Chapter 45 Chapter 45 If It Doesn't Work
"Oh, you don't know, I just sat down in Mr. Shen's room, and his neighbor's wife Zeng was also there, chatting and laughing and eating a bowl of soup, and within a quarter of an hour, Zeng's wife was already in great shape!"
"She was having a terrible vomiting and diarrhea, and she kept holding her stomach and complaining about the pain. Her face was pale, and it really scared Mr. Shen and me!"
When Chen came home, he ignored Fan's father's complaints and even talked about this matter with his family.
Seeing that Chen's mouth was drooling from talking, Zhen'er brought her a bowl of rice soup.
Chen was very thirsty and ate it all in one breath.
After hearing about the danger, Fan Shoulin stopped complaining and asked, "What happened? Did you drink the water?"
Chen said, "Sister-in-law Zeng said the same thing, but Mr. Shen and I both drank the water from the same pot, and we're fine. Maybe she just wasn't feeling well after recovering, so she had the attack happen at that moment. This scared Mr. Shen so much that we even went to her house and asked someone to carry her back to bed. She was screaming in pain."
"There's no herbalist in our village, so if we want to hire one, we have to go to the city. We don't have a car at home, and we don't know how long it would take to walk there. We were so anxious that we ran around the house, so we said we would ask Zhao Laosi to come, but he wasn't at home. He had lunch and went into the city and still hasn't returned."
"But it must have been heartbreaking for Zeng's wife! Her husband was so anxious that he couldn't get a car, so he said he'd carry her to the city on his back. Luckily for him, Xu Yang ran into him on his way back. Seeing how sweaty he was, he asked him what was wrong."
"Xu Yang knew about this. Without saying anything, he went home, drove the car out, packed it up, and sent it to the city."
Kang He also listened quietly, then asked Chen Sanfang: "Is that person serious? Have you got any news?"
"I'm fine now. It was just a stomach problem. The doctor gave me acupuncture and prescribed some medicine. I'm feeling better now after taking a dose."
Chen said, "Mr. Shen is very worried. I stayed with him over there and waited for them to come back and ask questions before coming home. That's why I've been delayed until now."
Recalling today's scene, Chen's heart was filled with fear: "Tomorrow I will send a few pairs of chickens to Zeng's wife. Today was really scary."
Fan Shoulin also sighed: "Ever since Doctor Gong passed away in our village, we haven't had any herbal medicine for many years. If there's an accident or an emergency, there won't even be anyone to see us in time."
"That year, Xia Chuntian from the Xia family dug his calf with a hoe. The blood flowed horribly and he couldn't find a doctor for a long time. Although he survived, he walked with a limp. It was a pity for such a strong young man."
"It's not just the Xia family. Mrs. Wang, who sells pickled vegetables, fell ill in her bed. We called a doctor from the city, but he died before he even arrived."
Chen and Fan Shoulin recounted the number of people in the village who had fallen ill or suffered accidents over the years and had not been able to receive timely medical treatment, feeling sad.
Farmers' lives are really hard. When they are sick or in pain, they are reluctant to spend money on medical treatment. Sometimes they are helpless and don't care about the money, but they still cannot get timely treatment.
The whole family had dinner in a solemn manner.
At night, there were a few shining stars in the sky, and Kang He helped carry pig food to feed the piglets.
Fan Jing chopped a few handfuls of firewood and threw them under the stove. After working for a while, he digested most of the food in his stomach, took a shower, and went back to the house to rest.
"Do you want to be a doctor in the village?"
The two of them were lying on the bed. Fan Jing saw that Kang He didn't talk much at night, and guessed that he was worried about something.
Hearing this, Kang He turned his head to look at the person beside him and laughed: "Our Ah Jing is also good at guessing people's minds."
Fan Jing knew he was joking with him and did not argue with him.
Yin Kanghe was right. In the past, he only thought about where to set traps to catch living creatures.
I was thinking that if it rained, I would take a nap a little longer and wait until it got light before going out to the mountain. If it was sunny, I would set off before dawn.
He can't hold too many things in his mind.
After distinguishing the priorities, everyone started thinking about making a living and had no time to guess what others were thinking.
But since Kang He came home, he always found ways to make some money that he couldn't earn before. He had more money on hand and was able to buy livestock and land that he had not dared to buy before.
Not only did they both make money, but he also wanted to make money for his family.
