After Bai Wei finished her work, she found Xu Zhi in the backyard, who was arranging manpower. After bowing, she said, "Ninth Miss, I have finished treating the children."
Xu Zhi quickly stopped what she was doing, pulled Bai Wei to sit down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and asked, "Sister Bai Wei, how is it?"
Bai Wei sighed, took out several prescriptions from her pocket, and said, "The situation is not good. Most of these children are in poor health and malnourished. Several children need to take medicine immediately. This is the prescription. I didn't bring a few of the medicines with me. I have to go back to the manor to get them."
Xu Zhi took the prescription, looked at it, and put it on the kang table. Thinking about the living conditions of these children, and the fact that even younger children would have to continue living in those places, Xu Zhi felt a sense of urgency. These things needed to be done as soon as possible.
There aren't many children who can really step up right now. Xu Rao had already considered this problem. He found some sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls and boys from the Marquis's mansion and the old lady's estate. They were already on their way to Liaodong Prefecture. Xu Rao's idea was to train these children together with the slightly older ones, and then assign the older and younger ones together, with one older child mentoring the other.
Xu Zhi handed the prescription to Bai Wei and said, "Sister Bai Wei, just do whatever you need. Keep a good record of the bill, and Mother and I will settle it together later."
Upon hearing this, Bai Wei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Miss, why are you being so polite with Madam? Madam said that even if it weren't for helping you, these children are so pitiful, would we accept money to come and treat them? Don't worry, Miss, I'm here, I guarantee that these children's health will be restored."
Hearing this, Xu Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. She had originally thought that things could be done slowly, but now she realized that doing things was really, really difficult. There were so many things to do, especially after the children came over, there were so many things that needed to be purchased. Xu Zhi now felt that she really didn't have enough people under her command.
Bai Wei took the prescription and returned to the Xu family by carriage. After meeting Chen Zhaoci, she briefly explained the situation. Finally, after hesitating for a moment, she said to Chen Zhaoci, "Madam, I noticed that Ninth Miss looks much more haggard. When I went to find her, she was busy in the backyard and didn't even have time to drink water."
Starting a business is never that simple. Chen Zhaoci naturally understands this principle. Only by understanding the difficulties of starting a business can one truly cherish the hard-won fruits of their labor once they achieve success.
Seeing that Chen Zhaoci had no reaction, Bai Wei took the prescription to the pharmacy to get the medicine.
Little did they know that Chen Zhaoci was still caught in the contradiction of being both proud and worried about her child starting a business.
Chen Zhaoci knew she could send more people to her child, but instead, her own people did all the work. Her child, who was eager to start a business, could enjoy the fruits of the business without having to do anything, which wasn't good for her. But seeing her child so busy and tired from starting a business, Chen Zhaoci couldn't bear it.
When Xu Rao returned from the government office, Chen Zhaoci was still thinking about Xu Zhi. After Xu Rao asked her, she understood Zhang Zhaoci's thoughts as a mother and said with a smile, "Actually, although this process is tiring, it is also very enjoyable. When you encounter a problem, you have to think about how to solve it. Once the problem is solved, you will have some insights. And these insights will become the sediment in one's life. These sediments will make one's life more brilliant. Doctor Chen, is such a simple thing worth worrying about?"
Chen Zhaoci rolled her eyes at Xu Rao and said, "Of course I understand. What did we do with Xu Di back then? As long as there was no danger to his life, we could let the child do whatever he wanted. But Xiao Jiu is a girl, and a married girl at that. She will have her own children in the future. As a girl, Xiao Jiu will have many inherent constraints. It is understandable that we help her with some things."
Xu Rao thought of the successful girls he had met and couldn't help but sigh. His wife was right. In this day and age, it's very difficult for girls to make a name for themselves outside their own little world.
Even in modern times, despite decades of advocating for gender equality, women still often suffer in real-world situations. For instance, after marriage and childbirth, if a woman prioritizes her career, she's seen as neglecting her family; if she doesn't prioritize her career, she's considered unambitious. Countless women, after a busy day at work, still have to manage household chores and childcare at home. Meanwhile, men often neglect their families, focusing solely on work. They even use the excuse of being tired at work and needing a good rest at home to enjoy the care of their wives, who have also worked a long day – a privilege considered perfectly normal.
Chen Zhaoci thought about her daughter. In the future, in addition to being busy with her own career, she would also have to take care of the family, have children, and be a good wife and mother. Doing each of these things well would require a lot of effort.
Thinking of this, Chen Zhaoci's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Xu Rao advised, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. As parents, we shouldn't interfere too much in our children's affairs. If our children come to us for help, we will naturally accept it without hesitation. However, since our children haven't asked for anything, we shouldn't meddle too much in their affairs."
Chen Zhaoci nodded, as if he wanted to say something, but then he seemed to think of something and just sighed.
After finishing her chores in the yard, Xu Zhi watched the children eat dinner and the children who needed to take their medicine take it before returning to her room to rest.
This three-courtyard housed several people brought by Xu Zhi in the front courtyard, about twenty children in the second courtyard, with boys and girls living in two large rooms, and the back courtyard was where Xu Zhi, Hong Gu, Qing Lian, and a few personal servants lived.
Xu Zhi entered the bedroom, rubbing her lower back. Bai Ying had already prepared hot water for Xu Zhi to wash up. The room was now heated by a kang (a traditional heated brick bed), and the temperature was just right. After washing her face and soaking her feet, Xu Zhi lay on the heated kang, unwilling to move.
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