Chapter 110 Two-in-one (with nutrient solution) The girl knows how to care for others...
Aunt Wang replied, "Why bother you? This is what my father and my son do. Some illnesses can't wait. You had a high fever last night, which was really serious. If your husband hadn't carried you here in time, who knows what would have happened. Don't take it lightly. I've seen people die from fever, and even become idiots from it."
As she spoke, she brought the bowl of soup over. "This medicine is warm, perfect for drinking now. But it tastes a bit bitter, so pinch your nose and drink it quickly. Try to drink it all in one breath and don't stop."
"Oh! Thank you, auntie." Lin Shu was about to hold the bowl with both hands, but Zhou Ye, who was standing next to her, took it before her.
A broad palm easily covered most of the bowl, making the bowl look much smaller.
Zhou Ye held the bowl for a moment, seeming to feel it, before saying, "Wait a moment, it's still a little hot."
Aunt Wang's smile widened as she jokingly said, "That's true. We're old enough to have thick skin and flesh, so this medicine is just right for us. But your wife has delicate skin and flesh, so she probably can't handle the heat. This medicine needs to be cooled down a bit. Be careful not to burn her throat."
Lin Shu lowered her head and looked even more shy.
Zhou Ye suddenly remembered something and said to Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, please pour me another bowl of water."
If it was just a normal bitterness, he could just endure it, but this medicine was so bitter that he found it hard to swallow just by smelling it, let alone Ah Shu.
Since it was about Ah Shu, Zhou Ye didn't hesitate.
Aunt Wang immediately smiled knowingly, "I was negligent. Although we don't have candied fruit at home, we do have sugar. I'll go make a bowl of sugar water right away so that your wife can have a sweet taste after drinking this bitter medicine."
"Thank you, Aunt Wang. I'm sorry to bother you." Lin Shu hurriedly thanked her.
"You're so polite, your man paid for it."
She was just pretending to be shy, but Aunt Wang's words "your man" really made Lin Shu blush.
After Lin Shu drank the medicine and a bowl of sugar water, Zhou Ye told her in detail how he carried her to see Dr. Lao Ling.
He had only been to Daoxiang Village twice before and was unfamiliar with the village. So, upon reaching the village entrance, he knocked directly on the first door. Because he hadn't controlled his banging, the sound was resounding, resembling a bandit's ferocity. It frightened the owner so much that no one came to open the door for a long time.
It was only when Zhou Ye shouted at the top of his voice, saying that he was seeking medical treatment and asked for the old doctor's address, that the man at the village head came to open the door.
But the man was awakened from his deep sleep and was not in a good mood towards him. He had a sullen look when talking to him and his directions were not clear. Later, Zhou Ye arrived in the village and asked two households in succession before he finally found the house of Doctor Wang Laoling.
Doctor Wang Laoling was already over sixty years old and rarely slept. Zhou Ye had learned his lesson before and did not dare to make a big noise like a bandit entering the village. He knocked on the door calmly. In addition, he asked Doctor Wang Laoling to treat the disease in a nice voice. Doctor Wang Laoling was not only not impatient with being disturbed, but also liked him very much and immediately vacated his room.
He first performed acupuncture on several acupoints for Lin Shu, then prescribed a fever-reducing prescription. His grandson prepared and boiled the medicine, while his daughter helped look after Lin Shu. Later, when Lin Shu began to sweat profusely, it was Aunt Wang who wiped her body. The whole family was busy because of Lin Shu.
Lin Shu looked down at the dry clothes she had changed into. The clothes were old and worn, and they looked like Aunt Wang's. She couldn't help but ask with a smile, "I thought you helped me change them. Am I not your wife?"
Zhou Ye didn't know what to say, so he just said dryly, "I asked Aunt Wang to change it."
In fact, he saw it last night when Aunt He was wiping Ah Shu's body.
Aunt He lit the lamp, and the room became much brighter. Ah Shu was wearing a red satin dress, which must have come from the Marquis' Mansion... Ah Shu had a high fever at that time, and he had no time to think about anything else. Now that Ah Shu was much better, the details that he had not noticed last night suddenly came into his mind, sneaking in whenever he had a chance.
Things that were overlooked suddenly become clear.
For example, the white plum blossom embroidered on Ah Shu's dress was so beautiful with its white dots, and two of the flowers fell right on the top of the bulging mountain...
"What are you thinking about? Your ears are so red?" Lin Shu stared at Zhou Ye's ears and suddenly asked.
Zhou Ye's eyes flickered a few times, and he quickly replied, "No, nothing. Ah Shu, uncle and aunt came here an hour ago."
Lin Shu's attention was immediately diverted. She asked in surprise, "Father and Mother are here too? How did they get here? Where are they now?"
