Wang Xuemei’s expression changed, and she hurried down from the kang to open the door. Standing there was a man drenched from head to toe, cradling a three-year-old boy wrapped in a tattered cotton jacket.
The child’s little face was burning red, twitching constantly.
“Brother Zhu! What’s going on?” she asked urgently.
“He was fine during the day, but suddenly tonight he cried that his stomach hurt, rolling around in pain, and then he started burning up! Deputy Village Chief Wang, please, think of something!” The man’s voice quivered with tears, rain and sweat streaming down together.
Wang Xuemei looked at the child’s suffering, then at the pouring rain outside.
“Zhang Chijiao from the health station went to town for training barefoot, and with this rain, the roads are washed out. Even if a train comes, it won’t be in time.”
Shen Zhiwei’s heart clenched.
Seeing the child’s painful little face and the father’s desperate expression, her mind flashed to the herbal compendium she had browsed in the space when she couldn’t sleep the last time.
Abdominal pain, lower abdomen, plus high fever and convulsions.
She quickly stepped forward, carefully examining the child’s complexion and twitches, then gently pressed the lower abdomen.
The child immediately cried out loudly from the pain.
“Is this the spot that hurts? Any vomiting?” Shen Zhiwei asked calmly.
“Yes, yes, yes, and he vomited once too.”
Shen Zhiwei rapidly cross-referenced the description in the herbal compendium and made a quick judgment: “It should be intestinal spasms, compounded by wind-cold invasion causing high fever convulsions.”
“Deputy Village Chief Wang, if you trust me, place him on the kang and let me try.”
She didn’t have complete certainty. In her previous life, she had been a nanny for Chen Weidong her whole life, taking care of the old and the young, and she had learned mechanical skills from her father, none of which were useful now.
But now, with the space, she had to help.
Wang Xuemei was slightly stunned, but Shen Zhiwei had come from the city; whether she could help or not, Wang Xuemei couldn’t judge.
“Deputy Village Chief Wang, please help me find a clean small bowl and boil some water to let it cool.”
She then told Brother Zhu, “Brother Zhu, set the child down and tell me what he has been eating these past few days.”
While Brother Zhu described the child’s diet, it became clear that the boy had eaten a lot of raw fruits and vegetables, craving cold foods.
Shen Zhiwei’s thoughts sank into the space. She quickly accessed the herbal compendium and located medicinal herbs stored there: calming herbs, warming and dispersing ginger root, and a mild anti-inflammatory herb, violet viola.
She focused her intention, marking a small patch on the black soil and planting the seeds. In the space, time flowed differently, and with water from the Spiritual spring, the herbs grew at a visible speed.
Shen Zhiwei carefully harvested them, returned her focus to reality, crushed the herbs into a paste, and mixed them with a little warm boiled water.
“Brother Zhu, feed this paste to the child all at once.”
Brother Zhu hesitated, looking at the oddly colored herbal paste.
“Brother Zhu, what are you waiting for? Give it to the child!” Wang Xuemei urged.
Gritting his teeth, he carefully pried the child’s mouth open and fed the paste bit by bit.
Strangely, once the paste entered the child’s mouth, the boy, who had been crying and twitching, gradually calmed down. His rapid breathing eased, the redness on his face faded slightly, and his tightly furrowed brows relaxed.
“He really seems to have stopped convulsing,” Brother Zhu said, astonished and delighted, clearly not expecting Shen Zhiwei to know any medicine.
“The fever seems to have dropped a little too,” Wang Xuemei touched the child’s forehead and exhaled in relief.
Shen Zhiwei then used a cloth moistened with warm Spiritual water to gently wipe the child’s forehead, palms, and soles, helping to reduce his temperature physically.
After about half an hour, the child’s breathing stabilized completely, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Although he still looked ill, the high fever had noticeably decreased.
