Errui, Xiaoman, and Jiangzhi also came down the mountain. Because the road had been washed away by flash floods, they walked slowly and didn't enter the village until almost noon.
As soon as Errui arrived, he immediately helped Tian Gui and the others repair the embankment. If the water ran out, the fields would be in trouble.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhi was asking Li Laoshi about what happened during the rainstorm.
Li Laoshi kept babbling on and on, recounting how he had confronted people and how responsible he was: "Sister Jiang, Xu Changming's shack was leaking, and he wouldn't leave even when his family told him to. Later, the shack collapsed, and he had to be carried over."
As Li Laoshi spoke, he seemed to recall something amusing and burst into laughter: "He came but refused to go into the drying shed, no matter what he said, he wouldn't accept the favor."
He lay sprawled by the stone steps over there, like an old dog that had fallen into the water.
Jiang Zhi wanted to laugh, but couldn't. She was really stubborn and feudal, refusing to admit that she was the female village chief, and wouldn't even take shelter from the rain under her own house.
They deserve to freeze to death.
If he wants to do it, it's none of my business.
Even dogs know to run to dry places when it rains, so it's only natural that he, at his age, would want to be a virtuous and chaste man.
After Xu Changming, everyone else in the village came to take shelter from the rain in a proper manner, and left as soon as the rain stopped; there was nothing special about it.
The only exception is the Qin family, who are comparable to Xu Changming.
Qin Shi sat outside, just like Xu Changming, trying her best to maintain her last bit of stubbornness.
Jiang Zhi completely ignored her information; what did her life or death have to do with him?
After listening to Li Laoshi's description and understanding the general situation, Jiang Zhi got up and went to Xia Xiucai's house first.
The scholar's shack leaked when it rained, and the scholar even fell ill during a downpour.
Originally, Li Laoshi asked his family to stay in the warehouse for a couple more days until the shed dried out, but Xia's mother refused, saying that the shed would be left open for ventilation and would dry out soon.
Li Laoshi couldn't keep them, so he could only send his family back.
When Jiang Zhi arrived at Xia's shack, she saw six-year-old Xia Yuan standing in front of the door, tiptoeing to hang a piece of clothing on a rack.
He was small, and the wet, coarse cloth clothes were very heavy. He couldn't turn them over with his hands, and the clothes almost fell to the ground.
Jiang Zhi hurried over and scooped it up, hanging it up to dry. Looking at the silent shack, she whispered, "Xia Yuan, what are your grandma and the others doing?"
Upon suddenly seeing the village chief's grandmother, Xia Yuan was startled but not panicked. Instead, he lowered his voice and whispered, "My dad just fell asleep!"
Jiang Zhi wondered, what was Xia Xiucai sleeping in the middle of the day, and was the shack still damp?
In that short time, the people inside saw Jiang Zhi arrive. Xia's mother and the scholar's wife walked out quietly and then slowly closed the door behind them.
Seeing how cautious they were, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but hold her breath.
Xia's mother walked up to Jiang Zhi and whispered, "Village Chief Jiang, please don't worry. Shu Yan was sick for too long yesterday. He only fell asleep after I gave him some medicine. Once he wakes up, he won't cause any more trouble."
Just one night later, Xia's mother seemed very tired, and her voice was weak.
However, instead of complaining, he comforted Jiang Zhi.
Beside her, the scholar's wife, though equally haggard, calmly said, "Thank you for your concern, village chief. My husband is much better than before during his time in the village. He only lost his mind because he couldn't withstand the shock of the rainstorm, but it's nothing serious."
Jiang Zhi frowned slightly and said seriously, "Since you have medicine, why didn't you take it sooner? Why did you have to wait until now?"
According to Li Laoshi, when Xia Xiucai had an attack, he was still very manic, which was completely different from his taciturn and dull state when he was not having an attack.
As long as the rain continued, the man remained restless and anxious. He was also trying hard to control his emotions, biting his tongue until it bled profusely, scaring away the villagers who came to take shelter from the rain.
