Su Qiqi and others were walking along the muddy village road. An old fisherman staggered over, opened his cloudy eyes, and said tremblingly: "Girl, can you give me something to eat... We have been here for years." There was a severe drought, the grain harvest was bad, and my old lady was sick again. She hasn’t had a bite of food for two or three days..."
Su Qiqi looked at the old fisherman, asked Qin Chuan to take out the bag containing dry food, took out a few steamed buns and pancakes, and handed them to the old fisherman. Then he took out a few taels of silver from his wallet and put it into the old fisherman's hand.
Seeing this, the old fisherman's eyes turned red. He put the steamed buns and pancakes into his arms with a trembling voice. After a pause, he handed over the silver and wanted to return it to Su Qiqi.
Su Qiqi held the old man's hand and said gently: "Old man, just accept it... Find a doctor to treat your wife. Good health is the most important thing..."
The old fisherman still stubbornly wanted to return the money to Su Qiqi. Seeing that the two were still in a stalemate, Qin Chuan hurriedly stepped forward to support the old fisherman and said: "Old man, this is my sister's wish, just accept it... …Everyone encounters difficulties sometimes, and we may have to bother you one day in the future…”
The other two escorts also echoed: "Take it, it is our duty as escorts to help those in need..."
Seeing that everyone was like this, the old fisherman accepted the silver coins, thanked them again and invited everyone to his home. Su Qiqi and others couldn't bear to refuse, so they followed the old man to his home.
Pushing open the courtyard door made of miscellaneous wood, everyone cautiously entered the courtyard. Looking at the two small thatched houses that are short and dilapidated. Su Qiqi couldn't help but feel her nose sore.
Qin Chuan and the other two bodyguards also showed compassionate expressions. Each of them took out some broken silver from their bodies and stuffed it into the old man's hands.
The old man held the silver coins and choked with tears and said several words of gratitude. Then he opened the door and invited Su Qiqi and others to come in and take a seat.
Su Qiqi entered the room and saw that it was a suite. The outside was a living room and kitchen, with very simple furnishings. The inside was a small bedroom, and an old woman was lying on the bed with her eyes narrowed.
There is an old wooden table with peeling paint on the north side of the outer room. There are statues of gods and ancestor tablets on the table against the wall. There are two porcelain bowls with missing corners on the outside of the table. One contains pickles, and the other has leftover rice bran in it.
The old fisherman glanced at the porcelain bowl on the table, sighed, and murmured: "There is no rice at home, so I can only get some rice bran to eat... The old woman is sick and can't eat rice bran. She has been hungry for two or three days... Fortunately, you guys Come, or we will starve to death..."
After saying that, the old fisherman raised his arm and wiped his wet eyes with his wrinkled sleeve. Then he said apologetically: "You guys sit down and have a rest, I'll boil some water for you..."
Su Qiqi hurriedly stopped the old fisherman and said: "Old man, please sit down first, we are not thirsty... Let's go to the doctor first to treat my aunt. It's important..."
The old fisherman was flattered and refused again and again: "No, no, my benefactors will rest under the house for now. I'll just go and ask the doctor..." After that, he was about to go out.
Qin Chuan hurriedly stepped forward and persuaded: "Old man, let me go, I can walk faster... Sit down and chat with my friends..." After that, he walked out of the yard and walked down the mountain.
The old fisherman couldn't resist him, so he had to go back to the room and invite everyone to sit down and rest. He carried the kettle and went to scoop water from the water jar.
Su Qiqi and the other two bodyguards went to the inner room to visit the old woman. Su Qiqi checked her pulse and found that the old woman was very weak. She took out a piece of paper from her bag, wrote a list of several tonics, and asked one of the escorts to follow the list and go down the mountain. Buy it from the drug store.
Another escort went to help the old fisherman light the fire, while Su Qiqi chatted with the old woman who had regained consciousness. From the chat, Su Qiqi learned about the old couple's situation.
It turned out that they had no children and lived by fishing. The old woman was sick these days, so the two of them did not punt the boat to go to sea. So I had no income to buy rice, so I could only make do with some rice bran.
After hearing what happened to the two old men, Su Qiqi suddenly had an idea in his mind. Some time ago, I heard the Marquis of Jingbei mention that the imperial court would set up charity halls in various places to accommodate the people who had no food to eat and no place to live due to drought.
