Chapter 32

Soon, Yīn Huáixī finished the follow-up exam and walked out of the room.  

“Sister Qiufang, I’ve checked the medicine she’s been taking, and there’s no problem. She can stop taking it in another two or three days, but the mugwort wash should continue for another half month before stopping.”  

Xiao Man’s mother was so happy she smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepening.  

“Good, good, that’s great! Doctor Yīn, thank you so much this time!”  

After finishing her sentence, she suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice.  

“Will Xiao Man’s condition affect her fertility in the future?”  

“It won’t affect anything, as long as she follows the cleaning method I suggested in the future.”  

If gynecological conditions worsen, they can affect fertility, but fortunately, Xiao Man was young, and her illness was treated in time. After recovery, there was no further problem.  

Yīn Huáixī gave a few more dietary instructions for Xiao Man and was ready to leave with her daughter. Xiao Man’s mother insisted on paying the medical fee, but Yīn Huáixī only accepted five coins and a handful of vegetable seeds.  

Adding the salted fish and eggs she had previously received, the payment was already quite substantial.  

“Doctor Yīn, um, I still have a question.”  

Jiang Wan immediately guessed the question was about what Lián Héhuā had said at the door.  

Sure enough…  

“Just now, my niece came to ask for your address, but I didn’t tell her. I also don’t know if you’d be willing to treat people from the village, so I wanted to ask you. My sister-in-law has been in poor health ever since her miscarriage two years ago. Her face is always pale, and she has some minor ailments, but she’s too embarrassed to go see a doctor. She’s been taking medicine from a midwife for more than a year, but it hasn’t helped much.”  

Despite their quarrels, Xiao Man’s mother couldn’t bear to see her sister-in-law so sick and wanted to ask for help.  

Yīn Huáixī thought for a moment and replied, “I can give her my address, but make sure to tell her that I’m currently lacking medical supplies, so I can only diagnose and prescribe, but she’ll need to fetch the herbs herself. Also, tell her that the fee for a minor illness is ten coins, and for a serious one, it’s fifty coins.”  

“Okay, okay, I’ll definitely make that clear.”  

With deep gratitude, Xiao Man’s mother saw the two off and then returned to her house. She took a bowl of eggs and went to the old house.  

Although the third branch had split, her mother-in-law was fair and had given them what they were due. Since they hadn’t lived together for many years, the conflicts had lessened, and their relationship had actually improved. So every time she returned to the old house, she would bring a little food as a gesture of filial piety.  

She almost collided with her nephew at the door.  

“Ashan? It’s so hot outside, are you going up the mountain?”  

“Third Aunt… my mother asked me to go up the mountain to gather some firewood.”  

After speaking, the young boy lowered his head and walked away in silence.  

Xiao Man’s mother sighed quietly and turned to enter the house. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she overheard a conversation between her two sisters-in-law.  

“Ā Cuì, you said you didn’t want Ashan to go on the boat because you were worried he wouldn’t handle the heat and might faint from the sun. So why are you now letting him go up the mountain to gather firewood? It’s hot up there too, and suffocating. Aren’t you worried he’ll faint from the heat?”  

“Big Sister, you should worry about Lián Héhuā instead. My son doesn’t need you to worry about him.”  

“You!”  

Xiao Man’s mother was relieved she had split from the family. Back then, it was endless quarrels, the three of them arguing non-stop—it was so annoying.  

“Big Sister, Second Sister.”  

She called out, and the two women, who were mending fishing nets, looked up in unison.  

“Oh, what wind blew you back, Third Sister-in-law?”  

Hé Xiaocui had a fake smile on her face, standing up to grab the eggs from Xiao Man’s mother’s hands. Xiao Man’s mother, who was used to this, quickly turned and avoided her, walking straight into the in-laws’ house.  

Her mother-in-law was old and had trouble walking, so she mostly stayed in her own room. Xiao Man’s mother locked the eggs away and didn’t care who ate them.  

After giving the eggs to her mother-in-law, she came back out, and Second Sister-in-law didn’t give her a good look, but Xiao Man’s mother didn’t care. She sat beside Big Sister-in-law and started talking about Doctor Yīn.  

“Doctor Yīn lives in the little stone house at the end of the village, near Aunt Jīnhuā. Her family lives at Uncle Yú’s house. If you want to see her, you can go find her. She doesn’t have many herbs, so she can only diagnose and prescribe. Minor illnesses are ten coins, serious ones are fifty coins.”  

“What?! Ten coins?!”  

Before Big Sister Li Xiu could speak, Hé Xiaocui gasped loudly.  

“Third Sister-in-law, don’t cheat your own people like this! Just checking the pulse and writing a prescription and she’s asking for ten coins? Those convicts from the capital are really crafty! Big Sister, don’t fall for it!”  

Xiao Man’s mother’s face darkened.  

“Second Sister-in-law, if you don’t understand, don’t speak carelessly. Doctor Yīn is really skilled. Our village has never had a proper doctor, and you might need her one day. So don’t talk badly about her now.”  

With that, she stood up.  

“I just came to pass on the message. Whether you go or not is up to you, but your health is your own responsibility. I still suggest you go see her.”  

Xiao Man’s mother didn’t wait for a reply and walked straight out the door. Once she was gone, Hé Xiaocui suddenly reacted.  

“Pah! I wouldn’t need her! Big Sister, did you hear that? Third Sister-in-law is cursing me to get sick!”  

Despite her ranting, Li Xiu didn’t respond. Her hands continued to mend the net, but her mind had already wandered far away.  

She was thinking of going to see the doctor.  

Others didn’t know about her health, but she did. Her condition had been getting worse lately—her body had been weakening. Even though it was hot, her hands and feet were always cold.  

Sometimes when she touched her own hand, it felt like she was touching the hand of a corpse.  

If she didn’t get treatment soon, she felt that…

She didn’t have long to live.  

Her son was still unmarried, and her daughter hadn’t been married off yet; there was nothing she could let go of.  

Li Xiu had already decided to use her private savings to see the doctor, though Yīn Huáixī didn’t know this yet. After the mother and daughter returned home, it wasn’t long before she went up the mountain with her sister-in-law to gather herbs again.  

Jiang Wan, seeing more mint leaves piling up at home, had thought of continuing to sell mint water, but her cousin was making clothes and her uncle was out. If she went alone and encountered bad people on the way, what would she do? She was still very grateful for the life she had regained.  

While pondering what she should do next, suddenly, a little child ran into the yard, inexplicably shouted that she was at home, and then ran out again.  

???  

Jiang Wan stood up and was about to go outside to check. Just as she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw someone walking toward her at the door.  

Hey! It was the young man who had bought an entire bucket of sea urchins for her the other day!  

“Young lady, you really are hard to find.”  

As soon as Jiang Wan heard his tone, she instantly had a flash of insight. Heh heh~ Looks like she could continue collecting sea urchins!