His father and Chen haven't asked him for money for a long time.
A few days ago, there was not enough rice at home, so Chen paid out of her own pocket and bought half a stone of millet from a family in the village who had more surplus grain.
He probably bought it when he and Kang He were in the mountains. He didn't know until he saw a pile of new millet when he went to the barn to get a basket and asked Zhen'er.
In the past, if the family wanted to buy not only so much grain, but even a bag of salt, Chen would have to mention it so that the whole family would know that they had bought a bag of salt.
Whether openly or secretly, they always wanted him to give them a few cents to support the family.
In fact, he didn't blame him. Life was tight at home. Apart from the little harvest from the fields, they had no other income, so they could only rely on him for some supplementary income.
No one is wrong, the only problem is that life is poor.
Now that life has improved, people have changed as well.
He admitted that when he was free, he would pay extra attention to Kang He's every move.
Seeing that he was silent, Kang He became more serious and said, "I don't think so."
"Hearing what Dad and Mom said today, I felt a little uncomfortable. Although it's hard to find a doctor for other people who are sick or injured today, there are no doctors in the village. If someone in our family gets sick or hurt in the future, we will inevitably encounter these problems as well."
Kang He said slowly, "However, my limited medical skills are not enough to make me a doctor. I can only treat my family members, or maybe diagnose a disease in a life-threatening emergency. But if I really want to do this as a business and take money from people, I will feel uneasy."
"If I study for a few more years, with a master teaching me, I might even become a herbalist. But at this age, it's too late to learn these things."
After hearing this, Fan Jing said, "If you're interested, just settle down and find a doctor to be your apprentice. I'll take care of the family."
Kang He was touched by what he heard. He knew that Fan Jing meant that he was afraid that in order to support his family, he would not be able to work as an apprentice with little money, and would give up what he wanted to do in vain.
"If it weren't for those things, I really don't have much ambition to practice medicine. If I wanted to, I wouldn't have not tried it yet."
When Fan Jing heard him say this, he understood what was going on and said nothing more.
Kang He leaned forward and kissed Fan Jing's ear: "After all, he is my brother. He cares so much about me."
He was very happy in his heart that Fan Jing was thinking of him.
Fan Jing felt a little itchy because of him, but he didn't really want to do that, so they took a shower. The weather was hot now, not as cold as in early spring. Now he would sweat if he moved a little.
When the time comes, he will have to act like a thief again. He never thought it was so good to live in the mountains before, and it was only at times like this that he would have some thoughts.
Seeing that Fan Jing did not respond to his teasing, Kang He put his hand into his clothes.
"I didn't eat much last night."
Fan Jing glanced at him and said, "Who told you not to eat enough?"
Kang He smiled maliciously: "Isn't this because I thought there was something ready?"
Fan Jing realized that he was talking about himself, and thought that this man said a lot of inappropriate things.
He was silent for a moment and said, "I'm sweating. We'll talk about it when we go up the mountain."
"When will we go up the mountain? Do you want me to die alone?"
Kang He said, "A man's blooming period is short. If I don't take advantage of my strong body now, you won't be able to help me when I can't do it later."
Fan Jing glanced at Kang He. He had never seen a man muttering like that that he was going to die.
Kang He found Fan Jing's cold face somewhat amusing and wanted to seduce him. He asked Fan Jing, "If I really couldn't do it one day, would you cheat on me?"
“........”
Fan Jing kicked Kang He and said, "I didn't steal it. I brought it to you to serve."
Kang He felt the pain, and before he could even rub his leg twice, he heard Fan Jing's words and choked with anger: "I never knew you were so cruel!"
Fan Jing didn't want to pay any more attention to him.
Kang He pestered her again. He pulled out a bottle of ointment from under his pillow and said, "I was just joking, but you took it seriously. I wanted to try this on you."
"You were complaining about dryness and cramps before. I got some toothache medicine from the pharmacy today. They also picked up some medicated ointment, which they say is cooling and moisturizing. Let's see if it works. If it does, it'll save you and me from suffering."
Upon hearing this, Fan Jing grabbed Kang He's hand. He looked at him and said, "Did the boy at the pharmacy give this to you?"
"Um."
Kang He asked, "What's wrong?"
Fan Jing thought that the young man was young and didn't seem to be married, so he wondered why the two of them talked for so long together and even did these things.
