Chapter 38 The Poor Man's Illness

  Zuo Shaoyang saw him praising and took advantage of his excitement, saying: "Dad, why don't we buy this bundle of firewood from her? It's also a way to help her. She has been waiting here for more than an hour and hasn't sold it yet. It's so cold."

  Zuo Gui glanced at the firewood and said: "With so much firewood, if we buy it back and can't continue renting the house, where will we put all this firewood?"

  "Dad! We can't rent the house from Zhao San Niang, does that mean we can't rent any other house? Even if we can't open a Guizhitang (a type of traditional Chinese medicine shop), we still have to make a living. And for that, we need firewood. Our family doesn't have much firewood either, and we'll have to buy some sooner or later. Besides, she saved my life! I was knocked unconscious on the mountain rocks, and my sister couldn't climb up to get me. She was crying frantically, but this woman happened to be passing by, heard about it, and without hesitation climbed up to rescue me. If not for her, I might have frozen to death or fallen off while trying to crawl back down. So she's actually the one who saved my life! Helping her buy some firewood isn't like giving her money for nothing; she has integrity and wouldn't take our money anyway. Buying firewood from her can't even be considered helping out, it's just a mutually beneficial deal."

  Zuo Gui nodded repeatedly: "Mm, makes sense. Then... how much money is it?"

  "I didn't ask, but her bundle of firewood is the largest here, others are all eight cents, I think hers must be at least nine cents."

  "That's good." Zuo Gui took out his purse and counted out nine coins. "Here, let her choose a house to go to."

  "Great!" Zuo Shaoyang gathered the money into his hands, "Thanks, Dad!"

  "Are you thanking me sarcastically?"

  "I'm helping you thank him!"

  "Are you satisfied now?!"

  Zuo Shaoyang couldn't bear to mention the matter again, and happily took the money and ran in front of Miao Peilan: "Miss Peilan, how much is this firewood?"

  Miao Peilan looked at him with some curiosity: "Eighty cents."

  "How can it be so expensive, just eight cents for such a big handful? Yours is more than others', okay, nine cents will do. Here, my dad asked me to buy some, help me pick some out, I really can't carry such a big handful." After saying that, Zuo Shaoyang handed over the nine cents in his hand.

  Miao Peilan smiled gratefully and took over the copper coins, counted them, and handed one to Zuo Shaoyang.

  "What's going on?" Zuo Shaoyang pushed the money back, "I said nine cents."

  Miao Peilan grasped his hand and slapped the letter into his palm. She slipped under the firewood rack, picked up the firewood, looked at him, and waited for him to lead the way.

  Zuo Shaoyang knew that this girl was very stubborn, last time he gave her money she didn't want it, it's clear that she wasn't someone who liked to take advantage of others, so he sighed and said: "Alright then, let's go this way."

  Miao Peilan followed him through the streets and alleys to Guizhitang. Along the way, Xiao Shaoyang asked her where she lived, who else was in her family, if she had read books, and what she usually did. Miao Peilan just smiled at him, or nodded or shook her head, but didn't answer.

  Arriving at the entrance of Guizhitang, Zuo Shaoyang hurried forward and stood at the door, shouting loudly: "Mother! Father asked me to buy a load of firewood back, where should I put it?"

  Inside came the sound of Angelica: "Is brother back? Mother is busy, bring the firewood to the kitchen. Is it split yet? - Ah, it's you! Girl!" Angelica said as she came out, catching sight of the girl who had saved her brother last time, both surprised and delighted. "Quickly! Please come in and sit down! - Brother, you don't even help with unloading the firewood, really!"

  "Alright!" Zuo Shaoyang was in a hurry to go and help, but the girl quickly picked up the firewood and entered the main hall, going straight to the kitchen. She put down the firewood, removed the middle piece of firewood, and placed the two bundles on the ground. With her foot holding them in place, she pulled out a firewood knife from behind her waist and with a few swift cuts, severed the rattan strips binding the two bundles of firewood. Picking up one piece of firewood, she propped it against the ground, raised her hand and brought down the knife, "chop chop" twice, and one piece of firewood was split into three sections. She picked up another piece and continued to chop.

  "Miss, don't bother, we can handle it ourselves. You go rest in the main room and have a drink."

  Miao Peilan smiled slightly and shook her head, but her hands didn't stop moving.

  Zuo Shaoyang stood among the idle crowd, and since the kitchen was very narrow, Miao Peilan was chopping firewood inside. Even going in to help pick up kindling didn't have any space, so he could only stand at the door with Huixiang watching Miao Peilan busily work.

