readytorunbook Chapter 10: A chance to go into the city and take a look!
Chapter 10: A chance to go into the city and take a look!
When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, a young couple was waiting there.
Upon seeing them, the two children immediately fluttered into the young couple's arms like butterflies.
"Daddy, Mommy, we're back!"
"My brother and I brought you some delicious food, hee hee~"
"Alright, alright~ Good girl, it's getting late. We can eat tomorrow. Let's wash up and go to bed early tonight!"
My lord, you should rest first. You have to go to the government office tomorrow. I'll come over as soon as I've settled things with them.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, my wife."
"Huh? There's a little baby here too?"
A young woman came over and took Wuya's hand.
"Hello, uncles and aunties~ My name is Liang Wuya~!"
I came with my master and Doctor Gao. Sorry to bother you!
He then clasped his hands together and bowed to the young couple.
"Oh, my husband, this child is so well-behaved! Good, good, good!"
"My lord, you go and rest. I will go and settle the children."
As they spoke, one of the couple returned to their own courtyard, while the other, accompanied by a maid, led the children to the adjacent courtyard. After washing and settling the children in, they went to rest.
The next morning, everyone got up early and finished their breakfast.
Apart from the man who went to the yamen yesterday, that was Qian's eldest son, who had passed the imperial examination and obtained a position as a steward in the yamen.
The rest of the group, except for Old Madam Qian who was busy with matters in the inner quarters, all went to the Jishetang across the street.
Besides the eldest son and his wife whom I met yesterday, the Qian family also has a second son who is of marriageable age and is helping out at the pharmacy. He is probably preparing to take over the family business. They also have two daughters who are already married.
When everyone arrived at Jishetang, Doctor Gao hung up his sign.
Jishetang originally had three attending physicians: Qian Erlang and two other disciples of Qian Lao. When Dr. Qian was too busy, he would also see patients, but he made house calls more often. Dr. Qian asked someone to arrange a special consultation spot for Dr. Gao.
"Brother Qian, I would like to learn from you for a few days to broaden my horizons and familiarize myself with your knowledge. What do you think?"
I'll see the doctor again in a few days; that way I'll feel more at ease."
After hearing his explanation, Dr. Qian felt it was a good idea.
This is a good opportunity for the two of them to continue and discuss the problems they have encountered.
Let's discuss and share the best ideas we each have.
The two children were learning the Three Character Classic at a private school.
Madam Qian then informed the teacher and asked Wuya to go and study with them for a few days.
In this way, Shen Huai would go to study with the two children in the morning and practice calligraphy with them in the afternoon.
During my lunch break and after finishing my calligraphy practice in the afternoon, I would go to the Jishetang clinic across the street, sit next to the doctor, and study quietly without saying a word.
Make a careful note of any problems you haven't encountered before, and then write them down again on scrap paper from your calligraphy practice. Circle any characters you don't know how to write.
The main problem is the traditional Chinese characters. I recognize quite a few, but I can't write many, and I'm afraid to write them in pinyin.
Fortunately, I have a good memory, and by referring to the context, I can generally understand the meaning.
That night, lying in bed, Shen Huai finally missed Shen Huai for the first time:
I wonder how my parents are doing, and how my child is doing?
Was I killed or missing?
Since arriving in this world, Shen Huai has been constantly on the go.
Finally getting a temporary respite, all the memories flooded back into my mind.
I gradually accepted the fact that everything in the past had vanished like a bubble.
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
That evening, the children finished practicing their calligraphy and went to play.
Mrs. Qian came to check her two children's calligraphy and was amazed to find that they had improved a lot.
She sent a maid to call the children over, but when she saw that only her two children had come, she thought:
I told them to call the children, but Xiao Cui only called her own. I don't think she'd leave such a small child there to play by herself.
"Why are there only Shao'er and Yao'er? Where is Xiao Wuya?"
Before Xiao Cui could speak, Shao'er interjected:
“Mother, Little Fifth Sister goes to the pharmacy after practicing her calligraphy every day. She doesn’t play games with us.”
"Oh? You two have made progress in your calligraphy practice recently. How's your memorization coming along?"
“Mother just keeps testing us. Recently, we went to school with Xiao Wuya. On the way back, Xiao Wuya kept asking us about the lessons we learned that day, until we remembered them all!”
The teacher made us practice calligraphy, and even Xiao Wuya was more diligent than us!
We see how serious she is even at such a young age, so we've been practicing very diligently lately too. Our husband praises us every day now, huh!
"Oh, that's wonderful!"
As she spoke, Madam Qian moved to Wu Ya's table.
