Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Serious Illness
When the oxcart arrived at the city gate, the yamen runners were cleaning up the porridge distribution materials on the outskirts of the city. There was a pile of pots and pans, as well as firewood, bricks, and homespun cloth. Many of these items were brought from the runners' own homes to make up the numbers. Everything had to be cleaned up thoroughly.
Many of the people there were also residents of the county who came voluntarily to help with the cleanup.
The refugees who had been gathering at the city gate finally left, and the residents of the county town no longer had to listen to the noisy commotion every day, nor did they have to live in fear that the refugees would come in and rob them.
They even left behind something coveted—a row of large latrines that Magistrate Meng had ordered to be built not far from the city gate using simple wooden planks.
The excrement from nearly a thousand people over a month, though smelly, is excellent farmyard manure for farmers.
Chief Constable Shi even arranged for his constables to guard the vicinity. This fertilizer was produced by the porridge consumed in their county and was also considered county government property, waiting for the big landowners in the city to come and collect it.
These fertilizers are worth quite a bit of money!
After shouting all day, Officer Shi's voice was hoarse. He looked up and saw Li Xiaoxiao's oxcart slowly coming in. He hurried forward and said in a hoarse voice, "Sister, you're back from herding cattle? Did you see the refugees who left? They've all been resettled in the countryside with the village head."
Li smiled and said, "I saw it, Officer Shi did a great job!" She gave him a thumbs up.
Officer Shi smiled so broadly that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes: "Your idea is really good. I didn't expect Lord Meng to agree so quickly..." His smile quickly vanished, and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes: "Lord Meng fell ill right after telling me about this this morning. I wonder how he is now..."
Li Xiaoxiao frowned: "Lord Meng has fallen ill again?"
Officer Shi sighed: "Lord Meng fell ill on his way to take up his post half a year ago. He hasn't even adapted yet, and now there's this incident with the refugees. He's been running around everywhere. It seems that his old illness hasn't healed and he's been afflicted with a new one."
Li smiled and said, "I see. Then I should hurry back."
Officer Shi immediately released the man: "You can leave now. If you need fodder, I'll talk to Old Tian, who delivers firewood, and have him send you a few days' worth of fodder. You don't need to pay."
Li Xiaoxiao waved to him, "Thanks then, I'll head back now."
Back in the backyard of the county government office, the doctor had already come. Mama Mao was decocting medicine and spotted her immediately: "The master is ill. This is the medicine prescribed by Doctor Xie. Come quickly and help watch the fire. I also need to prepare some light and nourishing food to send to the master."
Li Xiaoxiao gave an "oh" and took a small stool to sit in front of the medicine pot to watch the fire.
While she watched the fire simmer the medicine, Mama Mao used all her skills to make a sour bamboo shoot and old duck soup, a steamed fish, a small dish of blanched green vegetables, and a dish of beautifully presented snacks.
The other dishes were fine, but that plate of desserts completely shocked Li Xiaoxiao.
Then, Mom took out several elaborately designed molds from the cupboard, pressed the kneaded dough into the molds, and carefully tapped them out. They turned out to be peony flowers!
Mama Mao then used carrot puree, pumpkin puree, and jujube puree to mix various colors, making bright red persimmons, pink peaches, and round pumpkins, with a peony in the middle, making them look incredibly exquisite.
Two dishes, a soup, and a snack were carefully placed on a tray. Mother Mao told her, "Take this to the master's room."
Li Xiaoxiao watched as Madam Mao magically produced such an exquisite dish, and was amazed. She earnestly said to Madam Mao, "I think the master will definitely get better after eating this."
Mao's mother knew that Li Xiaoxiao was unsophisticated and would praise her for a long time for making something she had never seen before, but she was still proud and happy to receive recognition for her own skills: "Be careful, don't spill it."
Thinking of how Magistrate Meng's illness had dragged on for so long, she said worriedly, "I hope the master's appetite is better, that he can eat something, and not like when he first arrived..."
When Magistrate Meng first arrived in Biyang County, she also fell ill. At that time, the prefecture had plenty of manpower, and she was able to make more exquisite delicacies, but they were often sent there and then sent back in the same way.
Li Xiaoxiao thought that if Magistrate Meng still had no appetite after seeing this dish and snacks, how seriously ill must he be?
She comforted Mama Mao, "It's alright, some people are seriously ill but still eat a lot, just like me—"
Mother Mao looked at her strangely: "Who can be like you? If the adults had your appetite, what would I be worried about?" Perhaps it really is true that people are cheap and their lives are cheap. If it weren't for Doctor Xie's insistence that Li Xiaoxiao's injuries were serious, she would have thought he was joking.
Who can eat three big bowls of food every meal when they are so badly injured?
However, it may be precisely because she could eat and sleep well that she recovered from such a serious injury in just over ten days.
If Magistrate Meng had half her appetite, his illness wouldn't be a problem.
Sure enough, when Li Xiaoxiao delivered the food to the main room, it was returned almost untouched by Yingchun, who looked worried, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
When Mama Mao looked, she saw that only the soup with pickled bamboo shoots and old duck had been slightly reduced, and that the plate of green vegetables had been eaten by about two pieces, while the fish and snacks had not been touched at all.
Not to mention the bowl of white rice that was only half full; not a single grain had been touched.
Madam Mao looked worried: "Can't the master eat even a single bite?"
Yingchun said, "It was just a small bite of vegetables and half a bowl of soup. It took Madam a long time to persuade me to eat it."