Zhou Ye explained, "They were so worried about you that they didn't sleep all night. They went to look for Old Man Liao before daybreak, riding in Old Man Liao's oxcart. When they got here, your fever had already subsided. Grandpa Wang, the doctor Wang Laoling, said you were fine. Uncle and aunt were so tired after they breathed a sigh of relief. Aunt Wang asked them to go inside to catch up on some sleep, but they refused because they didn't want to. Coincidentally, Grandpa Wang heard me talk about Uncle Miao's broken leg and said that the leg injury couldn't be delayed, so he took Old Man Liao's oxcart to Tianshui Village, and Uncle and aunt also rushed back..."
Lin Shu stared at him suspiciously and said slowly, "Is that so... Ah Ye, it's rare to see you talk so much in one breath. Aren't you quite talkative? Why can't you usually say a few words?"
Zhou Ye had no idea how much he had said. He was just feeling nervous and subconsciously didn't want Lin Shu to notice that he was thinking about frivolous things again.
He didn't know why he became like this, he never thought about it before.
"Aye, were you the one who asked Doctor Wang Laoling to treat Uncle Miao's leg? Did you advance the money for Uncle Miao's family?" Lin Shu asked.
Although Grandpa Wang used to be a bell doctor who went from village to village, he had grown old in recent years and rarely left the house. Tianshui Village was far from Daoxiang Village, and without sufficient payment or sufficient favors, the old man might not be willing to make the trip.
Zhou Ye nodded. "Grandpa Wang charged you a low consultation fee of only ten coins. The other medicinal materials were charged separately. Besides the two prescriptions you took, he prescribed four more as backup. He only charged me sixty coins for these. But since we used Grandpa Wang's bed, Brother Wang helped with the decoction, and Aunt Wang has been taking care of you, I rounded up the amount and counted out a hundred coins for him."
Lin Shu nodded after hearing this, "It's as it should be."
Zhou Ye continued, "Aunt gave me a hundred coins to keep as a reserve, which is more than enough. I don't know why the Miao family didn't ask Old Man Liao to order an ox cart last night, but since we're here with Doctor Wang, it's a good opportunity to have him come over and take a look. Ah Shu, don't worry, I'm only paying the thirty-cent consultation fee, and Uncle Miao's family will have to pay for the rest."
Lin Shu glared at him coquettishly, "Should I praise you for bringing so much money? You didn't seem so kind as to give it all away to others, didn't you?"
Zhou Ye hummed. That was exactly what he meant.
People in the village always say that he looks like Uncle Lin, so he caught Uncle Lin's eye and was bought for a bag of grain. But in fact, the only one who is simple-minded and honest is Uncle Lin. He can be considered an honest man, but he is not simple-minded at all.
"It costs a lot of money to set bones. A few hundred coins are considered a small amount. If it's more, it will cost more than two or three hundred coins. Uncle Miao is seriously injured, so the cost of setting bones will be much more. Naturally, I can't just pay for it casually." Zhou Ye said.
Lin Shu asked curiously, "How do you know so much? Have you ever seen someone setting bones?"
Zhou Ye hummed, "A while ago, there was a strong man in our village who broke his leg. His family found a doctor who could set the bones. The doctor would spend half a day just feeling the bones and diagnosing the injury. Then he would manipulate the bones to put them back in place and press the acupoints to correct the pain. During this time, if you want to suffer less, you have to use painkillers, both topical and oral. It's quite expensive."
"Then we bandage the bones with bamboo strips and wooden planks. We also use plasters to reduce swelling during the bandages. For better results, we also use blood-activating pills. After the initial blood stasis and pain relief, we remove the wooden planks and replace the dressings. In the middle stages, we stimulate the formation of scabs, and we use bone-setting pastes and bone-setting pills. All these ointments and pills are expensive."
"After a month or so, you need to strengthen your muscles and bones. If you want to heal faster, you need to fumigate and wash the wound with medicinal soup, supplemented with a soup to strengthen your muscles and nourish your blood... Even though that family didn't use all the medicinal herbs, they still spent a full two hundred yuan in the end."
Lin Shu wasn't surprised. If the leg could be healed, any amount of money would be worth it. Two hundred yuan for a leg wasn't a bad deal, she thought.
Money can be earned again if lost, but if this fracture is delayed, it will become impossible to cure it even if you want to.
"Aye, you're right. Uncle Miao's family didn't go to town early in the morning, probably because it had just rained and the road was full of potholes. The bumpy ride would only make Uncle Miao's leg injury worse. But if we want to call a doctor from town to come to our house for a consultation, the cost would be too high."
There are only two pharmacies in Jingxi Town. The old doctor in Baijitang is old and probably doesn't want to endure the bumpy journey. Although he has apprentices, their bone-setting skills are not up to par.