“Thank heavens… thank you so much, Miss Shen! You’re truly a living Buddha!” Brother Zhu repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
That night, Wang Xuemei’s doorstep was practically trampled by people coming for help. Whether it was an elderly cough from the east side or vomiting and diarrhea from a child on the west side, Shen Zhiwei quietly treated seven or eight patients using the herbal compendium and medicinal herbs from the space.
At dawn, the last villager clasped Shen Zhiwei’s hand, expressing endless thanks. “Miss Shen, you’re even more skilled than the county doctors!”
The next morning, the rain had stopped and the sky brightened.
Just as Shen Zhiwei was tending to the final patient, the commune’s telephone operator rushed in, breathless. “Deputy Village Chief Wang! Minister Li from the County Armed Forces called! He’s looking for a female comrade with the surname Shen!”
Shen Zhiwei’s heart leapt she knew this must be Gu Yanzhou’s arrangement. She hurried to the commune office and picked up the phone.
“Comrade Shen? I’m Minister Li from the County Armed Forces. Representative Gu knows you were trapped and specifically instructed me to ensure your safety.
I’ve notified the local commune and militia company. If you encounter any difficulties, you can contact them directly. Should I send someone over right now?”
A warm feeling flooded Shen Zhiwei’s heart, but her voice remained calm. “Thank you, Minister Li. No need for that right now. I can manage here. If anything comes up, I will contact you immediately.”
She hung up, feeling an unprecedented confidence. She knew she was not fighting alone.
“Stop right there!” Old Man Sun barked, his face stern. “Shen Zhiwei, I hear you’ve been practicing medicine illegally in the village?
How dare you! Practicing without a license is illegal, do you know that? What if someone dies from your treatment who’s responsible?”
Sun Laizi fanned the flames beside him: “Father, I told you this woman isn’t good! She seduced officers in the city, got kicked out, and now she’s here in our village flaunting herself!”
Shen Zhiwei remained calm, about to speak, but Wang Xuemei, who had rushed over, beat her to it.
“Village Chief, that’s not true!” Wang Xuemei’s voice rang out, drawing the villagers around. “If it weren’t for Comrade Shen yesterday, Zhuzi’s child could have been in danger! Should we have just stood by and let the child suffer?”
“Exactly!” Brother Zhu joined in, his voice loud. “Miss Shen saved my child’s life! She’s a great benefactor to our family. What illegal practice? She’s saving lives!”
“Miss Shen cured my elderly father’s cough too!”
“My child’s diarrhea was cured by Miss Shen!”
One by one, the villagers spoke up, all praising Shen Zhiwei.
Old Man Sun was stunned by this sudden turn of events, his face alternating between pale and red. He clearly hadn’t expected Shen Zhiwei to gain the support of so many villagers overnight.
Seeing her moment, Shen Zhiwei stepped forward, her gaze calm but resolute, locking eyes with Old Man Sun.
“Village Chief Sun, I practice medicine to help villagers through difficulties. I only use traditional family remedies. If you think this is illegal, we can have the County Health Bureau verify it.”
“But before that, I’d like you to explain why the dangerous bridge at the village entrance hasn’t been repaired for years. Why have so many villagers’ urgent requests been ignored?”
She pointed to the notes on Wang Xuemei’s wall, her voice clear and strong.
“These are the matters you, as the village head, should be concerned with and solve not making things difficult for someone helping the villagers!”
Old Man Sun was left speechless. Facing the growing crowd of onlookers and their questioning stares, his face turned dark as iron. In the end, he could only glare at Shen Zhiwei before sulking away.
Sun Laizi, seeing this, could only follow him sullenly.
A slight cheer erupted from the crowd. Many looked at Shen Zhiwei with admiration.
Wang Xuemei stepped beside her and whispered, “Thank you, Comrade Shen. In all these years, no one has ever made Old Man Sun look so embarrassed.”
Shen Zhiwei shook her head. “The one who should say thank you is me, Wang Jie. Without your shelter and support, I couldn’t have done any of this.”
The morning sun fully rose, spilling its light over them.
Shen Zhiwei knew that this struggle was only just beginning.