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

Just then, Ji Manchuan finished resting and prepared to get up and take a broom to sweep the wheat.

Zhang Sheng spotted Ji Mancang at a glance and rushed over, urgently calling out, "Brother Ji, where's Uncle Ji?"

Ji Manchuan turned around and saw that it was Zhang Sheng. He asked, "What's up, Brother Zhang Sheng?"

After hearing that Ji Yongling and Grandpa Ji had gone to Zhangjiapan to help rescue the pigs, Ji Manqing muttered to himself upon seeing Zhang Sheng, "Could it be that the piglets are sick again?"

Zhang Sheng rushed to Ji Manchuan and the other man, saying, "Quick...quick...we need to ask Uncle Ji to go and help us out again!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Manchuan quickly said, "Brother Zhang Sheng, don't be in such a hurry, speak slowly."

Zhang Sheng, disregarding his sweat-soaked clothes, stamped his feet anxiously, his voice almost trembling with tears, saying, "Oh dear, it's my cousin and his wife again. I'm afraid they've been poisoned like that pig they had last time, so I wanted to ask Uncle Ji to take a look."

Ji Manqing exclaimed in surprise, "What? Like a pig? Like a pig being poisoned? Does it mean eating pig feed or pork?"

Ji Manchuan ignored Ji Manqing and said urgently, "Brother Zhang Sheng, don't worry. My father went to my elder brother's house. I called my daughter over. You know she knows medicine. Last time, my daughter and my father went to your house to help."

After Ji Manchuan finished speaking, he called out to Ji Yongling, who was lying on a haystack looking at the sky.

Ji Yongling was resting on a haystack, thinking that it would be wonderful to lie on the haystack and look at the starry sky at night. The night sky in the northwest was full of bright stars, which she had never seen in her later life.

Of course, it's best to eat a full meal before looking at the stars, otherwise you'll be so hungry in the middle of the night that your eyes will be blurry and you probably won't be able to see anything clearly.

As soon as Ji Yongling heard her father calling her, she quickly jumped up and slid down the haystack.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Ji Yongling ran over and asked.

Before Ji Manchuan could answer, Ji Yongling was met by Zhang Sheng, who looked anxious. She thought to herself, "Could it be that the pigs have caused the problem again?"

Thinking this, she asked, "Uncle Zhang, is something wrong with your pig again?"

Zhang Sheng stamped his foot and spoke as fast as popping beans: "No, this time it's not about the pig! It's about my cousin Zhang Baoqing's house that you and your grandfather visited last time. This afternoon, I don't know what happened, but he and his wife suddenly said they felt dizzy, had headaches, and had no energy."

Then their limbs went numb, and their hands and feet trembled so much they couldn't stand, which terrified the child. My cousin's wife insisted they were poisoned, by the same person who poisoned their pigs in our village last time.

After listening to Zhang Sheng's description, Ji Yongling felt that these symptoms did indeed seem like acute poisoning, but without asking about his medical history or seeing the person, it was difficult to make a judgment, let alone say what caused the poisoning.

Ji Manchuan looked anxiously at his daughter and said, "Ling'er, why don't you go with your Uncle Zhang Sheng and have him take a look? This is a matter of life and death. If you can see for yourself, then do so. If you're not sure, then have your Uncle Zhang Sheng take the person to the county to see a doctor as soon as possible."

Zhang Sheng grabbed Ji Manchuan's arm tightly and said hurriedly, "How can you let the child go alone while I, Uncle Ji, don't go? That won't do."

Ji Manqing looked at him like he was an outsider and said, "You're really out of touch. My niece is the little miracle doctor in my family. You don't know, a couple of days ago, I was almost dying, and my niece gave me a bowl of medicine. Even the King of Hell wouldn't dare to take me!"

Ji Manchuan glared at Ji Manqing and scolded, "Stop talking nonsense!"

Ji Yongling thought about it and realized she didn't really want to go.

