Xu Di had someone accompany the little girl to the backyard to get salted fish. These were all dried sea fish, which needed to be soaked in water thoroughly before cooking. Every year, a lot of these salted fish were dried here. After all, it was too cold in winter, and going out to sea was not easy. If there were any other way, people would not go out to sea to fish.
Xu Di sent a servant back to the county town to fetch Bai Wei and bring her some more herbs to treat typhoid fever. The servant agreed and quickly rode off to the county town.
Xu Di sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked the old man, "Grandpa, how did our area suffer such a terrible disaster?"
Upon hearing Xu Di's question, tears welled up in the old man's eyes, and he choked out, "Who could have imagined that those Japanese would be so audacious? A few dozen of them stormed ashore. The able-bodied men in our village tried to stop them, but this time it wasn't those ronin who came; they were all highly skilled in martial arts. Seeing that the situation was dire, the village chief led us to the county town, hoping that the county magistrate could send the county officials to fight them off. But when we got to the county town, the city gates were tightly closed. Many of us were killed by those Japanese right there at the city gates."
When the old man got to the heartbreaking part, he burst into tears. Xu Di felt terrible and hated his predecessor even more. He was supposed to be the local official, there to protect the people of the county, but when disaster struck, he only thought about how to escape. Because he was afraid, he locked the people outside the city gates, and they were killed.
The old man wiped away his tears and said, "Those Japanese killed enough and left, but there are only 10 people left in our village. Including me, an old woman who is buried up to my neck, there are only four adults left. Alas, if we hadn't run to the county town and had scattered, there would probably have been more people left."
Xu Di felt very bad and asked, "Old man, what is your family like now?"
The old man sighed and said, "Now that things have come to this, the dead are buried in the ground, and that's the end of it all. But there are still the living who have to live. In my family, all that's left is me and my little granddaughter. She's already six years old. Her parents and everyone else have been killed. I was thinking that in a couple of days, when I'm feeling a bit better, I'll take her to the city and ask people to help her. I don't care if she becomes a maid or a child bride. As long as she can have something to eat and have a chance to live, that's enough."
Xu Di sighed and said, "Old man, I heard that the original Magistrate Li has been arrested and taken to the capital. The new magistrate will definitely take good care of you."
The old man waved his hand and said, “We are just ordinary people. We don’t know who to be the magistrate. We just hope that another magistrate can find a way to protect us. We are all fishermen. There is no place to farm by the sea. We don’t earn much money from fishing all year round. It’s just enough to make a living. Now, there are hardly any able-bodied people left in the village. We don’t even know if this village will exist in the future. Alas, it’s just like people say. Our lives are worthless.”
Xu Di quickly said, "Grandpa, don't say that. Life is always getting better and better."
The old man remained silent. The young girl, accompanied by an attendant, had already taken down all the salted fish that were hanging on the rope in the backyard. They were all very ordinary sea fish, which were dried and then hung on the eaves to dry. Some people liked to buy such sea fish, clean them, soak them, and then stew them.
The little girl looked at Xu Di with bright eyes. Xu Di smiled and asked her, "How much is a salted fish?"
The little girl thought for a moment and said, "Can I have one penny? My brother caught these fish from the sea, and he helped me dry them. Our fish are very fat."
Upon hearing this, Xu Di glanced at the fish, then took out ten coins from a purse at his waist and said, "We'll take all ten fish."
The little girl smiled happily when she saw that it was a copper coin, and two small dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.
The fishing village is actually very close to the county seat. After all, Penglai County is right by the sea. You can get here in 15 minutes by horseback by walking along the coast.
Xu Di instructed his men to chop some firewood outside and add water to the large pot in the house. After boiling the water, the room quickly became much warmer. Seeing Xu Di and his men busy at work, the old woman said somewhat apologetically, "This old woman is not feeling well and can't get up. Please bear with me. There's not much tea at home, so please have a bowl of plain water."
Xu Di repeatedly said no need, but fortunately the person who went to the county town to fetch a doctor soon returned.
Not only Bai Wei came, but Chen Zhaoci also rode over on horseback with his medicine chest on his back.
When Xu Di saw Chen Zhaoci, he said in surprise, "Mother, what brings you here?"
Chen Zhaoci didn't stop walking into the room, saying as he went, "I heard there were patients here. I'm a doctor, so naturally I went to wherever there were patients."
Chen Zhaoci entered the room, which was already much warmer. When the old woman saw Chen Zhaoci, she struggled to sit up, but Chen Zhaoci quickly stopped her, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't move, let me take a look at you."
Seeing Chen Zhaoci taking the pulse, the old woman exclaimed in surprise, "Is this lady a doctor?"
Chen Zhaoci nodded and said, "Yes, I am a doctor, sister-in-law. My ancestors included imperial physicians. It's a family medical tradition, so you can rest assured."
The old lady quickly said, "Madam, it's not that I don't trust your medical skills, it's just that our family doesn't have the money."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhaoci smiled and said, "You can earn money anytime. You need to treat this illness as soon as possible. If you don't have money, that's okay. I won't ask you for money."
The old woman was even more puzzled and said, "Madam, we are complete strangers. How can I let you come and treat my illness for free?"
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