Chapter 1: Falling into the water
"Doctor Huang, what's the situation?"
A woman's anxious voice came to my ears.
Qian Hua felt sore and weak all over, as if her whole body was immersed in a cold pond and she was shivering from the cold.
Her head felt heavy, but her consciousness was clear.
She tried to open her eyes to see where she was.
But her eyelids wouldn't obey her at all, and her body seemed to be under a spell, unable to move at all, so she had to give up.
"It is the end of summer now, and the weather is not cold. The child should not have caught a cold after falling into the water, but the child already had a cold syndrome in his body, and now falling into the water has triggered the cold evil energy in his body."
"Plus he was severely frightened, which led to his high fever. The current situation is really critical."
This was the voice of an old man, probably the Doctor Huang the woman mentioned.
"Doctor Huang, what should we do? Is there any way to treat it?" The woman's voice was filled with anxiety and worry.
"I'll prescribe a prescription. If your fever goes down after taking the medicine, you'll be safe. If your fever persists, I'm afraid..."
The old man seemed to be hesitant to speak, and it was obvious that he couldn't bear to say the following words.
"What will happen if the fever doesn't go away?" The woman's tone became more and more anxious.
"If the fever hasn't subsided by tomorrow morning, you should be prepared for the aftermath." The old man sighed and said the worst-case scenario.
As soon as the words fell, Liu felt as if struck by lightning, and her head was buzzing.
Her energy seemed to be completely drained away in an instant. She became weak and powerless and almost fell to the ground.
After she stood up and came to her senses, she immediately rushed to the bed and hugged the thin body of the person on the bed.
She shook herself and cried out sadly, "Qianhuan, my poor daughter, how did you fall into the river? If you couldn't make it, how would your mother live? Wuuuuu..."
Qian Huan's head was shaken even more heavily. She was extremely confused: How did this woman know her name was Qian Huan? She even claimed to be her mother, but this voice was clearly not her mother's.
She remembered that before the accident, she was standing at the stern of the sightseeing boat with other tourists taking pictures.
Suddenly a wave hit me hard, and I didn’t know who in the crowd pushed me, but I lost my balance and fell into the sea.
She obviously knew how to swim, but no matter how hard she paddled she felt her body was sinking until she lost all consciousness.
When she woke up again, she found herself lying here.
"Chunxiang, don't panic. Let Doctor Huang prescribe some medicine. Qianhuan is blessed by good fortune, and she will be fine."
The man's voice comforting the woman interrupted Qianhua's confused thoughts.
"Yes, yes, her father, I am so anxious that I am confused. Doctor Huang, please write a prescription quickly."
After hearing what her husband said, the woman seemed to have found her backbone and hurriedly urged the doctor to prescribe medicine.
Doctor Huang took out a pen and paper from the medicine box, sat down at the worn wooden table and began to write the prescription.
He handed the written prescription to Liu, looked at Liang Laoer who was leaning on a cane and said, "This prescription can calm the nerves and temporarily suppress the cold in the child's body. The herbs that suppress the cold are quite precious and will cost two taels of silver. Together with the other herbs, the total will be three taels of silver. I don't have the herbs that suppress the cold..."
"What kind of crappy medicine is so expensive? Three taels of silver is enough for our whole family to chew for half a year. Why don't you go rob some money?"
Before Doctor Huang could finish his words, he was interrupted by Old Lady Liang, who had been standing in the room without saying a word.
"I am a doctor, not a bandit. I cannot rob people of their money. Besides, even if you want some of these precious herbs that can suppress the cold, I don't have them yet."
Doctor Huang looked extremely unhappy and he said angrily.
"That's just fine. We don't need any precious medicinal herbs. We won't bother you to treat this disease. There's cold in the body. We can just boil a bowl of ginger water and drink it down."
Old Mrs. Liang's tone was a little excited, and she wanted her to take out three taels of silver to save people.
Bah, no way, this is like asking for her life.
"Doctor Huang, I'm sorry. My mother was impatient and said something wrong. Please don't argue with her. My daughter's illness still needs your prescription to be cured."
Liang Laoer was afraid that what his mother said would anger Doctor Huang, so he quickly apologized on behalf of his mother, Mrs. Liang.
"I will certainly not argue with ignorant women and children." Doctor Huang snorted coldly at Old Lady Liang.
As a fellow villager, Doctor Huang naturally knew what kind of person Old Lady Liang was.
Everyone said that this old lady Liang was very stingy and calculative, and had a very serious preference for boys over girls.
He usually only loves his grandsons and doesn't treat his two granddaughters as human beings.
After seeing it today, I find that it really lives up to its reputation.
This old lady Liang is really confused. After all, Qianhuan is her granddaughter. At a critical moment when human life is at stake, she actually wants to just drink a glass of ginger water to save money.
Old Lady Liang was about to retort: "You..."
"Doctor Huang, what are the names of the rare medicinal herbs we're missing? Where should we buy them?"
Liang Laoer was afraid that his mother would say something unpleasant again, so he quickly interrupted her and asked a series of questions that he was most concerned about.
"I have written down the several missing medicinal herbs on the prescription and also marked them separately. You can take the prescription to Renjitang, the largest pharmacy in the county, to buy them. You have to buy them before dark. If you go too late, the shop will be closed. The child's condition is very critical and he must take the medicine quickly." Doctor Huang instructed Liang Laoer with a serious face.
He continued, "I have all the other herbs. Since we are all from the same hometown, I will not charge you the ten cents consultation fee. You can pay one or two taels of silver for the herbs, and then you can send someone to go with me to your home to get the medicine."
Liu held the prescription in her hand. She and Liang Lao Er looked at each other. They both understood each other and looked at the mistress of the house, Old Lady Liang, with pleading eyes.
Before the two of them could speak, Old Lady Liang dodged her gaze, lowered her head with a guilty look and said, "Don't look at me. You know, my family is already in financial difficulty. We can't even get enough food. How can we afford such expensive medicine?"
"Didn't eldest brother go to the town to sell the family's stored grain last month? Where's the money from selling the grain?" Liang Laoer looked at his mother and asked anxiously.
"I saved that money for your eldest nephew Wen Yong to marry. He is 18 years old now and should have gotten married. If our family wasn't poor, his children might have called him dad."
Old Mrs. Liang raised her voice and answered Old Mr. Liang with confidence.