Could it be that the medicine the Xia family takes is very expensive and they are reluctant to use it? What if it relapses and runs around indiscriminately, injuring people?
However, based on my observation, the Xia family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knew that if Xia Xiucai had a seizure and injured someone, he would be held responsible for the consequences, and they would not take risks without good reason.
Sensing the dissatisfaction in Village Chief Jiang's tone, Xia's mother quickly explained, "Village Chief Jiang, we didn't mean to frighten the villagers. We just didn't take the medicine yesterday because we saw there were houses to stay in and Shuyan was still sensible."
But now, Shuyan's illness hasn't improved in the short term, so we...
At this point, Xia's mother sighed and fell silent.
Jiang Zhi recalled what Li Laoshi had said: yesterday, although Xia Xiucai was agitated, he was still able to be restrained by Xia's mother and Xiucai's wife, and kept in a corner.
Aside from biting his own lips and teeth to keep other villagers away all night, he did not harm anyone else.
What Xia's mother said is true.
Jiang Zhi didn't want to blame the poor mother too much at this moment, but only reminded her not to be reluctant to take medicine when she fell ill again.
Xia's mother and the scholar's wife nodded repeatedly, saying that they would definitely not let Xia Xiucai have a seizure and frighten people in the future.
Jiang Zhi thought for a moment, then softened her tone and said, "Are you short of money to buy medicine? If not, just let us know."
To think that such a gifted person would suddenly end up like this is enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes, and it must be even more heartbreaking for their family.
If the Xia family is short of money and wants to save on medicine, I can help them pay for it now.
When Xia Xiucai recovers from his illness, he will teach his own children to read and write, and he will repay the debt as tuition.
Seeing that the village chief did not condemn her family and even asked if she was short of money, the scholar's wife gratefully bowed and said, "The medicine my husband has is prepared by a doctor in Yuzhou Prefecture. It is very effective and not available in ordinary pharmacies."
"I only need to take it when I have an attack. The prepared pills are still sufficient; I don't need to buy more. If I run out of medicine later, I'll have to ask the village chief for help."
Fearing that Jiang Zhi might misunderstand and think she was deliberately refusing to take the medicine, Xia's mother quickly explained in detail.
When Xia Xiucai fell ill in Yuzhou Prefecture, he exhausted his family's wealth to treat the illness, but unfortunately, the illness was difficult to cure, so he could only ask a famous doctor to prescribe some pills for future use.
These pills used up the last of the money the family had saved from selling their possessions, but they were very effective.
Each time the illness flares up, taking one pill and sleeping until waking up will calm the person down, but they will experience loss of appetite and lethargy for a long time.
After six months in Xujia Village, Xia Xiucai's condition has been relatively stable, and he no longer needs to take medication.
Moreover, Xia Xiucai was lucid during this attack, and he was thinking of getting through it and not taking those potent drugs anymore, which is why he has been dragging it out until now.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhi finally understood why Xia's mother wouldn't give Xia Xiucai his medicine.
All psychotropic drugs have side effects. For example, cinnabar, used in "sedative and tranquilizing" drugs, is a mineral whose main component is inorganic mercury compound. Long-term and high-dose use can damage the body.
This is also why emperors took elixirs in pursuit of longevity, with cinnabar being the main ingredient.
Xia Xiucai's sedatives were effective, but they also had significant side effects, so it's best to take as little as possible.
After all, when it comes to emotional disorders, medication is only a supplement; what is most needed is to adjust one's own mindset.
Since the Xia family had prepared medicine, Jiang Zhi didn't ask any more questions, only saying that she had some recently picked mimosa flowers.
"I found a mimosa tree a while ago, picked some flowers and dried them. You can take some for Scholar Xia to make tea every day."
Albizia flowers can calm the nerves and relieve depression, and the bark of Albizia can treat bruises and sprains. Soaking the flowers in water is perfect for people like Xia Xiucai who suffer from depression, restlessness and insomnia.
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