The scenery along the return journey to the county town was quite pleasant. Each time Xu Yi sat in the swaying ox cart, he loved watching the deep spring landscape like an ocean, his ears filled with the chirping of birds.
Today, his gaze remained fixed ahead.
The ox cart wasn’t fast, but it was faster than walking on two legs, especially faster than the young man with a heavy basket on his back, trudging along with unsteady steps.
In less than fifteen minutes, Xu Yi caught sight of the child struggling to walk.
Worried about being hit by vehicles passing back and forth on the road, the thin boy walked along the edge of the grass, head slightly lowered, not daring to make eye contact with passersby.
This familiar feeling involuntarily reminded Xu Yi of the glimpse he’d caught at the medical hall that day. His heart felt as if it had been struck hard by a heavy force. That upbringing ingrained in his very bones meant he couldn’t choose to ignore this.
If what appeared before him today were a group of refugees, barely clothed and starving with eyes gleaming with hunger, Xu Yi would choose self-preservation. But what appeared before him was a child of about ten years old.
He looked so small, so weak, showing many problems brought on by malnutrition.
“Oh, it’s that child you mentioned.” Up front, the cart driver suddenly spoke.
They’d met not long ago, and the cart driver still remembered that child.
Xu Yi blinked and went along with his words: “It’s still over twenty li to get back to the county. Why not let him get on?”
“Children cost money too.” The cart driver muttered.
Xu Yi heard this and fished out a copper coin from his sleeve, passing it to the cart driver: “Help me call him up.”
The cart driver tucked the money into his chest, and said “Young master has a kind heart,” then stopped the ox cart and called out to the child.
The child froze, his relatively bright eyes staring blankly, not daring to move.
The cart driver didn’t tease him, only saying: “Get on, I’ll take you part of the way.”
When the child heard this, fear showed in his eyes. He quickly shook his head and waved his hands, flustered for a long while before managing to stammer out his refusal: “……No, no need.”
The cart driver’s mouth twitched. If someone hadn’t already paid, he really wanted to drive the ox cart away immediately: “What are you afraid of? I drive this route every day, it’s not like you haven’t seen me before. Don’t tell me you’re worried I’ll kidnap you.”
Not knowing which words triggered the child’s nerves, the child’s panicked little face suddenly went pale, as if he really was afraid the cart driver wanted to kidnap him.
The cart driver acted as if he couldn’t see this and urged: “Hurry up and get on, don’t delay the other passengers.”
Xu Yi: “……”
The other two people in the cart: “……”
Xu Yi cleared his throat and said: “Get on, I’m going the same way as you. I’m also going to Miracle Hands Hall later.”
The child looked up in surprise. Now he finally recognized Xu Yi. Even though he didn’t know this big brother’s name, he remembered the face that had smiled at him that day.
At this point, the other two people in the cart were all urging him on. They had seen the young man give money to the cart driver, so they couldn’t very well refuse to let the child on.
The process was complicated, but fortunately the child got on the cart afterward. He sat down in the corner next to Xu Yi, his whole body tense. Those eyes like a little deer’s didn’t know what they were thinking. He wanted to steal glances at Xu Yi but didn’t dare to look.
Xu Yi knew this child didn’t like to talk, so he didn’t ask anything.
As a result, the cart driver had no filter, blabbing away about how Xu Yi had paid for the ride, telling the child who sat there in a daze.
The child was shocked. He had thought the cart driver was willing to give him a free ride.
The cart driver said: “The ox needs to eat grass, I need to eat, and the wheels need repairs. I don’t do charitable deeds like that. You child, you should properly thank the young master beside you. If he hadn’t taken pity on you walking over twenty li back to town on foot, how could you have it so easy?”
Xu Yi: “……”
After a long while, a timid voice appeared by Xu Yi’s ear: “Thank, thank you young master.”
Xu Yi looked at him: “No need to thank me. What’s your name? Why are you gathering herbs in the mountains alone?”
The child raised his eyes to look over. When his gaze met Xu Yi’s eyes, he was somewhat dazed. Those were eyes he’d never seen before, very gentle, not carrying a trace of disgust or malice.
He hurriedly lowered his head, his mouth pressed tightly shut, suddenly hating his own name.
“Can you tell me what you’re called?” Xu Yi asked gently again. The child didn’t speak, but this didn’t affect him. As a doctor, he’d learned how to coax children. “How about I tell you my name first. I’m called Xu Yi, though I haven’t taken a courtesy name yet. I live on South Street in Yanting County, currently living alone. Oh right, I also have a dog.”
Though he hadn’t brought Little Huang along when going out today.
Next time he’d definitely bring him along. He could use him to coax children.
Faced with the kindness Xu Yi showed, Cow Dung’s heart was moved. He was already eleven years old and could understand quite a few things. He understood that such kindness was rare. After hesitating for a moment, he mumbled out his name in a small voice: “I’m called Cow Dung. I live in Wa Ping Village at Pi Family Bend.”
