Chapter 55 How many women in history have been buried and forgotten...?
Fan Yizhen has always loved trying new things, and she couldn't resist trying something as novel as "hot pot".
She quickly picked up a slice of meat as thin as a cicada's wing, dipped it lightly in the boiling red broth, and followed Wen Yu's method of "seven dips and eight lifts".
As she watched the tender slices of meat gradually curl up and turn an enticing brown color, she quickly rolled them in the sesame oil and minced garlic dipping sauce and eagerly put them into her mouth.
"Mmm!" Her eyes widened suddenly, and she couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh.
The taste was absolutely wonderful!
The sliced meat had been dipped in the fragrant and spicy broth, absorbing the essence of the soup. It was tender and chewy, with the spicy and savory flavors bursting on her tongue. She nodded repeatedly as she ate, ignoring the heat, and gestured "mmm" to Xia Huai beside her.
tasty!
Xia Huai was amused by her appearance and laughed until her eyes crinkled. She patted her companion and teased, "Look at this silly girl, she's so greedy she's not even afraid of getting burned!"
Turning around, Xia Huai saw that Dongyue and Qiuyan had already picked up their chopsticks and were putting vegetables and tofu into the pot. Xia Huai became anxious: "Hey! Leave some for me!"
At the beginning of the banquet, a few girls remembered their family's teachings and waited for their elders to start eating first.
It was clear that everyone was relaxed and at ease, adding whatever they wanted to the pot, and their initial restraint quickly dissipated.
They followed the example of others, picking up their favorite ingredients and carefully dipping them into the pot, savoring the unprecedented delicacies with satisfied expressions.
Wen Qingshi and Cui Ling usually eat light meals, but at this moment, they were also captivated by the mushroom soup.
The milky white soup bubbled and simmered in the pot, the fresh aroma of mushrooms rising with the steam. The mother and daughter each scooped out a small half bowl, gently blew on it to cool it down, and then slowly sipped it, savoring the delicious soup.
Wen Yu couldn't sit still, so he stood up and moved between the two pots, sometimes dipping a piece of tripe in the broth, sometimes scooping a spoonful of clear soup, enjoying himself immensely.
Back when she was still in modern times, she often traveled to different places, and in each place she would try the local delicacies, which is how she developed her tolerance for food.
She appreciates the beauty of light flavors and the deliciousness of spicy flavors; she's willing to try anything that's considered good food.
On the other side, Chen Miaozhi carefully placed the blanched vegetables into Jiang Mingpei's bowl and praised her gently, "Madam Jiang's cooking skills are really good. Look how happy everyone is eating."
Jiang Mingpei blushed slightly: "I just followed the recipe given by Miss Wen, it's really not worthy of praise."
The ingredient package Wen Yu gave her already contained various spices. When she cooked it, all she had to do was stir-fry the base ingredients until fragrant and add a certain amount of water at the right time.
She didn't think it was very difficult and didn't deserve praise from others.
“It’s good that everyone has their own strengths.” Chen Miaozhi smiled and put another slice of radish on her plate. “If it were someone else, they probably would have burned the base sauce.”
"Try it, isn't it delicious?"
Jiang Mingpei took a bite of the greens with some skepticism, but the delicious flavor filled her mouth, making her instantly forget her earlier modesty.
Is this really the kind of flavor she could make?
She couldn't resist adding a few more ingredients to the pot, her eyes filled with delight.
Wen Yu's comments section began to condemn the incident.
Ahhhhh, I want to eat this too! It feels like it's been so long since I've had hot pot QAQ
[Looking at the boiled chicken breast in the bowl, I burst into tears. Damn it! I'm at the gym! Why did I have to see this?! My diet meal suddenly lost its appeal.]
Why isn't there a tomato broth?! I want a tomato broth! Thumbs down!!
Choosing a divided hot pot is already a big favor to you guys! (Just kidding)
[Hilarious! Are you two, the clear broth faction and the spicy broth faction, about to start fighting again?]
[I'm very open-minded; a four-grid enthusiast just passing by...]
The meal drew to a close amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.
After the dishes were empty, the girls competed to clean up the mess, some tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, some wiping the table, and some carrying the pots to wash them, all busy and happy.
As dusk deepened, the lanterns under the eaves were just lit, and everyone sat together chatting in a peaceful atmosphere.
Suddenly, a rapid knocking sound came from outside the door, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.
A soldier's urgent voice rang out from outside the door: "Miss Wen, the lord has issued an urgent order to see you!"
Wen Yu stood up abruptly.
The cheers in the room came to an abrupt halt, and everyone else froze, anxiously looking in Wen Yu's direction.
Could something serious have happened?
Wen Yu took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, walked to the door, and opened it.
She exchanged a few words with the soldiers, keeping her voice very low.
Although the specific content could not be heard clearly, the solemn atmosphere made everyone's hearts involuntarily clench.
Wen Yu finally turned around and looked at everyone in the room, her gaze never settling on anything else.
"Sister, what happened?" Wen Qingshi asked anxiously.
"It's alright." Wen Yu waved her hand, then finally looked at the doctors over there and beckoned, "Dr. Liang, Dr. Cui, Sister Miaozhi, please come with me."
"The rest of you need not worry, just stay here."
Watching the four men leave with the soldiers, the others remaining in the house were still somewhat uneasy: "What exactly happened?"
----
The county government office was brightly lit by candlelight, and the county magistrate was pacing anxiously, looking restless.
Upon finally seeing Wen Yu and the others enter, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet them: "Miss Wen, the Lord has specially sent an envoy!"