When the time comes, we can take these two old people there, and their livelihood will not be a problem. Thinking of this, Su Qiqi felt a little more at ease. After settling the old woman, she went outside the hospital to see if Qin Chuan was back.
She stood outside the hospital for a while and then saw Qin Chuan leading an old doctor carrying a medicine box over in a hurry.
When Qin Chuan saw Su Qiqi, he showed a silly smile and said cheerfully: "I invited the most famous doctor in the city..."
Su Qiqi hurriedly stepped forward and pushed open the wooden door, bowed to the old doctor, and then told the doctor about the old woman's condition.
The doctor listened carefully, while stroking his beard and slightly nodding: "Oh, if that's the case, then we need to treat it quickly..."
Su Qiqi led the doctor into the inner room, and then helped the old woman sit up. Another chair was moved for the doctor to sit on so that he could diagnose his pulse.
After doing all this, Su Qiqi stood quietly at the end of the bed, watching the doctor treat the old woman.
After about a cup of tea, the doctor put down the old woman's arm, stood up, walked to Su Qiqi, and told her the old woman's condition in detail.
After hearing this, Su Qiqi frowned slightly, then took out a silver coin from her pocket and handed it to the doctor. She politely said, "My doctor is here to help you with your illness! I will also give you the money for your next follow-up consultation. Please doctor, please come back for a follow-up examination in a few days..."
The doctor put away the money and returned the greeting: "Girl, there is no need to be so polite. I will do my best to cure this old sister-in-law's illness..." After that, he wrote a prescription, mixed some medicines and handed them to Su Qiqi. , and left with the medicine box in hand.
Su Qiqi looked at the prescription and handed it to Qin Chuan. Qin Chuan quickly ran out, caught up with the old doctor, and said, "Old miracle doctor, let me take you back to the hospital! By the way, I'll go to your place to get some more medicine... It's not convenient for the two old people to walk..."
The doctor nodded, looked at Qin Chuan approvingly and said, "Young Master Qin and Miss Nangong met the old fisherman's family by chance, but they were able to help each other so generously. I admire them very much! If they are useful to you, please give me your orders..."
Qin Chuan hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "I don't dare, I don't dare. I'm already very sorry to bother you so late..." After that, Qin Chuan helped the old miracle doctor walk down the mountain.
Su Qiqi and another escort were still busy in the house, making medicine for the old woman.
In the evening, the old woman drank medicine and fell asleep. Su Qiqi and others sat in the yard with the old fisherman, drinking tea and chatting.
The sky gradually darkened, and a gust of mountain wind blew over. Qin Chuan sniffed and said in surprise: "Why does it smell like blood?"
Su Qiqi and the two bodyguards stood up when they heard this, walked around the yard, and sniffed the nearby smells from time to time.
"Sure enough, it smells like blood? And it's very strong..." The two escorts also smelled the smell in the air.
Su Qiqi felt a little stuffy because of the wind and cold on the road, so she couldn't smell anything. But looking at the expressions of Qin Chuan and the two escorts, she was sure that something was going on nearby.
She pondered for a moment and asked the two bodyguards to stay in the yard to protect the old fisherman and his wife. He and Qin Chuan went outside the yard to check.
The two were about to go out when the old fisherman staggered over carrying a lantern and handed the lantern and a harpoon to Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan.
The two took the lantern and harpoon and advised the old fisherman and the two bodyguards to go back to the room first, then closed the courtyard door and looked along the courtyard wall.
The two searched for a while and found a seriously injured stranger under an old locust tree next to the house. There was a dagger stuck in the man's abdomen, and the surrounding clothes were soaked in blood. It looks a bit scary.
Qin Chuan saw the man lying motionless and didn't react at all when he heard the footsteps. He didn't know whether the man was dead or passed out. After watching for a while, Qin Chuan stepped forward and took a breath. Then he stood up and said to Su Qiqi: "He's still alive... Do you want to carry him in?"
Su Qiqi stepped forward and took a closer look. Seeing that the other party was wearing ordinary clothes, she nodded and said, "Take it back first and wait until he wakes up..."
After listening to her words, Qin Chuan picked up the injured and took him to the outside of the old fisherman's house. The other two escorts made a bed for him with straw and let the injured lie on it.
The old fisherman went to get a bucket of water, mixed some hot water, and cleaned the wounded man's wounds.
Su Qiqi and Qin Chuan helped the injured person take out the dagger and applied Zheng Miao's self-made gold medicine on him. The bleeding from the wound finally stopped, and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the threshold to rest.
