Back in the county town, Chen Yuezhi took her family's carriage, brought Jiang Wan, and also picked up the grandmother and two grandchildren.
Earlier, when riding in Madam Cheng's carriage, the three of them refused to get into the carriage. Because Madam Cheng's carriage was clearly not that of an ordinary family, the three of them did not dare to enter.
On the Jiang family's carriage, after the three of them declined a few times, they sat inside the carriage.
Chen Yuezhi took the old woman's pulse again and couldn't help but frown, "Auntie, your physical condition..."
The old woman smiled faintly, with a hint of paleness and sadness, "It's nothing, it's all old problems."
Jiang Wan curiously asked, "Old lady, how did you and your grandson fall into the river? You were setting up a stall there, why wasn't there a man with you?"
The old woman sighed, "This child is too naughty. He said he needed to relieve himself, so I took him. Who knew he would secretly jump into that pond? That pond is very deep, and several people drown in it every year. When I saw him fall in, I rushed to save him, but I almost lost my own life."
The child leaned against the old woman with red eyes, his voice as soft as a sheep's, "Grandma, Qing'er was wrong, Qing'er will never dare again."
The child was truly scared stiff today and hadn't fully recovered yet.
The old woman stroked his hair, "Qing'er, don't go near that water again in the future. Your father left you as his only descendant. If you have another accident, how can you expect me and your mother to live?"
Jiang Wan blinked, "Old lady, your son..."
Chen Yuezhi was afraid she would bring up painful memories, so she quickly winked at her, telling her to stop asking.
The old woman smiled faintly, "Qing'er's father joined the army. He's been gone for more than three years. Except for the occasional letters in the first two years, there's been no news for over a year. I guess he died on the battlefield."
"No! My husband must still be alive!"
The young woman said with red eyes, "My husband is definitely still alive! Because he has never appeared in my dreams, he is still alive!"
The old woman lowered her head with a bitter smile, wiped her eyes, and turned to smile at Chen Yuezhi, "Divine Doctor Chen, you saved my life today, but I have nothing to repay you with. I..."
Chen Yuezhi quickly waved her hand, "It's just a small effort, and today, because I saved you, I was fortunate enough to be accepted as a disciple by my master. Speaking of which, this is also our fate."
"That's because the divine doctor has her own abilities. Even if I hadn't had this accident today, the divine doctor would still have been accepted by Divine Doctor Jin."
Chen Yuezhi saved the old woman's life, so she was extremely convinced of Chen Yuezhi's abilities.
Chen Yuezhi knew her own limitations, but she didn't say anything else in front of the old woman.
Jiang Wan's gaze shifted between the old woman and her daughter-in-law, and she suddenly asked the young woman, "Auntie, would you be willing to come to our house to help with cooking and laundry?"
"As you know, my mother has been accepted as a disciple by Divine Doctor Jin, and from tomorrow onwards, my mother will have to go to the medical clinic to study medicine. My sister-in-law is pregnant and definitely cannot do housework, so our family originally planned to buy a servant. But our family has just settled in Yaoxian, and we are afraid we won't be able to find a suitable person."
"I see that it's really hard for you to run all the way there to set up a stall every day, so I want to ask if Auntie would be willing to come to our house to help? Don't worry, the wages will definitely not be less than what you earn from your stall, and there's no contract of servitude. You're just coming to help, and you can leave whenever you want."
The woman quickly said, "Yes, I don't want any wages. You saved my mother-in-law's life, so I should be your servant."
Jiang Wan shook her head, "That won't do. If you don't accept wages, we won't agree. We're not asking you to help out of gratitude, we just think Auntie is a good and trustworthy person."
Anyone could be hired, and besides, her mother had the kindness of saving their lives. She believed this woman would definitely do her best.
The woman still refused to accept wages.
The old woman said, "Since the young lady wants to pay wages, then you should accept them. If you feel bad about it, just do the work well and satisfy the Madam's family."
Chen Yuezhi found the titles of "young lady" and "madam" very awkward. "We will be getting along for a long time from now on, so don't call us young lady or madam. Our family is just a common farming family, without such rules. If you, sister, come to help, we are also equals. So, from now on, Auntie can just call me by my name."
She was very satisfied with Jiang Wan's decision. If Jiang Wan wanted to hire this woman, she naturally wouldn't object.
Moreover, she could see that this woman was very capable, and their family needed such a helper right now.
So, the matter was quickly settled.
Before getting off the carriage, Chen Yuezhi learned the names of the grandmother and daughter-in-law. The old woman's husband's surname was Zhuang, so Chen Yuezhi called her Aunt Zhuang. The young woman was married and named Wang Hongye. She was only twenty-three years old, but she looked unusually haggard and weathered, appearing almost thirty.
Wang Hongye's son was named Xiao Douzi, six and a half years old, her only son.
When the carriage arrived near the small mountain village, Chen Yuezhi and Jiang Wan got off, and asked Er Lang to drive the carriage to send Aunt Zhuang and the others back.
The mother and daughter walked along the small path towards home. Chen Yuezhi felt that the sky above looked much better than usual, and the corners of her mouth couldn't stop turning up.
Jiang Wan smiled along with her, seeing her happy expression.
Her mother surely didn't know how confident and beautiful she looked right now!
When they arrived home, Da Lang came to greet them. Upon seeing Chen Yuezhi with a smile on her lips, he asked, "Mom, why are you so happy? Although Dad getting a job at the yamen is a good thing, you weren't this happy yesterday either."
Chen Yuezhi ignored him.
She wanted to save the good news until the whole family was together before announcing it.
Thinking that she would start studying medicine tomorrow and there were still a lot of things to arrange at home, Chen Yuezhi got busy and made Da Lang run around.
Er Lang also joined in after he returned.
By the time Jiang Pan returned with San Lang in the evening, Da Lang and Er Lang were almost exhausted, their legs feeling sore and painful, and it was difficult to even stand on the ground.
Chen Yuezhi looked at them with disdain, "You're so young, and you're already tired and can't walk after doing so little work. What can we expect from you?"
The two brothers wore bitter expressions, truly not understanding why their mother was making such a fuss.
Jiang Wan covered her mouth and laughed.
She had seen the whole process. Her two brothers hadn't stopped working and had indeed been worked hard.
"Mom, that's enough. Let Big Brother and Second Brother go. Don't keep your good news a secret anymore. If you don't say it, I will."
The whole family turned to look at Chen Yuezhi.
"What good news?"
Chen Yuezhi cleared her throat, "Wanwan and I have hired a helper for the family, and she will be here tomorrow."
Everyone was stunned, "Hired a helper?"
Jiang Pan said, "There are indeed many things to do at home, and Madam Su can't help you. It's really too hard for you to handle so many things alone. However, why didn't you buy someone, but hire a helper?"
Chen Yuezhi said, "You don't need to worry about that. The good news I want to talk about is not this."
Jiang Wan sighed with a smile, "Mom, don't keep them in suspense anymore, just say it directly."
She could hardly wait.
Chen Yuezhi smiled and glared at her, "With such great happy news, can't I build a little suspense?"