Chapter 18: Pay for Treatment from Now On

“I don’t care why he’s acting like this, or who influenced him. I won’t concern myself with that,” Gu Yi said firmly.

She had a vague sense that from the very beginning when they first came here, most villagers had refused to interact with them, as if they were some kind of virus. It seemed there were those who, like Chun Li, sought to maliciously exclude them.

Perhaps this was a long-standing tradition.

Gu Yi continued, “Since some people look down on me, I don’t need to keep being kind. From now on, I’ll charge money just like a barefoot doctor. Even though my skills aren’t as good as the old doctor’s, I live nearby, so the consultation fee will be the same as his.”

“You can choose whether you want me to treat you.”

The room erupted in heated chatter.

Villagers who had been hiding from the storm began to murmur—shock, fear, panic, indifference. Every expression imaginable appeared.

The village head sighed. “Little Miss Gu’s idea is good. From now on, charge for medical treatment to avoid those shameless people trying to take advantage!”

He had been most worried that Gu Yi would refuse to treat them in the future, but fortunately, it hadn’t come to that.

In the corner, Li Tai and his wife looked mortified, their faces alternately pale and red with embarrassment.

Most people agreed with Gu Yi’s decision.

In fact, many of them had their pride. Even if they couldn’t pay her directly, they would offer gifts like baskets of eggs or seafood as a token of thanks.

Only a few people tried to get treatment without paying at all.

Gu Yi didn’t care what they thought.

She hadn’t expected to make money from treating people. As a healer, she couldn’t bear seeing people severely injured or dying in front of her. Plus, having been reborn into this era, she felt grateful to heaven and sympathetic toward the people here—she couldn’t help but try to save them.

She went back inside to check on Uncle Cao.

Aunt Cao had just given Uncle Cao his medicine, and he was still asleep.

“Jiayi, how confident are you that he’ll get better?”

Gu Yi replied, “Don’t worry, Aunt Cao, I’m seventy percent sure he’ll make it. As long as he gets through tonight, everything will be fine. We’ll brew the medicine again tonight, and every half hour, we’ll wipe him down. If he has a fever, use the alcohol to bring it down. If it’s still high, come to my house and call for me!”

After hearing Gu Yi’s detailed instructions, Aunt Cao felt a little more at ease, holding onto the hope that her husband would improve.

As her worries began to ease, regret started to overwhelm her.

“I shouldn’t have gone today! You even warned me, but I didn’t listen, and now look… not only have we lost the money from selling the catch, but he’s seriously injured too! I’m so regretful, I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

Aunt Cao was so frustrated she pinched her thigh, almost wishing she could hit her head against a wall.

Her son, standing beside her, tried to comfort her, “You’re still better off than others. You don’t know how many people in the village have fallen into the sea and can’t get back.”

Gu Yi thought he was being sarcastic, but his tone was sincere.

Aunt Cao sighed deeply, “How many families will be in mourning?”

One family had lost a strong laborer, and it was a devastating blow.

On the way home.

Wang Yulan’s emotions were finally revealed. The heavy burden that had been on her chest was now lifted, though she was still in a daze. She took her eldest daughter’s hand.

“Mother, what’s wrong?”

Wang Yulan smiled. “Thanks to you stopping me today, I’m afraid I would have been in much worse shape if I had gone.”

Gu Yi thought back to what she had said to Aunt Cao before stitching up Uncle Cao’s wound, and a warm feeling spread through her chest.

Parents make far-reaching plans for their children’s sake. To avoid any future trouble, Wang Yulan had taken the risk of making Aunt Cao angry, stopping her from stitching, and speaking honestly with her.

Gu Yi had seen her share of doctor-patient disputes, and at the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. But Wang Yulan had always focused on her, considering her well-being.

Gu Yi hugged her arm affectionately, playfully pouting. “I should thank you, Mother, for always thinking of me.”

Wang Yulan smiled, but there was a mist in her eyes.

After all these years, it was the first time her eldest daughter had been so affectionate, so playful.

The house was pitch dark.

The mother and daughter carefully pushed the door open.

“Mother, Sister.”

The sudden voice startled them both.

“Dalang, why aren’t you asleep?”

Dalang said, “I cooked some noodles. I was worried you’d be hungry. Second Brother and Little Sister are already asleep.”

Hearing this, Gu Yi touched her stomach and realized she was a little hungry.

The first emergency treatment had left her somewhat unaccustomed to the strain, both mentally and physically.

