Chapter 41 (1/2)
Doctor You had been gone for two months. The villagers in and around Dongshan Village didn't feel anything was different in the short term. But after a while, they all felt the inconvenience of his absence. In the past, when they had a minor illness or a small disaster, they were able to pay Doctor You ten to twenty copper coins to be seen. Afterward, they just needed to take some medicine and their illness would be gone.
After Doctor You had left, the majority of the villagers who fell sick were able to overcome their illness by bearing with it. But if their condition didn't get better with time, they would have to go to town to see a doctor. However, they had to pay at least several hundred of copper coins to visit even the smallest medical hall.
Everyone knew that the granddaughter from Old Yu's family had studied medicine under Doctor You for a month. But, she was merely a silly eight year old girl and also didn't study under Doctor You for long. They rather endure the illness themselves than to put their own lives in the hands of a little girl. She might even turn their small illness into a serious illness!
Xiaocao was quite talented in studying medicine, and Doctor You felt that there wasn't much that he could teach her anymore. However, three months pa.s.sed, and Xiaocao didn't receive even one patient. But she didn't take that to heart. Xiaocao's original purpose in studying medicine was to conceal the effects of the mystic-stone water when she used it. Hence, it didn't matter to her whether she had any patients seeking her help or not.
Doctor You often liked to concoct pills for common conditions like the common cold, small fevers, and other minor illnesses. The majority of the villagers from Dong Shan village knew this.
Every once in a while, Yu Xiaocao would be visited by the villagers. She would get the pills or medicine packs prepared by Grandfather You and give it to the sick villager. This was the only role left for her as Doctor You's direct disciple while he was gone.
Taking advantage of the fact that the early winter snow didn't seal the mountain, Yu Xiaocao would leisurely put out some traps every few days when she went up the mountain. With the mystic-stone water as an all-purpose bait, her harvest every time would be quite bountiful. Her private little purse was bulging more and more.
With more money came more worries. In the past, with only one or two silver ingots, she would be able to find a random corner and hide it. But now she had silver ingots and silver pieces inside her bulging purse, it was more difficult to find a safe hiding spot.. After all, the family had Yu Heizi, who liked to go through other people's things.
Xiaocao wasn't treating him unjustly: Heizi had a criminal record. Everyday, Yu Hai and Madam Liu both had more work than they could finish in a day, and Yu Xiaolian was also not allowed to idle around. When Xiaocao set out the traps, she would bring Little s.h.i.+tou along. Basically, other than when they were eating or sleeping, there was no one in the West Room to witness anything.
One time, Yu Xiaocao had just returned from selling the animals she had caught using her traps in the mountain. When she returned, she saw the West Room's door wide open so she quickly hurried over to take a look. The whole room was a mess after being rummaged through by someone. The tattered clothes inside the trunk were thrown everywhere. Even the blanket on the kang bed was tangled into a lump.
She quickly went to check the place where she hid the money——in the small crack between the kang bed and the mud wall. Fortunately, after she had hid the money in the small crack, she had used some loose dirt to seal it. Otherwise, the money would be hard pressed to escape from Brother Heizi's sinister hand.
Xiaocao was angered by this so she told the head of the household——Madam Zhang. The biased elderly lady only asked a few questions. Due to the lack of evidence, they were forced to leave the matter unsettled. After that, when Xiaocao hid her secret money, she was much more careful.
In the end, she came up with a foolproof way of hiding her money. She dug a small square hole in one of the mud bricks of the wall. She also got a small piece of mud brick that can be easily placed into the hole. After she put the silver inside the small hole, she would put the small mud brick in. Then, she would take some mud and fill the small cracks, making everything look flawless.
As the days pa.s.sed, the winter in the north finally showed its might. On that day, the weather was gloomy. The entire sky was covered in thick, low, and grayish-yellow turbid clouds.
The northeast wind howled as it wreaked havoc in the wilderness. It seemed as if the wind was holding a sharp sword that could easily pierce through a tight leather coat. So when Xiaocao left to go outside, her exposed cheek was stricken again and again by the wind. Her cheeks ached and it was difficult for her to bear the pain.
The umber-black sky was sprinkled with little pieces of pure white petals. It seemed as if the white petals also had a touch of fragrance on them. Snow as big as a goose feather flew down in great numbers, instantly dyeing the world in white.
In her previous life, Yu Xiaocao had lived in Central China. So even if there was snow, it would only be on a small scale. This was her first time seeing a snow so heavy that it looked like torn puffs of cotton were falling down.
The old and shabby cotton-padded jacket she was wearing wasn't sufficient enough to resist the severe cold of the north. Ever since winter had approached, Yu Xiaocao wasn't willing to go out. She would nestle on the kang bed everyday.
”It's the first snow of the year and yet it's already snowed this much! It seems like it would be hard to pa.s.s through this winter! Did we store enough food in the house?” At dinner, Old Yu sat on the kang bed. He looked out to see the snow that had been falling for a day and sighed. From his years of experience, it wasn't uncommon to see the big snow become a disaster.
Madam Zhang thought about the mountains of sliced sweet potatoes in the storage room. Once again, with food in her hand, Madam Zhang didn't panic. She nodded her head and replied, ”There is definitely enough food. It's just hasn't been grinded into powder yet. When the snow stops, eldest son and second son will go grind thousands of catties of sweet potato powder and store it.
Old Yu wrinkled his brows and said, ”Even if you don't get tired of just eating sweet potato flour for the entire winter, your stomach may not be able to handle it. We still need to buy some coa.r.s.e and fine grains to store for the winter. If we wait till New Years when the snow has piled almost up to the sky, the prices of the grains would definitely be higher.”
Just as they were discussing, the Yu Family's front door was slapped with a heaven-shattering sound. Within the sound of the wind and snow, they could also hear someone crying at the door.
”I'll go check it out!” Yu Hai put down his rice bowl and put on his tattered cotton-padded jacket. He pulled the door open and lurched into the raging storm. The moment the door opened and closed, a few snowflakes entered the house. The snowflakes fell onto the floor and melted into tiny specks of muddy water.
Madam Li continued to eat large mouthfuls of food, yet she didn't forget to complain, ”Who is it? Why would they come when it's snowing so much? They also came at this hour. Are they trying to prevent us from eating?”