Capítulo 2088: Chapter 2063: Reunion
Ms. Cui started burning up again during the night. Yang Heshu sat by the bed, quietly comforting her, while Manbao prescribed dicine and perford acupuncture. Including the other five patients who had complications, Manbao was incredibly busy, only stopping at dawn.
Fortunately, those staying here ca from well-off families. Even if their family mbers weren’t present, at least one servant was there to attend to them closely, allowing Manbao to manage with just acupuncture and prescriptions.
Once everyone overca the crisis, Manbao went to wash her hands and change clothes, then lay on her bed, motionless.
Though exhausted, she woke up again after less than two hours of sleep, just in ti for the morning.
Eldest Sister-in-law He was surprised that Zhou Man woke up so quickly and hurried in to attend her.
Manbao yawned, then got dressed and up, asking, “Are there any new patients entering the hospital today?”
“Yes.” Eldest Sister-in-law He paused before saying, “None were sent out today.”
aning none were critical or deceased.
Manbao nodded, first going to have breakfast. Before she finished eating, Yang Heshu ca to sit opposite her.
Only then did Manbao rember him, apologetically saying, “Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, I completely forgot about you.”
Yang Heshu couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t bla yourself, you’re tired from being so busy.”
He placed a bun on her plate and said, “The Xiazhou flatbread is quite good; it’s excellent soaked in lamb soup. Unfortunately, I can’t offer it to you now; we’ll have to wait until the smallpox epidemic ends.”
“Once it’s over, you must invite us to eat,” Manbao asked, “How is scholarly sister-in-law now?”
“She has fallen asleep; she’s only mildly feverish now. I think she looks much better than she did last night.”
“I will check on her shortly.”
Just as they finished eating, Steward Li ca to report, “My lord, Young Master Bai has brought two individuals, waiting at the main gate. They claim to be Imperial Doctor Zhou’s relatives.”
Manbao imdiately got up, “Scholarly Senior Brother, please wait; I’ll go et them.”
While speaking, she ntally communicated with Keke: “Buy it.”
Keke joyfully asked, “How many?”
Manbao, feeling pained, responded, “Buy plenty then, let’s go with… fifty pills.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Manbao heard the ding-ding sounds, not just once but twice, showing Keke’s speed.
Upon reaching the entrance, the soldiers checked carefully before allowing Zhou Man out.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, accompanied by Daji, stood aside with Zhou SiLang and Zhou Lijun.
Upon seeing Manbao, Zhou SiLang and Zhou Lijun rushed forward. One quietly asked, “Are you risking your life coming to Xiazhou at a ti like this?”
The other inquired, “Little Aunt, can you cure smallpox?”
Manbao first replied to Zhou SiLang, “It’s the emperor’s order; the people from the Imperial Hospital were delayed in coming, also needing to be here.”
Then she answered Zhou Lijun, “I’ll treat it as per the situation. Are you all alright?”
“We’re fine,” Zhou Lijun glanced at Zhou SiLang before smiling, “Rest assured, Little Aunt. We’re not particularly skilled, but we value our lives. As soon as Xiazhou City was locked down, we rented a large courtyard to live in, and then gradually sold all the dicinal herbs we had.”
Manbao breathed a sigh of relief, nodding, “We’re not locals here in Xiazhou; having large quantities of dicinal herbs and food isn’t safe.”
“Brother Xiang suggested the sa, so when we sold herbs, we never hid it. The herb prices for the various households were high, but we also donated a batch to the County Governntal Office, always allowing neighbors to see when the herbs were transported outside. Now everyone knows that we don’t have dicinal herbs on hand.”
“Unfortunately, we also brought twenty cattle from the grasslands this ti. We’re now confined in the courtyard, making it difficult to sustain them. We’ve been trying to sell them lately,” Zhou Lijun said, “But Xiazhou doesn’t lack cattle, and not many dare to travel outside now, including ourselves, so…”
Manbao looked over at Bai Shan. Bai Shan thought for a mont, then said, “Leave it to Scholarly Senior Brother Yang; otherwise, just slaughter them.”
Neither Zhou SiLang nor Zhou Lijun expected such a response, eyes wide in shock, “Kill them all?”
Bai Shan explained to Manbao, “Yesterday I looked over the data and visited the dical tents. I discovered that nearly half of the city’s patients ca from villages outside, and according to Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, so smaller villages have lost everyone except a few adults and children.”
“Thus, not only is travel difficult now, but even after the epidemic, it will be impossible to sell the cattle in Xiazhou. The best solution is to slaughter them now; the city is short of at, so at least it won’t be a loss.”
But keeping them could lead to uncertainty.
Daily needs for fodder, the cattle might fall ill, lose weight, and the longer they are kept, the higher the costs, potentially leading to real losses.
Zhou Lijun frowned, and Zhou SiLang frowned as well. But he quickly made a decision, gritting his teeth, “Alright, slaughter them all.”
Manbao imdiately said, “You can’t go outside now; I’ll ask Scholarly Senior Brother Yang for help.”
She glanced at the pills in her space, nodding to Zhou SiLang and said, “Wait here for ; I’ll go find Scholarly Senior Brother Yang.”
She returned with Yang Heshu, holding two bottles of pills in her hands, handing them to Zhou SiLang and Zhou Lijun, saying, “Inside the bottles are pills. Each of you take one, don’t take more, but do take them. I counted the people, one for each person.”
Zhou SiLang took a bottle and asked, “What kind of dicine is this?”
Manbao replied, “It helps prevent smallpox infection, though the efficacy isn’t guaranteed, so you must also stay cautious everyday.”
Zhou SiLang’s eyes lit up, saying, “With this, why not share the prescription so everyone can take it? We could also make it ourselves and perhaps even earn so money, right?”
Manbao was montarily speechless, and Bai Shan frowned, saying, “There is no prescription.”
“Isn’t it made by Manbao? How can there be no prescription?”
Bai Er shook his head saying, “Just eat it and you’ll know why; having a prescription and not having one makes no significant difference.”
Manbao turned to glare at him, “This is dicine, not candy!”
Bai Er said, “Whatever you say.”
Bai Shan chid in, “Actually, sugar is also dicine.”
Manbao imdiately added, “Indeed, sugar can be used in dicine.”
Yang Heshu found Bai Shan’s diative words amusing.
Listening to their debate, Zhou SiLang poured out a pill, tossing it into his mouth. Originally he thought he’d swallow it dry, but before he could, a faint sweetness spread. It grew richer until a mild dicinal taste barely erged at the end…
Zhou SiLang: …
Silently, he capped the bottle, accepted it into his embrace, and nodded, “Alright, I understand. I’ll return and have them consu it.”
Now he believed Manbao had no prescription, also thinking the candy… pill likely wasn’t made by her.
Zhou Lijun inadvertently ate one as well, then he and Fourth Uncle together urged their little aunt to take care of herself, didn’t linger on trivial talk, saluted Lord Yang, and took their leave.
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