Chapter 204: Medicine

Doctor An glanced at the servant. The servant shrank his neck and shut his mouth.

Yan Yu said openly, “It’s just that I vaguely remember seeing something like this before, that’s why I thought of this idea. My uncle, Uncle Liang, and the city guards were all wearing masks. I don’t know if it was because of that they didn’t catch it, so we’re planning to make more to send over. It’s not good to keep using the same one over and over.”

“Once replaced, they must be thoroughly washed and dried before being reused,” Doctor An instructed.

Yan Yu nodded repeatedly.

This led them to start talking about the idea of separating patients.

“My dad says all the refugees are living together. Doesn’t that just make it easier to spread?”

She poked Yan Lao’er in the back.

Yan Lao’er straightened his back, signaling he got the message.

He kept up the act of driving the cart and said, “Exactly. I didn’t think it made sense either. It’s just like farming—rice is rice, wheat is wheat, how can you plant them in the same field? The amount of water and fertilizer needed is different. They should be separated too. The seriously ill should take more medicine, the mildly ill less. There’s not enough medicine now, so we’ve got to conserve…”

The father and daughter teamed up and chattered on, throwing in quite a bit of personal opinion.

Doctor An took it all in, turning his head thoughtfully.

When they entered the village, right at the most conspicuous big stone, it was a flurry of activity—all women hard at work.

Doctor An saw they were sewing masks and gained a direct understanding of what the Yan family meant by “making more.”

The servant’s jaw practically hit the ground.

In one spot, baskets and woven containers were piled high with masks, stacked sky high!

Following Li Xuemei’s suggestion, the women had already started dividing up the tasks.

Madam Rong was cutting new cloth exclusively.

Madam Luo led a group cutting the fabric and old clothes everyone brought, matching them to the size of the new cloth.

Er Tie led several children to neatly layer two pieces of fabric together, which were then distributed to the women in each household.

They only needed to sew three edges, then set it aside.

Other children helped collect the finished ones and delivered them to Da Ya of the Yan family.

Da Ya and several close girlfriends were stuffing mugwort inside.

The masks continued to be passed along.

Old Madam Qi handled the final step of binding the edges all by herself.

Don’t be fooled by her poor eyesight—once her fingers touched the cloth, she knew exactly where to stitch. She sewed fast and well.

As for the last step—attaching the ear loops—Madam Qi’s two daughters joined her. All three had been taught by Old Madam Qi, and were equally skillful and quick.

With team leader Yan Yu absent, Er Tie had resumed command. Following the orders of his grandfather, Village Chief Luo, he was helping manage the relay.

With a clear rhythm, the work was highly efficient.

When Yan Lao’er returned to the village with guests, the first to notice was Li Xuemei.

She quickly put down her work, grabbed the kettle that had been sitting on the stove, and poured water for the guests from afar.

That conspicuous medicine chest had already revealed their identities.

Her eyes burned as she looked at her husband and daughter, joy flooding her heart.

They had actually brought the doctor!

Doctors seem to have a radar for one another.

Usually slow to act, Physician Cui somehow wandered over and couldn’t take his eyes off Doctor An once he saw them, slowly inching closer.

Yan Lao’er spotted him and quickly helped make introductions.

He said to Doctor An, “This is Physician Cui from our village.”

Then he introduced Doctor An to Cui: “Brother Cui, this is Doctor An from the Huimin Hall in Yongning City.”

Physician Cui greeted them with an especially humble posture.

A rural village doctor, facing a proper clinic doctor, instinctively felt a step lower.

Luckily, with Yan Lao’er mediating and Doctor An being polite and warm, he didn’t feel too uncomfortable and stayed on naturally.

Though he didn’t speak it aloud, Physician Cui had been pondering how to help with the plague in Crouching Tiger City. Before he could make sense of it all, he was eager to hear the insight of a doctor from the prefecture capital.

Doctor An took a seat and immediately asked to inspect the medicine stores mentioned by the Yan family.

“Without medicine, even the best medical skills are wasted. I came here for this batch of medicinal herbs.”

He had seemed calm and steady in Yongning City, but now he moved with surprising decisiveness.

“Let’s look at the medicine first, then talk about the rest.”

Yan Lao’er hastily agreed.

Yan Yu promptly called on Er Tie, San Tie, Big Dog, Little Dog… all her many brothers to help move out all the medicinal herbs the Yan family had gradually gathered along the way.

Only then did Physician Cui realize how dire the medicine shortage was.

Even Yongning, a prefecture-level city, had nearly emptied its reserves.

It showed just how fierce this plague really was.

Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice.

And a doctor without medicine is no different from a salted fish.

Physician Cui clenched his fists, eyes unconsciously searching for his wife.

Madam Cui hadn’t been paying much attention before, but when the Yan family started bringing out their medicine stockpile, she too instinctively looked for her husband.

Their eyes met.

Physician Cui’s first reaction was to dodge and shrink back.

Madam Cui immediately glared at him, handed her work to someone else, and stormed over.

She swept the area with her eyes, grabbed Yan Lao’er’s brother, and got the full story.

Her sharp eyes locked onto Physician Cui.

“Husband, come here a moment.” With guests present, Madam Cui showed restraint.

Physician Cui grew nervous.

He didn’t want to move, but didn’t dare not to.

The two of them went back to their house.

It was right behind the Yan family’s courtyard—quite close.

“What’s going through your head? You planning to relapse again?” Madam Cui scolded in a low voice, hands on hips. “Look at our house—what do we have left? Not even a proper roof over our heads, and you want to play the generous pauper, flaunt the little we still own?”

She spoke clearly and fast: “I didn’t say a word before when you secretly gave people medicine on credit. But now? Don’t even think about it! I’m asking you—are you even thinking about it? Planning to give away what little we’ve got?”

Seeing him silent, Madam Cui panicked. She slapped her thigh and squinted her eyes, ready to cry though the tears hadn’t yet come—her tone was that of a sorrowful opera:

“Oh heavens above! Why is life so bitter for us womenfolk? Following you, we’ve chewed chaff and swallowed wild herbs, fled our home, lived like vagrants—and now, just when we have a bit of hope, you want to give it all away! My poor little Doggie and Big Doggie, we’re all about to be left with nothing but wind to drink! Heaven, open your eyes and strike him with a bolt of lightning—wake him up!”

“Alright, alright, stop it. I haven’t even said anything yet. If you don’t agree, how would I dare touch the family’s medicine?” Physician Cui looked helpless and innocent. He hadn’t even opened his mouth before she drowned him out with her dramatic monologue.

Boom!

A muffled thunderclap rumbled through a clear sky!

It came out of nowhere.

Flashes of lightning flickered faintly in the sky.

Dark clouds slowly began to gather.

The couple looked up at the same time.

Madam Cui’s open mouth didn’t close for a while. Then a small raindrop landed precisely in her mouth.

She smacked her lips, finally coming back to her senses.

She looked a little scared as she asked, “Is it raining? Was… was that lightning?”

Physician Cui was also startled. He quickly went to cover her mouth.

“Oh my ancestors, please stop talking. That thunder really answered you!”

(End of Chapter)