Chapter 121

Time was too pressing, Jiang Sheng didn't even dare to delay, hurriedly got on the carriage to go find someone.

It was Chang Yan who reminded her, "What's the use of you going alone, take Fourth Brother with you."

That's right, have to bring a doctor too.

Jiang Sheng stuck her head out and told the coachman Zheng Ruqian to detour to the medical hall.

Wen Zhiyun, who was busy with five taels of silver each month, was sweating all over, going to grab medicine one moment, drying medicine the next, packaging medicine another moment, and even having to massage Doctor Wu's shoulders.

Doctor Wu Suowei leaned back in a wicker chair. Whenever a patient came, he would ask about their condition. For serious cases he would treat them himself, for minor illnesses he would toss them to Wen Zhiyun.

But in a small county town, where were there many critical cases? Ninety-eight out of a hundred were minor illnesses.

So all day long, one could only hear Doctor Wu Suowei's lazy voice, "Find Doctor Wen, find Doctor Wen, find Doctor Wen..."

Wen Zhiyun wiped the sweat from his forehead. Earning a little money really wasn't easy.

Fortunately, dealing with many illnesses was also beneficial.

Wen Zhiyun now knew that many things in life contained various toxins, which could lead to abnormal health.

Sometimes when nothing happened, it was only because the amount was small.

For example, the potatoes introduced from overseas a few years ago. When they were bright yellow, they were delicious to eat, but when they sprouted green, they contained solanine toxin. A small amount caused abdominal pain and diarrhea, a large amount directly paralyzed the mouth and nose, stopping breathing.

For example, the commonly used wooden chopping boards. If they weren't sterilized by scalding and kept out of sunlight, a yellow toxin would grow that could take lives.

Even improperly stored grains, when eaten, could injure or kill people.

No wonder Doctor Wu Suowei, when agreeing to teach him to use poisons, had meaningfully said, "The flying over mountains and into seas, turning rot into miracles in storybooks are fake. Medicine and poisons alike rely on ordinary, everyday details to silently take lives."

Medicine was not witchcraft. It could not take someone's head from thousands of miles away, could not wipe out thousands of troops with a raise of the hand, and could not take someone's life with a glance.

It relied on details, on understanding of all things, and then in the most ordinary ways, silently took lives.

Wen Zhiyun's horizons were greatly broadened.

After barely making it through this wave of busyness, he used the small handkerchief his sister had given him to wipe away sweat. He hadn't even had a chance to wash and air it dry.

Doctor Wu Suowei's voice rang out again, "Doctor Wen, come and massage my shoulders, they're a little sore."

Wen Zhiyun paused, and hurriedly shoved the handkerchief back into his sleeve, resignedly walking over.

Previously this medical hall had had three doctors, but after that scandalous incident, he didn't know what Doctor Wu had said to the owner, but the two senior doctors had both left. Only Doctor Wu Suowei remained, busily working away with Wen Zhiyun. Occasionally when the two of them weren't there, the medical hall would rather close than hire another doctor to sit in consultation.

Wen Zhiyun had curiously asked about it before, thinking Doctor Wu must be the real owner behind the medical hall, but he had just smiled and shaken his head.

Afterwards, he drove Wen Zhiyun even harder.

Just like massaging his shoulders, he leaned back in a recliner all day long, yet still called out that his shoulders hurt and wouldn't let Wen Zhiyun stop massaging for a moment.

When Wen Zhiyun started massaging, he would sigh comfortably, while muttering, "The neck and shoulders are the most important parts of the human body. Stabbing the joints of the neck and shoulders can paralyze half the body, so needling must be done carefully."

"Pressing this point can relax the muscles. If they're sore it represents muscle stiffness, needing proper rest..."

Wen Zhiyun listened closely, deep in thought.

After a quarter hour, Doctor Wu asked him to stop.

He moved his neck, smiling, "Doctor Wen's technique is more and more adequate, truly pleasing. If I leave Xieyang County in the future, I'll miss it somewhat."

Wen Zhiyun was stunned.

Doctor Wu continued, "I wonder if when I leave, you'd be willing to..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

A carriage had stopped at the entrance to the medical hall.

Jiang Sheng hitched up her skirt and rushed over impatiently, hoarsely shouting, "Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother, I need your help!"

