Zhao Guihua glanced at the sky; there were still about two hours until dark, so it should still be possible to go up the mountain in time.
"Daughter, your father is badly injured. We must find medicine to reduce fever and inflammation, otherwise your father will be in danger." Once the wound becomes inflamed, he will develop a fever, and if the high fever doesn't subside, he might not survive.
Even if they survive the high fever, if the wound festers and isn't treated in time, their legs and arms might be ruined. Farmers rely on hard work to make a living; if they can't work, how will they survive?
"Mother, don't worry, Xingxing will definitely find the herbs Father needs." She can see things that others can't, and this has been verified over a long period of time.
Although she didn't quite understand, she gradually realized that the images she saw were some kind of premonition, and that each time she encountered difficulties, the images would help her overcome them.
Xingxing is too young to explain that this phenomenon is actually her magic touch, but that doesn't stop her from trusting it.
"Okay, let's set off now, mother and daughter." Zhao Guihua put Xingxing in the basket on her back and carried her away, also taking a hoe with her when she left.
"Mother, wait for me, I'm coming too." Zhou Erfu caught up with her, carrying a wood-chopping knife.
Zhou Sifu also wanted to go, but Zhao Guihua stopped him, saying, "You and your older brother stay home to take care of your father. If anything happens, go to the village chief."
Erfu is strong and can help if there is any danger on the mountain, but someone needs to guard the house. The thorns at the entrance of the village have been crushed, and who knows if more refugees will come into the village.
The child's father needs someone to look after him, and the house is full of dried meat that also needs someone to guard it.
There were no other adults in the house, so the four sons had to stay and look after the family.
Zhao Guihua thought that collecting herbs required going deep into the mountains, and that herbs were very rare. She also thought that buying medicine at pharmacies was expensive, and that poor people generally couldn't afford it. They would endure minor illnesses, and only spend money on medicine when they couldn't bear the pain of serious illnesses.
Unexpectedly, at the very spot where they usually gathered firewood, Xingxing pointed to several common grasses and said, "This grass can heal Dad's injury, and that grass can too."
"Mom, put me down. Xingxing needs to help dig up medicinal herbs."
"Girl, what are the uses of these herbs?" Zhao Guihua took Xingxing out of the basket and asked while digging for herbs.
Xingxing shook her head, looking innocent and naive, and said, "Xingxing doesn't know either, she only knows that these herbs can heal Dad's wounds."
Zhao Guihua was stunned for a moment, but then she didn't ask any more questions. She pulled Erfu along and started digging for medicinal herbs. They dug up two baskets full. The process went smoothly and they didn't encounter any danger.
The three rushed home before dark. Zhou Dafu was cooking in the kitchen, while Zhou Wufu was decocting medicine in an earthenware pot.
"Where did you get the medicine?" Zhao Guihua asked.
"The village chief gave it to me. He even went to other people's houses to buy two more doses of medicine and brought them over, but unfortunately, after asking around the village, he could only find two doses," Zhou Wufu said sadly.
Zhao Guihua: "Did nothing happen in the village while I was away?"
"No, the village has all the uninjured men guarding the village entrance. They patrol the area and prop up the fallen brambles with wooden sticks." Zhou Sanfu went over to take a look for a while and knew what they were doing.
That's good, it's good that nothing's wrong.
Looking at the herbs in the basket, Zhao Guihua was at a loss, unsure how to use them.
Xingxing rubbed her nose, then sat down on the small stool, and then called over everyone in the family except for Zhou Laoda.
"I'll teach you how to use the medicine, remember that!" Xingxing instructed with a serious expression.
"Can't you remember?" Zhou Wufu liked to tease her a few times.
"Stars will forget after a nap, so you have to remember that." Stars was also troubled. She could tell now, but it was hard to say what would happen later. After all, she was young and prone to forgetting things.
"Wufu, don't interrupt, listen to what Xingxing has to say." Zhao Guihua was afraid that if she interrupted, her daughter would really forget.
“It’s okay, Xingxing is still very smart. Listen carefully,” Xingxing began to classify the herbs, and then, “This one and this one, several of these need to be crushed and applied externally, while this one and this one, several of these are for internal use and need to be boiled together with water to drink.”
Everyone: "..." And then?
"Alright, you've all remembered, right? Hurry up and get ready. After you've decocted the medicine, it'll be time to eat soon." Xingxing was hungry; her stomach was growling.
That's it?
Dafu, Erfu, Sanfu, and Sifu all looked at Zhao Guihua.
Zhao Guihua was stunned for a moment, then quickly began to sort out her thoughts. After a long while, she cleared her throat and said, "Look at these two packets of medicine. They were dried before being decocted together. Tomorrow, we'll dry the medicine first, and then we'll decoct it according to the amount of these two packets."
"For external application, there's no need to sunbathe. Just crush them and apply them directly to the wound. Choose about an ounce of each herb and mix them together." She roughly mixed the herbs; she wasn't a doctor, so she just did it like that.
Xingxing is their family's lucky charm; she's always had good luck, so she shouldn't make any mistakes this time either.
"Mom, honeysuckle also has anti-inflammatory properties, so you can boil some together and drink it. Small yellow flowers can be crushed together with those external herbal poultices and applied externally." Xingxing thought for a moment, then her mind went blank; she had finished explaining everything.
"Okay, Mom knows. Xingxing, sit down and have some honey water. Dinner won't be ready for a while." Zhao Guihua handed the prepared honey water to the little girl.
The little girl took it and gulped it down in one go, then smacked her lips in satisfaction.
After assigning tasks to her five sons, Zhao Guihua went to cook meat porridge. This was a separate batch cooked for Zhou the eldest, with plenty of rice and finely chopped meat.
During the preparation of the medicine, Xingxing discovered that Chow Tai Fook and Chow Sau Fook had the best memories, especially Chow Sau Fook, who could accurately classify the herbs, and did not make a mistake in distinguishing between external and internal applications.
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