Chapter 14: That Fool Will Eventually Kill Himself

After dinner, the sky was pitch black, with only the twinkling stars providing a glimmer of light for the earth.

People gathered under the old tree where they often held meetings, discussing the matter of letting Jiang Nian practice medicine in exchange for work.

Some of the parents of the children from the afternoon raised their opinions. “I think this is a good idea. Even the doctors in the city couldn’t do anything about Brother Shitou’s leg. Even if she can’t cure him, we shouldn’t blame her. On the contrary, the children who drank the medicine this afternoon all passed a lot of worms. If we agree to let Jiang Zhiqing practice medicine in exchange for work, at least we’ll have someone to see when we have a headache or a fever. We won’t have to go all the way to town.”

“Yes, you guys got a great deal. Your own children all drank the medicine, but most of the children in our village haven’t. They probably have worms in their stomachs too. Village Chief, when do you think we can have Jiang Zhiqing boil some more medicine for the children?”

“My child also passed worms a few days ago. I guess he had too many worms in his stomach and couldn’t hold them in anymore.”

Everyone wanted to get some benefits for themselves. As they talked, the topic drifted.

People in the countryside basically drank raw water. Not only did the children have roundworms, but many adults did too. It wasn’t a rare thing, but no one would refuse to have the worms in their stomachs killed.

There were deworming pills in town, but they cost two cents each, and they didn’t completely get rid of the worms.

Jiang Nian’s pot of soup today had shown its effects, and everyone was thinking about it.

Village Chief Zhou tapped his old pipe on the tree and said, “Looking at everyone’s enthusiasm, I guess no one will disagree. So, we’ll decide on this. We’ll allow Jiang Zhiqing to practice medicine. I’ve thought about this matter of practicing medicine in exchange for work. I think it’s fine if we implement it in our own village, but once this gets out, people from other villages will definitely come to see her. We can’t let them see her for free. So, I think if we want to see her, we should give Jiang Zhiqing some grain, eggs, or vegetables from our own fields. That way, the girl will have something to eat. If the medicine is really expensive, we can pay a little money. It won’t be more expensive than going to town to see a doctor. What do you think?”

Everyone discussed this for a while. Many people had different opinions, but in the end, the minority obeyed the majority, and Village Chief Zhou had the final say.

Jiang Nian received a new task the next day: to continue boiling deworming medicine.

To be precise, she only needed to prepare the medicine and put it in the pot. Zhou Huaher was in charge of the fire. She just had to make sure the medicine was boiled for the right amount of time.

This was for the children in the village first. After the children drank it, the adults in the village would also need it.

As for why she didn’t boil it all together, it was because the dosage for adults and children was different.

Also, those who had passed worms would need to drink the medicine again in half a month to completely eliminate the worm eggs in their stomachs.

Plus, Zhou Shitou’s leg and Zhao Heping’s internal injuries, Jiang Nian’s work for at least half a month was already set.

After preparing the medicine, Jiang Nian used the excuse of going into the mountains to collect herbs to escape.

She didn’t dare to stay at the Zhou family’s house. Otherwise, many people would come to tell her how many worms they had passed and how long they were. She didn’t want to hear a single word.

Zhao Heping’s internal injuries healed the fastest. Three days later, he was as good as new. But at the same time, after his injuries healed, he had to go to work in the fields.

On the tenth night, everyone else was sleeping soundly. Zhou Shitou nudged his wife and mumbled, “Wife, check my legs. I think I’ve been bitten by mosquitoes. They’re itchy.”

Shiliu sat up groggily and realized what her husband was saying.

Her excited voice was a little sharp. “Husband, what are you saying?”

Zhou Shitou opened his eyes. His pupils were instantly bloodshot. “I… my legs are itchy.”

His voice trembled. He couldn’t believe it himself. His legs really had feeling.

In the middle of the night, Shiliu, in her excitement, woke up her in-laws. Jiang Nian was also woken up from her sleep.