Wen Zhiyun's attention was immediately drawn over. He hurried over with small steps, softly asking, "What's the matter?"

"Fourth Brother, I found the auntie who went to Sichuan, but she doesn't seem well. Please come with me to take a look." Jiang Sheng's tone was pleading.

His little sister had never spoken to him like this before.

Wen Zhiyun immediately agreed. Only after turning back did he remember he hadn't asked Doctor Wu for leave.

"Doctor Wu..." The little boy stammered over, "My sister needs me."

"Go on, go on." Doctor Wu waved his hand.

Wen Zhiyun's brows immediately arched in a smile. He turned and pulled Jiang Sheng along, jogging to the carriage together.

On the driver's seat was Zheng Ruqian lounging with a whip. There was also Chang Yan peeking his head out from inside the carriage.

How wonderful.

Doctor Wu lightly sighed, swallowing all the words back into his stomach. On the other side.

The carriage rumbled for over half a time period before finally arriving at Jiuli Town's Jiuche Village on the east side.

From his seat Zheng Ruqian asked the villagers for directions, "Auntie, do you know where the Wang Dasong's family is?"

The woman in her forties glanced at Zheng Ruqian's carriage, her eyes revealing envy, yet she actually turned away, pretending not to have heard.

Zheng Ruqian nearly fell over backwards.

Fortunately Chang Yan had also come. He jumped down from the carriage, smiling at the woman with his teeth showing. His voice carried the tender obedience unique to youths, "Auntie, do you know where the Wang family is? I want to ask them about something." Beauty was a weapon.

Men couldn't resist maidens, women couldn't resist youths.

The woman's eyes lit up. She immediately spoke up, "It's over there, go straight past the next intersection then go in three houses, that's it."

"Thank you auntie." Chang Yan smiled again before getting back in the carriage.

The woman watched for a good while until the carriage was out of sight before shrinking her head back in.

Outside the Wang family gate.

They had finally found the place. Zheng Ruqian tied the horses to a big tree. Jiang Sheng carefully jumped down holding up her skirt, along with the two brothers.

She went up first and knocked on the door.

To be precise, it was a wooden plank with holes for ventilation.

The Wang family seemed to be impoverished to a certain extent. Their house was the most dilapidated and cramped along the way, with even the door tattered and worn, appearing to be cobbled together from firewood.

Jiang Sheng knocked twice and didn't dare knock again, feeling like even a ruined temple's door was sturdier than this. She feared knocking harder would make it collapse.

Fortunately someone hurried over from inside before long to open the door.

The moment it opened, Jiang Sheng was stunned.

The person inside was also stunned, taking quite a while to stutter out, "Miss, miss, it's the miss who bought our mushrooms."

Then a teenager of around ten years old walked out of the shabby little house. It wasn't the siblings who sold mushrooms, so who was it?

Their first meeting was at the town market in Jiuli Town, when Jiang Sheng had kindly helped them.

Their second meeting was when Zheng Ruqian's peas had been trampled. The older brother had secretly come to inform them, exposing the sinister Niu family.

The Niu family was located in Jiuche Village.

And now, the person Jiang Sheng had come seeking from thousands of miles away, turned out to be their bedridden mother.

These siblings, the older brother was called Wang Xiaosong, now fifteen years old. The younger sister was called Wang Xiaozhu, now thirteen years old.

Due to insufficient funds at home, they often didn't get enough to eat, so the siblings were shorter than others their age.

Faced with Jiang Sheng's request, Wang Xiaosong clenched his fists. "If it were the past, we would have accepted your request without hesitation, but now mother has been unconscious for days. We truly have the heart but lack the ability."

Beside him, Wang Xiaozhu covered her face and burst into tears.

Jiang Sheng's heart abruptly sank. Her little face struggled to speak.

She knew they lived in hardship, but didn't know it was so extremely difficult.

The Wang siblings couldn't afford a doctor to treat their mother's illness. The person Jiang Sheng had searched for half a month had already lost consciousness days ago.

If only she could have come earlier, even a little earlier, it would have been so much better.

Three days? Or five days?

Before Jiang Sheng could even tear up, Wen Zhiyun beside her took her hand and softly said, "Don't be upset, let me try."