Chapter 262: Gufeng’s Prescription Revision

Gufeng City was in a state of utter chaos.

At first, no one paid much attention to the man who claimed he was simply delivering a family letter to Doctor An of Huimin Hall.

But the moment Doctor An returned, he went straight to the Government Office and brought up the matter of Crouching Tiger City.

He even wanted to revise the prescription.

Despite the general restrictions, information between major cities wasn’t entirely cut off. The lockdowns mainly affected commoners. Official documents still moved freely between cities.

With Gufeng in a dire situation and Crouching Tiger’s condition also drawing concern, both cities were under close watch.

Especially since Crouching Tiger had managed to pull off a successful self-rescue.

Not only was Gufeng well-informed of the details, even Yongning City had sent someone specifically to discuss the matter.

But each city had its own circumstances.

What worked for Crouching Tiger might not suit Gufeng at all.

Take Crouching Tiger’s quarantine measures, for example.

Did anyone know how many patients Gufeng was dealing with?

And things like masks and protective clothing—they simply couldn’t afford them.

As for having the disaster victims help out? That was nothing more than a fantasy.

Crouching Tiger had taken swift action at the onset of the outbreak. Both patients and citizens cooperated fully. But Gufeng… had delayed too long.

The refugees outside the city were in constant fear, and even those within the city had lost faith in the Government Office. Their response was apathetic at best.

You could say Crouching Tiger was like a child who had recovered from illness—already forgetting the pain, full of vigor once more.

Gufeng, on the other hand, was like an elderly man on his deathbed. One wrong move, and it would be farewell forever.

Lord Min of Gufeng City was preparing to inspect the refugee camps outside the city that day.

When his aide came to report, his hand, which had been adjusting his face covering, paused mid-motion.

“My lord?”

“Let’s go. We’ll take a look ourselves.”

His gaze swept over the stack of official documents on his desk.

Among them were detailed records of the prescriptions used in Crouching Tiger City.

The handwriting was smooth and neat, the formatting precise and meticulous.

Just looking at it brought a sense of satisfaction.

Whoever wrote it clearly had a fine hand and a solid grasp of official script.

…

Yan Lao’er hadn’t expected that even the top official of Gufeng City would be stirred into action.

Of course, the big shot didn’t spare him a glance and went straight to Doctor An, taking the prescription that had been tucked inside the family letter.

After a long moment of contemplation, he finally said, “There are two prescriptions here. One of them I’ve seen before in a document sent from Crouching Tiger. The other, however, is new to me.”

Doctor An quickly explained, “The second one was adjusted after the patients began to recover. The dosage was reduced, and some warming and qi-tonifying herbs were added.”

Lord Min nodded.

“Though both Gufeng and Crouching Tiger have been struck by the plague, our situations are not the same. The Prefectural City has already scoured the region for medicinal supplies and sent them to us, but the shortage is still severe. There are simply too many sick people in Gufeng…”

There was a note of helplessness in his sigh.

Doctor An hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, “My lord, my family has practiced medicine for three generations. My son is the most gifted among his peers. While his prescriptions are aggressive and lack the subtlety of proper dosage balancing, for those who’ve been ill for a long time, it might just be the lifeline they need. It’s worth a try.”

Lord Min looked at the elderly doctor, whose hair had already turned white.

Huimin Hall had always been a modest clinic in Yongning City, serving common folk and rarely gaining recognition among the elite.

But on this trip to Gufeng, Huimin Hall had made a name for itself.

All three of the Doctor Ans had shown unwavering dedication, tending to patients day and night in the makeshift medical hut outside the city. They had poured their hearts into treating the sick.

Among the refugees, the reputation of the three doctors likely surpassed even that of the County Magistrate himself.

Given that it was Doctor An’s suggestion, Lord Min had no choice but to give it serious consideration.

After weighing the city’s current medicinal stockpile, he finally said in a low voice, “Let’s give it a try. Start with the critically ill and severe cases. Let them test the new prescription first.”

“Thank you, my lord!” Doctor An could hardly contain his excitement.

This was the last hope for those gravely ill.

Aside from the Government Office, no one knew better than the doctors just how much medicine was left in Gufeng.

If they increased the dosage for such a large number of patients, the city’s reserves would be stretched dangerously thin.

Doctor An went off to oversee the preparation of the new medicine.

Meanwhile, Yan Lao’er, who had been waiting all this time, was starting to wonder if the old man had forgotten about him and his son entirely.

He watched as Doctor An spoke with Lord Min, then with the other doctors at the medicine hut, then with the herbalists preparing the decoctions, then with the patients, and then with the officials who came to consult him…

Doctor An, did you forget something?

Like maybe… your son who’s waiting for a reply?

“Chai Tou, can you go remind that old Doctor An for me?” Yan Lao’er said with a long-suffering sigh. “I think he forgot he’s supposed to write back…”

The one he called Chai Tou was the squad leader of the constables from Yongning City.

