Chapter 53 An Old Friend Appears in My Dreams That girl was, after all, not Huaiyu, so…
At the alley entrance, a young man whispered to his companion, "I heard that a Buddhist nun named Jingyun is distributing porridge over there..."
The middle-aged man next to him looked on in surprise: "Giving out porridge at this time? Nine out of ten people who go to get it are probably sick. Who would dare to go?"
But a passerby stopped and leaned out, interjecting, "I heard that they added a remedy to that porridge; the old lady next door was able to get out of bed and walk again after drinking it..."
The two were skeptical: "Is it really that effective?"
"If you don't believe me, then forget it!" The passerby shook his head, looking like he didn't want to argue. "That layman also had people distribute something called a mask. It's said that wearing it on your face can block out illness. If you're worried, why don't you go and get one first?"
After saying that, the passerby hurriedly left: "I'm not chatting anymore, I'm going over there to get my porridge!"
The two who remained looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then changed their minds: "How about... we go and take a look too?"
Wen Yu happened to be passing by the street corner when he overheard this discussion.
She pretended not to hear anything and quickened her pace to leave, but couldn't help but wonder: Why does the name Jingyun sound so familiar?
Where exactly did I hear this from?
After thinking for a while without reaching a conclusion, Wen Yu shook off her distracting thoughts and continued walking towards the free clinic.
She knew that Cui Pingchun and the others were distributing epidemic prevention supplies for free. If they wanted to stop the spread of the plague, they had to start from small things.
After nearly a week in the city, the atmosphere was no longer as desperate as when I first arrived.
Everyone performed their duties: some went to the homes of seriously ill patients to see doctors, some held consultations at the clinic, and some were responsible for dispensing and preparing medicine. The whole process was orderly and smooth, and miraculously calmed the wavering hearts of the people.
Those already ill in the city gradually improved after taking the prescriptions of Cui Pingchun and others. Even the doctors who had previously contracted the disease recovered about 70-80% under their treatment. Although they still had some symptoms and were not completely cured, they were already able to walk and would soon be fully recovered.
"We'll definitely come back to help once we've recovered!" The doctors thanked them profusely and made repeated promises.
In the past, when people fell ill, they could only wait to die. They might even be driven out of their homes by their healthy families and end up on the streets, a truly pitiful sight.
But now, that idea has been replaced by a new one.
When someone gets sick and wants to leave home so as not to burden their family, their family members, upon hearing the news, say, "It's okay, they can save you."
"Hold on, Mother will take you to find Doctor Liang and the others..."
"With them here, nothing will happen to you..."
Countless words of praise and encouragement have been expressed in their boundless trust in them.
Wen Yu and the others were not idle either.
During these days, Wen Yu did not join Liang Shuyan and others in providing free medical services. Instead, they assigned her another important task.
“We are going to fully implement epidemic prevention measures in Chengya County,” Liang Shuyan said, handing a stack of papers to Wen Yu. “Please help us spread the word.”
"Publicity?" Wen Yu asked, somewhat surprised.
Liang Shuyan said solemnly, "Public awareness and treatment are equally important. If we only focus on treating the disease and neglect prevention, the epidemic will definitely recur."
Wen Yu carefully examined the leaflet in her hand, which contained basic epidemic prevention knowledge: drinking water must be boiled, patients need to be isolated separately, patients' dishes and clothes should be washed separately, residences should be frequently fumigated with herbs, and doors and windows should be opened frequently to maintain ventilation.
She originally thought these were common sense, but she underestimated the level of awareness of ordinary people in this era.
“Many people are illiterate and have never been exposed to related knowledge. What we consider common sense is a pipe dream to them,” Liang Shuyan instructed. “Therefore, we cannot rely solely on distributing leaflets for publicity. You need to think of more ways, and it would be best to explain things to the public in detail.”
After much deliberation, Wen Yu decided to adopt the same publicity strategies he had seen in modern times.
She first found a relatively empty space with high foot traffic nearby, gathered some materials, and simply set up a small lecture hall. She decided to carry out a publicity campaign there and explain epidemic prevention knowledge to passersby.
Those who participate in the event can receive leaflets and epidemic prevention brochures. If they listen carefully and answer the questions correctly, they can also receive some herbal medicine packets from Wen Yu.
The source of the herbs was, of course, her personal spiritual field. The prescription was carefully prepared by Liang Shuyan, and wearing it on her body could prevent disease.
To make it understandable even for illiterate people, Wen Qingshi pulled Wen Yue along as an assistant and creatively added illustrations to the leaflets, so that even young children could roughly understand what they meant.
She also prepared a simple and easy-to-understand speech for Wen Yu.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in literacy classes, so I understand their thinking,” Wen Qingshi explained as he wrote. “If you say that tap water can spread disease, they might not understand. But if you say that the water in the city is ‘poisonous’ and that boiling it can ‘detoxify’, they will understand and be willing to do it.”
The multi-pronged approach yielded remarkable results.
At first, the people were skeptical of Wen Yu, but after learning that they were companions of Doctor Cui, they lowered their guard and became more enthusiastic. Every day, different faces listened to the lectures in front of the stall.
Wen Qingshi's prepared speech hit the nail on the head, and after several days of publicity, everyone from young children to the elderly understood the importance of drinking boiled water and ventilating frequently.
No one drank raw water from the well or river anymore, and the patients and others used and stored their own bowls and chopsticks separately.
These measures had an immediate effect, and the number of new infections finally began to decline significantly.
