Chapter 45

At this point, Qian Yue had no idea that someone was already scheming against her. She had followed Lian Baozhu to a new spot to scavenge at the shore.

Of course, she was only there to support Lian Baozhu, not actually participate in the work herself. But Lian Baozhu didn’t mind at all; in fact, she was happy to help her friend out.

Lian Baozhu and her mother were the only children in their family. Her maternal Grandpa ran a butcher shop in the city, and he often sent meat scraps or lean cuts to their home. Life was comfortable, and they really didn’t need her to go out scavenging for food.

So, every time she managed to gather something from the sea, without question, it ended up in Qian Yue’s basket. All Qian Yue had to do was say a few heartfelt words of thanks, calling Lian Baozhu her best friend, and that was enough to make her happy.

After all, she had no other friends in the village, and Lian Baozhu was the only one who would be kind to her and confide in her. She certainly cherished that friendship.

Lian Baozhu had gathered two octopuses and a pile of clams to feed the ducks, then sent Qian Yue back home before heading back herself.

Qian Yue, gritting her teeth against the pain, carried the bucket into the yard. First, she drew some water to wash her hands and face, then went to the kitchen to take out the boiled eggs she had prepared earlier and ate them.

After resting for a bit, she then brought a pot of corn porridge that had started to spoil and took it into the house to feed her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law had suffered a stroke when she heard that her son had drowned in a river. Her face twisted, and she couldn’t speak clearly.

A doctor had come by and said that her mother-in-law would now live out her days like a wooden doll, unable to move or care for herself. This actually suited Qian Yue just fine.

She didn’t want to return to her family’s home, and with her mother-in-law’s condition, she could easily justify staying in the village. Filial piety came above all else, and as long as she took care of her husband’s mother, even if her own family had objections, they wouldn’t dare make a fuss.

So, she spent her days keeping her mother-in-law alive with leftover food, while secretly searching for another marriage prospect.

The elderly woman couldn’t take care of herself, with her mouth crooked and eyes askew. Even though she probably knew her daughter-in-law was a bad person, she didn’t dare to say anything.

Who would listen? Even if she did speak out, what would happen? If they sent this daughter-in-law away, who would take care of her?

Qian Yue may have been wicked, but out of filial duty, she obediently cleaned up after her mother-in-law, helping her with bodily functions and keeping the room relatively tidy. She could endure a few more days if she had to, and didn’t want to die yet.

After the elderly woman managed to drink her porridge with great difficulty, Qian Yue roughly wiped her mouth. Soon, she heard the sound of the door closing again as her daughter-in-law went out.

Where was Qian Yue going? Of course, she was going to check on her “prey.” But before she could find her target, she spotted a familiar girl and a woman carrying buckets walking towards the shore.

It was the mother and daughter who lived in the little stone house.

At this time, the tide had already come in, so what were they doing at the shore?

Qian Yue unconsciously followed them, but her tracking skills weren’t very good, and before long, the mother and daughter noticed her trailing them.

“Who’s that person behind us? Wanwan, have you seen her before?”

Jiang Wan pretended to look down and pick up stones, glancing at her before catching up to her mother and whispering, “I saw her this morning when we were out scavenging, but we didn’t speak. She’s a stranger.”

“Maybe she’s just going the same way.”

Yin Huaixi didn’t think it was anything worth worrying about, so she didn’t pay attention to Qian Yue and quickly walked a few steps ahead with her bucket, stopping by the shore.

The mother and daughter worked together, each focusing on a side, beginning to search the beach.

They were picking up clam shells, which were plentiful by the shore.

Once dried and crushed into powder, clam shells could be used in medicine to clear heat, reduce swelling, dissolve phlegm, and relieve dampness. Yin Huaixi had just bought some medicinal powder, so she was collecting clam shells to use.

The mother and daughter collected almost a full bucket of clam shells, then filled a bag with sand before starting to head back. The entire sequence of actions left Qian Yue completely confused.

First, they collected sea snails, then clam shells, and now a bag of sand—what were they up to? None of it seemed useful. What kind of trick were these two up to?