He was not shy, but he didn't think of telling anyone about this slight disagreement. He couldn't help but say, "How dare you open your mouth to others."
Kang He laughed and said, "What's the big deal? Doctors have never seen this before. They are always dealing with difficult and complicated diseases. It makes me feel relieved to be able to help others solve their worries."
You're sorry, I'm an old hand at this, I'll just talk to him about marriage and I won't bother asking you for medicine."
Fan Jing didn't say anything, he didn't know any of this.
"So are you going to use it or not? If you don't want to, then just go to sleep."
As Kang He spoke, he lay down, looking as if he had really lost interest.
Fan Jing took the ointment and asked, "How do I use it?"
Seeing this, Kang He quickly got up and said, "I'll do it with you."
........
The next day, Fan Jing woke up a little late, and it was already bright outside.
He got up from the bed, but Kang Heren was no longer in bed and he didn't know where he had gone.
He felt pain in his lower back.
That thing works well, but it makes Kang He lose his self-control.
He thought that he would have to teach Kang He and himself how to press the button later, otherwise they would not be able to chop the firewood.
After breakfast, Chen was going to the city to sell her freshly made radish vermicelli. She was in good spirits today, so the two maids went with her.
Father Fan went to the fields anyway.
Kang He and Fan Jing did not go out, but cleaned the rabbit shed at home. The rabbits grew bigger and bigger, and when they were more than three months old, they were big enough to be made into meat rabbits and tied up for sale.
"It's rare for you two to be home, and I was lucky enough to run into Uncle Fan in the fields and ask him about it."
There were voices coming from the yard, and Kang He saw that it was Xu Yang coming.
He was holding a three or four jin (3.4 catties) black carp and tied it in its mouth with a straw rope.
Kang He asked him to come in and sit down, and poured him some tea.
Xu Yang came to pay for the honey he had owed him earlier. He brought over three hundred copper coins and said with a smile, "You guys are really good-natured. You've owed me money for so long and you haven't even come to ask for it. I'll lend you money later."
Kang He laughed and said, "Xiao, you can run away from the monk but you can't run away from the temple. When we need money, we can go to your room to find someone."
After they exchanged a few words, Kang He asked about what happened to Zeng's sister-in-law yesterday, and both of them sighed.
It took about a cup of tea. The weather was good and Xu Yang was busy. He said he wanted to hire a farmhand to come to his house to help him with the land.
The Xu family had a house in the city, and no one lived in the countryside anymore. They only had a large house left, which they asked two old servants to help take care of.
Now that Xu Yang is back, he wants to rebuild his family. He can't do everything by himself, and he dare not neglect the work in the fields, so he has to find someone to farm.
Kang He bought him a big black carp and asked him to come over for dinner after he finished his work in the evening.
Xu Yang had no intention of freeloading on other people's food. He had caught the black carp while tending to the abandoned fish pond at home, and he had also given a bigger one to Yuan Ge'er.
But when he heard that Kang He wanted to cook himself, he agreed.
The family hadn't cooked a good meal for a while, so Kang He called Xu Yang to dinner and decided to make it more sumptuous.
There was a stew of black carp with pickled cabbage and konjac, and a cold dish of konjac vermicelli. Not to mention a few side dishes from the fields, a duck that didn't lay eggs was slaughtered, and the duck blood, duck offal, and duck meat were enough to make several dishes.
When Chen came back with her two maids in the afternoon, she was already happy because all the radish vermicelli had been sold out. She was even happier when she heard that Xu Yang was going to be called for dinner.
She went into the house and took out the preserved eggs that Fan Fulang had made for her earlier to make soup, and helped Kang He prepare the meal.
After washing the preserved eggs clean of the grass, mud and ash covering them, and prying open the eggshells, you can see the springy and moist inside, with white fluff like snowflakes, which is really beautiful.
When cut open, the golden and mellow meat is revealed, and the preserved egg is soft, glutinous and oily.
Kang He also thought it was very good. He had previously felt that Mr. Shen's skill in making preserved eggs must be good.
Kang He asked Chen Shi Shen's husband if he still agreed to help them make salted duck.
"He agreed to come. I told him how happy he was, but he still wouldn't take our money. How could I let him? We made it clear. I gave him twenty-five cents a time, but he said it was too much."
Kang He felt relieved after hearing this: "Mr. Shen is capable, it's a good thing that he is willing to come again."
