Hong Shup o continued its quiet days with the sun rising and setting, as Zhou Ligen's affairs were put behind them.
Every morning, before dawn, a long line of people led by Lu Ye would run around the large sand embankment.
Initially, it was just Lu Ye's family of five. Then Du Min and Feng Pingyuan joined; next, Tian Dou and Tie Zhu insisted on learning martial arts from Lu Yun and joined in; then all the men of Hong Shup o joined; finally, the women of Hong Shup o also joined; even Grandma Zhong, not to be outdone, followed the group at a brisk walk.
Indeed, everyone in Hong Shup o intended to follow Lu Ye to strengthen their bodies and learn martial arts.
In these times, knowing some martial arts for self-defense absolutely increased one's chances of survival.
However, apart from Bai Sheng, Lu Yun, and Tian Dou, no one expected to become a martial arts master. They only hoped to be able to take down five or six or seven or eight or nine or ten people, and defeat ordinary bandits and petty thieves.
Even Grandma Zhong expected to be able to defeat two young strong men.
Lu Ye, as their master, never dampened his "disciples'" ambitions, always nodding in encouragement.
"En, practice well, you can do it."
"En, persevere, you will get better and better."
"En, as long as you work hard, anything is possible."
With their master's encouragement, each disciple was full of spirit, as if injected with adrenaline.
Bai Sheng and Lu Yun were more intensely involved, already practicing horse stance, while others continued running to build their physique.
Old Man Ye's eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise when he saw this spectacle on the first day.
In this era of not having enough to eat or drink, how could they waste the flesh they had managed to build up on their bodies?
However, after a few days, he got used to it, after all, Hong Shup o had refreshed his understanding with far more than just this one unusual thing.
Where else would one keep a large "poisonous" snake at home?
Where else would one keep wolf cubs?
Where else would rabbits be given names?
Where else would camels not be tethered with a halter rope?
Where else would a family have over a dozen house servants without even having a house?
...
Old Man Ye gradually became accustomed to it.
One day, after morning exercises, Bai Sheng was wiping her face with a towel when Tian Guihua anxiously brought Tian Dou to find her.
"Mistress, look!" Tian Guihua yanked off Tian Dou's pants.
Tian Dou hadn't even reacted before he was completely exposed.
His mother had only told him to come find the Mistress to treat his leg, not to take off his pants. Taking off his pants was one thing, but couldn't she have informed him beforehand? She was taking off "his" pants. He was six years old and a man who knew shame.
Tian Dou was stunned on the spot until Lu Yun laughed and shouted, "Tian Dou, you're naked!"
He immediately raised his hands to cover his little private part, wishing he could burrow into a crack in the ground.
Everyone laughed heartily at Tian Dou's embarrassed state.
Tian Guihua didn't care about Tian Dou's slight shyness; her son's health was more important than anything else!
She pointed to a hard, large red swelling on the inside of Tian Dou's thigh and said to Bai Sheng, "Mistress, Tian Dou has a hard lump on his leg. It's red and swollen, and it hurts when pressed. Can you help me see what's going on?"
Since the Mistress knew about penile warts, she could only turn to the Mistress for help.
Bai Sheng bent down and felt the hard lump on Tian Dou's thigh. It seemed to be a subcutaneous boil, but it was still in the inflammatory stage and had not yet suppurated.
She said to Tian Guihua, "Sister Guihua, Tian Dou has a subcutaneous boil."
"Subcutaneous boil? Can it... can it be cured?" Tian Guihua's brows were tightly furrowed with worry.
Bai Sheng smiled, "It's not a serious illness, it can be cured."
Tian Guihua immediately knelt before Bai Sheng, "Please, Mistress, save Tian Dou!"
"Oh, Sister Guihua, what are you doing? Get up quickly. Don't worry, I can try to help Tian Dou with this subcutaneous boil," Bai Sheng helped Tian Guihua up.
"Thank you, Mistress!" Tian Guihua wiped away a tear. The poor people were most afraid of illness. Firstly, they had no money for treatment; apart from starvation and thirst, illness was the second greatest killer that took their lives.
Secondly, it would cause trouble for their masters. Who would want a sickly servant?
Tian Guihua hadn't expected the Mistress to agree so readily to treat Tian Dou.
Bai Sheng told them to go back first, and she would prepare a prescription.
The so-called prescription was nothing more than a handful of soybeans. Fortunately, she had bought some soybeans when she went to the county town last time to buy grain seeds. Since they were stored in the spatial dimension, she couldn't let anyone see them when she took them out, which was why she sent everyone away.
In her previous life, Bai Sheng had read the essay collection "Stories of the Sahara" by the female writer San Mao, and she remembered that it mentioned using soybeans to treat boils.
Bai Sheng, having been ill for a long time, had also read many books on traditional Chinese medicine. She recalled that the Compendium of Materia Medica recorded that soybeans were dry and warm in nature, thus they could remove dampness, reduce swelling, tonify blood and flesh, and strengthen the spleen and promote urination.
She soaked the soybeans in cold water until they softened, then mashed them into a paste. First, she washed Tian Dou's affected area with spiritual spring water, then spread the soybean paste evenly on the boil. She changed it three times a day. Gradually, the boil would suppurate, and after the pus-filled sac matured and was squeezed out, applying the soybean paste again would slowly heal it.
Since the water used to soak the soybeans was spiritual spring water, the healing effect of the soybean paste was even better.
After Bai Sheng cured Tian Dou's subcutaneous boil, Grandma Zhong also came to Bai Sheng for treatment. She said she didn't know why, but her neck had been hurting recently.
Bai Sheng felt the back of her neck and found the muscles to be quite stiff. She suspected it was a stiff neck from sleeping or a problem with her cervical spine. She asked Zhao Dazhuang to massage Grandma Zhong's shoulders and neck regularly and then taught Grandma Zhong a set of yoga exercises to strengthen her shoulders and neck.
Grandma Zhong practiced diligently every day, and the neck pain actually disappeared completely.
With Grandma Zhong's exaggerated and miraculous praise, people with minor ailments in Hong Shup o all came to Bai Sheng for treatment. Fortunately, Bai Sheng had read many TCM books and could usually solve their problems.
Finally, when Yang Shi found her, she was in a difficult situation.
This was because Yang Shi needed her help to treat infertility.
This was a very complex and serious illness, and she couldn't handle it.
However, Yang Shi, with tears streaming down her face, told her how much she longed to have a child, making it impossible for her to refuse what was already on her lips.
Fine, infertility, huh? She would try.
Alas, this was pushing her towards becoming a miracle worker.
However, she didn't dislike it. In her previous life, she had always loved TCM, especially after falling ill, she had spent even more time on it.
Moreover, having an extra skill was nothing but beneficial. She had decided that besides becoming a martial arts master, she would also become a renowned physician!
Lu Ye worried that she might be too tired and told her not to take on too much work, but Bai Sheng said she wasn't tired at all and was even enjoying it.
Bai Sheng gave Yang Shi more spiritual spring water each day. Spiritual spring water had health-preserving effects that strengthened the body, and it should be very beneficial for Yang Shi to drink more of it.
Then she went to the town to buy some medical books and studied them diligently every day.