62 Fainted for a whole day and night
◎If you don’t tell me, I’ll go to Xixiang and see for myself right now!◎
In the scattered houses nestled deep in the mountains, smoke rises slowly from cooking fires and the crowing of roosters resounds throughout Lingnan County.
Ye Yunzhao pushed open the door in a daze, looking at the little hens pecking at each other in the yard. The air was filled with the chill of late autumn and the faint fragrance of crops.
When she traveled through time, she went from being a grassroots cadre about to be promoted to the poor county magistrate she is today. If it were someone else, it would probably be difficult for her to accept it, but she has always been optimistic and thinks she has done a good job.
As for the impoverished Lingnan County and the people who appeared before her, they initially seemed like NPCs in a farming game. She had once been willing to burn out her last bit of energy in this unfamiliar world, but now that the life that had seemed vibrant just a few days ago had been completely extinguished, Ye Yunzhao couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and fear.
Now……
Now she wants to go home...
Her legs went weak and she staggered to hold on to the door.
The sun climbed up to the top of the mountain little by little, and the sky seemed to be torn apart. The golden sunlight spread over Lingnan County. The yard was half bright and half dark. The little hen was nestling in the warm sun. She clucked twice, and a hot egg fell to the ground.
Looking at this scene, Ye Yunzhao actually smiled easily. He half-closed his eyes and looked up. He didn't know who he was talking to, but he muttered in a daze, "The dawn light clears up everything, the bright light melts the night sky?"
A voice rang out from the courtyard gate: "Ah! County Magistrate Ye, what's wrong with you?"
Aunt Wang put the bamboo basket she was carrying on the ground, hurried to the door, and supported Ye Yunzhao.
No wonder she was so surprised. Ye Yunzhao's leaning against the door was truly terrifying, as if he would fall if he wasn't careful. Besides, County Magistrate Ye had never been like this before; she was always full of energy and spirit.
Aunt Wang quickly raised her hand and touched her forehead. "Oh! County Magistrate Ye, you've caught a cold! Let me help you back to the house first."
She hurriedly helped him to the bed. Seeing that Ye Yunzhao's lips were dry and cracked, she boiled some water and fed him little by little with a wooden spoon.
Aunt Wang had originally wanted to let County Magistrate Ye take a look at the mushroom shed, but now she naturally no longer had the interest to do so.
Fortunately, she came early today and Doctor Li had not yet left the county government office to go to the clinic, so she didn't have to run back and forth and delay Ye Yunzhao's treatment.
Aunt Wang hurried to Doctor Li's door, knocking and shouting, "Doctor Li, go see County Magistrate Ye!"
Li Xianjiang changed his clothes quickly, carrying his medicine box, and went to Ye Yunzhao with Aunt Wang.
The two entered the room. Ye Yunzhao, lying on the bed, had red cheeks and pale lips, and looked like he had fainted.
Aunt Wang trembled and said, "Doctor Li, you don't know... County Magistrate Ye's forehead is very hot... I'm afraid... I'm afraid it's a cold..."
Aunt Wang was on the verge of tears as she spoke. Unbeknownst to others, she once had a daughter. When she was three months old, she too had a similar condition... a burning fever all over her body. Several prescriptions of decoctions had no effect, and she later died in her arms...
There were no taboos regarding sex in the remote county, but Li Xianjiang had been studying since childhood, and Ye Yunzhao was an unmarried girl, so he took out a silk handkerchief and placed it on her wrist, then took her pulse.
"It's not a cold." Li Xianjiang put away the silk handkerchief, winked at Lu Yi, and then he spread out the silver needle bag.
Li Xianjiang twisted the needle and said, "This is a febrile disease. Wear green clothes and boil some medicine."
Febrile diseases and colds were common illnesses, so if he hadn't added or subtracted any herbs, he would have used the usual prescription. Some of these herbs were stored in the clinic, and more were stored in Li Xianjiang's room.
Green Yi responded, skillfully walked out the door and ran towards his bedroom.
Aunt Wang stood there in a daze, worriedly asking, "Febrile disease? Is it serious? County Magistrate Ye was talking nonsense just now."
Li Xianjiang inserted several silver needles into her head. He remained calm and relieved, saying, "It wasn't too troublesome. Fortunately, you found it in time."
When Aunt Wang heard him say that sick people can eat more millet porridge, she found Liu Mazi and went to the warehouse to get a bag of new millet. She cooked it carefully and kept a small fire burning in the stove, waiting for Ye Yunzhao to wake up.
Lu Yi, holding the medicine pot and the clay stove, and holding a small fan, stood guard for a full hour while Li Xianjiang gave her acupuncture and fed her medicine. In short, they were busy all day.
Ye Yunzhao, who was sleeping, felt a splitting headache, but in the darkness he suddenly saw the yellow-walled earthen houses of Lingnan County, dotted under the green mountains, and the scenery was pleasant.