  Zuo Shaoyang asked in a low voice, "Sister, didn't we agree this morning that you would go to Huimin Hall and see if there were any illnesses they couldn't cure, and then tell us? Why didn't you go?"

  "Who said I didn't go? I've been squatting here guarding it all along, came back for lunch at noon and then went again. You can't let your sister starve her stomach to guard for a day, right?"

  "Hey, have you found out what's wrong with them?"

  "After waiting for a whole morning, I finally saw one. A family brought an old woman to see the doctor, crying as they went in and still crying when they came out. After asking around, it was said that she couldn't be cured."

  "Why didn't you come and call us then?"

  "Don't call!"

  "Why?"

  "That poor family is dressed in tattered clothes, even if they recover, they won't be able to collect any money!"

  "What? Is it a poor family?"

  "Yes, our goal is to make money and pay rent, so we won't be kicked out. This poor guy's illness can't even be cured by the charitable hospital, how can Dad be sure he can cure it? Even if he does cure him, we won't get paid anyway. Of course, this is a bit heartless, but they didn't come to us for treatment, and we're not necessarily capable of treating him, so I didn't ask you guys to take on this task."

  Zuo Shaoyang felt a bit down, and his sister was telling the truth. This time, they were called to guard the house of a wealthy family, with the intention of finding a rich family to cure their illness. If the wealthy person's illness couldn't be cured by Huimin Hall, but he and his father could cure it, then they could ask for some money, not much, just enough to pay the rent and avoid being evicted. However, this family was poor, so this goal couldn't be achieved. As for the issue of treating illnesses and saving lives without giving up, Zuo Shaoyang really didn't have the confidence to cure the illnesses that even the famous doctors of Huimin Hall couldn't cure.

  Although I was making excuses for myself in my heart, I couldn't help feeling uneasy, as if I had done something shameful. After hesitating for a moment, I asked, "Sister, where is the patient from and where does he live?"

  "What's wrong?" Xiang asked with a glare.

  "I... I think I'll go take a look, if I can help with the treatment and cure the illness, that would be great."

  "You? Are you going to take on this task? The illness that even Huimin Hall couldn't cure, can you cure it? If not, what if they blame you for making things worse and demand compensation from you, saying you killed the patient with your treatment?"

  "I'll just go take a look, if it can be cured, that's the best, if it can't be cured, I won't force myself and I won't get myself into trouble."

  "Never mind, don't provoke this kind of thing!"

  "Sister, just tell me, I'll go take a look and then say, saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda..."

  "It's all right! It's all right! I don't know where they live, and I don't know where they went! They heard that the treatment was ineffective, so they cried and carried the person out the door. I didn't go forward to ask, nor did I hear them say specifically whose person it was, where they came from, or where they were going. I don't know any of these things." said Lettuce with a pout.

  "How come you don't know? Weren't you watching from the side at that time?"

  "Even if you look at it, you may not know, the patient's family is treating the illness, just mentioning the name is enough, can they tell you their home address and birth date?"

  "I didn't even ask for his birth date and time, just knowing the address is enough."

  Alisma turned her head, with a stern face towards Zuo Shao Yang: "Brother, even if I really didn't know, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you! Our family has enough troubles, don't add to the chaos! With your limited skills, you can't even cure people's illnesses!"

  Her brother and sister were talking, Miao Pei Lan had already chopped the two large bundles of firewood into lengths of about a foot, just right for burning. She also stacked the firewood neatly and piled it aside, only then did she insert the axe back into the knife scabbard at her waist.

  Angelica hurriedly brought over a cup of warm water: "Thank you, miss, have some water!"

  Miao Peilan hastily took over, gazing at the charming smile of Xie Yanran, and drank the water in one gulp. She lowered her head and walked out the door. Zuo Shaoyang hurriedly said: "Miss Peilan, it's not too late to sit down and rest for a while before leaving."

  Miao Peilan turned back and glanced at him, smiled again, and stepped out of the door.

  Just then, the sound of footsteps was heard, and a group of people rushed into the Guizhitang with anxious expressions. Among them, a shabbily dressed man carried an old woman on his back. The old woman was tall and stout, and she seemed to be crushing the man under her weight. Her two hands hung down from the man's shoulders, swaying softly, as if bidding farewell to this world of mortals.

  One of the men shouted anxiously: "Lang Zhong! Lang Zhong is here? Help! Save us!"