Mother Mao glanced at the already prepared medicine: "If you don't eat something, drinking this medicine will harm your health."
Yingchun put down the food and said, "Master said to take the medicine over. Mama Mao, you can have the rest of the food."
However, for several days in a row, Lord Meng's meals were basically the same no matter how they were served there or brought back, and Doctor Xie came more and more often, and the medicine he prescribed smelled increasingly bitter.
The atmosphere in the mansion was gloomy and desolate. Meng Guanqi and Meng Liniang stayed in the main room day and night to take care of the ailing man, not daring to leave for even a moment.
The kitchen was filled with the smell of medicine all day long, and Magistrate Meng's diet gradually changed from ordinary dishes to expensive tonics such as bird's nest porridge and ginseng soup.
Li Xiaoxiao was not from this world. She was used to being alone and only thinking about herself. It was only two days after Magistrate Meng fell seriously ill that she belatedly realized that Magistrate Meng's serious illness seemed to be very serious.
First of all, the entire Meng family, including the front and back courtyards, totaling more than twenty people, all depended on Magistrate Meng for their livelihood. The women in the back courtyard had a low status and could not show their faces in public. If Magistrate Meng fell seriously ill and died, the entire Meng family would fall apart like a collapsing building.
The eldest son, Meng Guanqi, is only fourteen years old. If Magistrate Meng dies, he will immediately take over the family's burden and become the next head of the family. However, he only has the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination). Xiucai cannot become an official. Once Magistrate Meng is gone, the backyard of the county government will be taken back and reserved for the next magistrate to live in. In other words, they will immediately be homeless.
With Magistrate Meng gone, Meng Guanqi, who has no official position and no salary, certainly couldn't afford to support so many servants. She, who had just been bought and signed a life-or-death contract, would definitely be the first person to be abandoned.
She had neither the skill of Madam Mao, nor the personal maid of the madam or concubine, nor any connection with the young master or young lady, nor was she even born into the household. Therefore, she was not even as good as ten-year-old Liuzhi by Granny Qi's side. If servants were to be sold, she would definitely be the first to be targeted.
Li Xiaoxiao felt that she had finally found a comfortable place to live a life of leisure, but less than two months later, she already had to find a new place to settle down? Moreover, she didn't know the strength of the next buyer, or whether they would treat her like an animal.
After all, her current situation is relatively comfortable. Magistrate Meng's household is simple, and there are not many intrigues. As long as she completes her daily work, she can basically slack off in the rest of the time. She has no worries about food and drink and no safety hazards. How can she just watch Magistrate Meng die of illness like this?
Therefore, Magistrate Meng was unable to cure the disease, and even she began to get anxious.
She has been in this world for almost two months and has learned that without an identity or household registration, she is not even a "person" but merely a "commodity" that can be traded at will, let alone any "rights". After being seriously injured, her superpowers disappeared. Although she looks strong, she actually has no ability to protect herself.
She doesn't want to leave this decent employer's house for the time being.
She lay in bed, clutching the necklace around her neck, experiencing insomnia for the first time.
The necklace contained all her belongings from the apocalypse, including life-saving medicine, but she couldn't take it out.
Her special ability was completely used up while healing her injuries, and her dantian was already empty. Without her special ability, she couldn't take the items out of the necklace.
Even though Magistrate Meng was from a different world than her, she knew how rare an upright and honest magistrate was, and she didn't want his passing to affect her currently satisfactory life.
She had to find a way to save his life.
An accident during her escape led her to learn that her superpowers could be restored through some means, but the method was something she found hard to accept now.
But from the perspective of long-term survival, she had to do this.
The next morning, just as she filled the water tank, Ah Sheng arrived.
Madam Mao glanced at the water clock; it wasn't even dawn yet. She asked in surprise, "Asheng, why are you up so early?"
Ah Sheng said, "Madam Mao, the young master asked you to prepare twenty steamed buns. We need to go to the prefectural city to invite a more skilled doctor to treat the master."
Madam Mao's spirits lifted. That's right! The best doctor in Biyang County has already been consulted, but he still can't cure the master's illness, and it's even getting worse. If you, young master, can go to the prefectural city to find an even more skilled doctor to treat the master, he will definitely get better!
She immediately started kneading the dough: "Give me half an hour, and the steamed buns will be ready soon."
Ah Sheng said, "We'll set off as soon as it's light, and hopefully we can get back the day after tomorrow."
Biyang County is poor and remote, about 300 li away from the prefectural city of Lin'an. It takes almost a day to go there by carriage and another day to return. So the best outcome would be to be able to invite a doctor to come back with us the next day. Lord Meng's illness cannot be delayed any longer.
After explaining things to Mama Mao, Ah Sheng immediately ran to the front yard to ask Steward Zhao to arrange the carriage.
Madam Mao kneaded the dough and shaped the buns. After finishing a batch, she immediately told Li Xiaoxiao to start steaming them. While her hands were busy, she sighed, "I hope the young master can bring back a skilled doctor this time to cure the master's illness. Our whole family is counting on the master..."
Li Xiaoxiao was about to add some firewood to the stove when she found it empty. She went to the back of the woodshed to get more firewood, but discovered that there was very little left.
She returned to the kitchen and said, "Aunt Mao, Lao Tian hasn't brought any firewood for three or four days. We don't have enough firewood in the woodshed."
A note from the author:
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