After speaking, Qiao Wan directly removed Qiao Dahe’s shoes and socks, noticing the prominent Rangu point on his foot.
When Qiao Dahe had been unconscious yesterday, Qiao Wan worried he might have suffered a concussion from the impact. Seeing him in relatively good spirits this morning had eased her concerns, but she realized she’d been careless.
“Here, little sister!” Qiao Qing handed the embroidery needle to Qiao Wan.
She watched as Qiao Wan pricked the inner side of their elder brother’s foot, causing a stream of blood to spurt out.
The embroidery needle being too fine, Qiao Wan pricked twice until no more blood emerged before stopping.
“Elder brother, how do you feel now? Still dizzy and nauseous?” Qiao Wan helped Qiao Dahe sit up.
Qiao Dahe shook his head, widened his eyes, and looked at Qiao Wan in disbelief: “The dizziness is really gone, and my head doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Then he added somewhat hesitantly: “But I still feel a bit nauseous.”
Qiao Wan pressed on Qiao Dahe’s foot a couple of times, located the Gongsun point, and pricked it with the needle.
“Now? Feeling better?”
“Hey? Don’t mention it, it’s really better!” Qiao Dahe swallowed, confirming that the previous nausea had indeed vanished.
He exclaimed excitedly: “Little sister, when did you learn medicine? How come I didn’t know?”
Facing the curious gazes of the Qiao siblings, Qiao Wan voiced the excuse she had prepared long ago:
“When I went to the county earlier to find Huo Yaoxian, I bought several books at the academy gate, including a medical text. I learned a few techniques from it.”
“Where’s the medical book now?” Qiao Qing asked.
“I thought it was fake and threw it away after reading it.”
Both Qiao Qing and Qiao Dahe’s eyes shone with pride that their younger sister knew medicine and could save people, without a trace of blame for wasting money.
Seeing their complete trust in her, Qiao Wan spoke slowly again: “Elder brother, sister, I’m about to marry Huo Yan now. There’ll be no further connection with Huo Yaoxian. You must help me keep this medical book matter secret.”
“Don’t worry, little sister. If anyone asks later, just say I bought it for you,” Qiao Dahe promised, patting his chest.
“Right!” Qiao Qing chimed in: “If anyone dares to gossip, I’ll tear their mouth shut for you.”
Qiao Wan truly cherished this feeling of being infinitely loved and trusted. With such a family, even if she had to repay the original owner’s debts, she felt it might be acceptable.
As the sun dipped westward, Qiao Qing started the fire to prepare dinner, while Qiao Dahe helped sort out the June Frost the sisters had brought back, removing weeds and old leaves, and neatly trimming the remaining old stems for drying.
Qiao Dahe worked efficiently. By the time Qiao Wan finished bathing, two large baskets of June Frost were already neatly arranged.
“Elder brother, you should rest. Leave the rest to me.”
Considering Qiao Dahe had just experienced being drugged and hitting his head, Qiao Wan thought he’d had a rough time and urged him to rest, fearing he might overexert himself.
But Qiao Dahe waved his hand, a simple smile on his face: “This little work is nothing. Your elder brother is strong! You’re the one who’s been busy all day—go rest.”
He brought a wooden board from the backyard and watched Qiao Wan skillfully spread the June Frost for drying, feeling a pang of melancholy.
After tomorrow, his little sister would be married, and such days between them would be rare.
Qiao Wan, entirely focused on calculating how many days the June Frost would take to dry and whether it could fetch some money in the county, didn’t notice Qiao Dahe sinking into sadness.
“Elder brother, could you pick some chili peppers from the backyard garden for me? I’ll cook mushrooms for dinner tonight.”
Qiao Qing’s voice called from the kitchen, pulling Qiao Dahe out of his melancholy.
He quickly responded, “Alright, wait a moment!” Then he turned to Qiao Wan, “Little sister, do you want some sorghum stalks? They’re really sweet.”
“Sorghum stalks?”
Sorghum was a type of grain, and during the time Qiao Wan was adopted in the village as a child, she had sneaked into others’ fields to break off sorghum stalks to eat. But not every stalk was sweet.
With just over a month left until the sorghum matured, breaking the stalks now would be a waste.
Qiao Wan shook her head and refused, “I’m afraid of cutting my mouth, so I won’t eat any.”