But she didn't have time to appreciate it. The sound of "patter" and "patter" raindrops hit her body. The sky quickly became gloomy. The river water mixed with thunder. In just a moment, the river burst its banks and the surging river water rushed straight towards her...
Ye Yunzhao was startled and opened his eyes suddenly. What he saw was not the broken river bank, but several thick beams of the house.
"County Magistrate Ye, you're finally awake!"
"Wake up, wake up..."
Hearing the sound, she shifted her gaze. Beside the bed were Aunt Wang, Madam Cuihua, and Zhuang Xue, all looking worried. There were also Li Xianjiang, Lu Yi, County Magistrate Han, and Liu Mazi. Even the bustling Sun Ning had come. Erya, Erdan, and Chunhua, the little kids, were also lying at the foot of the bed, staring at her eagerly...
Ye Yunzhao sincerely pulled the corners of her mouth, and the smile on her face replaced the previous melancholy. She moved her fingers with some difficulty.
Everyone gathered together and looked at her again and again.
"How do you feel?" Madam Cuihua asked, holding her hand.
Seeing that she was worried, Ye Yunzhao wanted to speak to comfort her, but he opened his mouth, but his throat was dry and sore and he couldn't speak.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Aunt Wang suddenly stood up. "I'll go get some millet porridge!"
The others made way for Li Xianjiang. He put on his silk handkerchief, a look of relief on his face. "Nothing serious has happened. I just need to rest for a while."
Han Xiancheng said: "I'm afraid this sudden illness is due to fatigue in recent days!"
Li Xianjiang slowly stood up. "First, I'm physically weak from overwork, and second, I was frightened, which exacerbated my symptoms."
Frightened?
When the others were about to ask more questions, Aunt Wang came over with a large earthenware bowl. She lay down beside the bed and fed her with a wooden spoon while saying miserably, "County Magistrate Ye, do you know that you were unconscious for a whole day and night? I was really scared..."
The warm millet porridge slid into his mouth bit by bit. The aroma of corn mixed with the sticky rice oil gradually moistened his dry and sore throat. He saw that Ye Yunzhao was in better condition.
She said in a hoarse voice: "A whole day and a whole night have passed..."
Erya stood at the end of the bed, blinking and crying. She pouted and said miserably, "Master, please don't be sick... Wuwuwu Master..."
Ye Yunzhao forced a smile and waved at her. Erya hurried to the bedside and tightly grasped her fingers: "Master..."
Ye Yunzhao said with some effort: "In the county school... did you study hard to learn to read?"
Erya nodded vigorously with tears in her eyes.
Ye Yunzhao raised his hand and touched her little head: "Don't be afraid... Master, it's okay. I will test you in a few days..."
"Don't worry, Master Ye, I will learn to read seriously." Erya nodded vigorously with a crying voice.
Aunt Wang couldn't help but patted Erya's back and said, "County Magistrate Ye is fine, County Magistrate Ye is fine."
Li Xianjiang dismissed them on the pretext that she needed to rest. Ye Yunzhao tugged at Aunt Wang's clothes and said, "Aunt Wang, please stay."
"County Magistrate Ye, do you have anything to tell me? What would you like for lunch? I'll make it and send it to you. How about chicken soup? I'll ask Doctor Li later." Aunt Wang lay beside the bed and asked with concern.
Ye Yunzhao shook his head: "Millet porridge is good... I want to ask, has the mushroom shed been built yet?"
Growing mushrooms was something she was very interested in, and she naturally planned carefully about building the mushroom shed.
Aunt Wang was stunned, her face changed slightly, and she frowned, "You're not feeling well right now. Why are you still thinking about the mushroom shed instead of resting properly? Don't worry about these things anymore. You'll have plenty of time to grow mushrooms in the future! The most important thing right now is your health!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Yunzhao suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Auntie Wang, I know my condition well. I'm just tired. The mushroom shed matter can't be delayed. Just let me hear what you have to say."
Seeing Aunt Wang frowning and about to speak, Ye Yunzhao said again: "If you don't tell me, I will go to Xixiang myself to take a look!"
As he said this, he pretended to get up and get out of bed.
Aunt Wang naturally couldn't resist. She hurriedly stopped him and said helplessly, "No! No! That's what I said! Lie down quickly."
She sighed, unable to resist, and said, "The wall is already built. It's higher in the south and lower in the north, just as you said. The double wall on the north side is also built, with a hand's length of space between the two layers."
The mushroom shed was originally planned to have a single-layer wall, with the south side higher and the north side lower, ensuring sufficient sunlight. However, it was only late autumn, but the temperature was already quite low. Ye Yunzhao was afraid that it would get even colder if he waited another month. After all, the lowest temperature for sowing morels was only 10°C, and the temperature would be even higher during the fruiting period.