If they went to see a doctor at another pharmacy, even if he was willing to make the trip, the cost of the visit would be very high. After all, the doctor's absence would delay an entire day, and further treatment would require several more days. The cost of these visits alone would be considerable, not to mention the cost of the other herbs. Even if Uncle Miao's family was considered one of the more affluent farmers in the village, it would be difficult to afford such a sum.
In contrast, the best way was actually Zhou Ye's, who asked the old doctor from Daoxiang Village to treat Uncle Miao.
The fact was just as Lin Shu thought.
After the eldest brother Miao broke his leg, everyone in the Miao family had a gloomy look on their faces, and Aunt Miao cried all night long.
Uncle Miao was lying on the bed groaning. The old man was in so much pain that he was crying, but the family had not yet decided where to go to see a doctor.
Miao Erlang, Miao Sanlang, and the youngest Miao daughter wanted to go to town to hire a doctor, as this would provide more security. However, Miao Dalang and Miao Dalang were more concerned. The younger family members were unaware of the cost and assumed the family had more than enough money. They even accused Miao Dalang of being reluctant to hire a doctor because he was afraid that the cost of hiring a doctor in town would affect his father's wedding next month and delay his marriage. Miao Dalang was furious. Furthermore, the accumulation of various trivial matters led to endless quarrels and arguments among the family.
In the end, it was Aunt Miao who made the final decision and asked Dr. Wang Laoling from Daoxiang Village to come for help.
Although the old bell doctor was old and didn't want to travel, they could give him more money. No one would be reluctant to pay, and with more money, even if it was nearly thirty miles away, the old bell doctor would come for the money!
However, when the family made their plans and went to borrow the ox cart from Old Man Liao, they found that Old Man Liao was not at home. After further inquiry, they found out that Old Man Liao had taken the couple from Old Man Lin's family away early in the morning before daybreak, and no one knew where they had gone.
Although Old Man Liao likes to drive his ox cart to stroll around the town, he won't go out if it rains like yesterday and the ground is muddy.
It was precisely because of this that the Miao family did not inform Old Man Liao in advance. They never thought that Old Man Liao would not be at home!
Unable to borrow the ox cart, Aunt Miao couldn't help but say angrily, "Everyone in the village knows that my eldest son Miao broke his leg yesterday. I must use Old Man Liao's ox cart today. What does Second Brother Lin mean by that?!"
The head of the household was in pain all night. They didn't know what to do and didn't dare move, so they waited for dawn and took a ox cart to find a doctor.
The only families in the village who had oxen were the headman's family and Old Man Liao's family, but Old Man Liao was the only one who had a cart. Now that Old Man Liao's cart had been taken away, where could she find another one?
If it weren't for Lin Laoer's timely discovery last night, and if it weren't for Lin Laoer's son Zhou Ye who braved the heavy rain to carry the head of the family all the way back, Aunt Miao would have been cursing right now.
Miao Dalang said, "Why don't I go ask in the neighboring village? They have ox carts too, but I don't know if they're willing to drive them. I'm afraid it'll cost a bit more."
Miao Sanlang was more clever and said immediately, "If they don't want to, you can just borrow the cart. Then we can go ask the village headman to borrow his old ox, put the cart on the ox, and find someone who can drive the cart to help drive the ox."
Aunt Miao frowned. "That's easy to say, but driving an ox cart is not as easy as you think. If you're not careful and drive it into a ditch, not only will the cart flip over, but people will get hurt. Besides, the village headman may not be willing to lend it to them. They treasure that old ox very much."
Just as the family was scowling over other solutions, the youngest girl, Miao, suddenly looked out the window and said, "Mom, I think I hear Old Man Liao calling on the cows!"
Aunt Miao scolded angrily, "What nonsense! Your eldest brother went to Old Man Liao's house and asked the neighbors. They all said that Old Man Liao's ox cart took Old Man Lin and his wife away before dawn."
"I really heard it!" Miao girl ran out of the house.
Her house was not on the roadside. The courtyard was on a flat ground with a large slope, and there was a low slope in the middle. After crossing the low slope was the road leading to the beginning and end of the village.
The higher you stand, the farther you can see. So when Miao Yatou stood in her own yard and looked towards the road, she could see Old Man Liao's ox cart clearly.
In addition to Uncle Lin and Aunt He, there was also a white-haired old man on the ox cart. He looked unfamiliar and did not look like a villager from Tianshui Village.
Miao girl immediately shouted into the house: "Aniang, big brother, second brother, third brother, it's really Old Man Liao's ox cart! Uncle Lin and Aunt He are back, and there's an old man on the ox cart. The old man is carrying a wooden box on his back. It looks like a medicine box to me——"
When the people in the room heard this, they rushed out in a hurry.
Upon taking a look, hey, it really is Old Man Liao.
