Chapter 7 Jingyanggang: I'm willing to sleep with you
Yanggu County, Zhangqiu Town, 3:45 PM.
"Where are we?" You Mingjiang asked, sticking his head out.
To make it easier to take turns driving, she wore simple farm clothes, which were indeed much more comfortable.
Hai Sidie tightened his raincoat and replied, "We've arrived in Yanggu County."
A light rain fell on the car roof. You Mingjiang tucked the blankets around the two sleeping girls and sighed softly.
Since the water level in the lower reaches of the Yellow River rose, she had a vague sense of foreboding.
As expected, the Yellow River breached its banks at Baliushu in Xinxiang, and the floodwaters rushed towards Zhangqiu Town, destroying the canal.
Looking around, the silt was almost thigh-deep, the floodwaters had not yet fully receded, and the surface was littered with rotten planks, torn clothes, and dead chickens and ducks. The stench was pungent, and the surrounding area was a scene of devastation with broken walls and ruins.
"What should we do?" Hai Si's father looked at You Mingjiang, the pillar of support.
You Mingjiang took a deep breath and said calmly, "Don't panic, head higher up the mountain!"
Uncle Hai drove the mule cart, shouting loudly and constantly pulling on the reins.
The mule struggled through the mud, its steps heavy and arduous, each one requiring immense effort.
You Mingjiang simply jumped off the vehicle and struggled to push it through knee-deep mud.
Jingyanggang is located in Yanggu County. It is a hill covered with messy trees and thorns, and the roads are rugged and difficult to travel.
It was said that wild beasts often roamed the mountains, and few dared to venture there except for skilled and daring hunters.
The flood destroyed many animal dens and washed away their food, so they fled to higher ground.
Everyone felt fortunate that no wild beasts had entered the village to hunt for food.
At times like these, who would dare to go up the mountain and provoke wild beasts?
Hai Sidie was driving a mule cart when he came across an abandoned mountain god temple.
Although the temple was dilapidated, the roof tiles were neat and the foundation was relatively high, which was a pleasant surprise.
Exhausted, both the man and the mule were worn out, and Hai Si's father could not see clearly at night, making it inconvenient for him to drive the cart.
So, You Mingjiang made the decision to stay here.
·
Uncle Hai unloaded the cart so the mule could rest a bit. He then mixed alfalfa and wheat bran together and fed it to the mule, not forgetting to check its hooves.
Hai Hongzhu sat in the corner, simmering soup in an earthenware pot over the fire.
You Mingjiang gave her a piece of tofu and seasonings such as salt, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, and ginger.
Hai Hongzhu didn't ask about the origin of these things. She only knew that You Mingjiang was the backbone, and she shouldn't ask about things that shouldn't be asked.
She blinked, stuffed some dry grass into the fire, and the flames leaped up and down. She quickly poked the fire with a stick.
Next, cut the tofu into small cubes, fry them in lard until golden brown, add enough water, add shredded ginger and tofu cubes and simmer. Before serving, sprinkle with salt and chopped green onions.
When the soup was almost ready, Hai Hongzhu ladled it out and served it to You Mingjiang.
·
Tie Pinggu finally woke up.
She was lying on a soft reed mat, with a thick layer of dry grass underneath, but the damp environment was still uncomfortable; she was covered with a small blanket, which gave off a faint fragrance of purple cloud ointment, a scent that made her feel at ease.
Tie Pinggu struggled to sit up, but the pain made her almost fall back down. However, a pair of gentle hands put their arms around her shoulders.
"Does it still hurt?"
Tie Pinggu looked up at You Mingjiang's smiling face, speechless.
She knew she was a burden, and was taken in by the only person in the world who accepted her.
“That man…” Tie Pinggu asked nervously.
"Him? He's with his precious beeswax right now," You Mingjiang said calmly.
Tie Pinggu was beaten so badly she couldn't open her eyes. She only remembered You Mingjiang kicking the man against the wall, and didn't know what happened after that.
She wanted to ask more, but You Mingjiang put a finger to her lips and shook her head to indicate that she shouldn't ask. She then guessed what would happen to the man.
"Dr. You, your hands are for saving lives..." Tie Pinggu was filled with guilt.
You Mingjiang interrupted her: "It was just a case of standing up for what was right."
"I've been a burden to you all along."
"In my opinion, I'm not a burden, but I get annoyed when you keep saying that."
But Tie Pinggu was still uneasy and uncertain.
If even her own father could abandon her, how long could You Mingjiang take her in?
Reason told her that You Mingjiang wasn't that kind of person, but emotionally, "once bitten, twice shy," she was afraid that she wouldn't recover and would become a burden to You Mingjiang, worried that she would be abandoned by her like Li Dazui.
“Dr. You, I have nothing. Without you, I would have been sold long ago.”
Although Tie Pinggu didn't say it directly, her face clearly said, "Why are you helping me like this?"
“I don’t know why,” You Mingjiang said softly, “I’ve always liked doing good deeds.”
Tie Pinggu choked up and couldn't speak. She really hoped that she would get better soon and stop being a burden to You Mingjiang.
