that is……
With so many more people and so many mouths to feed, the village chief was in a bit of a predicament.
If Yu Nanqing had no favor to do for the village, he would never have provided them with food, no matter how much money they offered. But the situation was different now, so the village chief had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain the situation to Yu Nanqing.
He wasn't one to show off; every decision he made concerned the villagers' future livelihoods, and now was not the time to be concerned with saving face or being pretentious.
Fortunately, Yu Nanqing had made preparations. There were still some supplies available at the post station. The snow had been quite heavy these past two days, making things inconvenient. He would have them delivered when the weather improved.
Upon hearing this, the village chief's worried face broke into a smile.
Before you know it, it's New Year's Eve.
Early in the morning, before Su Wanyan was fully awake, she vaguely heard the sound of firecrackers.
She rubbed her eyes while lying in bed and saw that the sky was still gray. She lifted the covers and was about to get up when Yu Nanqing grabbed her slender waist.
Yu Nanqing's brows twitched slightly, and his eyes, which had just woken up, seemed to shimmer with light: "Yan'er?"
"Listen," Su Wanyan pointed out the window and whispered, "There are firecrackers."
Yu Nanqing didn't quite understand: "Today is New Year's Eve."
Some villagers set off firecrackers...isn't that normal?
"What I mean is, I had no idea the villagers had stockpiled firecrackers; none of them had mentioned it."
Su Wanyan brushed Yu Nanqing's hand away and got out of bed. She used a wooden stick to prop open the window, and a cold wind instantly rushed in.
However, Su Wanyan was completely unaware of what was happening. She happened to see the villagers on the other side of the river light firecrackers and throw them out. The children on the second floor covered their ears and watched as the firecrackers exploded with deafening noise.
One household after another.
Just as Su Wanyan was engrossed in reading, Yu Nanqing draped a cloak over her shoulders and closed the window, saying, "If you're interested, Yan'er, let's go for a walk outside."
“Okay.” Su Wanyan’s eyes lit up. “I’ll go change my clothes.”
On the other side, Huang Ye heard the noise and carried the hot water for washing up upstairs.
Su Wanyan didn't even eat breakfast. After washing up, she pulled Yu Nanqing out the door.
It's still early; we can take a walk around the village and come back for breakfast later.
"Oh!" As they walked up the slope, Aunt Wang was the first to see Su Wanyan: "Dr. Su, you're up so early today? Have you had breakfast yet? Come on, come on! Come and eat with us!"
The snow that fell last night was up to Su Wanyan's calves. She took the opportunity to stand up and catch her breath, and said with a smile, "My husband and I will go for a walk in the village first."
Old Yang's daughter-in-law, heavily pregnant, stood in the yard, helping her husband with his work.
As soon as Aunt Wang called out, she quickly nudged her husband and whispered, "It's Doctor Su! Doctor Su is here!"
Old Yang's son, Yang Chong, is a kind, capable, and strong man. Right now, he is taking frozen vegetables out of the ice cellar. His wife is from another village and has only been married into this village for a little over a year. She is rather shy and speaks softly to the villagers.
Yang Chong turned around and saw that it really was Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing. He quickly put down what he was doing and said, "Dr. Su! Young Master Yu! Good morning!"
Su Wanyan responded with a laugh: "Good morning."
As they spoke, Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing continued walking up the slope.
Yang Chong's wife couldn't help but push him again.
Yang Chong scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Um, have Doctor Su and Young Master Yu eaten yet? Didn't they come to our house to eat? We just made breakfast, it's still warm!"
Su Wanyan smiled and replied, "Let's take a walk first."
"Okay, sure."
Yang Chong's wife listened anxiously, pursing her lips and whispering, "Tell me quickly."
Yang Chong was in a dilemma, but looking at his wife's nine-month pregnant belly, he gritted his teeth and said, "Dr. Su, my wife is about to give birth. When she gives birth... could you come and take a look?"
Su Wanyan and Yu Nanqing had already reached the top of the slope and were just a few steps away from passing Yang Chong's residence when they heard this and stopped and turned around: "Sure, I'll come and take a look when I have some free time today."
Upon hearing this, Yang Chong felt a huge weight lifted from his heart: "Okay! Thank you, Dr. Su! Thank you, thank you!"
Su Wanyan smiled and pulled Yu Nanqing along as they continued up the mountain.
Even if Yang Chong didn't say it, he had been keeping an eye on his wife's pregnancy.
However, the family seemed to have some concerns and hadn't come to her for a pulse diagnosis. Later, she learned from the side that Old Yang's family didn't have enough food stored up and they would probably have to rely on the villagers' help to get through the winter.
Therefore, he didn't have any extra gifts to offer, so he hadn't come to see Su Wanyan.
Not to mention Su Wanyan, the village doctor and the others hadn't gone to see her either. A few days ago, Yang Chong's wife had stomach pains and thought she was going into labor, but because they didn't have anything to offer, she insisted on staying home and waiting until she started bleeding before calling for help.
It turned out to be a false alarm.
Perhaps he was too proud to accept such kindness, or perhaps he didn't want to receive favors for nothing, but even though the villagers told him that Su Wanyan was providing free medical care to the villagers, he didn't come over.
Su Wanyan wasn't sure about these kinds of people, fearing that if she went to their door, she might hurt their self-esteem, so she had only kept a close eye on them.
Su Wanyan breathed a sigh of relief when Yang Chong spoke up today.
Whether it was on her mind or not, Su Wanyan walked and walked until she reached the village doctor's house.
When he came to his senses, he was stunned. Compared to the other houses in the village, the village doctor's house was located in a relatively remote area. Coincidentally, several families around the village doctor had moved away from the village, making the already remote residence even more desolate.
Su Wanyan was about to leave, holding Yu Nanqing's hand, when she saw the village doctor come out of the house, carrying a string of short firecrackers.
The village doctor was a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. He wore an animal skin hat and a cotton coat to keep warm, and had a sparse beard on his face.
The village doctor was also taken aback when he saw Su Wanyan.
He quickly put away the firecrackers and stepped forward: "Dr. Su? Young Master Yu? What brings you here? Was the medicine you gave me last time not enough? I still have some left at home. Since you're here, why don't you go in and take a look?"
Upon hearing that there was medicine, Su Wanyan became interested: "Great! I was just worried it might be inconvenient for you."
"Not at all!" the village doctor said with a beaming smile. "Please come in, please come in quickly."
The village doctor's name was Yang Zhonghe. Apart from the village head, he was considered one of the more educated people in the village.
Although his medical skills were not particularly proficient, what Su Wanyan admired was that he had taught himself all his medical skills. He couldn't treat serious illnesses, but he was adept at treating minor ailments. For example, he could usually diagnose most common ailments like colds and coughs with about 80-90% accuracy.
He has also learned acupuncture quite well on his own.
Aside from rare and difficult-to-treat illnesses and those caused by prolonged depression, there is enough medical care available for the villagers of this village.
Yang Zhonghe seemed to know this as well. When Su Wanyan saved the old man who had broken his leg, he originally wanted to learn some medical skills from Su Wanyan.
However, he discovered that the gap between him and Su Wanyan was not small. He admitted that he didn't even have the ability to learn things like surgery and bone setting, and even if he did, it would take more than a year or two to master.
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