Qin Junyao looked at Zhao Liangcai, who was noticeably thinner, and took out two slices of hundred-year-old ginseng from her space.
These ginseng slices were meant for emergencies, and now they were truly needed.
The space vegetables had been proven to alleviate some symptoms caused by stimulation, as confirmed with Ling Manshuang's maternal grandfather.
Zhao Liangcai's headache was likely caused by the stimulation of killing. Since he was unconscious and unable to eat, the ginseng grown in her space should be even more effective than the vegetables.
Qin Junyao used a small stove in the courtyard to simmer half a pot of ginseng soup.
The medicinal properties of hundred-year-old ginseng were potent, and Qin Junyao dared not make the soup too concentrated for Zhao Liangcai.
She poured the ginseng soup back and forth between two bowls to cool it down. Once it was no longer scalding, Qin Junyao brought the soup to her room, where Zhao Liangcai was.
Feeding him became Qin Junyao's new problem. She couldn't force it directly into Zhao Liangcai, as he wouldn't drink and it would just spill from his mouth.
Mouth-to-mouth feeding was out of the question. A spoon wouldn't fit into his mouth, and a chopstick to pry open his teeth? She could try that.
Qin Junyao took chopsticks from her space, but it didn't work.
A hard wooden spoon, still no.
Pinching his cheeks, she couldn't budge them.
Just as Qin Junyao was considering using a dagger to try, Suozi, who was like timely rain, returned with a packet of medicine.
"Can't get him to drink?"
"Yes, he's biting down too hard, and his teeth are quite straight."
"Heh," Suozi chuckled at Qin Junyao's comment about Zhao Liangcai's straight teeth.
He helped Zhao Liangcai sit up, leaning against the wall, and then lifted Zhao Liangcai's chin.
Suozi squeezed hard on Zhao Liangcai's stubbled face. The teeth that Qin Junyao had struggled to open were now pried apart by a finger's width by Suozi.
Qin Junyao immediately poured the ginseng soup into Zhao Liangcai's mouth using the bowl.
She kept pouring until three bowls were finished, and Suozi called for her to stop.
"That's enough. Let's see if he can wake up. If not, give him another bowl. What is this water?" Suozi asked Qin Junyao, noticing Zhao Liangcai's furrowed brow relaxing.
"Ginseng soup. Would you like a bowl? I made quite a bit."
"So it's ginseng soup. I must have misheard 'ginseng' as 'sashimi'. I'll pass."
Suozi didn't believe Qin Junyao's soup was just ginseng soup. Zhao Liangcai had chewed raw ginseng before, let alone ginseng soup, and it hadn't worked.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Zhao Liangcai's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his bloodshot eyes.
The first thing he did was rub his face, which felt sore.
"Does your head still hurt?"
Qin Junyao's voice brought Zhao Liangcai back to his senses. He then took a closer look at his surroundings and remembered climbing onto Little Fei's back to come to the Qin family.
"It still hurts a bit."
Hearing Zhao Liangcai say his head still hurt, Qin Junyao went out to get more ginseng soup.
Seeing Qin Junyao leave, Suozi punched Zhao Liangcai on the shoulder. "What the hell is going on with you? Why didn't you drink the medicine Qian Duo gave you?"
"If you had passed out yesterday, you would have lost your life."
Zhao Liangcai leaned back, his entire back against the wall.
"That medicine has a problem."
"What problem?"
"Even when my head doesn't hurt, I want to drink it."
Qian Duo had never given Zhao Liangcai the prescription. Every time, Old Physician Mo would prepare the medicine and grind it into powder for Zhao Liangcai.
Before, when Zhao Liangcai drank it, apart from feeling a bit dizzy, he didn't notice anything else.
When Qian Duo was leaving Yang Shu Village with Old Physician Mo, she learned that Zhao Liangcai would need medicine for his headaches upon returning from Northwest City.
She left twenty packets of medicine at the Zhao family's house, asking Granny Ma to pass them on to Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai took fifteen packets to the salt lake, and he had already consumed eleven.
He drank the last three packets when his head didn't hurt. After drinking them, his mind was clear and he felt energetic.
Yesterday, when they were about to take over the last part of the salt-guard army, Zhao Liangcai desperately wanted to drink a dose of the medicine. He was even impatient to the point of not wanting to use boiled water, wanting to pour the medicine directly into his mouth.
It was then that he truly realized the medicine was not right.