander around outside."
Gao Guojing: "We will take Duofu and the others with us. It's on the mountain opposite. We'll be back in an hour or two. If anyone comes looking for Sister Rujia, please tell them."
A group of people carrying baskets walked up the mountain in a lively manner, and on the way they met Erdan and others who came to find Duofu and the others to play.
Erdan: "Duofu, where are you going?"
Duolu quickly answered, "Let's go pick some mugwort on the mountain, it's delicious. Brother Erdan, come with us!"
Erdan: "What is Ai Ai?"
Duofu: "It's mugwort. We don't recognize it, but my aunt does."
Yu Rujia called out, "Erdan, you guys go together. When you pick them, I'll treat you to something delicious."
Yu Rujia has become more patient with her children's best playmates.
Erdan and the others didn't know Ai Ye, but they were very impressed with Ru Jia's skills and immediately agreed.
A group of people came up the mountain, and Yu Rujia found a patch of well-grown mugwort and began to teach the group.
Yu Rujia: "This is mugwort. We can pick it and make it into something delicious, or burn it to repel mosquitoes. When we pick it, we only need to take this tender half and discard the older parts."
Picking mugwort leaves is easy; a group of people working together can fill the baskets they brought in just over ten minutes.
All in all, it hadn't even been an hour since she left home. Yu Rujia thought that no one would come in such a short time, but to her surprise, a young girl came out of her house when she got back to her door.
Upon seeing her, the young girl exclaimed with delight, "You're back, Yu Zhiqing? I heard from Cadre Gao that you were on the hill across the way, and I was just about to go look for you."
Erdan: "Sis, what are you doing here?"
The person who came was Huang Lijie, the only high school student in Shangfen Brigade, and also the daughter of Erdan's uncle. She was one of the two beauties in the brigade, the other being Zheng Lanlan, who had already married into the neighboring commune.
Huang Lijie: "My mom is feeling a bit dizzy, so I brought her over to get checked out."
Yu Rujia: "Is Auntie inside?"
Huang Lijie: "Yes, it was the educated youth who were in trouble."
Yu Rujia: "Of course, I'll wash my hands and go over."
When Yu Rujia arrived, Huang Lijie's mother, Zhou Zhenzhen, was sitting inside with a flushed face. She hadn't fainted, and when she saw Yu Rujia come in, she still had the strength to speak.
Zhou Zhenzhen: "I'm fine, just a little dizzy from the sun. I'll be fine after resting for a while. Lijie insisted that I come, which is a trouble for Yu Zhiqing."
Yu Rujia: "It's a good thing that your children are filial. You're so lucky, Auntie. Come, let me take your pulse."
Hearing people praise her daughter, Zhou Zhenzhen, despite feeling a little unwell, still smiled broadly and placed her hand on the table.
Yu Rujia took her pulse and confirmed that she had indeed suffered from heatstroke: "Moderate heatstroke. I'll get some medicine for you later, and you'll be fine after taking it for a day or two."
"In this kind of weather, Auntie, please take care of yourself. Drink plenty of water, and if you feel unwell, don't push yourself. Go to a cool and well-ventilated place to rest."
Zhou Zhenzhen: "During the double harvest season, who can care about so much? It's only because medical staff like Yu Zhiqing and capable people like Gao that we don't have to go to the fields like us peasants and suffer this hardship."
Yu Rujia: "Auntie, you're too kind. If it weren't for your hard work, everyone would be starving. You are the most amazing people."
Yu Rujia got up and took out medicine for heatstroke from her medicine cabinet, and wrapped six paper packets for her: "Auntie, take this back and take one packet after your meal."
Huang Lijie, who was standing to the side, reached out and took the medicine: "Thank you, Zhiqing Yu."
Zhou Zhenzhen: "Your medical skills are excellent, and it's a blessing for our team to have you. You, Yu, what do you think of my daughter, Lijie? She just graduated from high school this year, she's highly educated, could she become your apprentice?"
It's hard to find a job in the city. More than a month after graduating, Huang Lijie still hasn't found one. Her mother doesn't want Huang Lijie to work in the fields like them.
If Huang Lijie continues to stay at home and eat for free, it will not be conducive to harmony in the family in the long run.
Traditional Chinese medicine is a well-known and popular field. If Huang Lijie could learn even a little bit about it, she would have no trouble getting a job.
Upon hearing Zhou Zhenzhen's request, Huang Lijie's eyes lit up with anticipation.
If someone you've never met before comes to ask Yu Rujia to teach you a skill, even if she doesn't make a living as a doctor, she won't go out of her way to take care of Huang Lijie.
Yu Rujia refused without even thinking: "Comrade Huang is a good person, but my children are still young and I don't have much time to train apprentices. I'm sorry, Auntie."
Zhou Zhenzhen felt a little regretful, knowing that the craft was not easy to learn, and didn't want to force it: "It's okay, it was my insistence."
After seeing the mother and daughter off, Yu Rujia arrived at the hand pump well, where Duofu was already leading a group of children to wash mugwort leaves.
Gao Guojing wanted to pick more mugwort leaves to make soap, so he put the things back in and went out again with an empty basket.
Gou Dan was washing mugwort leaves in his hands, and asked Duo Fu, who was squatting next to him, "Duo Fu, what can we make with this herb?"
Duofu: "We've never eaten it before, but my aunt makes the best food. You'll see when you try it."
Da Wa: "Is Aunt Yu's cooking as good as Uncle Gao's?" They have visited the Yu family many times, and most of the food at home is made by Gao Shujing. Everyone knows that his cooking skills are excellent.
Thanks to his useless father's incompetence, Gao Shujing's excellence in everything made him seem omnipotent in Da Wa's mind. He found it hard to imagine anyone more capable than Gao Shujing.
Duoshou proudly raised his little face: "The best cook in our family is Auntie. Uncle learned to cook from Auntie."
Duolu chimed in, "My aunt's cooking is the best, especially the fish. I never get tired of eating it."
The little guy was thinking that he wished his aunt would cook fish again sometime, as they hadn't eaten fish cooked by his aunt in a long time.
Unfortunately, his wish was not so easy to fulfill. As the children grew older and Gao Shujing was by his side, Yu Rujia rarely took out the things produced by his space anymore.
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