Jiang Zhi's neither-soft-nor-hard words left Xu Dong somewhat embarrassed.
Just as he was about to say a few more words about what Zhang Juntou had said, Xiaomanye said, "Doctor Xu, don't blame the children for not daring to go home. We are all farmers, and we just want to make a living by farming."
Life was alright in the village before, but alas! When war broke out, those refugees wanted to kill and burn, so we had to hide in the mountains.
There was a lack of food and clothing here, yet I managed to survive, and look what happened...
"Oh dear! It's alright for you to take some herbs, but I'm afraid this place won't be peaceful anymore! If we can't stay here, we'll have to move."
Xu Dong was stunned. This meant that he was being forced to move just because he brought some medicine.
Today, Jiang Zhi and Grandpa Xiaoman worked together seamlessly. One was an unreasonable countrywoman, and the other was a reasonable old man, making it difficult for Xu Dong to handle.
He was still concerned about the herbs: "Don't worry, old folks, you can stay here from now on!"
Now that Ba County has stabilized, King Zhou is encouraging the villagers to return to their hometowns to farm, and the world will only get better and better.
Grandpa Xiaoman smiled and said, "That's great! My family is from Xujia Village down below, and I've always wanted to farm!"
At this moment, Grandpa Xiaoman chatted with Xu Dong, recounting the tragic events that had befallen his family.
This was no lie. Grandma Xiaoman sat silently beside him, wiping away tears, while Xu Dazhu lay on the other side like a corpse. They looked pitiful no matter how you looked at them.
Jiang Zhi then led people to fetch the medicine.
The herbs in the attic were specially arranged; it was impossible to give them all away at once. Most of them were hidden in the woods, with only a small portion left at home.
Knowing the needs of the medical shed below, Jiang Zhi deliberately added more blood-activating and stasis-removing herbs this time.
Several soldiers carried the medicine in sacks to Xu Dong and said, "Medical Officer Xu, the medicine is ready!"
Xu Dong was so flustered by what Xiaoman was saying that he quickly snapped out of his daze when he saw the medicine.
Because of her work habits in the pharmacy, the handover of medicines always needs to be done face-to-face. Jiang Zhi took out all the medicines and arranged them for Xu Dong to identify.
This was the first time Xu Dong had encountered such behavior, and he was both surprised and delighted.
Even if Xu Dong couldn't recognize the medicine, he only needed to hum and haw a few times to accurately identify it.
I thought I was going to see a pile of haphazardly stacked grass stems and tree bark, but I didn't expect this village woman to be so good at collecting and drying medicinal herbs.
Not only were all the medicines cut and processed properly, but even the packaging was the same as in the pharmacy, using old burlap bags, making the differences clear and distinct, so I no longer had to guess.
What made Xu Dong even happier was that there were several kinds of medicinal herbs that he urgently needed.
Although the trip up the mountain was arduous, the rewards far exceeded his expectations. The hardships were negligible, and he felt extremely happy.
Those refugees... what refugees were beaten, no one knows, not even Commander Zhang knows.
I finally found the source when I needed to use the medicine myself.
Xu Dong was satisfied after receiving the medicine. Looking at the family looking at him pitifully, he knew he should say something.
From Xiao Man's grandparents' tearful accounts and the confessions of Li Laoshi and the others, Xu Dong had already thoroughly investigated the situation of the people here.
The able-bodied man in this family is the only able-bodied person; the one who hurt someone yesterday was just a child.
In general, the bandits mentioned by Li Laoshi and the others posed no threat to the medical shed.
In addition, Xiaoman kept saying that there was a shortage of food and oil living on the mountain, and he wanted to exchange some of these medicines for some of it, and Xu Dong agreed.
He said to Uncle Xiaoman, "Old Xu, Zhang Shizhang will consider the matter of the food shortage."
Those vagrants will also be kept in check. If any petty thieves or cause trouble, just chase them away.
This was Zhang Juntou's order: anyone who tried to steal things should be beaten, since they were going to start driving the refugees back to their hometowns and not allow them to stay anywhere else.
Having finished speaking and obtained the medicine, Xu Dong had to take it down the mountain before nightfall.