Yan Lao’er himself was currently serving as a Zhuang Ban.

Now that he mentioned it, the two of them suddenly felt a lot closer.

Turns out, they were colleagues.

Zhuang Ban were civilian conscripts drafted to serve in various posts—guarding granaries, treasuries, prisons, or escorting official silver, grain, or prisoners. Wherever manpower was needed, they were sent.

It wasn’t a formal position and usually only lasted a few years, but Zhuang Ban often filled vacancies when other squads were short-staffed.

It wasn’t uncommon for them to be promoted into the ranks of regular constables or patrolmen.

“Shi Shu, go deliver the message,” Chai Tou ordered.

The youngest constable responded with a quick “yes,” pulled up his face covering, and hurried off.

Chai Tou said, “Yan Er, if everything goes smoothly in Changping, then on your way back, tie a strip of cloth to a tree by the riverbank. That way, we’ll know there’s medicine in Changping and can report it to the Master.”

Knowing that Yan Lao’er was on an official errand, the others naturally grew curious about his task. They’d heard he was heading to Longxing to purchase medicine, which sparked Chai Tou’s interest.

Even though they’d only been here for a day, it was enough time to learn through various channels that Gufeng’s medicine supplies were running dangerously low. If no new stock arrived, things could take a turn for the worse.

“What’s the point of tying a cloth? When I come back, I’ll just tell you directly. Face to face, everything can be made clear,” Yan Lao’er said.

Chai Tou nodded. He was a good judge of character and could tell Yan Er wasn’t just saying that to sound good. Every time he suggested improvements for Crouching Tiger—whether this method or that approach—it all came from a genuine hope that the situation in Gufeng would improve.

He avoided looking at the disaster victims unless necessary, and had discreetly stayed away when they buried the corpses. It wasn’t out of indifference, but because he couldn’t bear to witness it.

“I’ve taken note of your village’s situation. If I get the chance, I’ll help you ask around,” Chai Tou said.

Yan Lao’er lit up with joy and immediately replied, “Then I’ll thank you on behalf of everyone in our village!”

If Li Xuemei hadn’t asked, the villagers probably wouldn’t have brought it up at all. They didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone.

Old Yan was still under lockdown in Crouching Tiger City. Yan Lao’er was constantly running around, with a head full of things to deal with. He didn’t want to burden others.

But he did think it was best to start asking around early. If the person really had come to Guanzhou, odds were they’d be in Gufeng.

And given the current state of Gufeng, he could tell that if someone got stuck here, they’d need to start making plans as soon as possible.

Before long, that Uncle Shi returned.

Old Doctor An didn’t have time to write a letter—he was too busy—but he’d sent a verbal message instead. Just two lines.

First: He’s doing well, and so are Little Doctor An’s two uncles.

Second: Come to Gufeng as soon as possible…

Yan Lao’er thought, *Isn’t that just poaching from us at Crouching Tiger?*

But he only grumbled inwardly. He knew where the boundaries were.

Little Doctor An had long wanted to leave. He’d only stayed because Crouching Tiger City hadn’t fully stabilized yet.

At that moment, a new thought occurred to Yan Lao’er.

Wait a minute!

He was the one who invited Little Doctor An from Yongning City. So… who’s paying the consultation fee? The Master, or him??

Father and daughter rode their ox to the riverbank and found the hidden raft.

Yan Yu pushed it into the water herself, without needing her father’s help.

The raft drifted forward.

Sanbao’s figure gradually disappeared beneath the water.

“Hey, girl, what’s with you? Why so quiet all of a sudden?”

Yan Yu was usually full of energy. She wasn’t shy around strangers either. Ever since she’d shrunk into a little girl, she’d taken full advantage of her age—speaking in childish tones that people found endearing—and loved to chatter even more.

But now, she was unusually silent.

She stood at the front of the raft, pushing the pole left and right. Though not as fast as when Sanbao pulled, she was strong, and the raft moved swiftly.

“Dad, we have medicine,” Yan Yu finally said in a low voice after a long pause.

Yan Lao’er immediately understood what was troubling her.

Yes, they had medicine.

Freshly swapped from the rainy world, still damp with moisture.

“Can you bear to part with it?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Yan Yu’s eyes were filled with confusion and inner struggle.

That medicine was their family’s safety net. Who knew when they’d next reconnect with Sister Yu?

If it were before, she wouldn’t have hesitated.

The Platform opened every half month. As long as she waited patiently, she’d eventually get through—maybe on the first try, maybe after a few more.

But now, the Platform was unstable.

Since the announcement, the last two openings had been shorter than usual. Who could say whether the next half-month cycle would even work?

Wait, today was the first day of the eighth lunar month.

That meant the next cycle would fall on…

“Dad, half a month from now is the fifteenth of the eighth month. That’s a pretty big holiday, right?” Yan Yu’s voice held a trace of excitement and hope she didn’t even realize was there.