After all, a person is not like a pig. Acute poisoning in humans can be serious or minor, and there are currently no various testing and rescue equipment. If it is not handled properly and the person cannot be saved, and if she encounters a "medical dispute", she may be able to "travel" back.

While it's unknown whether medical disputes existed in ancient times, there have always been people who, in any era, have acted against their conscience for money.

"Uncle Zhang, let's take him directly to the county to see a doctor. I'm afraid my skills aren't good enough and I might delay his treatment."

Zhang Sheng looked at Ji Yongling and then at Ji Manchuan, anxiously saying, "Brother Manchuan, don't worry, I can tell if a person is good or bad. I will definitely not try to take advantage of your family. I have considered taking him to the county, but it's wheat harvest time now, and the clinics and shops in the county close early. If I take him there, I'm afraid... we won't even be able to see a doctor."

Besides, my cousin and his wife are indeed in a similar situation to the pig they had last time. His wife is very stubborn and wants Uncle Ji to go and take a look.

Ji Manchuan looked at Ji Yongling with some difficulty.

Ji Yongling sighed, trying to console herself. She thought that even if she wasn't very good at it, she had at least worked in the emergency room, so she knew whether she could handle it or not. If she couldn't handle it, she would just not do it.

She looked at Zhang Sheng and said, "Uncle, I'll go with you. I can do what my grandpa can do. My grandpa has been working all day at the threshing floor and he's exhausted. Let him rest a bit, I can go."

Zhang Sheng quickly said gratefully, "Thank you very much, my dear niece! Don't worry, I will definitely bring you back safe and sound. Don't be afraid. If you can save them, do so; if you can't, that's their fate." He then turned to leave.

Ji Manqing hurriedly shouted, "I'll go too! I'll escort my little miracle doctor, so you don't need to bring him back."

Ji Manchuan said with dissatisfaction, "What? Didn't you say you were tired all day long? Now you're not tired anymore?"

"I'm not tired at all!"

When the group hurried to Zhangjiapan, it was already completely dark.

A torch was lit in Zhang Sheng's cousin's courtyard, illuminating the yard brightly along with the moonlight.

Zhang Sheng's cousin, Zhang Baoqing, and his wife were restlessly leaning against the walnut tree in the yard. When they saw Zhang Sheng bring Ji Yongling and Ji Manchuan over, they wanted to speak, but the two of them started dry heaving incessantly, as if in a competition.

The children of Zhang Sheng's cousin, the oldest only seven or eight years old, saw Zhang Sheng arrive as if he were their savior. They immediately stopped crying and called out in unison, "Uncle, Uncle—"

Zhang Sheng squatted down in front of Zhang Baoqing and asked, "Baoqing, how are you two? Are you feeling better?"

Zhang Baoqing's face was flushed, and he stammered, "It's still...almost there. I still...still feel weak all over...my legs and arms...are sore and painful...I'm so annoyed, I can't help but want to curse...I think it's just like the pig at home last time...they're the same..."

Ji Yongling looked at Zhang Baoqing and saw that he was sweating profusely and his eyes and fingers were trembling. She wondered why he looked like he was experiencing a thyroid storm.

But the onset was so rapid, and this person had no prior history of hyperthyroidism; it shouldn't be like this.

Looking at Zhang Baoqing's wife, she exhibited similar symptoms, and her condition seemed even more severe than Zhang Baoqing's.

She immediately squatted down, grabbed Zhang Baoqing's wife's wrist, and felt her pulse.

Since there was no timer, they could only count the seconds verbally and roughly estimate that Zhang Baoqing's wife's pulse was between 120 and 130 beats per minute.

Ji Yongling released Zhang Baoqing's wife's wrist and asked, "Uncle, Aunt, did you eat or drink anything you don't usually eat today?"

Zhang Baoqing's wife was extremely irritable. She said quickly and forcefully, as if chopping garlic, "If we haven't eaten or drunk anything we don't usually eat, it must be that scoundrel who poisoned my pig last time. He must have poisoned our food or water today."