Just then, Hai Hongzhu called out, "Sister You, the soup is ready."
You Mingjiang took the soup bowl. The tofu soup was served in a rough earthenware bowl. The tofu was tender and the soup was milky white.
"Here, drink the soup."
You Mingjiang helped Tie Pinggu up, letting her lean on his shoulder. He gently picked up the bowl, stirred it a few times with a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and slowly brought it to Tie Pinggu's lips.
When we examined Tie Pinggu before, we found that she had not been venomed by bees and that she was extremely thin due to years of malnutrition. Her body was covered with both new and old wounds.
The bruises on his lower abdomen were particularly horrifying, with the most severe injuries occurring on his ribs.
Fortunately, the spleen was located behind the left costal arch and was protected by the ribs; otherwise, it would most likely have ruptured.
Therefore, Tie Pinggu has been in a daze for some time and has not fully woken up.
Tie Pinggu slightly opened her mouth, swallowed the soup in the spoon, and the warm soup flowed down her esophagus into her stomach, which was more comforting than any kind words.
"Drink slowly," You Mingjiang said, holding the bowl in one hand and gently patting her back with the other. "Be careful not to choke."
Seeing that she had finished the tofu soup, You Mingjiang smiled, placed the empty bowl aside, and helped her lie down.
"Don't think about anything, don't worry about anything. Your body needs time to recover. Trust me, okay?"
·
Xiao He, who was hiding in the bushes and peeking, secretly swallowed his saliva, licked his lips, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger.
It's tofu...
He watched longingly as the people in the mountain god's temple drank tofu soup, his stomach growling with hunger, making him feel even more uncomfortable.
The drizzle soaked him to the bone, but he still couldn't bear to leave, scrunching his little nose to smell the aroma of the tofu soup.
He stared greedily at the pot of tofu soup, put his fingers in his mouth and sucked on them for a while, his throat moving involuntarily.
What does tofu soup taste like? I really hope he's the one who gets to drink it.
After watching for a while, a tall figure emerged from the dilapidated temple.
The man carried a bamboo medicine basket on his shoulder and held a thick tree branch in his hand, bending down to examine his surroundings.
A medicine basket?
Xiao He's eyes lit up, and he stumbled back to his "home," a dilapidated thatched hut.
·
In the dilapidated thatched hut, thirteen or fourteen-year-old Gao Jiping was cooking a large pot of wild vegetable soup.
There wasn't a single grain of grain, a single piece of meat, or a trace of animal offal in the pot. Besides bracken, purslane, bitter greens, and dandelions, the wild vegetables tasted bitter and unpalatable, but having a sip of hot soup was already a great blessing.
Now that Zhangqiu Town has been hit by floods, the imperial court doesn't know when it will come to provide relief.
To survive, the adults swung hoes and fought for their lives. She, with four half-grown boys, had no choice but to risk going up the mountain and leave her fate to destiny.
She lingered in Yanggu County, firstly because she was too exhausted to escape further, and secondly because Zhangqiu Town was vital to the Grand Canal transport, and the imperial court would surely come to control the floods. Thinking back on her journey from famine to this place, she was utterly exhausted.
She thought that the land here was not as barren as her hometown, and that if she could get through this difficult time, better days would be ahead.
Gao Jiping knew that she might seem ridiculous to others, an orphan who couldn't even support herself, yet she was taking in one orphan after another.
But she kept taking out one cold, hard steamed bun after another, and managed to bring Ye Xiang, Meng Xinghun, Shi Qun, and Xiao He back to safety.
Among these children, the oldest, Ye Xiang, is only five or six years old. What else can we do but save him?
Human hearts are made of flesh and blood; she simply couldn't bear to watch the children starve to death.
Gao Jiping turned to look at Ye Xiang, tears welling up in her eyes, wondering what to do with the child.
Ye Xiang lay on a haystack, groaning softly.
The big toe of his left foot had become infected, and he had a persistent high fever, was delirious, and kept talking nonsense.
Shi Qun and Meng Xinghun surrounded him, trying to wipe his sweat and make him feel better.
Soon, the dark wild vegetable soup boiled, and a bitter smell wafted over. Gao Jiping poured the soup into several chipped earthenware bowls.
I've heard that wild vegetables like bracken, dandelion, bitter lettuce, and purslane are all medicinal herbs that clear heat and detoxify. High-ranking officials and nobles often enjoy a kind of chicken soup with shepherd's purse wontons, with shrimp added to the filling to enhance the flavor.
They euphemistically call it "remembering the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present."
But Gao Jiping glanced at the children with their sallow faces and smiled bitterly to herself. They were orphans who were worried that there wouldn't be enough to share even if they drank an extra sip of wild vegetable soup. How could they talk about remembering the bitter past and appreciating the sweet present?
Meng Xinghun and Shi Qun were already starving. When they saw the wild vegetable soup, they rushed forward and picked up their broken earthenware bowls. As soon as they touched the rim of the bowls, they hissed from the heat, but they still gasped for breath and hurriedly put the wild vegetable soup into their mouths.