“It’s a bit cold. I’ll heat it up again.” He didn’t know when they would return, so he had cooked it in advance.

It was too dark to use a candle, so Dalang had to feel his way to the kitchen.

The fire wasn’t out yet. Dalang had been starting fires for days and knew how to get it going quickly. The light from the fire illuminated the three figures surrounding the stove.

The noodles simmered for a few seconds before Dalang quickly extinguished the fire and lifted the noodles.

Gu Yi held the bowl and began eating. The noodles were rich with shrimp, snail meat, and oyster meat, making up about half of the dish. It was delicious.

She suddenly thought that no dish could compare to this bowl of noodles at this moment.

“Dalang, you should eat too.”

Dalang saw that there was still plenty of noodles left. Since they couldn’t finish it all, he served himself a bowl.

The three of them, under the dim light of the remaining fire, made slurping sounds as they finished their bowls.

Finally, they were full.

…

The next morning.

When Gu Yi woke up, only Little Sister, who was still sleeping soundly with her little belly sticking out, remained.

The wind outside howled, yet it didn’t wake her.

Ah, how enviable the sleep quality of children is.

Gu Yi stretched and got up to wash her face and mouth. Two diligent people were already busy at work.

The whole night, Aunt Cao hadn’t come to call her, which meant Uncle Cao’s condition was stable.

Just as she was about to start making breakfast, Aunt Cao rushed over in a panic.

“What happened? Why so urgent? Did something happen?” Wang Yulan asked.

Aunt Cao shook her head, “No, no, no, everything’s fine. You haven’t made breakfast, have you?”

“No? Then come to my house for breakfast, so you don’t have to cook!”

Wang Yulan tried to refuse.

“Five of us going to someone else’s house? That’d be too embarrassing.”

“You’re not going? Then I’ll have Xia’er bring it over to you! Jiayi, go to my house to eat!”

Gu Yi nodded.

It was a good opportunity to check on Uncle Cao’s wound again.

“Did Uncle Cao have a fever last night?”

Aunt Cao nodded. “You’re really something, Little Miss Gu. He had a fever, and his forehead was still burning. I almost went to your house to call for you, but after he drank the medicine and I kept wiping him down, the fever went down. He’s asleep now, just woke up.”

Gu Yi arrived at Aunt Cao’s house, eating the hearty seafood noodles while listening to Aunt Cao’s lively recounting. After finishing, she went to the bedroom to check on Uncle Cao’s condition.

“He just woke up, and I immediately came to call you.”

Seeing Uncle Cao lying motionless, Aunt Cao, desperate, reached out to shake him, but he had fallen unconscious again.

Gu Yi stopped her from shaking him and checked his pulse. “Don’t wake him up. He’s in the recovery phase, and more sleep will help him heal faster. Feed him a few eggs, make some nutritious soup, and he’ll get better quickly.”

Aunt Cao listened attentively and nodded repeatedly. “Tell me more. I love listening to you.”

Gu Yi smiled. “The most important thing is to comfort Uncle Cao. During his recovery, don’t let him rush or strain himself. Take it slow. I guarantee his leg will heal perfectly.”

Aunt Cao nodded tearfully. He was the main laborer in the family, and without him, they couldn’t fish. They had lost their source of income, and she was devastated.

“I’ll write a prescription for you. Go to the county to get the medicine for half a month.”

Gu Yi looked around for paper and pen but sighed in frustration. “Forget it. The medicine I gave you will last two or three more days. I’ll go to the county soon and buy some paper and pens along with the medicine.”

She couldn’t keep treating people without the proper supplies.

As Gu Yi left, Aunt Cao looked at her husband one last time, the weight of her regret almost drowning her.

One careless mistake had brought them back to square one, to poverty.

But as long as her husband and family were okay, no hardship seemed unbearable.

She went to the yard, ready to wash the dishes, only to see her son already busy in the kitchen, the sound of dishes clattering as he washed them.

The large water jar in the yard was almost overflowing.

The wind from last night had messed up everything, but now it was all tidily arranged. Even the morning meal, with all its seafood, had been cleaned and prepared by him.

She looked at her son’s profile, her gaze lingering,

and suddenly realized that the mischievous boy she used to know seemed to have aged ten years in one night.

Unable to hold back, Aunt Cao’s tears streamed down her face.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Cao Xia, seeing his mother choking back tears, ran up to her.

Aunt Cao just shook her head. “Nothing, nothing…”