Chapter 18: The Dying Mother in Childbirth

  Left Shao Yang saw him as a square-faced man, suddenly jumping like thunder, and was somewhat amused in his heart. He wanted to tell him some formulas from the Tang Dynasty onwards that he couldn't possibly know, but was afraid of arousing more suspicion, making it difficult to cover up later, so he simply shut his mouth and pretended to be ignorant.

  Zuo Gui said a few words, seeing Zuo Shaoyang not speaking, also felt boring, and went back to the back of the table without saying anything.

  It was almost noon when Liang took two coins and gave them to Zuo Shao-yang, telling him to go buy a small bundle of firewood back for cooking.

  Zuō shǎo yáng ná zhe liǎng wén qián kǔ xiào, lián chái huǒ dōu yào xiǎo kǔn de mǎi, jiā lǐ yǐ jīng jiǎn jù dào rú cǐ de bù le. Tā lóng zhe shǒu lái dào wǎ shì. zhè shì mài líng sǎn wù pǐn de dì fang. Yī pái pái de chái huǒ tiāo zhan zài xuě dì lǐ, hòu miàn dù zhe yī gè gè xiǎo fū, duō zuò zhěng zhěng děng zhe mǎi zhǔ. Jiàn rén kào guò lái, mǎ shàng yòng rè qiē de yǎn jīng wàng zhe, dàn què bù gǎn shàng qián zhāo hū. Wàng zhe rén zǒu kāi, yǎn jīng yòu àn dàn xià lái.

  The left Shao Yang asked a few, each one picked up big and small are not fixed, more want seven Wen, less also want three Wen. He only had two Wen money in his hand, seeing the firewood worker's hard work in the cold weather, he didn't haggle over the price, and walked along this row of firewood to find a smaller bundle to buy.

  He walked past a bundle of firewood, which was very large, with two bundles being among the largest in the firewood rack. The logs were as thick as large cups, reminding him of the dark-skinned, freckled-faced woodcutter girl he had met while crossing over, who carried firewood just as big.

  He sighed and was about to continue walking forward when his nose suddenly caught the familiar faint scent of fresh grass, a smell that only existed in spring. It was impossible for this smell to exist in Wati City, which meant there was only one possibility - the girl was nearby!

  He shook his head and took a look, and behind the high firewood, he saw a small corner of a skirt, made of hemp cloth, embroidered with floral edges, which was exactly the same as the dress of the firewood girl he had seen for the first time.

  Zuo Shaoyang smiled and patted the firewood with his hand: "Young lady!"

  The woman behind the firewood carrier finally poked her head out, with dark skin and big, shiny eyes staring at him. On either side of her nose were a few small freckles. It was indeed that firewood girl.

  "Is it you!" Zuo Shao Yang said with a smile, "Have you come to sell firewood?"

  The girl nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed, it was unclear whether she was frozen or blushing.

  "How much does this bundle of firewood cost?"

  "Eight Articles."

  This was the first time Zuo Shao Yang had heard this girl speak, her voice soft and gentle, yet very round, like two crystal clear pearls rolling off a jade plate.

  "Eight cents?" Zuo Shaoyang clenched the two coins in his sleeve, wishing they could turn into four or even eight cents, so he could buy the firewood and let the girl not wait here in the cold.

  The girl looked at him and saw that he seemed unwilling to buy, with some disappointment in his eyes.

  Zuo Shaoyang saw through it and was afraid that the girl would misunderstand, so he took out two coins from his hand and said with a smile: "I... only have two coins, not enough to buy your firewood."

  The girl smiled slightly, her expression seeming to say it's okay.

  Zuo Shaoyang hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "I only bought two cents worth, can you give me a few pieces of firewood, is that okay?"

  The girl also smiled, nodded, and quickly untied the rattan strip wrapped around the firewood, pulled out the firewood, and put it together. Left Shao Yang saw that this small pile of firewood occupied more than a third of the entire bundle of firewood, which should be at least three cents when spread out, and hurriedly said: "Too much, I only want two cents worth." The girl seemed not to have heard, tied it up with a small rattan strip, placed it in front of Left Shao Yang, reached out and took the two cents from Left Shao Yang's hand, and gave her a charming smile.

  "This... Hehe, I'm really sorry, thank you so much!" Zuo Shaoyang said, bending down to pick up the firewood. The girl had already rushed forward and helped pick up the firewood on the ground, bent down and picked it up, gently placing it on Zuo Shaoyang's shoulder.

