The Cheng brothers ultimately didn’t stay. Using the excuse that they had to rush back to work, they left in a hurry.
Cheng Baozhu didn’t mind. In her mind, since she had already invited the brothers in “without holding grudges,” there was no reason for them to still be angry with her or to forbid her from returning to the Cheng family.
After all, she needed to go back to the Chengs—how else would she get the money?
Back then, Cheng Baozhu didn’t care much about money, but now it was her lifeline.
“Come on, Hutou, hurry over, I’ll give you some candy.”
Cheng Baozhu’s attention was once again drawn to the fragrant chive pastry. Xu Chuan, on the other hand, was looking at the two bags of grain on the floor.
He opened the rice sack, revealing unhusked grains and the white, plump round glutinous rice that had been hulled.
If he remembered correctly, round glutinous rice was the best ingredient for making zenggao.
Hey, she was just about to try making it today, and someone had already brought the materials.
In the room, Hutou sat obediently beside Cheng Baozhu, his eyes fixed on the candy in her hand.
She popped one into his mouth, and his face immediately lit up, as if he were tasting the most exquisite thing in the world.
It was wonderful; a child that age could be satisfied with just one piece of candy.
But her candy didn’t come for free, Cheng Baozhu would soon have something for Hutou to help with.
It wasn’t anything major, but it was a bit troublesome.
What was it?
She had recently crafted a deworming prescription in her space and wanted to test it on a child.
But if she tried it now, it would be borderline practicing medicine without a license.
Hmm… maybe the law wouldn’t touch her, but Hutou’s mother would definitely come after her, that was for sure.
And it was understandable—if she were in the same position, she might do the same.
What to do then? Cheng Baozhu couldn’t think of a good solution yet, so she could only maintain a good relationship with Hutou for now, after all, the medicine was quite bitter.
Once she collected all the ingredients, she would try it on herself and Xu Chuan first. If it worked well, she could slightly adjust the dosage, and in theory, it would also be very effective for children.
Oblivious, Hutou reluctantly swallowed the last bit of candy and then obediently went back to check on his younger brother.
He liked coming to his uncle’s house the most, not for his uncle, but for his aunt.
Aunt always had endless treats, and Hutou wanted to stay there wrapped in his little blanket.
After Hutou left, Cheng Baozhu sat there, still dazed.
People always needed something to rely on. Her past reliance had been spending money happily. Now, she had money, but nothing to spend it on.
This was an era when even having money didn’t mean you could buy anything.
So, she could only reluctantly give up the “high-level emotional feedback” that spending money brought her and seek another spiritual anchor.
Reading?
How could she read? Could she go back to school? Self-study was out of the question. She had flipped through a few of the original girl’s middle school books and found there were quite a few points she couldn’t understand.
Without a teacher guiding her, Cheng Baozhu simply couldn’t comprehend the material, and her eyes would unconsciously squint while reading.
She had even been teased by Xu Chuan for nodding off like that.
Originally, she had thought that after finishing the college entrance exam, she could easily participate in the exam the year after next…
Smack!
Her face hurt a little.
Reading made people drowsy. So, what about working for points?
The laboring people were glorious, but Cheng Baozhu had a delicate body and a feeble mind. She would rather fall asleep over a book than toil in the fields under the sun.
Well, life was boring, so she could only pick up the knowledge her grandmother had once taught her.
After deciding to live well in this era, Cheng Baozhu began to develop a faint sense of vigilance and foresight.
If she didn’t marry, she could follow the original parents’ plan—marry someone with a secure government job in the county, maneuver a comfortable position, and then live a carefree life, spending money happily again.
—It wasn’t a correct thought, but her mind had always been skewed, so she didn’t see anything wrong with it.
But now… after being struck by life’s hammer, she realized that you couldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, nor rely solely on Xu Chuan.
After all, he was just as lazy as she was.
So, Cheng Baozhu had an idea—she would secure her own iron rice bowl.
Hehe, she was truly talented!
Cheng Baozhu felt delighted.
“You said what, you want to come with me too?” Xu Chuan was about to leave when Cheng Baozhu tugged at his sleeve.
She looked up at him and nodded.
“I have something important, a serious matter… oh, a very important matter.”
Xu Chuan: ?
He was puzzled, what could be so important?
Seeing his expression, Cheng Baozhu frowned in displeasure, “You look down on me!”