Unexpectedly, Qiao Dahe insisted, “Don’t worry, big brother will peel it for you.”
As he spoke, Qiao Dahe pulled Qiao Wan toward the backyard.
The Qiao family’s garden wasn’t large and was mostly planted with sorghum, with only a few common vegetables along the fence.
Qiao Dahe walked along the edge of the garden and picked two green peppers, each only as long as a finger, from the sparse pepper plants.
“Go take these to your third sister first. Big brother will find you some sweet stalks.”
“Big brother, the sorghum is almost ripe. It’s a shame to break the stalks now,” Qiao Wan hurriedly objected.
Qiao Dahe chuckled mysteriously, “Don’t worry, big brother will definitely find you stalks that are sweet and not wasteful. Just wait and see.”
Skeptical but curious, Qiao Wan took the peppers into the kitchen and relayed Qiao Dahe’s words to Qiao Qing:
“Sister, maybe you should talk some sense into big brother.”
Qiao Qing, busy stir-frying, had no time to spare, “Don’t worry, big brother knows what he’s doing.”
Village children had few snacks, and at this time of year, only apricots from the mountains were edible. Qiao Wan had never liked sour foods, so every year around this season, Qiao Dahe would secretly cut a few sorghum stalks to satisfy her cravings.
“Wanwan, come quickly…” Qiao Dahe’s voice echoed in the yard.
As soon as Qiao Wan stepped out of the kitchen, she saw Qiao Dahe carrying a bundle of sorghum stalks, which startled her.
Was he trying to ruin their livelihood?
“Big brother, this… how much grain are you wasting?” Qiao Wan felt a pang of distress.
Qiao Dahe deftly trimmed the sorghum stalks, chopped them into small sections, peeled one, and handed it to Qiao Wan:
“Try it first before you judge.”
Qiao Wan stubbornly bit off a piece and chewed. Her eyes widened abruptly.
A clear, sweet juice burst between her teeth—not cloyingly sweet, but a fresh sweetness with a hint of earthiness.
She chewed a few more times vigorously, spat out the residue, and a faint sweetness still lingered in her mouth.
“How is it so sweet?”
Qiao Wan was surprised. The sorghum stalks she had eaten before were never this sweet. This one reminded her of another plant she had tasted.
Qiao Dahe seemed to have anticipated her reaction. He chuckled triumphantly and showed Qiao Wan the sorghum heads he had just cut off.
“I noticed earlier that this sorghum had sparse, shriveled grains, but the stalks were especially sweet. I’ve been saving them for you to eat when the weather got hot.”
Qiao Wan examined the sorghum head carefully, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She had read in books that in some northern regions, this type of high-sugar sorghum stalk was used to make sugar.
Sugar—such a precious commodity!
Eagerly, she asked, “Big brother, are there many sorghum plants like this in our backyard?”
“Not many, almost all of them are here.” Worried it wouldn’t be enough for his little sister, Qiao Dahe had circled the backyard twice and cut every stalk he could get his hands on.
Qiao Wan: Sometimes, the doting of family can be a bit suffocating.
Qiao Wan gathered the fallen ears from the ground and earnestly instructed, “Big brother, if you find any more corn like this in the backyard, don’t cut it down. I need it.”
Qiao Dahe scratched his head, puzzled as to why his younger sister, who had been so excited moments ago, suddenly turned serious. But he always listened to her, so he nodded and promised that if he found any more corn like that, he definitely wouldn’t cut it.
Qiao Qing prepared the meal and kept it warm in the pot, waiting for Qiao Fugeng to return so they could all eat together.
Qiao Dahe went to the village entrance and waited for half an hour, but there was no sign of anyone. He then walked several miles toward the county town, yet still saw no one.
By the time he returned home, the moon had already risen above the treetops. The siblings just had a simple meal and reluctantly went to bed.
“Sister, do you think something might have happened to Father?”
Qiao Fugeng had left in a hurry that morning without leaving any message, and none of the family knew why he had gone to town. Qiao Wan was a little worried.
“Nothing will happen. Father has gone to town before and only returned after a few days. It’s been a long day—get some sleep now.”
Though Qiao Qing comforted her sister with these words, her heart was uneasy. Although this season wasn’t like winter, when scarce provisions led to bandits ambushing travelers, wild beasts often came down from the mountains.
She decided that if their father hadn’t returned by the next morning, she would ask the village chief for help to search for him in the county town.