Extra for Thanksgiving weekend!!!
Chapter 1 – Drought/Medicinal Hall/Fortune-telling (Repair)
The sun shined brightly in the brilliantly deep sky.
There were no clouds in the beautiful scenery but no one wanted to appreciate it.
A gust of wind blew as if it were breathing and the yellow sand flew.
The rice planted in the middle of March in the lunar calendar has now become languid and without strength. Even the green on the seedlings seems to have disappeared without a trace.
A woman in her 30s with dry lips glanced at the sky with deep disappointment and despair in her eyes.
——Lacking clouds, it will not rain today.
It was now April of the lunar calendar but there had been no rain since the beginning of the year.
If this continued, perhaps the public well at the entrance to the village would become unable to produce even a drop of water.
At that time, how should these ordinary people live?
"Mother, not good. Hehua does not know what happened today but she can't eat the rice without feeling disgustingly nauseated."
A hoarse voice, like a duck, spoke. The middle-aged woman turned her head and looked around.
A 17-year-old boy runs out of the room, looking towards her anxiously.
“Dalang, take the cow out and attach it to the cart. Then put your wife on the cart and we will go to the town to see the doctor.”
When the middle-aged woman in her 30s heard this, her face did not change and she said very calmly,
"Erlang, you take your wife. Sanlang, you follow, we can take a look at the town today.”
After speaking, from the house made of inferior stone bricks and yellow clay, several young girls emerged.
They wore dull, patched clothes. No decorations could be seen anywhere on the whole body.
What is even more distressing is that this family is thin, weak, and pallid, looking as if there was barely any blood running through their bodies.
After a stick of incense's worth of time, Wu Meili finished packing, took some money, closed the gate of the courtyard, and left home with her son and daughter-in-law.
After driving the oxcart for more than half an hour, originally lacking in nutrition, the family fared even worse without water. If the ox was not allowed to rest, it might have already passed away.
Fortunately, their destination was not far away. The population in the town was much less than it was years ago and not as lively as it used to be.
When they came to the Medical Hall, Wu Meili weighed the silver in her arms. In the end, she grit her teeth to walk inside with her son and daughter-in-law.
Silver was important but not as important as people. Even to gain a daughter-in-law, a lot of dowry was needed.
At this time, there were no people in the medical center. Only a white-haired old man sat behind the counter, fanning himself and looking at the medical book in his hand.
Wu Meili swept her hair behind her ear and smiled weakly as she approached the white-haired old man, with her bloodless lips.
"Troubling doctor to check on the health of the whole family. Most of us should be okay but daughter-in-law is not feeling very good."
Although the doctor is old, his place is very profitable. Putting down the medicinal book, he took the cloth bag on the counter in front of him.
"One by one, I will take the pulse."
Wu Meili smiled and went first, placing her hand next to the cloth bag. The white-haired old doctor stuck out two fingers.
After the old man closed his eyes and listened for a moment, he took back his fingers, opened his eyes, and smiled.
“Old Furen is very good and very strong. If you can eat well and drink some nutrients on weekdays, it would be better.”
When she heard this, Wu Meili smiled bitterly. How could they eat well this year? Four months into the new year and there was not even a drop of rain.
Shaking her head internally, she pushed Hehua's hand towards the old doctor and said emotionally.
"Troubling doctor to help me see what is wrong with daughter-in-law."
The old Furen hoped there would be good news; after all, her daughter-in-law had married her son at the age of seventeen.
After a short period of listening, he opened his eyes with a smile and said cheerfully.
"Congratulation to old Furen. The daughter-in-law is pregnant! It will not be long before you can hold a grandchild on your knees. "
When she heard this, Wu Meili was happy first, then sad. Truthfully, she had a hunch when she heard her son describe it.
However, she looked at the thin body of her daughter-in-law, looked at the sky that still did not see a cloud, and did not know what to do.
This child would not live past a few years without food. Even if it did survive, she was afraid it would not grow.
Lamenting and shaking her head, Wu Meili pushed her other sons and daughters in front of the old doctor and let the old doctor take their pulse.
Fortunately, although they were on the thin side due to lack of nutrients, the other sons and daughters were okay. There was a good chance that it might continue to be so in the future.