Xu Chuan hurried to defend himself, “No, it’s just that there’s no donkey cart this time to get to the county, we have to walk over an hour’s journey.”
An hour plus? Cheng Baozhu hesitated slightly.
But when she glanced at his face and saw a “just as I thought” expression, she straightened her neck and said loudly, “Go! Isn’t an hour-long walk enough? I can do it!”
Hmph, don’t underestimate me!
Xu Chuan: …
Alright then.
By now, the sun had fully appeared, drying the moisture left by the recent rain from the soil and air.
The wild camellia by the roadside was still lush green, reflecting the sunlight after being washed by the rain.
Since he had to bring Cheng Baozhu, Xu Chuan made some preparations before leaving.
For example, he brought a jug of water, two boiled eggs, and a woven hat.
It proved that his preparations weren’t in vain.
Half an hour later.
Cheng Baozhu shyly clutched Xu Chuan’s sleeve, whispering, “Let’s rest a bit.”
Xu Chuan spat out the foxtail grass in his mouth and made a show of patting his ears, “What? What did you say?”
“Xu Chuan, I can’t walk anymore.”
Cheng Baozhu looked innocent.
Xu Chuan bit his lip, scratching his head and touching his face.
Damn it, whenever Cheng Baozhu called him like that, her words seemed like hooks, making him tingle all over and want to go along with her.
“Sit, sit, sit!” Xu Chuan’s ears turned red. He opened the water jug and gulped a few mouthfuls.
Cheng Baozhu was delighted; sitting on the stone, the soreness in her calves instantly eased.
So comfortable!
Once they finished building the house, she decided she must buy a bicycle, she thought.
Xu Chuan, unwilling to sit on the roadside slope, paused and squeezed in beside her slowly.
Cheng Baozhu looked at him curiously. Xu Chuan blinked and spoke first, “What do you want to do in the county?”
He had thought she wanted to play in the county, but that wouldn’t justify walking an hour plus.
Cheng Baozhu: “Pick up medicine.”
“Pick up what medicine?”
“Deworming medicine—qingfengzi, hecao ya, those kinds.” Cheng Baozhu seemed to have remembered something and turned serious, “You know, your habit of drinking raw water when extremely thirsty isn’t good; your stomach probably has a bunch of worms.”
What?
Xu Chuan instinctively clenched his stomach, horrified at the thought of a bunch of worms!
Cheng Baozhu sighed, her brows tight.
In fact, the original girl had also drunk water straight from the tank when thirsty.
So this habit was common. She knew from memory that although the commune cadres had warned people that drinking raw water was unhygienic, the villagers didn’t take it seriously.
A habit cultivated over years was hard to break, and it even subtly “passed down” to the next generation.
It made sense—villagers worked hard and got thirsty quickly.
Take Xu Chuan for example. Every time he set traps in the mountains, he brought a water jug. But the jug wasn’t big enough; there wasn’t enough water to drink. In that case, he would drink the water from the mountain.
At its root, it was a lack of awareness of the dangers of raw water.
Look at those in middle school who had learned biology, they wouldn’t drink raw water again.
Xu Chuan was clearly uncomfortable, subtly rubbing his stomach with his right hand. After a while, he frowned and asked, “How do you know this?”
Cheng Baozhu grinned, “Just a little, because I’m smart.”
Xu Chuan: “… I mean how do you know what medicine to pick?”
Now, pharmacies in the county only sold medicine—they didn’t prescribe it. To see a doctor, you had to go to a hospital.
Cheng Baozhu turned her head, breaking their eye contact, and silently gazed at the sky.
Ah, the sky was so blue, the clouds so white…
Xu Chuan pressed, “Seems like no one in your family knows this, so where did you learn it?”
Cheng Baozhu ignored him. He leaned closer, right in front of her.
Xu Chuan stared into her eyes.
Cheng Baozhu spread her hands, “Alright, fine, my grandmother taught me.”
Xu Chuan froze, really?
It made sense. He had heard that decades ago, Baozhu’s grandmother had been a maid in a county medical house.
Could it be that Baozhu’s grandmother had learned some medical skills there and later passed them on to Baozhu?
It was plausible.
But her grandmother had passed away seven or eight years ago. In that case, how much could she have learned?
Uh, Xu Chuan decided he would never touch medicine prescribed by Cheng Baozhu.
After resting, the two set off again.
Cheng Baozhu exhaled quietly and glanced at him, reassured.
She hadn’t lied after all!