Song Qingchao returned, and Bai You'an did not hold onto her as usual. Coincidentally, Ying Zhong was boiling medicine, so she went over to help.
"Let me," she said, squatting down and delivering the bowls one by one.
"Chaochao younger sister!"
Song Qingchao turned back in confusion and saw a short, sturdy man with big yellow teeth rushing over, waving at her.
Song Qingchao: "???"
When the man reached her, Song Qingchao instinctively took a step back. Ma Lide, panting with his hands on his knees, smiled at her, "Chaochao younger sister, it's me! Ma Lide, from Yixian, do you remember?"
Song Qingchao said "Oh" and forced a smile, replying, "What is it, young master Ma?"
Ma Lide's smile widened, unable to close his mouth. "Why are you being so formal with me, brother?"
As he spoke, he reached out to take Song Qingchao's arm. Song Qingchao subtly dodged, "Propriety must be observed." Her implication was that she would give him face, but he shouldn't push his luck.
However, Ma Lide lacked such awareness. He familiarly took the small medicine pot Song Qingchao was carrying. "Chaochao younger sister, I'll hold it for you, let's go together."
Song Qingchao hesitated for a moment, but then agreed. Most people did not accept their treatment, so it would be even better if someone could help.
The two walked together. Ma Lide kept chattering about her and Bai You'an, and also mentioned the matter of money back in Yixian. If he hadn't brought it up, Song Qingchao would have forgotten it.
"It doesn't matter," she said.
Upon hearing this, Ma Lide became even more cheerful, quickening his pace and urging her to hurry.
They delivered medicine from house to house, and any who were uncooperative could be quickly dealt with. The next household was a family of three. The wife and child were sick, and only the husband was in relatively good health. However, he was the most troublesome.
"Brother, this is today's medicine. Has sister-in-law gotten any better?" Her voice was soft, concealing all its sharpness.
But the man was completely unappreciative. He glanced at her and said, "How dare you come again?"
Song Qingchao felt annoyed but maintained her patience, "You still need to drink this medicine."
"Drink what! Does this medicine have any effect at all!" The man "slapped" the bowl of soup from Song Qingchao's hand, "You dare not drink things, yet you feed them to us every day! What do you take us for!"
The scalding, dark liquid splashed onto Song Qingchao's hand. She blurted out a "tsk" and then shook her hand, bringing it to her earlobe, "You really think I'm willing to give it to you? Do you know how precious this medicine is!"
The man also got angry, "I don't know! I've told you many times, get lost!"
"You!" Song Qingchao was also getting impatient. She really didn't want to bother, but this was a contagious disease. If it spread from one to ten, and ten to a hundred, it would only get worse if not controlled.
As she was about to say more, the man was about to lay hands on her. This time, Ma Lide stepped in to stop him.
"Brother, don't hit the face. Moreover, my sister genuinely wants to help you." His sharp voice was surprisingly comforting to Song Qingchao for once.
"Now everyone can't even afford to eat. It's already good that there's medicine to drink and someone willing to care for us. You should know that the doctors and medicinal herbs were originally just my sister's. If she is willing to help everyone now, and you are not grateful, how can you even resort to violence?"
Song Qingchao quite agreed with Ma Lide's words. She could see how busy and tired Bai You'an had been these past few days. She also understood these people's feelings, but the current situation was already the best it could be.
Song Qingchao indifferently tidied her wet skirt. "If you truly don't want to drink it, I won't bring it next time. However, you must stay away from others. This is a contagious disease, and you must wear masks." She did not want to say more. "Let's go."
The two then visited several more households, finally distributing all the medicine.
"Thank you for your help today, young master Ma."
"Not at all," Ma Lide said, rubbing the back of his head. "This is what I should do."
Song Qingchao reached for the medicine pot in his hand, but he dodged. "Chaochao and Mu Mu, I'll deliver this to master Ying Zhong later. You've had a long day, go rest."
Song Qingchao thought about it and agreed. After all, it was just some residual medicine. There wasn't much he could do with it.
Song Qingchao had intended to quietly return to the carriage, but she found that Bai You'an was not asleep. He was sitting by the campfire, reading a book.
"Mmm, why aren't you sleeping?" She adjusted her skirt and sat down beside Bai You'an. She casually picked up a nearby branch and added it to the campfire.
"I can't sleep." Bai You'an turned a page of his book and then took the branch from Song Qingchao's hand.
"What happened to your hand?" He frowned, put down his book, and then grabbed Song Qingchao's hand. Song Qingchao initially tried to pull away, but couldn't twist away from Bai You'an, who held her hand in place.
"It's so badly burned." Bai You'an's voice was full of concern. He then took out some burn ointment and gently treated the wound. He slowly lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, "After being burned, you should rinse it with flowing cool water for more than fifteen minutes. This will prevent pain, otherwise, if blisters form, the wound will be difficult to heal."
Song Qingchao listened quietly to his "nagging," responding with "hmm" and "ah." She didn't know if it was because the small hourglass in her space was accumulating energy, or because this person was Bai You'an, but she felt warm all over. The originally burning wound no longer hurt.
"Why are you looking at me?" Bai You'an moved closer to her, staring at her slowly, "Lost in thought? Did you even hear what I said?"
Song Qingchao nodded vigorously, but her body instinctively leaned back, eliciting soft laughter from Bai You'an. Song Qingchao also felt embarrassed. "I was just thinking that since everyone is uncooperative, it's questionable whether our medicine is effective, and besides, we don't have much medicinal material to begin with."
Bai You'an stopped teasing her and slowly sat back, tidying his things. "There will always be a way. We have to try everything. There will be medicine, and I want to go out and see tomorrow."
"Okay." Song Qingchao readily agreed. Her thought was that if Bai You'an went out, she could find an excuse to release some of the medicinal materials from her space.
"Miss Song."
"Mmm?" Song Qingchao looked up and met Bai You'an's eyes. His eyes were full of seriousness. "Promise me, you will not enter Feng County before I return."
"Why?" Song Qingchao was bewildered. Feng County was their only hope. Only by entering Feng County would they have supplies of food and medicine.
Bai You'an's eyes drooped heavily. "Perhaps the situation in Feng County is worse than we imagined."
With a "bang," something fell. Both of them looked tensely towards the sound. If anyone else heard... the consequences would be unimaginable.
Song Qingchao got up and walked towards the sound. There was no one there anymore. But the fragments of the medicine pot and the dregs of the medicine on the ground told her that someone had been in this place just now...