After examining Zhou Shitou, she said helplessly, “He’s recovering well. You can stop the herbal baths. Just use acupuncture and medicine.”

Jiang Nian was very sleepy and was eager to go back to sleep. As she reached the door, she remembered something and turned back. “Oh, right. You can help him prepare a crutch. It’s best to install two wooden frames in the yard. He’ll need them to help him exercise and walk when he can stand up.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go prepare them tomorrow.” Village Chief Zhou, as a father, was so excited that his eyes were filled with tears.

When she woke up the next morning, Jiang Nian saw Shiliu scrubbing the large water tank and then rolling it into the kitchen, filling it with water.

Jiang Nian felt like she was going to be sick.

The Zhou family would be using that water tank for drinking water.

No matter how clean they washed the tank, they couldn’t get rid of the fact that it was the tank Zhou Shitou had used to bathe in!

Jiang Nian used the excuse of collecting herbs to escape again. She refused to eat at the Zhou family’s house anymore. Occasionally, she would go to the educated youth’s house to find Niu Aixiang and the others. When she came back, she would say she had eaten at the educated youth’s house.

A few days passed, and Zhou Shitou could already stand up. It was two days earlier than Jiang Nian had expected.

The first batch of children who had drunk the deworming medicine and passed worms were due for another dose. Zhou Shitou was in the yard, slowly moving his feet, using the wooden stakes that had been buried in the ground for support. Everyone who came to give their children the medicine could see this. They were happy for him and had a deeper understanding of Jiang Nian’s medical skills.

She could cure an injury that even the big hospital in the city couldn’t cure. This meant that her medical skills were better than the doctors at the big hospital.

Such a skilled person had actually come to the countryside to work as an educated youth. It was truly a blessing for their village.

For the next two days, she spent every day preparing and boiling medicine. The whole village wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. The Zhou family’s house was bustling with people every day, and the courtyard was always full of people.

Jiang Nian took this opportunity to make a request to Village Chief Zhou. “Uncle Zhou, you’ve seen that I need space to prepare the herbs and make the medicine. I also need a quiet place. So, I’d like to request that you let me build a separate small courtyard to use as a place to see patients. Of course, I’ll pay for it myself. I just need your help with the labor. What do you think?”

Looking at his son exercising in the courtyard, Village Chief Zhou couldn’t say no.

He thought for a moment and was willing to help Jiang Nian. “Since it’s a place to see patients, how can we let you pay for it? I’ll mention it to everyone at the meeting tonight. We’ll ask everyone to help out and build the courtyard for you. It’ll be more convenient for us to see you.”

Jiang Nian thought she would have to persuade him, but it was so easy.

Actually, without Jiang Nian saying anything, he couldn’t stand all the commotion in his house all day long.

The second time they drank the deworming medicine, only a few people passed worms. This meant that the worms in their stomachs had been completely eliminated.

The whole village had benefited from Jiang Nian. When Village Chief Zhou mentioned this, naturally, no one objected.

Every household had leftover bricks from building their houses. They weren’t very useful, so they contributed them. Two or three small houses would be enough.

Jiang Nian didn’t plan to build anything too grand. She was an outsider. It wouldn’t be good to stand out too much.

Besides, her real belongings were all in her personal Poison Doctor Valley. The house outside was just a temporary place to live.

Everything went smoothly, exactly as she had expected.

It only took a little over ten days to build the new house and fence it in.

It was located 200 meters to the left of the village chief’s house, on a high ground, with only the village chief’s house next to it.

Jiang Nian originally wanted to build it further away, so she could have more freedom, but the village chief wouldn’t agree, so she had to build it here.

Li Rui came over, looking angry. He said to Jiang Nian, “Jiang Nian, if you have time, go persuade Niu Aixiang. Zhao Heping clearly doesn’t have feelings for her, but he’s still stringing her along. That fool will eventually kill herself.”