Chapter 236: Severe Illness Requires Strong Medicine

Yan Lao’er stood frozen in place when he received the money.

“This… this is a lot more,” he stammered.

Yan Huaiwen explained patiently, “This isn’t just for buying medicine. Part of it covers the masks you brought earlier—His Excellency counted it as an official purchase, two wen per mask.

The travel expenses for you and Qi Si on your journey to Longxing are included as well.

Also, His Excellency would like you to continue helping with procurement.”

Yan Lao’er looked unsure. He glanced around carefully and lowered his voice. “Brother, there’s no need to count extra. Really, we only need to get back what we spent. You—don’t take risks for our sake…”

“What are you thinking!” If not for the wooden railing between them, Yan Huaiwen would have liked to knock him on the head to wake him up.

“This is all with His Excellency’s approval.”

He was about to tell him, “Whatever the shopkeepers write down, just take it,” but swallowed the words in the end.

Forget it—at worst, he’d report to Magistrate Tian every time.

Why should my Tian You, so pure of heart, move in the dark like a thief?

Yan Lao’er’s worry faded, and his smile widened.

“His Excellency trusts me? Gave me this much silver?”

This advance was double what he’d received last time.

All of it official silver, cast from the same mold—no matter how he looked at it, it was beautiful.

Yan Huaiwen nodded with a smile.

He watched as Tian You, kneeling on a cloth mat, touched this and examined that with wide-eyed curiosity.

Like a child who had never seen the world.

He cleared his throat lightly and said, “This time is different from the last. You can take your time on the road. The medicine delivered today should last a while.”

Yan Lao’er quickly asked, “Are the sick folks doing better?”

“There’s been some improvement,” Yan Huaiwen replied. “Doctor An, whom you brought in, has remarkable skill.”

He’d reviewed the prescriptions, and though it might be a stretch to call them ingenious, compared to other physicians, Doctor An’s strength lay in his boldness.

Severe illness requires strong medicine.

Many physicians understand this principle, but few dare to act on it.

Because all medicine is, to some extent, poisonous—strong doses work fast and can save lives, but they also harm the body’s foundation.

Yet when weighed against survival, what does lasting damage matter?

Gain and loss—it’s a choice the healer must make.

And many falter at that crossroads.

A compassionate heart must be matched with thunderous hands.

“Big Brother, I’m thinking of going to Changping—well, really to Linhai Prefecture. Not just to buy medicine. Folks in the village are worried food prices might rise. We won’t harvest our own grain until next autumn. What His Excellency gave us won’t be enough, so we’d like to stock up more.”

Yan Huaiwen said, “Xiao Er mentioned this to me just yesterday. If you want to buy grain, Linhai Prefecture is a suitable place. But… you’ll have to pass through Gufeng and Changping. Changping is manageable, but Gufeng—things aren’t looking good there.”

He recalled Doctor An’s reaction when he asked about Gufeng.

And… what hard measures the government might take if the epidemic becomes uncontrollable.

“We plan to take the river. The river in our village flows downstream from Longxing, starting up in Fengming, and passes through Gufeng and Changping. If it works, we can bypass Gufeng entirely… But Big Brother, there’s one more thing…”

He explained how some villagers wanted to seek out their relatives.

“…Some may end up following us to Guanzhou. If they take the official road, they’ll likely pass through Gufeng,” Yan Lao’er said, visibly worried.

“The Crouching Tiger garrison regularly sends messages to Yongning and official documents pass through Gufeng. I’ll find someone to help inquire—see if there’s anyone from Qishan Prefecture. And if couriers are dispatched there later, we can ask them to check if any household records have changed.”

He added, “If you want to go by river, best to ask a boatman with experience. See if it’s feasible…”

Just then, Liang Manshan came striding over.

“Brother Huai’an! Good thing you’re still here.” He looked pleased to see Yan Lao’er still outside the railing.

“Could you take this home for me and give it to my father?” He handed over a bundle.

Curious, Yan Lao’er gave it a squeeze through the cloth.

“Manshan, what’s all this? Feels like… paper?”

Yan Huaiwen gave a disapproving cough.

Liang Manshan blushed slightly but felt close enough to Yan Lao’er to only be a little embarrassed.

He chuckled, “His Excellency rewarded me with it. I don’t need that much, so I’m sending it home. Fengnian’s learning to read and write—it’ll come in handy.”

Yan Lao’er showed no mockery, only admiration. “Manshan, you really have a father’s heart.”

He winked at Old Yan.

Don’t you have anything to say?

Yan Huaiwen, face calm, silently handed over a barely noticeable bundle from behind his back.

“There’s a letter from me in there. You’ll know when you get home.”

Yan Lao’er gave it a feel, then grinned.

Flashing a big smile, he said, “Brother, what a coincidence—I bought paper for you, too! Thought you’d need it for writing documents. Can’t neglect your studies, and this’ll be useful.”

Happily, he handed over the bundle he’d prepared.

Yan Huaiwen gave a small smile, and his eyes—visible above his mask—softened.

Liang Manshan stood dumbfounded beside them.

What are you two doing?

Swapping paper?

Yan Lao’er began chattering again about village and family matters.

How the village threshing yard needed a new millstone.

How they had to make new furniture at home.

How last night they’d handed out money for collecting herbs, and everyone was overjoyed.

Longxing was a big city, completely different from Crouching Tiger. It didn’t feel as warm or close-knit…

Finally, Yan Lao’er remembered his daughter’s request.

“Xiao Er said she wants to buy some small sickles and little hoes—so the kids can forage more easily in the mountains. Also, every household in the village needs to get large clay vats. I’m afraid there won’t be enough in town. Brother, are those sold in abundance here in Crouching Tiger?”

Liang Manshan answered, “Right now, everyone in the city is keeping their doors shut, shops are boarded up, and there’s no business. You bring trade to their doorstep—they’d be thrilled. Leave it to me.”

Yan Lao’er beamed. “Manshan, you pick a time. We’ll send someone over then to collect everything.”

Liang Manshan thought for a moment. “Give them two days to prepare—more than enough. The day after tomorrow, then. Have someone from the village come by.”

“It’s just that sickles and hoes… being iron tools, and in such quantity, I’m afraid we’ll need His Excellency’s approval.” He looked to Yan Huaiwen.

Though both served as Household Registrars, their duties differed.

Liang Manshan mostly worked within the city—census checks, inventory audits… He dealt more with the urban households.

Yan Huaiwen, on the other hand, focused on affairs outside the city walls—resettling refugees, distributing grain and medicine, coordinating all kinds of supplies. And because of his exceptional writing skills, he was also involved with official correspondence between cities, documents within the Government Office, internal records, public announcements… all fell within his purview.

It could be said that with the rise of the Tian household, he had become Master Tian’s trusted right hand—heavily relied upon.

“I’ve made a note of it,” Yan Huaiwen said. “I’ll bring it up with His Excellency.”

“Brother, could we ask Doctor An to come by again? I want to ask if we should stick to the same prescription as last time when buying medicine,” said Yan Lao’er, meticulous and diligent in his work.

Especially now, since His Excellency had rewarded him with so much silver—such trust!

How could he not take it even more seriously?

(End of chapter)