Although the wild vegetable soup was only enough to fill you up with water and would be gone in one urination, at least it made you feel less hungry.
Gao Jiping held the chipped, rough pottery bowl, carefully blew on it, and prepared to feed it to Ye Xiang.
His eyes swept over the children, and he asked, "Where did Xiao He go?"
Seeing Shi Qun licking the leftover bits of wild vegetables from the bottom of his bowl, Meng Xinghun cautiously replied, "Big sister, Xiao He said he saw a lot of chestnuts being washed over by the water, so he went to scoop them up just now."
The place was built with thick branches and thatch, and it wasn't very sturdy. A few children dug a small ditch at the entrance, and wild fruits, like chestnuts, often flowed down from the mountain. Occasionally, there were also water snakes and rabbits, which provided them with a good meal.
Thin twigs were used as firewood, but after being soaked in water, only the dried ones were usable. There's been no sun these past few days, and I don't know if I'll be able to have a pot of hot wild vegetable soup again next time.
Gao Jiping had also considered taking them to the mountain god temple, but they had heard that there were often ferocious beasts there, and that there was a white tiger with piercing eyes that was the guardian beast of the mountain god, so they dared not go.
Moreover...
Gao Jiping hugged Ye Xiang, who had a persistent high fever, tightly, tears streaming down her face.
His eyes were tightly closed, and his teeth were clenched. No matter how hard we tried, he wouldn't drink the wild vegetable soup. He looked like he was about to die.
When Shi Qun and Meng Xinghun saw their eldest sister crying, they also burst into tears.
The two children shook Ye Xiang, sobbing and crying, "Ye Xiang, don't die, waaaah."
Just then, a small, soaking wet figure rushed in, excitedly shouting:
"Big sister, big sister!"
"Ye Xiang is saved! I see a doctor!"
·
The next day, the sun shone brightly, a rare sight.
Seeing the sun rise, You Mingjiang didn't wake the two little girls and played by herself in the yard.
She decided to inspect the carriage shaft.
The more stable the cart shaft, the easier it is for the mule to exert force, which reduces the bumps in the cart, allowing Tie Pinggu to lie more comfortably.
Hai Si Die is quite clever, but he doesn't know much about technical jobs like car repair.
Yu Mingjiang, being considerate of Hai Si's father who was too tired from driving, did not let him help, but only told him to rest. He also gave him a prescription for bamboo leaf and gypsum soup and told him to brew it himself.
You Mingjiang squatted beside the mule cart, using hemp rope to tie the connection between the shaft and the frame, then hammered in a few rivets and installed wooden supports on both sides of the shaft.
She was extremely busy when she looked up and saw a little girl standing not far away, who almost got hit on the hand by a rivet.
You Mingjiang stood up abruptly, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
That was really careless.
After leaving the Azure Dragon Society, life became too comfortable, and he lost even his vigilance.
Fortunately, this little girl wasn't an assassin.
She was a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, thin and bony, with her eyes fixed on You Mingjiang.
"Little sister, is there anything I can help you with?" You Mingjiang asked her.
She bit her lip and remained silent.
You Mingjiang wiped away her cold sweat, turned around and walked to the stone steps, and the little girl followed her to the stone steps.
You Mingjiang stood on the stone steps, looking down at her: "Little sister, why do you keep following me?"
After thinking for a moment, she took out two thin pancakes from her bamboo medicine basket and handed them to the little girl: "Are you hungry? Here you go."
The little girl didn't answer.
You Mingjiang was even more confused.
·
Gao Jiping stared intently at the person in front of her.
The man was dressed in coarse hemp clothing and straw sandals, with a wasp waist and long arms, and naturally upturned lips, giving him a kind and gentle appearance.
Similarly, Gao Jiping also noticed the bamboo medicine basket she was carrying at a glance.
He really is a doctor.
The tears in her eyes flowed like a burst dam, from her heart to her cheeks.
Tears streamed down her face, landing on her tightly clasped hands and splashing up tiny droplets.
“Little sister…” You Mingjiang tightened his grip on the bamboo medicine basket, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
Gao Jiping walked timidly up the stone steps.
You Mingjiang remained motionless, still holding the pancake in her outstretched hand.
Gao Jiping's steps were unsteady and her face was haggard. It seemed that she had been eating wild vegetable soup to stave off hunger for the past few days, and she was so hungry that she could barely speak.
"Kind doctor, please have mercy and lend a hand to save my family."
Her voice trembled slightly, "As long as you are willing to save people, I... I am willing to do anything."
Gao Jiping decided to use her virginity to buy Ye Xiang a way to live.
This was a desperate act by a girl in despair, and it was the only solution she could think of.
"Please! I'm willing to sleep with you!"
You Mingjiang suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with shock.
·
A note from the author:
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[Good Luck Lotus] Gao Jiping: The proprietress of Happy Forest and the leader of an assassin organization.
[Good Luck Lotus] Ye Xiang, Meng Xinghun, Shi Qun, Xiao He: The professional assassins of Happy Forest, who were adopted by Boss Gao when they were young.
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