Wen Yu had just heard the soldiers give a general account of the situation here, and now he bowed to the magistrate and the envoy: "Please tell me more."
The messenger returned the greeting with a solemn expression: "Recently, several neighboring counties have experienced sudden outbreaks of disease, with symptoms quite similar to those in Chengya County. The Prefect has specially ordered me to come here to inquire about prevention and control methods."
"What?!" Cui Pingchun and Chen Miaozhi exclaimed in unison, their faces showing surprise.
The fact that the epidemic has spread to other regions is no small matter.
The envoy sighed, “Many people fled Chengya County and dispersed to surrounding counties. Some of them were asymptomatic when they entered the city, but recently they have fallen ill one after another and have even infected their neighbors.”
Liang Shuyan frowned and pondered: "This epidemic does indeed have an incubation period, and it may not immediately manifest after contact with a patient."
The three doctors exchanged glances, then immediately moved to the table, laid out paper and ground ink, and wrote down all their observations from the past few days of diagnosis and treatment.
From severe to mild cases, from the elderly to young children, the prescriptions and treatments for all kinds of diseases are described in detail, and even special cases are marked one by one.
Wen Yu stared intently at them, then suddenly her eyes flashed: "Excuse me for a moment!"
She hurried away from the event and rushed back to her residence, asking as soon as she opened the door, "Qingshi, where are those epidemic prevention booklets we had before?"
Wen Qingshi immediately found the booklet. She had drawn countless books in recent days, and she knew every page of the illustrations by heart.
Wen Yu hurriedly returned to the county government office with the booklet and solemnly handed it to the messenger: "Prevention is better than cure. This booklet can teach people how to prevent epidemics, how to care for the sick, and how to keep their homes clean... If it can be widely disseminated, it will surely curb the spread of epidemics."
The envoy accepted the booklet with both hands and bowed deeply: "Miss Wen's foresight is truly admirable."
By this time, the three doctors had also compiled the medical records, a thick stack of prescriptions that were extremely detailed.
Liang Shuyan handed the manuscript to the messenger: "This is what we have been studying for some time. Please pass it on to the Prefect."
The envoy thanked them repeatedly, then took out his personal notebook and respectfully inquired about the names of the three men.
Cui Pingchun felt a sudden, inexplicable panic and pressed for an answer: "Why do you need to know our names?"
She was always worried that if her name got out, it would cause unnecessary trouble.
She escaped; what if her family finds out about her whereabouts...?
"The Prefect intends to compile the prescriptions of all the doctors into a book and distribute it to all counties for physicians to study." The envoy sorted through the stack of prescriptions, carefully put them away, and then looked at the booklet presented by Wen Yu. "Miss Wen's booklet on epidemic prevention will also be printed along with the book."
Cui Pingchun clenched his fist.
She wanted to refuse, but felt unwilling to do so.
She longed to have her own name on the fruits of her labor, yet she feared her family would find out she had fled to Luxi.
Will they disrupt her peaceful life and take away everything she has worked so hard to achieve?
After struggling for a long time, she hesitated before speaking, "How about changing my signature to the single character 'Cui'..."
"Cui?" the envoy asked, puzzled.
“Yes, a single word is enough.” Cui Pingchun lowered his eyes.
Wen Yu suddenly remembered something Qing Shi had mentioned in the past.
The woman who wrote a poem at the pavilion in the middle of the lake but dared not leave her name still regrets that night.
The viewers in the live chat clearly had also thought of this and became excited.
No, Sister Cui, what's yours is yours, and no one can take it away!
Why should you hide your identity? Your medical skills are second to none! Your name deserves to be remembered!
Don't be afraid. If anyone dares to say a bad word about you, the girls of Luxi Village will protect you!
[Family means nothing! Those old fogies, I'll chop them into mincemeat!]
Damn it, those guys dare to show their faces in front of me? I'll cut them into a bloody mist...
It's not that big.
[Wen Yu, stop her quickly! Don't let her repeat Aunt Cui's mistakes...]
She didn't want to expose Cui Ling's scars to people.
But she knew countless similar stories.
Countless women have been buried throughout history; she simply didn't want to see another one buried.
Wen Yu stepped forward slowly and interrupted, "Doctor Cui, have you ever heard a story?"
Cui Pingchun looked up.
"Once upon a time, there was a woman who disguised herself as a man and wrote an unparalleled poem, but dared not sign it for fear of what people would say. Later generations praised the poem countless times, and people debated the true author of the poem, but no one could be found to be the one who wrote it."
"It wasn't until a hundred years later, when someone discovered fragments of a poem in the tomb of an unnamed woman, that the truth came to light."
Cui Pingchun almost pinched his palms raw.
"No one has ever dared to think of this truth. Occasionally someone suggests it, but everyone refutes it, saying how could a woman have such talent? But the fact is, it was indeed done by a woman."
“The most lamentable thing is that the original manuscript did not have a name, and even her tombstone is only engraved with ‘Wang Li’.” Wen Yu slowly said, “Her original surname was Li. After marrying into the Wang family, even her own name was completely lost to history.”
"Such a brilliant and talented person, yet in the end, not even a name was left behind."
"Dr. Cui," she asked softly, "are you truly willing to accept this?"
Cui Pingchun lowered his head deeply.
When she looked up again, her eyes were glistening with tears: "Thank you for your guidance, Miss Wen."
She turned to the messenger and said firmly, "The signature will not be changed."
“Let’s call him Cui Pingchun.”
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The author's note: This is the moment of complete ideological transformation.
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