Not only that, Aunt Miao recognized Doctor Wang Laoling at a glance!
Doctor Wang has only been out less frequently in recent years, but when he was younger he often came to Tianshui Village to ring the bell, so Aunt Miao knew him.
On the other side, Lin Dashan and He Guixiang, one helped carry the medicine box, and the other supported Grandpa Wang. The group had already come to the Miao family.
Aunt Miao led the way, and a group of people hurried to meet them.
The whole family was deeply moved. The Lins were riding in Old Man Liao's car to go to Daoxiang Village to see Dr. Wang Laoling?!
While they were still arguing about which doctor to invite, the couple had already traveled a long way to Daoxiang Village and invited Dr. Wang Laoling!
Not only did I owe a huge favor yesterday, but I owe an even bigger favor today!
Aunt Miao wiped away her tears, moved to tears, "Second Lin, you are... I really don't know how to thank you!"
Seeing her reaction, Lin Dashan knew that she had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained: "Sister-in-law, I don't deserve your thanks. It was our Ah Shu who had a fever at night, and Ah Ye carried her to the home of Doctor Wang Lao Ling overnight. The baby's mother and I were worried, so we asked Brother Liao to take us to Daoxiang Village early in the morning. It just so happened that Brother Miao also broke his leg, so Ah Ye asked Doctor Wang Lao Ling and learned that he could set bones. Ah Ye asked us to bring Doctor Wang Lao Ling with us when we returned. We don't know what you think, sister-in-law. The cost of setting bones is not low. If you don't plan to treat it, Doctor Wang Lao Ling can also give you a simple bandage, which doesn't cost much. If you plan to treat your leg, hehe, isn't this perfect!"
After hearing this, He Guixiang took a breath and really wanted to cover his mouth.
What the hell are you talking about!
She knew her man and knew that he was just an honest person with no ill intentions, but what she said was really unpleasant to hear, as if Mrs. Miao was unwilling to spend money to treat Mr. Miao's leg.
Sure enough, Mrs. Miao's face, which was full of gratitude, froze.
Fortunately, Miao's wife also knew what kind of person Lin Dashan was. She didn't take it to heart and still said gratefully: "Miao Da is the pillar of the family. If his leg can be cured, we must treat it, no matter how much it costs! Lin Laoer, even if you brought Dr. Wang Laoling here on the way, I thank you too. Dr. Wang Laoling came just in time! You don't know, Miao Da was in pain all night last night and even fainted several times..." As Miao's wife spoke, she shed a few more tears. Her Miao Da was strong-willed, and she had never seen him like this before.
He Guixiang said, "Sister-in-law, let's talk about this later. It's not easy for Dr. Wang Laoling to come here. You should quickly ask someone to check on Brother Miao and treat him as soon as possible."
Aunt Miao nodded, thanked him again, and quickly invited Doctor Wang Laoling into the house.
Lin Dashan was about to leave after seeing the people off. He and He Guixiang had not slept all night. Although they could take a nap on the ox cart, they would be woken up by the bumpy road after a while. Both of them were very sleepy at this time.
"I don't know if Shu is awake now." He Guixiang sighed.
"It's already bright outside, she must be awake." Lin Dashan said, and he couldn't help but chuckled as he thought of something. "She has Ah Ye with her, so we can rest assured."
When he thought about Aye walking nearly thirty miles in the middle of the night for her daughter, he felt that this boy was really reliable. With Aye around, would he still worry about having no one to take care of him in his old age?
Lin Shu was indeed feeling much better now. After taking the medicine, she wanted to say goodbye to Zhou Ye and leave, but Aunt Wang was so welcoming that she insisted on keeping them for breakfast before leaving.
"Your husband carried you for nearly thirty miles. If you're not hungry, he must be. Listen to me and stay for breakfast before you go. Your husband is honest and gave me a lot of extra copper coins, so I'll consider it breakfast. Besides, my breakfast is simple, just rice porridge and pickles, not worth much."
Lin Shu naturally stopped refusing after hearing what had been said. She simply asked Zhou Ye to count out another twenty copper coins for Aunt Wang. Without waiting for Aunt Wang to refuse, she explained, "Aye has a big appetite. Aunt Wang, please scoop out a bowl of gray flour. I want to make a few more pancakes for Aye."
Gray flour is wheat flour. Because the flour processed by the common people is gray in color, the locals call it gray flour.
"It would be even better if there were eggs." Lin Shu pursed her lips and smiled shyly at Aunt Wang.
There were definitely eggs; she had even seen the hen. Otherwise, she wouldn't have paid twenty copper coins for just a bowl of gray noodles.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang readily accepted the money and said with a smile, "I have everything. I'll go get it right away. You know how to care for others, girl. No wonder your husband loves you so much!"
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