CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 59: OVERFLOWING COMPASSION

Da’an and Xiao’an finished their introductions and then said with heads lowered in dejection, "My mother is ill, we don’t have money for treatment, so we thought of coming to Yangcheng to sell firewood to earn money for my mother’s treatment."

"What about your father?"

Da’an replied, "Eight years ago, during the chaos at the Northern Border, Great Liang drafted soldiers extensively, and my father was forcibly conscripted. He never returned, and people in the village all say he died abroad."

"Eight years ago?" Not returning for eight years, it really seems likely he didn’t survive.

Unexpected to see Great Liang also had forced conscription; why wasn’t the Yu Family’s three brothers drafted?

She needs to find a chance to ask Yu Changhe.

"What illness does your mother have? What did the doctor say? Can it be treated?"

"My mother was coughing incessantly and had a fever a while back. After taking a folk remedy from Aunt Wang in our village, she got better for a few days. But lately, it’s gotten worse, and the remedy doesn’t work anymore."

"Is your mother still running a fever now?" Yu Xiaolian asked hurriedly.

If someone is constantly running a fever, that’s definitely not good; continuous fever could be life-threatening.

"Yes, I’ve covered my mother with several quilts, but she still says she’s cold."

Yesterday, they sold firewood and took the half silver coin Yu Xiaolian gave them to the pharmacy, hoping to get medicine for their mother.

But the pharmacy assistant said he couldn’t dispense medicine without a prescription. Not knowing what illness their mother had, he couldn’t provide targeted medicine; they needed to bring her to the pharmacy for a pulse check to get medicine.

Da’an and Xiao’an planned to use a cart to bring their mother to the city, but she refused to come, saying not to waste money and she’d be fine with more folk remedies at home.

Yu Xiaolian, hearing Da’an and Xiao’an’s words, felt some sympathy for their mother, as the children lost their father at two years old, and she worked hard to raise both sons, enduring numerous hardships.

"Wait a moment. My family also has a folk remedy for fever that works well. I’ll go ask my mother."

After Yu Xiaolian said that, she returned to her room through the back door of the house, remembering there was fever medicine in the emergency kit in the resting room.

She rummaged through the medicine box and found indeed there was a complete variety of medicines for fever, inflammation, cold, and cough.

She took out the parchment paper Sun Shi bought in town last time, cut it into palm-sized pieces, wrapped five fever pills, then took another piece to wrap five anti-inflammatory pills, and finally wrapped some cold and cough medicine.

Judging by Da’an and Xiao’an’s description of the symptoms, their mother should have severe cold, and these medicines should be enough.

Yu Xiaolian marked the parchment with one, two, three using a marker before handing it to Da’an and Xiao’an.

"The one marked ’one’ is the fever medicine, only one pill at a time, make sure not to take too much..."

Yu Xiaolian repeatedly instructed them many times, worried they might forget and give their mother the wrong medicine back at home.

Da’an said, "Sister, don’t worry, I’ve remembered everything. We recognize words, our mother taught us."

"That’s great, don’t delay. Hurry home and first bring your mother’s fever down."

After bowing numerous times in thanks to Yu Xiaolian, Da’an and Xiao’an finally ran off shoulder to shoulder.

Not knowing if the medicine would work for their mother, she shouldn’t have meddled, but faced with such sensible children, her damn sympathy began to overflow again.

Yu Changhe’s leg hasn’t had medicine changed for several days; they should bring him out to see a pharmacy in the afternoon. That incident at Huichun Hall happened so suddenly, no herbal medicine was prepared.

As soon as Yu Xiaolian mentioned taking Yu Changhe to check his leg, Sun Shi immediately put down the needlework and insisted on going with them.

"I feel my leg isn’t that painful anymore, I can walk on my own, I want to try walking."

Yu Changhe shifted to the bedside, intending to put on shoes and get up, but Sun Shi held him back, "No, that day Doctor Xiao Zheng said your leg can’t bear weight, why aren’t you listening?"

Yu Changhe was frustrated; he had been acting like an invalid these past few days, sitting in bed, waiting to be clothed, hand-fed, and even escorted to the toilet by Sun Shi.

Though family life was improving, he felt terrible relying on his wife and daughter to care for him, feeling like a useless person.

Yu Xiaolian harnessed the horse to the carriage, and with Sun Shi helped Yu Changhe onto the carriage.

Afraid she couldn’t control the carriage well in the crowded city and might bump into others, she decided to lead the horse on foot, considering there was a pharmacy near their home anyway.

Thus, a scene took place on the street: a small girl leading a tall red horse, walking down the street.

The tall horse and the fragile little girl formed a stark contrast.

Passersby couldn’t help but turn and glance.

At the pharmacy, Yu Xiaolian and Sun Shi assisted Yu Changhe inside, where an old doctor with white hair and beard first checked his pulse before dismantling the bamboo splints to examine his injured leg.

"Restoring this leg to normal is impossible, but with proper care and treatment, you can manage daily life.

If you can come for acupuncture therapy every day, recovery might be quicker. For acupuncture, it’s required daily for the first three days, then once every three days, totaling half a month for aiding recovery.

Acupuncture costs half a silver coin per session, totaling three silver coins and five pieces for half a month. If finances are tight, skipping acupuncture is fine, albeit slower recovery. What do you choose?"

Yu Changhe eagerly said, "Acupuncture, we choose acupuncture!"

He desperately hoped for the day he could walk independently.

Though his wife and daughter cared for him dearly, he didn’t want to be a burden on them; recovering promptly would mean chores like chopping wood and feeding the horse, sparing them mother and daughter.

The white-bearded doctor immediately had a shop boy bring hot water to wash Yu Changhe’s leg ointment off, and then began acupuncture, asking if Yu Changhe felt anything while inserting needles.

In the past, Yu Changhe had no sensation below the knee; now, he felt pain throughout the leg, like tendons being pulled.

The white-bearded doctor smiled, saying that was a good sign, and if Yu Changhe healed well, he could eventually walk unassisted, albeit with a slight limp.

Yu Changhe and Sun Shi heard this and felt overjoyed.

The white-bearded doctor administered the acupuncture, leaving needles for about ten minutes before removing the silver needles and reminded Yu Changhe to return for acupuncture the next day.

After Sun Shi paid for acupuncture and herbal medicine, the family of three returned home.

After returning home, Yu Changhe sat on the bed, still joyful, telling Sun Shi his leg felt hot and comfortable, like being submerged in warm water.

Sun Shi was pleased, asking what Yu Changhe would like to eat for dinner.

"Whatever you cook, I’ll eat; everything you make is delicious."

Yu Changhe looked at Sun Shi affectionately, grateful she stayed by his side despite his lame leg; he’ll never forget her devotion.

Yu Xiaolian was currently in the warehouse.

She planned to take out some long-lasting food and other items.

Like shortcake, her supermarket had two kinds, one sold by weight, costing eight yuan per pound, these were small in size with two flavors, one is white sugar, and the other is black sesame.

Both black sesame and white sugar flavors had only half a box left; if sold, it probably wouldn’t last a day.