Chen understood what Kang He meant and said with a smile, "He's not that petty. I told him about selling the salted duck he made, and he was just happy. He said he would do good things for us."
"Today I'm selling konjac vermicelli, and many people are asking for salted duck."
Kang He responded.
At night, a table full of dishes was prepared, as if it was New Year's Day. Everyone in the family was happy after eating, and Dad Fan brought out his wine again.
Xu Yang was drinking, and it happened that he had a few bowls with Fan Dad.
But when he picked up the dishes with his chopsticks and ate, he only felt the fragrance of the duck meat and the freshness of the fish soup. He decided not to eat after the wine had worn off.
He said bluntly: "Where did Jing'er find such a good son-in-law? He's even good at cooking!"
Fan Jing was in a good mood for the first time. He filled his glasses with wine and said to Xu Yang, "Don't use words to avoid drinking."
Xu Yang laughed: "I don't dare drink with you, your alcohol tolerance is terrifying."
When Xu Yang and Fan Xin were young, they went to steal Fan Shoushan's wine together. After eating a little, they found it spicy and not tasty. So they took it to Fan Jing to trick him by saying it was just cold boiled water.
Unexpectedly, Fan Jing ate some and found it tasted pretty good.
But he was upset because he was bullied by the two of them, so he grabbed the man and beat him up again.
After getting beaten, the two boys ran around holding their heads, feeling very dissatisfied. Why did Fan Jing get to drink so much? They shouted that they wanted to compete with Fan Jing in drinking.
The three men drank several bowls of wine, their faces flushed and their heads dizzy, and they fell asleep drunkenly while lying on the haystack.
When it got dark, the two families still hadn't found the child's home. They were so anxious that they looked everywhere with torches, thinking that the child had been abducted by the beggars.
Father Fan also remembered this incident and said, "You little rascals, whenever you get together, you only know how to cause mischief."
Xu Yang laughed heartily and said, "I'll get drunk and go back to sleep on the edge of the field. My grandfather and father won't come and beat me with sticks, but there won't be anyone at home to pick me up!"
Kang He was really amused when he heard Fan Jing'er's talk about current affairs, so he picked up a piece of meat with fish bones removed and put it into Fan Jing'er's bowl.
He said, "I've always been surprised. Daxin seems like such an honest guy, why did you hit him? Now it seems that Daxin was not an easygoing kid either."
Father Fan and Mrs. Chen both laughed: "Dayang, when are you going to let us go out for a drink? You and Daxin are the same age, and both of you are still married, which makes us uncles and aunts worry."
Xu Yang laughed and said, "When Daxin gets married, I will get married too."
Chen knew something about Xu Yang and the Yuan family's son, but she didn't want to say much, so she stopped talking.
After that day, Xu Yang and Kang He became much closer. They were often seen together, and their relationship was obviously close.
Before May, Kang He helped Chen to make hundreds of salted ducks and preserved eggs on different days. Since there were not enough for his own family, he also bought a lot of ducks from outside like collecting radish.
At first, Chen didn't dare to get too much, for fear that the thing would fall into her hands.
However, when she was selling radish vermicelli, many people came to ask for salted duck, so her husband Zou gave her forty salted ducks and told her to send them out after they were pickled.
Apart from this family, there were some other scattered instructions, but when all was said and done, a total of eighty coins were given out in deposits.
How can it not be enough if we don’t do a little more?
She was willing to invest the money, and the reason was that the kudzu vermicelli sold well, just as well as the kudzu in winter.
A square of kudzu weighs one pound and only sells for three cents. Kudzu vermicelli requires more steps to make and is fresh. A handful of wet vermicelli soaked in water and placed in a large ceramic bowl sells for five copper coins for half a pound, which makes much more money than kudzu tofu.
It's just tiring. Making konjac tofu was easy before, but making vermicelli is a delicate job that takes two or three hours and makes your arms and neck sore.
However, when I went to the city to do business, and strung the copper coins I earned during the day together one by one with a hemp rope at night, carrying the heavy copper coins, I felt that no matter how tired I was, it was all worth it.
In May, Kang He and Fan Jing prepared to return to the mountains. After spring, the breeding season was over, and it was time to do some hunting.
This time, they planned to stay in the mountains for a longer time, because after the summer months, they would have to go back home to help with the harvest during the autumn harvest.