  The left Shao Yang was dizzy, although only a small half, but still somewhat heavy, really do not know that girl chose this whole bundle of firewood, how her slender body could bear it.

  Zuo Shaoyang smiled at the young girl and carried the firewood home, resting twice along the way before finally bringing the bundle of firewood back.

  Li said with a smile: "Ah, Zhong Er is really good at buying things. This big bundle of firewood will cost three or four cents!"

  Zuo Shaoyang also smiled, and before his eyes appeared that girl's big, shiny black eyes with a shy smile.

  After lunch, there were still no patients coming in. Until the evening, it was still a stalemate. A family of three was getting desperate, and if things dragged on until New Year's Eve, they wouldn't be able to pay the 9,000 yuan rent.

  In the evening, my sister Huixiang came over with a small bag of glutinous rice and said that her husband's yamen had given it to all the clerks and runners as a New Year's gift, one dou per person. She had brought a small bag for our parents to share. Zuo Shaoyang didn't expect ancient yamens to also give out welfare benefits, and he couldn't help but feel a little moved, even though it was a small amount, it was better than nothing.

  Angelica asked about the injury of Zuo Shao Yang and learned that it was nothing serious, just a illness last night, which had already recovered, only then did she feel at ease.

  Hui Xiang helped her mother cook in the house, while Zuo Shao Yang and Zuo Gui waited in the main hall. Zuo Shao Yang saw his father's face getting more and more dejected, knowing he was worried about paying rent in a few days. Zuo Shao Yang had been thinking about this all day, but still couldn't come up with any ideas.

  Just then, a sobbing cry was heard from afar, the voice sounded familiar, as if it had been heard somewhere before. The crying grew louder and closer, and people on the street outside the gate were seen to be avoiding and retreating to both sides of the road, pointing and discussing. Then, seven or eight men carried something wrapped in a quilt on a door board, slowly passing by the entrance, and the sobbing cry was coming from these people. Zuo Shao Yang remembered as soon as he saw them, they were the group of people who had rushed to send the woman in labor to be treated at Hui Min Tang last night. The quilt on the door board covered everything, so it was impossible to see what was underneath, but judging from the sorrowful and tearful appearance of those people, it was not hard to imagine that the person underneath should be the woman who had given birth last night.

  Is the woman in labor dead?

  Zuo Shaoyang's heart sank, and he saw Zuo Gui walking to the door with his sleeves rolled up, looking around. He also walked out from behind the medicine cabinet and came to the door to take a look. On the stone path where the board had been carried, there were still drops of fresh blood dripping down, and suddenly, his eyes lit up - the presence of fresh blood meant that the person was not yet dead!

  He wanted to step forward and help with the treatment, but after taking two steps, he stopped. He also didn't have confidence in curing this stubborn disease that even the famous doctor from Huimin Hall, who had treated illnesses for princes and chancellors, couldn't cure. How could he, a newcomer, possibly treat it successfully? And how could others trust him to do so?

  He watched as the group of people walked away, then turned back to look at Lao Gui and let out a long sigh. He was about to follow them, but a thought flashed through his mind - he had memorized many prescriptions for treating difficult childbirths and stillbirths, surely one of them would work? Even if it didn't cure the condition, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Besides, even if the outcome was bad, how much worse could it get? If he let this opportunity slip away, he'd probably end up being kicked out on New Year's Eve!

  Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a rush of heat in his head and said to Zuigui: "Dad, I'll go take a look!"

  Before Zuo Gui could respond, he had already chased out of the door in a gust of wind.

  Those people had already walked far away, and he didn't dare to shout out loud. He chased after them for a whole street before catching up, panting heavily as he blocked their path: "Ladies and gentlemen! I know someone who can cure this big sister's difficult labor!"

  The group of people immediately stopped, and the old man and a young man were crying bitterly. As soon as they heard this, they stopped crying, but seeing that it was just a young man, they looked puzzled. The old man asked: "What did you say?"

  Zuo Shaoyang took a deep breath and said, "Last night when you were carrying this difficult-to-deliver big sister to Hui Min Tang, I was also there. I knew that the fetus in her belly had already died, but the dead fetus couldn't be delivered, endangering the mother's life, so they carried her to Hui Min Tang for treatment. Now seeing you all so sad and worried, I suppose Hui Min Tang can't cure it, right? ——I know someone who can!"

  The old man and the young fellow exchanged a glance, then turned their heads to look at the several men and women behind them. An old woman behind them sobbed: "Everyone in Nielang says it's incurable, who can cure it?"