When Shopkeeper Tu spoke, Li Hong's eyes immediately lit up with a different kind of brilliance.
"Did the divine doctor really say that?"
Shopkeeper Tu saw the expression on Li Hong's face and knew he was tempted. "Of course it's true! What good would it do me to lie to you? Besides, the divine doctor and the others said they would return to Yong'an Town in half a month at most, or ten days at least. She still needs to treat Li Yong. You can ask her yourself then!"
Li Hong was quite happy to receive praise from the divine doctor. The two people from last night were clearly extraordinary. If he could really work with them, it would be much better than doing odd jobs in town.
So, without much consideration, Li Hong agreed to Qi Xingjie. "Alright! I'll go and gather people right away. How many do you need? Will thirty be enough?"
"You decide! I'm not very familiar with this area. You estimate how many villages are near that river, then send a few people from each village to search!"
"Okay, I understand." Li Hong nodded and went to discuss it with his father.
Shopkeeper Tu and Qi Xingjie left the village chief's house and headed straight for Old Man Li's house. It had been almost a day and a night, and they didn't know if his old wife had woken up. He needed to personally supervise the old woman applying medicine to her.
The two of them had learned last night while discussing how to care for the patient that the method Su Muqing used to treat the old woman was to cut open her head, and then do this and that…
They didn't understand the subsequent explanations about the cerebellum, nerves being pressed, and so on.
It was the first time they had heard of someone surviving after their head was cut open, and they were so shocked that they were speechless at the time. So, they were very curious now and wanted to see if the old woman's head had really been cut open.
When they arrived at Old Man Li's house, many people were still gathered outside the yard. Old Man Li looked at the rice, flour, meat, vegetables, and the beautifully packaged tonics and fabrics placed in the main hall, feeling a bit unsure of how to handle them.
Old Man Li was a bit unsure of Young Master Ba's intentions in sending these items. He thought that after a night, he might have regretted it and was trying to compensate them with some things and find people to take care of them to downplay the matter.
If possible, he didn't want these things. He only hoped that young master Qi could give his granddaughter justice.
The women and servants brought by Qi Xingjie all looked like honest people. One was starting a fire in the kitchen to boil water, and the other was diligently tidying up the house and yard.
"Young Master Qi, Old Brother Tu, you're here!" Seeing the two enter the yard, Old Man Li, whose condition had improved, quickly stood up to greet them.
"Old Brother Li, your illness is not yet fully recovered. There's no need to be so polite," said Shopkeeper Tu, stepping forward to help Old Man Li sit on a stool.
Old Man Li looked at Qi Xingjie, wanting to ask him if the promise from last night still counted. But he was afraid that asking too much would anger the other party, which would be bad!
Qi Xingjie, not noticing anything unusual about Old Man Li, took out a glass bottle filled with spiritual spring water and cotton swabs from his pocket and said to him, "The divine doctor said your wife's head needs to have the dressing changed daily. She showed me a few times yesterday, so I'll apply the medicine to her today! I'll have Granny Liu come tomorrow."
With that, he led the way into the inner room. Seeing no unusual expression on Qi Xingjie's face, Old Man Li and Shopkeeper Tu followed him in.
The old woman had not woken up. The slight rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive.
Qi Xingjie, following Su Muqing's instructions, first thoroughly disinfected his hands before carefully unwrapping the bandages on the old woman's head.
When the gauze was removed and they saw the wound on her head, all three people in the room gasped. The wound was truly shocking!
Old Man Li's legs felt weak, and he sat on the bed, looking at the wound on his wife's head, at a loss. He only knew that the divine doctor said he had to shave his wife's hair to treat her, but he didn't expect such a large cut to be made on her head.
His wife had been asleep for so long without waking up. Would she ever have a chance to wake up? Old Man Li couldn't describe his feelings. He was beginning to regret asking the divine doctor to treat his wife.
Suddenly, he thought of his son who had also injured his head. And at that time, the divine doctor had said that the child Yong's condition was even worse than his wife's. Did that mean his son's treatment would also require his head to be like this, or even worse?
Shopkeeper Tu and Qi Xingjie, although somewhat prepared, couldn't help but be shocked when they saw the ferocious wound that nearly spanned the entire head.
Both of them instinctively reached out to feel the old woman's breath. The steady, prolonged dampness sprayed on their fingers, and it also told them that the person was indeed still alive!
Who would have thought such a strange thing could happen in the world! With a head cut like this, their breathing could still remain so steady.
Divine doctor! No! Thinking about how they had gracefully leaped over the city walls last night, those people were definitely immortals!
On the other side, the group who were mistaken for immortals had traveled for four days and nights and finally arrived at a small town called Fenshui Town, only twenty kilometers away from the capital of Great Yu.
Unlike Yong'an Town, perhaps because it was closer to the central city of the Great Yu Dynasty, the buildings and the clothing of the common people in Fenshui Town appeared much more dazzling.
Therefore, their attire did not cause much of a stir as they walked through the streets. However, the demeanor of the group was still very different from that of ordinary people. Combined with their tall stature, five or six burly men walking together would inevitably attract some attention.
As it was nearing noon, the group found a bustling restaurant to eat and rest. At this time, the conversation from other tables caught their attention. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be from the yamen.
"Old Tian, have things been a lot better for everyone lately?"
The person called Old Tian took a sip of tea, his face relaxed. "Mm! It's indeed better than before. I didn't expect them to suddenly say they would exempt taxes for a year. I remember the last time taxes were exempted, it was so many years ago. Every time it was time to pay taxes, the common people looked at us as if they wanted to eat us. They didn't think about whether we could decide that. But it's better now. We don't have to see those looks anymore this year."
The other person agreed. Perhaps afraid of speaking the other person's identity too directly, he kept pointing his finger upwards. "Who says so! I heard that the higher-ups didn't manage affairs much for a month, and many of the people below were preparing to rebel. But after a few days, the higher-ups seemed to have figured it out and suddenly became diligent and loved the people."