“Of course! Mid-Autumn Festival! You kids celebrate all sorts of weird holidays now, but the ones passed down from our ancestors—besides New Year, the most important ones are the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn…

You mentioning it reminded me. Mid-Autumn is when the moon is full and families reunite. We should eat mooncakes. I wonder if Old Yan will be back by then. It’d be nice if our whole family could spend the holiday together.”

Yan Lao’er started thinking about how to make mooncakes, wondering if things might ease up in Crouching Tiger around the festival. Maybe they’d let people go home, and return to duty after the holiday…

“Dad, I mean, for such an important holiday to our country, maybe the Platform will take pity on our homesickness and open up for us?”

Yan Yu’s eyes were shining with anticipation, and she pushed the pole with even more strength. The raft picked up speed again.

“You know, that actually makes a lot of sense,” Yan Lao’er said, clearly impressed.

Yan Yu continued, “For people who’ve never taken Western medicine before, the effects might be even stronger than Doctor An’s prescriptions after he increases the dosage. We’ve got quite a bit. If we take out some and dilute it, a small amount should go a long way.”

“How do you plan to dilute it?” Yan Lao’er asked.

If she wanted to give away all of it, he’d have second thoughts. But just a portion? That he could accept.

“The porridge they’re making… it doesn’t even deserve to be called porridge. It’s basically just water. Way too thin,” Yan Yu said with a look of distaste.

“Well, this might actually work. Just sprinkle the powdered medicine in and stir it up.”

Yan Lao’er frowned. “That’s a huge pot. Won’t it be too diluted? What if it doesn’t work? We’d be wasting our medicine.”

Yan Yu replied, “They only have two things to eat—rice gruel and medicinal broth.”

“We can’t mix it into the medicinal broth, it might mess with the properties of the medicine. So the only option is the rice gruel.”

“We do what we can with what we’ve got, Dad. This is the best we can do. Whether they survive or not, that’s up to them now.”

Once she’d figured it out, she felt free and easy again.

When you let go, everything becomes easier to face!

“But mixing it into the rice gruel won’t be easy either,” Yan Lao’er said, shaking his head with a sigh. “Good thing your old man’s got friends wherever he goes. Look, I even got to chatting with Chai Tou and the others. Once we get back, we’ll think of another way.”

Yan Yu grinned. “Dad! It’s obvious they pissed someone off and got dumped here to clean up corpses. Don’t count on them. They’re definitely not reliable. Doctor An in Crouching Tiger City is a much better bet.”

“He’s a doctor. If we can convince him to add the medicine, everything will fall into place!”

“You’ve got some nerve! Asking a doctor to secretly drug people? No way, no way,” Yan Lao’er said, shaking his head vigorously.

“You haven’t been out in the world enough. Who could we trust with something like this? No one but ourselves. Can you even explain what the medicine is?

What if it doesn’t work? Best case, it does nothing. But what if it does work? What if they start asking where the medicine came from, and if we have more? What are you going to say?

And what if it’s worse? What if the medicine doesn’t work and someone dies…

What if someone pins it on us?

Don’t say no one will find out. The moment you involve someone else, it’ll leak. There are too many people outside the city, too many eyes watching. You can’t hide it.

Sweetheart, the bad people you’ve seen are mostly in books, on TV, or on your phone…

But when you meet a real bad guy, you’ll realize—they don’t give you time to prepare. They come fast, and they hit hard!”

Yan Yu huffed, unconvinced. “Who says I haven’t seen bad people? Haven’t we run into enough of them on the road? Those thugs on the official road weren’t bad? The mountain bandits weren’t? Those fake soldiers chasing us weren’t?

Hmph! Bad people! Sure, there’s no law to punish them right now, but I’ve got this!” She raised her little fist with a fierce glare.

Yan Lao’er: …

So fierce. Scared me half to death!

“Those are a different kind of bad,” Yan Lao’er said. “They’re openly bad. You can see it and guard against it. The ones you really have to watch out for are the ones who seem nice on the surface but are rotten inside. Those are the ones you can’t defend against.”

He was trying his best to teach his daughter a lesson.

Yan Yu pouted. “Dad, you should be the one watching out. I think you’re the one most likely to get tricked. Look at you, chatting so happily with that constable team from Yongning. Do you even know what they were like when they came into the village to investigate?

They were terrifying!

Their eyes were sharp as knives, their questions ice-cold, and their hands hovered near their blades. The slightest wrong move and they’d draw their swords.

And they’re sharp, too. Especially their leader. In just a few questions, he figured out exactly how the villagers reacted when the Northern Rong invaded, who did what, where Second Uncle Hu shot his arrows from, and roughly how far away he was.

These people are seasoned officers, Dad. Don’t go pouring your heart out to them.”

Yan Lao’er’s eyes widened.

“They’re that sharp?”

He’d heard the villagers talk about how the Northern Rong attacked and how they fought back, but no one had gone into detail about the questioning. Folks didn’t think there was much to say about it—just answer honestly when asked, right?

(End of Chapter)