Chapter 180 Treatment Methods]
Chen Fenghe didn't care about the village head's suspicion and asked, "Uncle Village Head, let me ask you, how has the food been in the village these past few months?"
The village head frowned at her, wondering why this young lady, instead of taking his pulse and prescribing medicine, asked what they were eating. However, he still answered patiently:
"People in the countryside usually eat simple meals. The harvest wasn't very good this autumn, so everyone is living frugally. Sometimes we only eat one meal a day. Could it be because of our diet? But we've always gotten by like this in previous years..."
"Is salt a normal part of our daily diet?"
The village head paused for a moment after hearing Chen Fenghe's question, then continued, "Salt has been expensive since the beginning of spring for the past few years. We've indeed been eating less salt than in previous years. Furthermore, without salt, no one would have the energy to work. The salt we have in this household is used by the strong laborers who do farm work. After the autumn harvest and the beginning of winter, the price of salt has risen several times, and it's even unaffordable at high prices. Therefore, even the salt for the strong laborers has stopped being sold... Could it be because of the salt?"
Chen Fenghe nodded and said, "I think it's the salt. This disease is commonly known as goiter. I've read in ancient books that it's caused by eating too little salt in the diet. Apart from anything else, the disease in this village must have started with women and children, right?"
The village head was shocked and said quickly, "That's right! Children and women started to show symptoms of this disease in autumn. After winter, the strong laborers in the village gradually became ill..."
At this point, the village head had already half believed Shen Fenghe's words. He hurriedly asked, "Young lady, since you know the cause of the disease and say that it doesn't require medicine, how can it be cured?"
Chen Fenghe said, "It's very simple. When cooking, add the original amount of salt. In a year or two, the symptoms will gradually heal themselves."
After hearing this, the head of the village couldn't help but look embarrassed again.
He sighed and said, "No wonder this young lady just said that curing it is not difficult at all. If it requires some precious herbs, we villagers can pool our money together and come up with a solution. But this salt... it's really hard to buy and eat this year... It really is extremely difficult to cure it!"
Chen Fenghe also knew that this might be the reason, so she said, "Besides salt, there are other ways."
When the village head heard this, he hurriedly asked, "Young lady, what is the method? Tell me quickly, is there any easier way than getting salt?"
Chen Fenghe asked, "I wonder if there is a custom of eating seafood in the village?"
The village head was stunned for a moment and asked, "Seafood? Fish, shrimp, shellfish, and the like caught from the sea? We eat them, but they're all caught from the river. We have them in the fish pond behind the village. Who has the spare money to spend exorbitant prices on dried fish and scallops from the seafood store? Those are rare treats that only the rich can afford."
Chen Fenghe listened and smiled, "Uncle Head, if you don't need dried fish and scallops, the seafood store must have dried kelp or seaweed, right? Buy some and make soup with it. It'll be useful too."
The village head looked bewildered after hearing this. "The dried vegetables sold in the seafood store? Every household makes their own dried vegetables every year. Why can't we just eat our own dried vegetables? Do we have to buy other people's dried vegetables?"
Chen Fenghe nodded and said seriously, "Yes. You must eat the dried kelp and dried seaweed from the seafood store."
After hearing this, the village head said, "In that case, I'll take two young men with me to Qingzhou City early tomorrow morning to buy some dried kelp, dried seaweed, and the like. If we can't find any, I heard that we can reach the seaside by walking east, so let's walk east and see if we can find any..."
The village head said this and then took his leave and went to discuss things with other villagers.
Chen Fenghe's brows didn't relax. Dried kelp is naturally salty, and with Hejian Prefecture's salt shortage so severe, the seafood shops in Qingzhou City would have been sold out long ago. Even if there were still some, the current price was probably too high for the people in this village to afford...
However, she really didn't understand. She had heard people talk about a newly discovered salt mine in Hejian Prefecture before. Why was there still such a shortage of salt?
While she was thinking, she was busy preparing dinner with Qin Mengyue.
After a while, a little boy with some goiter symptoms appeared at the door of the ancestral hall and looked in timidly.
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