Lin Wan carefully read the marriage contract from beginning to end, then looked up at Gu Zhixing with a smile.
“This marriage contract is really well written. Are you coming with me to the county town tomorrow?”
Gu Zhixing shook his head. In his current condition, going out would only burden others.
“Then I’ll bring you something delicious when I come back tomorrow!”
Whenever Lin Wan talked about good food, her eyes sparkled. Aside from medicine, she only had two hobbies in life: handsome men and delicious food.
Now there was a handsome man standing before her, while thoughts of tasty food filled her mind. Naturally, her mood improved considerably.
She maintained that good mood after returning to her room, but it only lasted until she lay down on the bed.
The bed was simply too hard!
It was nothing more than a wooden plank covered with a layer of cloth. It dug painfully into her body, making sleep nearly impossible. Tomorrow’s shopping list had just gained another item.
In the end, she spread her quilt beneath herself and covered herself with an extra piece of clothing before finally managing to fall asleep.
The night passed quietly.
When Lin Wan woke up the next morning, her waist and back ached terribly. She truly wasn’t used to sleeping on such a hard bed.
Outside, the sky had only just begun to brighten.
After washing up, she headed straight to the kitchen.
The food stores were already empty. There were only a few vegetable dumplings left from yesterday. Using the last three eggs, Lin Wan steamed a bowl of egg custard and reheated the dumplings.
After breakfast, she drove the ox cart to the county town by herself.
Lin Sheng had originally wanted to accompany her, but Lin Wan suspected that the Old Lin family might cause trouble today. Leaving Gu Zhixing alone at home wasn’t an option, so she had Lin Sheng stay behind and wait until she returned.
It was Lin Wan’s first time driving an ox cart, but thanks to the original owner’s memories, she managed without much difficulty.
The cart rocked and bumped along the road toward the county town.
The twenty-li journey took nearly an hour—barely faster than walking.
After entering the county town, Lin Wan first visited the county yamen. She had the marriage contract officially stamped and registered, and while she was there, she also canceled Gu Zhixing’s slave status. His deed of sale was torn up on the spot.
The efficiency of government offices in ancient times was actually quite decent. At least, she hadn’t encountered any of the absurd officials often described in novels.
After leaving the yamen, Lin Wan carefully stored the officially stamped marriage contract away.
From this moment on, she was a married woman.
The marriage contract in this era was similar to a marriage certificate from her previous life. With this single document, she and Gu Zhixing were officially recognized by the government as husband and wife.
The law of the Great Li Dynasty that had once threatened her no longer applied.
Laiyuan County was considered a large county. The county town bustled with activity, its streets crowded with people coming and going.
Lin Wan found a place to leave her ox cart. The storage fee was two copper coins for the morning, but with so many people on the streets, driving the cart around would have been inconvenient anyway.
After securing the cart, she headed directly to a pharmacy.
The prescription had already been written the previous night using paper and ink borrowed from Lin Sheng. Other purchases could wait, but Gu Zhixing’s and Lin Sheng’s health needed immediate attention. Their recovery couldn’t be delayed.
There were many pharmacies in the county town, but Lin Wan chose the largest one on the main street, called Huichun Hall.
Even from the entrance, she could see numerous townsfolk buying medicine.
It was not only the largest pharmacy in Laiyuan County but also the one with the lowest medicinal herb prices.
As soon as she stepped inside, the familiar scent of traditional Chinese medicine filled her nose.
Others might find the smell pungent and unpleasant, but to Lin Wan it was deeply familiar and strangely comforting.
She had just reached the counter when a frantic cry came from the doorway.
“Where’s the doctor? Someone save him!”
At the shout, a woman rushed inside carrying a boy who couldn’t have been more than two years old.
Lin Wan instinctively turned to look.
The boy’s face had already begun turning purple—a clear sign of severe breathing difficulty.
“Please save my son!”
The woman’s voice trembled with tears. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was filled with panic and helplessness.
One of the pharmacy assistants hurried over. After seeing the child’s condition, his expression darkened.
“The child has something stuck in his throat. Old Doctor Zheng is out making house calls right now. There’s nothing we can do.”
The woman’s legs gave out beneath her.
Clutching her son, she collapsed to the floor.
“My son… my son…”
She had already visited another clinic, but the physician there had been helpless and suggested she try this place instead.
Now Old Doctor Zheng wasn’t here, and the child’s breathing was growing weaker and weaker—almost imperceptible.
At that moment, a slender figure pushed through the crowd.
After taking one look at the child’s condition, she immediately said,
“Let me try.”
The speaker was Lin Wan.
She had heard the assistant’s explanation and the mother’s desperate cries.
A blocked airway could lead to suffocation at any moment.
However, after her quick examination, she could tell that although the child’s face had turned purple, he still had faint breathing.
He could still be saved.
Seeing a young girl step forward, the pharmacy assistant kindly warned her,
“Miss, this concerns a human life. This isn’t something to be taken lightly.”
He had seen cases like this before.
Even Old Doctor Zheng wasn’t always able to save such patients, much less a girl as young as Lin Wan.
“I know,” Lin Wan replied. “But if no one helps him, this child will definitely die.”
She turned to the mother.
“Let me try. Time is critical. Every moment we delay puts him in greater danger.”
The woman bit her lip before handing over her son.
Just as Lin Wan had said, if no one acted, the child would certainly die.
The physician at the previous clinic hadn’t even attempted treatment before sending her away.
“Miss, whether my child survives or not, I thank you.”
Though overwhelmed with panic, she still retained enough reason to recognize Lin Wan’s good intentions.
With Old Doctor Zheng absent and no time to visit another clinic, this was her only chance.
Even the slightest hope was better than waiting helplessly for death.
Taking the child into her arms, Lin Wan spread her feet apart for stability and wrapped her arms around his abdomen.
She made a fist with one hand and covered it with the other.
Positioning the thumb side of her fist just above the child’s navel, she delivered quick, forceful upward thrusts.
More and more people gathered to watch.
At first, the child showed no reaction.
But after more than a dozen thrusts, he suddenly coughed.
A moment later, an apricot pit flew from his mouth.
Then came a loud wail.
The child had finally begun crying.
Lin Wan set him down.
The mother rushed over, scooped him into her arms, and immediately dropped to her knees before Lin Wan.
“Thank you for saving my son, Miss! I’ll never forget your great kindness!”
Holding her child, she kowtowed twice in gratitude.
Lin Wan quickly helped her up.
“The child’s throat has been injured. He’ll need a couple doses of medicine to recover properly. Be more careful in the future.”
“I will. Thank you, Miss.”
The woman was overflowing with gratitude.
Just then, from the back of the crowd, Old Doctor Zheng, who had only recently returned, pushed his way forward excitedly.
“Miss…” he called out.