The mountain path is really difficult to walk on; it's uncomfortable to go up the mountain even once.
Beside him, Li Laoshi looked at the large bag of herbs, feeling both envious and envious: If only he could gather herbs like that, he could be as lazy as he wanted in the future, how wonderful!
After the group hurriedly descended the mountain, Xiaoman, Xu Errui, and the others, who had been hiding in the forest for half a day, finally returned home.
The two families gathered together and chattered incessantly.
Xiaoman pressed Xiaoman's grandfather for details.
Xiaomanye had washed the grass juice off his face, his previous bitter expression gone, and said with a relaxed expression, "Finally, things have become clear, and I can live an honest and upright life from now on!"
To show that life on the mountain was hard and they were starving, they smeared medicine on their faces, making them either sallow or pale.
Xu Dazhu looked as haggard as before, lying motionless on the bed.
Xu Dong, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, even went to examine Xu Dazhu. He confirmed that Xu Dazhu was indeed paralyzed and was not afraid of Xu Dong's visit.
Seeing that this family was indeed struggling, Xu Dong would pass on the message to Zhang Juntou.
That night, the two families felt more relaxed than ever before. They had been hiding in the mountains for half a year, and although they had no worries about food, they dared not reveal their whereabouts for fear of attracting refugees and soldiers.
Now that we've been connected with the medical shed, we can finally light torches at night and live openly and honestly on the mountain.
However, it was also agreed that Jiang Zhi would go down the mountain the next day to retrieve the salt and oil supplies that had been exchanged.
After one night, Jiang Zhi prepared to descend the mountain.
She was still wearing tattered clothes, and her head and face were covered up, because her overly healthy appearance was not in line with that of a refugee fleeing famine.
Xiaoman's grandfather also wanted to go down the mountain and into the village with her: "Errui's mother, you are a woman, and it's not easy for you to deal with those thugs for the first time. In case anything happens, we can discuss it together."
Jiang Zhi knew that Grandpa Xiaoman was worried about her going into the village alone, fearing that something might happen.
Although Jiang Zhi is a grandmother, if someone is rude, it's good for an old man like him to step in and stop it.
These tasks should have been handled by Xu Errui and Xiaoman, but since it was their first collaboration, we didn't dare to let them take the risk.
The road down the mountain was equally difficult to travel.
The original road had long been destroyed, and it was truly unintentional that Li Laoshi and his group were able to reach Laoyun Cliff.
The road has been destroyed and has never been repaired; it's just piled up like this. If you still travel along the original road, you'll not only easily get lost by going around in circles, but it will also take two or three times as long and time as before.
Jiang Zhi and his group naturally didn't take the old route. They brought ropes, and Xiao Man helped his grandfather climb over the rocks.
Grandpa Xiaoman is already sixty years old and has long had difficulty walking. However, after going up the mountain for half a year, drinking spring water and taking health supplements every day, coupled with sufficient nutrition and a cheerful mood, his body is stronger than before, and he can barely keep up with such mountain paths.
The presence of Xiaoman (a solar term) makes it even more convenient.
Xiaoman led the people to the edge of the village, where he hid in the nearby woods to wait. Jiangzhi and Xiaoman's grandfather then entered the village.
Entering the village again after half a year felt like stepping into another world.
Since Xiaomanye went up the mountain, he had never left Laoyun Cliff and had never truly seen his burned-down home. When he saw it again, his eyes turned red.
Pointing to the remaining homesteads of each household, he said, "This is Xu Dashan's house, and this is Xu Genbao's house. What a pity, what a pity. Back then, his grandfather and I carried the wooden beams and purlins down the mountain for their house."
As he walked, he recounted the people and events of his past as if they were his own treasures, and then he would let out a long sigh.
In a village, they finally encountered a family of refugees living in a shack.
Looking at the courtyard that had been utterly ruined, Xiaomanye had an indescribable expression on his face.
As soon as Jiang Zhi and his companion entered the village, they were spotted by the guards. Zhang Juntou and Xu Dong didn't wait to put on airs; they came over to greet them upon hearing the news.
The medicinal herbs they brought from the mountain were used on the wounded that very night, and the two men were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
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