Before going up the mountain, I went to the city first to buy some things.
There is rice and noodles at home, but the most important thing is some common medicines for illnesses and injuries.
The two of them went to the Zhuping Pharmacy in Qingfang where they had gotten the medicine before. When they entered the shop, they saw from a distance that there were a lot of people gathered inside, and they didn't know what they were doing.
Kang He dragged Fan Jing to check it out. The pharmacy was closed today, but two men in yellow fine cloth coats stood at the door, shouting at the top of their lungs: "You're killing people! You're unworthy of being a doctor! How can there be such a black-hearted doctor?"
"Fortunately, our master always treats us with courtesy. All the neighbors can see that whenever we invite him to our house, he always comes to pick us up in a sedan chair.
"Your kindness led to your being bullied. You killed our young lady with the medical treatment. Such a young girl, a life that could have been saved!"
"If you are not afraid of death, then come to this Zhu Ping Medical Clinic and Pharmacy. I'm afraid it will kill you even faster..."
Kang He only understood half of what was said, but he knew that something had happened.
Looking at the people around watching the excitement, they were all talking in a confused manner.
At this moment, Fan Jing, who was standing next to Kang Hejiao, was pulled. He looked at the person in confusion, and Fan Jing raised his chin towards him.
Kang He looked over and saw a young man with a small bag on his back in the side alley, trying to avoid the crowd and walk to the main road outside.
The man was the guy who helped people get medicine in the pharmacy. The toothache medicine I bought last time was prescribed by him.
The two followed in tacit understanding.
"Brother, what happened in the shop?"
The boy was suddenly blocked by two tall figures. He was so frightened that he almost dropped the bag in his hand.
Seeing that the two people looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize them at the moment, he said, "Who are you and why are you blocking my way? Be careful or I will report you to the police!"
"Don't blame me, brother. I just wanted to get some medicine from the clinic, but I don't know why there are so many people gathered outside, and it looks like someone is causing trouble."
"Thanks to Doctor Zhu's kindness, we are able to live in the mountains. He was even willing to accept our medicinal herbs before."
Upon hearing this, the young man wept sadly and said, "I'm afraid our pharmacy won't be able to operate in the future. You should find another clinic or pharmacy."
"Why don't you open the door? My husband had a toothache a while ago, and he came to get some medicine, which worked wonders."
The young man said, "My master has been treating the Sun family in West City for a long time. A while ago, their daughter was unwell and took a medicine from our pharmacy. My master told her the medicine that counteracted her condition, but the daughter immediately took the medicine from a nearby pharmacy and passed away a few hours later."
"Mr. Sun refused to give in, insisting that it was our master who killed Miss Fei. We went to the yamen and filed a lawsuit. The county magistrate didn't convict our master, but Mr. Fei refused to admit it. He hired people to cause trouble outside our pharmacy every day. The yamen runners, having received favors from the Sun family, didn't bother with the matter."
"People who don't understand the situation heard what they said and came to accuse our pharmacy of killing people. We can't argue with those unreasonable people from the Fei family. Master was so angry that he stayed in bed for several days. I'm going to go out and buy some soup, vegetables and fruits to serve Master."
Kang He frowned when he heard this: "There are actually such unreasonable people!"
The young man wiped his tears and said, "They are very powerful in the county. We are not ordinary people who come from a foreign place with no roots and are just trying to make a living. We will leave this place after we have nursed our master back to health."
Kang He asked: "Where are we moving to?"
The young man shook his head and said, "I don't know where to go. I originally fled from outside and settled here.
Although I have run a medicine shop in recent years and my life has improved, my master is a kind-hearted doctor who does not seek profit. He also kindly allows people to buy on credit, so I have not saved a penny.
"We rented this shop, and when something went wrong, the owner wanted to take it back. We can't stay here any longer."
"My dear, I won't say any more to you. I have to go buy some food and come back to take care of the master."
Kang Hezi didn't keep anyone to talk any more. He and Fan Jing covered for the young man and taught him how to get on the right track.
"What a shame for such a good doctor and pharmacy! The last time I came back, I saw people giving him eggs as a token of their gratitude."
Kang He felt emotional, wondering if this was any different from how they were bullied by Chen Yushun in the village. No matter where you are, you are bound to encounter troubles.
Fan Jing said nothing, but he was deeply touched in his heart.
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