Xu Yi frowned: “Why such a name?”
Naming one’s child “Cow Dung” didn’t sound at all like it was meant to ensure the child would be easy to raise with a lowly name. It seemed more like……
Someone nearby who heard this laughed mockingly: “There are plenty like that. Country folk don’t know many characters. Being able to come up with a name at all is already good enough.”
The child called Cow Dung pressed his lips together: “I… I don’t know.”
Thinking of the names of others in his family, Cow Dung’s eyes immediately reddened. He knew that Father and Mother didn’t like him. They only liked Big Brother and Little Brother. They always said he only knew how to freeload at home, couldn’t even earn money, knew so few medicinal herbs. Others could earn many dozens of wen in a day, but he could only earn a dozen or so wen.
And he had to hand over all the money, otherwise they wouldn’t give him thin gruel to eat.
The person who had interjected saw this and said impatiently: “Why are you crying, child? I didn’t say anything about you!”
Another person teased: “Aiyo, could it be he wants to latch onto us?”
“I don’t.” Cow Dung shook his head in panic, wiping his tears wanting to explain he hadn’t thought that way, but somehow the tears just wouldn’t stop flowing.
Xu Yi’s expression turned somewhat cold as he looked sternly at those two passengers deliberately teasing the child.
Seeing this, the two gave awkward smiles, making excuses that they were just playing around, not expecting the child to be so sensitive. They didn’t dare say anything more.
……
After this interruption, Xu Yi didn’t continue asking.
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
When they reached the county town and the child got off the cart, he clutched tightly in his hand the handkerchief Xu Yi had given him. It was made of clean cotton cloth and smelled faintly of soapberry. Yet it had been used to wipe his tears. Cow Dung felt a bit bad about this and didn’t dare look at the gaze Xu Yi cast his way.
Xu Yi had originally planned to go straight home, but having encountered this situation, he naturally had to go with him to Miracle Hands Hall.
The herbs he’d planned to keep for himself he wouldn’t keep anymore. He’d sell them all to Miracle Hands Hall.
After getting the money, he turned to leave when someone grabbed his sleeve. Looking back, it was the child wanting to return the handkerchief to him.
Xu Yi smiled and raised his hand to pat his head: “No need, I’m giving you the handkerchief.”
Having said this, he waved his hand and left.
The child stood rooted to the spot, not coming back to himself for a long while.
–
Today was the day to pick up the medicine chest from the carpenter’s shop.
The money from selling the herbs could be used to pay the remaining balance. Once he handed over the money, the medicine chest was his.
Slinging the medicine chest over his shoulder, one hand supporting the handle, Xu Yi finally had that air of a physician about him. If someone saw him now, they would surely call him “Doctor” instead of “young master.”
Walking out the carpenter shop door, sure enough, whenever he encountered people on the road, they would politely call him doctor.
In ancient times, studying medicine belonged to the Yellow Emperor’s arts. In the eyes of scholars, its status wasn’t high, but in the eyes of common folk, doctors could save their lives when they were sick. When encountering a doctor on the road, they were all very respectful.
They had to be respectful. What if they looked down on them and the doctor refused to save them when they were dying?
Xu Yi, carrying his newly acquired medicine chest, went to another medical hall on South Street to buy medicinal herbs. He’d promised Jishi Hall he’d bring digestive pills in five days, so he had to make the digestive pills.
Taking advantage of the break in the spring rain, Xu Yi took all the money he had left after paying for the medicine chest and used it to buy medicinal herbs.
The apprentice at the medical hall wasn’t surprised to see a young doctor coming to buy medicine. Yanting County had many physicians. Besides those who ran medicine shops, there were also itinerant doctors. These itinerant doctors couldn’t very well run all the way to Tongchuan Prefecture to get medicine from the Ripened Medicine Office when they needed herbs.
He thought of Xu Yi as one of those itinerant doctors, which wasn’t entirely wrong.
He just didn’t quite understand the medicinal herbs Xu Yi was buying. These all seemed to be for treating digestion and regulating the stomach and intestines, and he was buying several jin at once.
Most importantly, from these herbs, he couldn’t tell which formula was being used: “Doctor, are you using these to treat illness?”
Xu Yi looked at him: “Yes, to treat illness.”
The apprentice’s mouth twitched. It seems he wouldn’t get any answers. As soon as the man left, he ran to the consultation hall to tell the doctor inside that just now a strange itinerant doctor had come to buy medicine, buying all herbs for treating food accumulation, but when asked, the man wouldn’t say anything.
Not only did this not gain him any favor, he was scolded by the doctor, who berated him for studying medicine so long yet still not remembering what medical ethics and conduct meant.
The apprentice looked completely aggrieved. He’d just thought it was strange……