No one could answer her.

The mother and daughter were aware she was spying on them, but didn’t mind. These were just ordinary, seemingly useless things that anyone could find on the beach.

On the way back, Yin Huaixi was carrying the bucket when she saw Ah Yong’s son helping his father into the yard.

In the village, most people married young, and even Grandpas were usually only in their forties. Ah Yong’s father wasn’t yet fifty, but his skin had darkened, his face wrinkled, and his hair had turned mostly white, making him look at least sixty or seventy.

The old man, tortured by pain, seemed mentally drained, but when he saw his son, he forced a smile, though it looked more painful than crying.

“Doctor, thank you.”

“No problem, Uncle. Let me feel your pulse first,” Yin Huaixi said.

Regardless of the previous doctor’s diagnosis, Yin Huaixi always started with checking the pulse herself.

The yard fell silent, even the workers had stopped their tasks, not wanting to disturb her.

After a long while, Yin Huaixi withdrew her hand, her expression still calm. She then examined Ah Yong’s father’s knee, which was so swollen it was shining.

No wonder he couldn’t walk.

“Doctor Yin, how’s my father’s leg?”

“As I said yesterday, it can’t fully heal, but we can reduce the pain by about seventy to eighty percent.”

Hearing that the pain could be reduced, Ah Yong’s father immediately became excited.

“Doctor, treat him!”

Even if it was only a slight reduction in pain, he wanted to try. But after the excitement wore off, he calmed down.

“Doctor, will the treatment involve a lot of medicine?”

He was still haunted by the side effects of the previous treatment. The medicine worked, but it was always temporary, and no one could bear the constant relapses.

Yin Huaixi shook her head and reassured him.

“You won’t need too much medicine. My treatment combines both internal and external methods, and it’s very effective. You’ll only need to take the decoction for three or four days, and the main treatments are moxibustion and sand therapy.”

Moxibustion had existed in her original world since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and it should still be practiced in this dynasty, though she wasn’t sure how many applications it had been developed for.

This method is simple to perform, inexpensive, yet highly effective for many conditions. She used to have entire boxes of moxa sticks in her small storage, as it was something she frequently used.

As for sand therapy, it’s even simpler. You heat sand, stuff it into a burlap sack, and then apply it to the affected area. This improves blood circulation and relieves local swelling and pain. Using sea salt instead of sand would have a better effect, but under the current conditions, sand would have to do. (A friendly reminder: don’t try this yourself, as it could cause burns!)

Yin Huaixi took out paper and pen and wrote a prescription for Ah Yong.

Sigh, she thought to herself, when will she have her own little pharmacy? Right now, trying to make a prescription felt like she was missing everything.

“Take this prescription and get three doses of the medicine, one dose per day. Boil three bowls of water down to one and take it. After you finish these three doses, come back to me, and I’ll give your father moxibustion treatment.”

Ah Yong took the prescription with both hands, repeatedly thanking her. After securing the prescription, he took out a string of copper coins and handed them to Yin Huaixi.

Yin Huaixi was stunned for a moment. The coins in her hand must have been several dozen. She hadn’t even mentioned her charges yet…

“Doctor Yin, I heard from Lian Dayou’s wife that you charge ten wen for a small illness and fifty wen for a major one. Here’s fifty wen, please accept it.”

“Lian Dayou’s wife? Who’s that?”

Yin Huaixi remembered only telling Xiao Man’s mother about her fee schedule.

“How is she related to Xiao Man’s mother?”

“She’s Xiao Man’s mother’s second sister-in-law. She’s been talking about your treatment in the village recently…”

Ah Yong let out a dry laugh and didn’t finish his sentence.

Yin Huaixi didn’t need to ask further to know what he meant—she must be charging too much.

But, if it were a serious illness, and she was able to cure it, fifty wen would actually be a small amount in her opinion.

Ah Yong’s father’s condition wasn’t a major one, but she didn’t plan on refunding any money. The treatment still required moxibustion with the mugwort she had collected, plus the cost of the herbs and her skill—was fifty wen really too much?

She was a conscientious doctor, after all.