Once everything was arranged, Wen Yu finally received permission to help out at the free clinic.
She handed over the publicity work to Qing Shi and Wen Yue, and told them to take good precautions.
By this time, the audience was already in an uproar, everyone eager to see how Cui Pingchun and her team would treat the patients.
Why aren't you filming the entire treatment process? Is it to save money?
[I need medical treatment! Everyone has been here for so long, and I haven't seen a single patient! This is outrageous!]
While popularizing knowledge about epidemic prevention is necessary, I'm really getting tired of seeing it.
[Don't worry, don't worry, Wen Yu can go and observe the treatment today!]
I've been waiting for so long, let me see! Let me see!
Wen Yu walked through several alleys to reach the free clinic. There were not as many people queuing up as before, and everyone was seeing doctors and getting prescriptions in a very orderly manner. The scene was so quiet that it surprised her.
She adjusted her mask and, during a break from seeing patients, asked Liang Shuyan, "I just heard about a hermit named Jingyun on the roadside. I wonder who she is?"
Liang Shuyan put down her pen and replied, "On the day we arrived, we happened to witness Doctor Zhu swindling money from the lay Buddhist, claiming it was to accumulate merit by distributing medicine. After we exposed his scam, the lay Buddhist donated the money to us for expenses."
Wen Yu then realized what was happening.
Although she had heard about this matter, everyone's attention that day was focused on Doctor Zhu's deserved fate, and they did not discuss the matter of the lay Buddhist in detail.
"The medicinal porridge we developed was deemed feasible by the lay Buddhists. Porridge is easy to digest and is just right for patients, so it was promoted."
She pointed to several students who were distributing porridge to the public: "We distributed masks to the public and let them collect them in an orderly manner. The order is being maintained very well now."
She suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, that laywoman is Dr. Cui's aunt. If you want to see her, perhaps you can ask Dr. Cui to introduce you."
Wen Yu was just about to look for Cui Pingchun when she looked around but couldn't find her anywhere. She only saw Chen Miaozhi arranging medicinal herbs on the side.
Turning around, I saw a woman wearing a veil standing not far away.
Are those the lay Buddhists they were talking about?
----
Cui Ling has been standing here for some time.
Although Wen Yu hadn't noticed her before, she recognized the young girl at a glance.
The last time they met was at the official market, where she gave the girl a sum of money to redeem the orphan girl who looked just like her daughter.
Now, beside Wen Yu, she did not see the girl.
Although they were not related, she couldn't help but want to find out the truth.
She stepped forward slowly and asked casually, "That child... how is he now?"
Wen Yu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what she was talking about, but subconsciously opened the character panel.
Cui Ling, 35 years old, female, former Mrs. Shen...
She's seen this panel before!
Wen Yu was shocked. This Jingyun Hermit was actually Cui Ling, Wen Qingshi's birth mother!
So the girl she asked about... must be Aotoshi?
She didn't know what to say for a moment, so she could only answer carefully: "Replying to the layman, after that girl came back with me, I recognized her as my sworn sister. Now our family is doing very well, and she is also working as a teaching assistant at the village academy. She has a very fulfilling life every day."
Cui Ling was lost in thought.
Yes, she had heard of it.
The girl who won first place at that literary gathering was from Luxi Village, and she must be the girl who was redeemed by Wen Yu.
very nice.
If her Huaiyu had the chance to grow up, she would definitely not lose to anyone.
She can also stand out at literary gatherings, and she can also enter academies; perhaps in the future, she can even...
But her love for Huaiyu has no future.
Thinking back on the past, she felt another pang of heartache.
Cui Ling shook her head, reminding herself not to be so persistent. If Huaiyu knew that her mother had been grieving for her, she would definitely be sad.
"I understand." Cui Ling put on a faint smile again and said a few more words, which was rare for her. "Thank you for telling me, Miss Wen. I wish your family happiness and fulfillment."
Seeing this, the viewers in the live chat also started to chime in.
[Why does this person look so familiar? I feel like I've seen them somewhere before...]
[I think so too. Are you also a long-time viewer who's been watching for a while? Is this a character who appeared in the early episodes?]
[Is it possible that previous NPCs were reused?]
[I think it's unlikely. Every face in Wen Yu's live stream represents only one identity. I've never seen an actor play two roles before, which is why the sense of immersion is so strong.]
[Oh, I know what you're talking about. I started watching from the part where Wen Yu dug the well, so I vaguely remember it. Let me go find some clips!]
[What's going on? I'm new here, what's the storyline about digging a well?]
[Me too, me too! I started reading from the literary gathering. Is there anything I don't know?]
[Gentlemen, I'm back! I found the slice! It turns out this lady was the kind person who gave Lin Lan some money when Wen Yu went to the official market to redeem Qing.]
[My goodness, the foreshadowing is so deep? So what exactly is her role?]
I do know that Qing Shi used to be a young lady of the Shen family. Could this person be someone with some connection to the Shen family?
[No, Wen Yu didn't say...]
A group of people discussed it for a long time, but couldn't reach a conclusion.
Wen Yu originally thought that the other party already knew Qing Shi's identity, but her expression didn't seem to indicate that.
As she was pondering whether she should arrange for the mother and daughter to meet, Cui Pingchun happened to walk over from the other side and asked in confusion, "Aunt, do you know each other?"
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Author's Note: I'll have a free day tomorrow, then update with 10,000 words [starry eyes]
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