Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

"That's right, I've never heard of any child who drank that girl's deworming medicine and had worms in their stool. Do you think that girl's family is just making things up?"

"It's possible. Some families, in order to find a good match for their child or to make their goods sell better, will give the child some kind of magical child title, just to deceive people. In my opinion, Huang Daopo is more reliable. She can perform rituals. Didn't you see how devout she was? Even the crow was moved."

"Don't say that! I heard that Dr. Xu is very annoyed by the Taoist priests, sorceresses, and shamans who roam the streets. Don't let him hear this, or he won't treat us anymore."

Ji Yongling couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to the women's discussion.

Who would have thought that a girl who wanders around Niujiazhuang every day could become the center of this gossip storm among these unfamiliar women.

She shook her head, pondering what the women had just said. If the child really did pass white worms, then they must be roundworms.

This was not surprising to her at all, as it happened in the Ningping County area.

The children here often play with yellow mud. Some children use yellow mud to make people and animals, while others build houses and yards. They call these houses "mud castles". Some naughty boys even use urine to mix with mud.

Unlike the south, where streams and rivers are readily available and water is readily available, if parents don't supervise their children properly and they don't wash their hands thoroughly, there's a high chance they'll get not only pork tapeworms and roundworms, but also hookworms, whipworms, and pinworms.

One of the reasons she chose albendazole was because the conditions here made children more susceptible to parasitic diseases.

Consider the parasite incidence rates in rural areas during the 80s and 90s; in ancient times, they would have been even higher.

But how could Huang Daopo possess a "miracle potion" that could repel insects? Could there really be some miraculous Chinese medicine that could expel insects?

She remembered that when she was in school, her soon-to-retire teacher mentioned that some traditional Chinese medicines, such as Quisqualis indica, pumpkin seeds, Melia toosendan bark, and Lycopodium clavatum, could expel parasites. However, because modern medicines such as praziquantel and albendazole are available, traditional Chinese medicines for expelling parasites are basically no longer used, and they are no longer mentioned in textbooks on parasitology.

It seems necessary to find out what medicine Huang Daopo used to cure her illness.

As for what the women said—that they drank their deworming medicine but didn't pass worms—she couldn't very well go up and explain that although they were all parasitic diseases, there were many different kinds of parasites, and these weren't even the same kind of worm.

However, her thoughts were quickly interrupted.

Xu Shirong stepped over the threshold with a smile and walked over from the backyard, saying, "Yongling, all the medicinal herbs have been unloaded, and the accountant has sorted out the accounts. Come and collect your money."

Ji Manchuan and the others were also standing at the back gate, not coming in, but they all looked at Ji Yongling with excitement on their faces.

"Totaling all the medicinal herbs, excluding the money from the previous two settlements, this time you will need to pay a total of thirty-five taels and six mace. Please keep this safe." The accountant placed the silver on the table, gesturing for her to put it away.

Ji Yongling handed over the receipt from the pharmacy, picked up two pieces of silver and stuffed them into her pocket, then took out a bundle and wrapped the silver ingots and copper coins inside. She then called out to Ji Manchuan, "Father, please keep these silver coins safe for me."

Ji Manchuan happily jogged over, wrapped the bundle in a cloth, took out a burlap sack, stuffed the bundle inside, tied the burlap sack to his chest, jumped up and weighed it in his hand to make sure everything was alright, then walked towards the backyard with a smile.

Ji Yongling also went to the backyard.

Ji Manqing stared at Ji Manchuan with envy, his eyes glued to him from the moment he went in until he came out with the silver tied up. Of course, Ji Yongbai and Ji Yonghua were also envious, but not as fervently as Ji Manqing.

Ji Manqing stepped forward obsequiously and said, "Third Brother, it's so heavy, let me carry it for you."

Ji Manchuan smugly raised his chin at Ji Manqing, patted the burlap sack, and said, "Who would complain about money being too heavy? Even if money crushed me to death, would I say a word about it being too heavy?"

Seeing her family's happy faces, Ji Yongling temporarily forgot the sadness that Gou Niu's wife had brought her. She clasped her hands in thanks to Xu Shirong and said, "Thank you for taking care of us all this time, Uncle Xu. We'll take our leave now."

Xu Shirong rubbed his chin: "You little rascal, the more I look at you, the more I envy your father. He's so capable. Alright then, you've all worked hard these past few days. Let's see what else Manager Wang has to say before we continue."

The group left Xu's Pharmacy.

Ji Yongling took out a piece of silver and handed it to Ji Manqing, saying, "Fourth Uncle, take this money and buy some meat. We finally made some money, so we should treat ourselves to some meat."

Everyone was delighted to hear that they were buying meat, and their eyes lit up with smiles.

Ji Yonghua, in particular, felt envious when he watched Ji Yongling settle the bill with the pharmacy's accountant. At the time, he thought Ji Yongling was just envious of his cousin's earnings. Now, seeing Ji Yongling casually buying whatever she wanted, he finally understood what he was envious of.

He envied his cousin's carefree life, earning her own money and managing it as she pleased.

Ji Manqing happily accepted the silver and said, "Our Miss Ji is so generous. Don't worry, Fourth Uncle will definitely pick the fattest pork to take back, and I guarantee everyone will eat their fill."

"Yes, after you buy the meat, meet up at the row of stalls with the small poplar tree on the east side. My fourth aunt's stall is over there."

"No problem! Time to buy meat!" Ji Manqing said, humming a Qinqiang opera tune as he strode towards the pork stall.

The group pulled the cart to where Hu Xirong was selling thread. In order not to block her business, Ji Manchuan and the others walked a little further to a place where there were no stalls before stopping and waiting for Ji Yongling and the other to pack up their stall.

As soon as Hu Xirong saw Ji Yongling coming over, she quickly stood up and said, "Have you finished handing over the medicinal herbs? Are you hungry? If you are, Auntie will buy you some steamed buns."

"I'm not hungry, Auntie. How much thread do we have left?"

Hu Xirong's face, which was originally not very happy, brightened slightly when she heard Ji Yongling's question. She said, "There aren't many left, only about ten bunches. It's all my fault for not selling them properly. Sigh, I was really upset when Gou Niu's wife interrupted me like that, so I didn't take good care of the business."

However, our yarn is dyed so well that once people see it, they don't like other brands anymore. So, some people browse around but end up buying from me anyway.

Ji Yongling nodded, then turned and saw that the cloth stall was empty, so she asked, "Where's the old lady who sells cloth? Is she sold out already?"

Upon hearing Ji Yongling mention the cloth seller, Hu Xirong deflated like a punctured balloon, saying, "Oh, she went back. Just now, her little daughter ran over and said that Gou Niu's wife had died, so she hurriedly packed up her stall and went home."

"What? Dead! How is that possible? He was perfectly fine before!" Ji Yongling stared wide-eyed, raised her voice, and asked incredulously.