He Yuhan saw that there was another man in the house who was a little older than Aunt Liu, and he was also watching the child. He must have been the one watching the child before.
Liu Jin introduced the two people, and He Yuhan then realized that this was Liu Zhongyi, Aunt Liu's older brother.
Liu Jin said, "Dr. He, this child is a girl. I found her in the mountains a few days ago. I guess her parents didn't want her because she was a girl, so they abandoned her in the mountains."
During those famine years, many families would abandon a baby girl as soon as she was born. They believed that girls were a waste of money and not worth wasting food on.
I felt sorry for the child and couldn't bear to watch her die, so I hardened my heart and brought her back.
But this child is too thin and weak; he must have been malnourished while in his mother's womb. In addition, we could only give him the broth from boiled corn porridge, so he was always sick due to malnutrition.
We're really broke, so I had no choice but to go into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs. I hope it will help treat my child's illness and also earn some money to buy food for him.
He Yuhan stepped forward, touched the child's forehead, and examined the child, saying, "This child caught a cold because of the cold weather and now has a high fever. We should bring her fever down immediately. I happen to have some fever reducers in my bag. Let's give the child some to bring the fever down first, otherwise it will be troublesome."
Liu Jin was overjoyed to hear this. "Oh, that's wonderful! Dr. He, we're so lucky to have met you. You're truly this child's benefactor."
He Yuhan smiled and said, "You are the child's benefactor, otherwise she might be dead by now. Do you have hot water at home? It would be best to dissolve the medicine in water and feed it to the child."
Liu Zhongyi quickly said, "I'll go boil some water right away."
He then ran out to boil water.
But he quickly ran back in, pointing outside in shock and saying, "How come there's a wild boar in the woodshed outside?"
Liu Jin said, "We'd all forgotten about that. Today I accidentally encountered a wild boar, and it was Doctor He who killed it and saved me. We couldn't bear to leave the boar behind, so we went through all the trouble to bring it back. Brother, could you take care of it later? We can make some meat soup for the children."
Liu Zhongyi said happily, "No problem, I'll go boil some water for the child first, and then I'll deal with this wild boar."
Soon Liu Zhongyi came in carrying a bowl of boiled water and an empty bowl.
He Yuhan took out a packet of children's cold medicine granules under the cover of her handbag and gave it to the child directly.
Such a young child shouldn't take medicine indiscriminately. The medicines given to adults are not suitable for her. Not only are they ineffective, but they can also be harmful to children. They also taste too bitter, making it difficult for children to swallow them.
This children's cold medicine is sweet; He Yuhan specially prepared it for her children, and it just so happens that it came in handy today.
The already limited amount of powder quickly cooled down, and then He Yuhan took a spoon and began to feed the child.
The medicine was sweet, and the child was hungry, so the child drank it smoothly without any resistance.
The three of them were very happy to see that the child had successfully drunk the medicine. As long as the child drank the medicine, there was hope that he would get better and survive.
Reassured that the child had taken the medicine, Liu Zhongyi went out to deal with the wild boar.
Looking at the child who had stopped crying, He Yuhan asked, "Aunt Liu, do you want to keep this child and raise him yourself?"
Liu Jin sighed and said, "If we don't take care of this child, who will want her? In the end, she will only starve to death. If we save a bite to eat, we might be able to save her life. I really can't bear to abandon this child."
Liu Jin wiped away her tears and said apologetically, "Why am I telling you all this? I feel a special connection with you, Dr. He, and I just wanted to share my innermost thoughts with you. I hope you don't find this amusing."
He Yuhan said, "No, your kindness and courage are admirable. In this day and age, who would raise someone else's child for no reason?"
He Yuhan turned to look at the sky outside. It was already evening, and she had to hurry back.
She said to Aunt Liu, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) holding her child, "Aunt Liu, it's getting late, I have to hurry back, otherwise my family will worry. I'm afraid they'll come looking for me. I'll come back tomorrow to see if the child's condition has improved."
Liu Jin said, "I don't know if my brother has finished cleaning this pig yet. Take some back with you. If you can't take it today, come back tomorrow. You killed this wild boar, so it's yours. We can't take advantage of you."
He Yuhan said, "Aunt Liu, don't say anything about taking advantage. We brought this wild boar back together, so of course you deserve half. If you feel bad about it, just give me the herbs you picked today. I need to pick herbs every day when I'm treating patients."
Liu Jin quickly said, "Take them if you need them. I originally collected these herbs for the child, and now that you've given the child fever reducer, I don't need them anymore."
He Yuhan said, "I will bring the medicine tomorrow to see how the child is doing. You can just wait at home. I have a lot of things to bring today, so I won't bring the pork. Please tell Uncle Liu not to worry."
Liu Jin said, "Alright, you can come pick it up tomorrow. We'll have everything ready for you."
He Yuhan thought for a moment and then said, "Aunt Liu, some of my friends in the city have been wanting to trade for some meat, especially wild game. If you want to trade this wild boar meat for some grain, I can trade you the grain they have stored with me for the pork."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin said, "Why do you need to trade with us? This wild boar originally belonged to you. You can take it all and don't need to give us any food."
He Yuhan felt that Aunt Liu was honest and wouldn't take advantage of anyone, so she thought she was worth befriending. She said, "Aunt Liu, listen to me. We both brought this wild boar back, so you should get a share. Besides, it was Uncle Liu who slaughtered it, and I didn't do much work."
My city friends don't lack food; they just want some meat. Because the city's meat supply is too limited, they have to find a way to get it from the countryside.
Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about the children and Uncle Liu. Now is not the time to be polite with me. Besides, that grain isn't mine.”
Liu Jin wiped away her tears with emotion and said, "Dr. He, thank you so much. To be honest, my family is short of food and we're about to go hungry. If we could exchange some food for this, that would be wonderful."
"Dr. He, I am so grateful, I can't thank you enough. Please let me know if you ever need any help in the future."
Liu Jin knew her family's situation; if they ran out of food, they really wouldn't be able to survive. With the addition of a child, things were even more difficult.
She was the only one in the family who knew about herbs. Perhaps she could earn some money by collecting herbs, otherwise she wouldn't have risked going into the mountains to collect them.
He Yuhan has done them a great favor, and she has to find a way to repay them.
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