Looking at the characters, it's clear that the student lacked a foundation in the first two days, but was working hard to practice.
It got better day by day, and in the last day or two, his handwriting was already better than that of his two older children.
He raised his hand again and flipped through it.
This child filled every sheet of paper, completing the equivalent of three times the amount of the other two older children each day.
Mrs. Qian: No wonder you've improved so quickly!
No wonder my two children have benefited from being around a child like that.
While flipping through them, I found some small pieces of paper, which looked like scraps from calligraphy practice papers.
The small piece of paper had a lot written on it, all about seeing a doctor, treating illnesses, and taking medicine.
Mrs. Qian sighed inwardly:
You two silly girls, Little Wuya wasn't asking you about your homework!
They're little devils, trying to find ways to help you remember your lessons!
It's such a pity that such a child was born in such a remote village and was born into a peasant family!
No wonder I kept seeing that child sitting in the pharmacy in the evening. I thought he was shy and went to sit next to Uncle Gao. Now I understand!
So Mrs. Qian put the things back in their original places.
He instructed the two children to take good care of Wuya, and then let them go play.
From then on, whenever I saw Wuya, I appreciated her even more.
A few days later, Doctor Gao was about to take Wuya back home.
Although Dr. Gao only practiced medicine for a little over ten days, he was diligent and gentle, and he always carefully considered each patient's condition when prescribing medicine.
Although it had only been a little over ten days, neighbors began to recommend him for treatment, and some even asked him to come to their homes for house calls.
The medical expenses for just over ten days amounted to a string of cash!
A farming family, even with a decent harvest throughout the year, only earns two taels of silver to make ends meet.
Shen Huai: Sure enough! As long as you are willing to work hard and be ambitious, the opportunities in big cities are far greater than in small places.
This principle truly remains unchanged throughout the ages!
Doctor Gao only agreed to keep half of the money, and Doctor Qian's family was almost angry with each other. In the end, Doctor Gao secretly took out five hundred coins and bought gifts for Doctor Qian's whole family.
The Qian family secretly praised Doctor Gao's character, and Mrs. Qian especially thought:
Little Wuya is a smart child~
But it is because of people like Uncle Gao, who are of high moral character and set an example, that this child is so outstanding in every way!
If this child is still like this in a few years, we should make sure our two children spend more time with her.
The Qian family also prepared food for Doctor Gao and Wuya.
After discussing it, Madam Qian and Madam Qian made a spring and autumn shirt and a winter coat for the young couple based on the fabric they usually wore. Needless to say, the one for Wuya was a bit too big.
On this day, Mrs. Qian asked the children for leave.
Together with Madam Qian, they toured the three county towns.
After having brunch, they reluctantly said goodbye. Before leaving, they gave Dr. Gao several medical books and asked the coachman to take the old man and the young man to Doctor Qin's house in Laiyang County in a horse-drawn carriage.
That evening, when they arrived at Uncle Qin's house, Uncle Qin and his family were naturally overjoyed.
After another day of lingering, on the morning of the third day, Doctor Gao bid farewell to Uncle Qin and his family.
Before leaving, Uncle Qin prepared food and supplies for Doctor Gao, stuffing his backpack until it was full before stopping. Doctor Gao then took his leave with Wu Ya.
When they returned to the pastoral village, Wuya's parents were so surprised to see that their child had gone out and brought back so many things that they couldn't stop smiling.
He exclaimed repeatedly: "Did auspicious smoke rise from our ancestral graves?"
I hope that some of Wuya's good fortune can be shared with Baozhu.
Shen Huai listened and silently rolled her eyes.
That's just how society is; you can't blame them, but you can't be grateful either!
Thinking about the Qin family and the Qian family I visited this time, it seems that the phenomenon of favoring sons over daughters has improved a lot.
I don't know what will happen to Uncle Qin's family in the future, but I saw that Doctor Qian's family, both his daughter and son, started their education together.
Wu Ya gave some food to the village chief's family, and the village chief and his grandmother's faces beamed with joy.
The rest was given to Wuya's parents, and some was kept for himself. That night, it was distributed among the four girls, which made them extremely excited.
Looking at the four excited girls, Shen Huai felt a pang of sadness.
From then on, Wuya resumed her monthly work in Duoshui Town and her daily medical studies.
In his spare time, he focused on generating revenue and how to promote double-cropping.
Autumn has arrived in the blink of an eye. This year's harvest is not good, and the whole village is visibly more dejected.
Shen Huai thought that the opportunity had come, and he had already made up a plan in his mind.