So she came up with an idea: a double wall, with the north wall in the shade, so that she could burn some firewood to increase the temperature.
She thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any fire holes left on the outermost wall of the north wall?"
The fire opening is actually a "door" the size of a stove hole. When the temperature is too low, you can light some straw inside.
Aunt Wang nodded, her head twitching like a chicken pecking at rice. "It's kept, but the double-walled roof is still hollow. Is it also covered with rice mats?"
Ye Yunzhao had previously asked Sun Ning about the weaving method of rice mats. Unlike the usual fine weaving method, she wanted a weaving method that was both light-transmitting and wind-blocking.
Fortunately, Sun Ning was no problem doing these things. Knowing that Ye Yunzhao couldn't learn, she personally wove a small rice mat and sent it to Aunt Wang's home. Aunt Wang was skillful and learned quickly. Together with another woman who wanted to build a mushroom shed, she wove five or six rice mats, which were now used as the roof of the shed.
Ye Yunzhao said: "The roofs of the two side walls should be built with adobe bricks, leaving a smoke vent in the east corner. As for the wooden frame, make it three layers, each three feet wide and six feet long, with about one and a half feet between each layer.
Never use a whole piece of wood for the bottom of each layer. It is best to use bamboo strips, and wooden strips are second best. If you don't understand, you can go to Carpenter Sun. Remember?"
Aunt Wang nodded seriously, taking her words to heart: "I remember everything, County Magistrate Ye."
Only then did Ye Yunzhao nod with a sense of relief and warned, "I'm afraid I won't be able to go in the next two days. If you have any questions, please come and discuss it with me."
She said she was discussing something, but in fact she was there to get her questions answered. Aunt Wang was just a peasant woman, and she had never heard of growing mushrooms in a shed before, so how could she know the secrets involved?
However, since Ye Yunzhao said so, Aunt Wang agreed.
*
Sun Ning has been quite busy these days. Besides doing carpentry work and teaching at the county school, she has also secretly gone to the mountains...
What needs to be done is simple - dig a hole.
Although there was no one in the mountains, she still looked around cautiously. After making sure everything was right, she jumped into a pit half a person's height and waved the iron hoe in her hand with great effort. This was because this place was deep in the mountains and very remote, and the soil was a bit sticky and hard.
Sun Ning has been plane wood at home. Although she is not very strong, she is very patient. Now she is trying her best to dig the pit deeper.
The indigo-colored coarse cloth clothes were stained with many small pieces of soil. The moisture from the soil seeped up through the straw sandals, and the man felt tired and cold.
The iron axe was covered with thick clods of earth, making it even heavier to use. Sun Ning held the handle of the axe and stood at the bottom of the pit, breathing heavily. After her breathing stabilized, she began to swing it again:
Tieyu rammed the ground hard, then pried it out with great effort, and a large piece of soil protruded out. Then he used all his strength to throw the soil in the pit out of the pit.
At first, Sun Ning was able to throw it out, but later she didn't have enough strength, and a lot of the soil she threw out fell into the pit and even fell on her head.
If Ye Yunzhao saw Sun Ning's appearance at this moment, he would definitely be frightened by her. The once introverted and handsome carpenter Sun has now turned into a mud monkey.
The pit became deeper. Sun Ning looked at her "masterpiece" and smiled sincerely. She said to herself: It's almost there, it's almost there!
Just as she was about to climb out of the pit, a frightening voice rang out from above her head:
"what are you doing here?"
Sun Ning turned around suddenly and saw a young man in ordinary coarse linen clothes standing outside the pit. The muscles under the clothes were ready to go, the angle of his jaw was tense, his slanted eyebrows were sharp, and his dark eyes were staring at her as if looking at prey.
Most importantly, beside the man was a monster she had never seen before. It was about six feet long, completely black, with a tuft of white hair on the tip of its forehead. Its fur was smooth, and it was obvious that it had been carefully raised. The monster's eyes were as black as ink, and it opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth that gleamed terrifyingly in the sunlight.
The monster suddenly raised its head and howled to the sky: "Awoo - Awoo -"
The howling of wolves echoed throughout the valley.
It's a wolf! There's actually such a big wolf!
Sun Ning was so frightened that she suddenly fell down at the bottom of the pit. The sunlight shone on her through the treetops, but her whole body was cold. She still held Tie Yao tightly, suppressing her fear and not daring to speak.
Perhaps sensing her fear, the man actually bent down and patted the black wolf. Silence returned to the valley. The man said impatiently, "What are you doing here?"
Sun Ning stammered, "Dig...dig a hole..."
"What are you digging for?"
Her voice trembled: "Kill... kill people..."
【Author’s words】
"The morning light clears up everything, and the bright brightness melts the night sky." From Han Yu's "Couplets of Staying Together".
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