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

Ji Yongling and Ji Yongning carried the cages and headed towards Chenhu Village, which was next to their village.

Ji Yongning skipped along one side of the road, occasionally reaching out to pick a leaf or pluck a handful of weeds, never stopping for a moment.

Suddenly, as if he had just thought of something, he circled back to Ji Yongling and asked mysteriously, "Sis, how do you know that Papuzi can get rid of lice? Have you... already tried it?"

Ji Yongling rolled her eyes: "How could that be! Anyway, I just know. I'll let you try it out, and you'll see!"

When it comes to using the herb Stemona japonica to get rid of lice, Ji Yongling has a lot of bitter experiences to tell.

When she was in elementary school, her scalp was always itchy. She would often scratch it. Her grandparents had poor eyesight and thought it was because her hair was dirty, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

One day during a break between classes, the boy sitting behind her was pulling her braid when he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh no, Ji Yongling has lice in her hair!"

The classmates all gathered around, staring at her like she was a monkey in a zoo. Some girls even covered their noses and mocked her, saying, "How many days has it been since you showered? Your hair is so dirty it's infested with lice."

From then on, everyone in the class knew she had lice, and no one wanted to sit next to her or play with her. She became synonymous with unhygienic behavior in the class.

The little girl didn't realize that being ostracized, ridiculed, and isolated was also a form of school bullying. She didn't want her grandparents to worry, but she was very distressed. So after school, she went to her parents' graves with her schoolbag on her back to cry. She was spotted by Leng Qingqing, a classmate from the village, and that's how she found someone to listen to her troubles.

Leng Qingqing's mother was a kind-hearted aunt. After learning that Ji Yongling had lice on her head, she asked Leng Qingqing to take Ji Yongling to her house. She had heard that washing hair with "Dichlorvos" could kill lice, so she planned to use "Dichlorvos" to kill the lice on the two girls' heads.

So, on an ordinary weekend, Aunt Leng forced Leng Qingqing and Ji Yongling to wash their hair with water mixed with pesticide. But unexpectedly, not long after the hair wash, both of them felt nauseous, had heart palpitations, drooled, and their hands trembled uncontrollably.

At first, Aunt Leng thought the two girls were hungry, so she let them sit and watch TV while she chopped up a chicken and made chicken soup. But the two girls vomited after just one sip, which scared Aunt Leng so much that she quickly took the two girls to Ji Yongling's house on her tricycle.

Grandpa Ji Yongling had just returned from treating the pigs in the neighboring village when he heard that the two girls had washed their hair with "Dichlorvos". He knew that they must have been poisoned by organophosphate pesticides, so he quickly cut off their hair and washed it with soapy water.

Fortunately, Ji Yongling's grandfather was a barefoot veterinarian and barefoot doctor, and he had pralidoxime at home, so the two girls were able to be detoxified and escaped a terrible fate.

After this incident, Ji Yongling's grandparents learned that Ji Yongling had been ridiculed at school because of lice in her hair. They felt very guilty, so they made a tincture of Stemona japonica to get rid of the lice for Ji Yongling. Ji Yongling then learned about the uses of Stemona japonica and learned how to make the tincture.

Ji Yongning had no idea that Ji Yongling had once been on the verge of death because of lice. She then asked, "Sister, you said that this 'papuzi' is poisonous and can kill lice, so can it cure 'rotten head'?"

Ji Yongling didn't understand: "What is a 'rotten head'? I don't know what that means?"

Ji Yongning said disdainfully, "Sister, you're either wandering around in the mountains or at home all day. You should spend some time hanging out with the old women under the big locust tree. You'll know a lot of things there."

Ji Yongling choked, realizing she was being disliked, so she raised her eyebrows and said, "What? You spend all your time among old women listening to their gossip, is that a good thing?!" As she spoke, she reached out to slap Ji Yongning, but Ji Yongning dodged her with lightning speed.

Ji Yongning chuckled and said, "Sister, you see, even though you've learned a few tricks from Granny Liu, you still don't know what a 'rotten head' is, do you? People should learn, listen, and observe more. No matter who you learn from, what you learn is yours!"

Ji Yongling looked Ji Yongning up and down: "Goodness, yesterday's bee sting wasn't for nothing, and today's shave wasn't for nothing either. Sure enough, there's no hair in the middle of your head. You're incredibly smart! You have a whole set of profound principles to share."

Ji Yongning continued jokingly: "Sister, you know Erdan's dad, right? He's the one who didn't go to school much but always uses classical Chinese phrases. I heard the other day he got a lot of little bumps on his body, and they're very itchy, like 'rotten head bumps'."

Ji Yongling rolled her eyes: "You're all talk and no action. Do you think I don't know Erdan's father? He just likes to use classical Chinese phrases and archaic sayings when he speaks. What does it matter to you if someone has a skin condition? You spend all your time surrounded by old women, learning to gnaw on wooden boxes like a rat, just idly grinding your teeth!"

Ji Yongning's eyes darted around, and he said with a wicked grin, "I heard from the old women in the village that I got this disease because I didn't study hard."

Ji Yongling rolled her eyes again: "Did you hear that from Aunt Big Mouth?"

Ji Yongning gave a thumbs up: "Sister, you're amazing!"

Ji Yongling snorted coldly: "Be careful not to run into a stubborn mule while trying to flatter someone, or you'll get kicked! Although people like to use classical Chinese phrases, they have the pride and integrity of scholars. Don't be like some gossipy old women who slander others indiscriminately."

Like a lapdog, Ji Yongning tugged at Ji Yongling's sleeve ingratiatingly: "Sister, although I don't really like the way Erdan's dad is always lecturing people, Erdan and I are close. The apricots you ate the other day were given to you by him."

Ji Yongling shook off the sleeve that Ji Yongning was holding and said, "Can you empty your belly all at once? You're all talk and no action, you only say half of what you mean, are you even a son?"

Ji Yongning smiled and said, "What I want to say is that Erdan also caught this itchy disease from his father. The villagers said that he shouldn't come out to play in the village until he gets better, because they're afraid he'll pass it on to other children."

Yesterday, Tie Dan and I saw Er Dan from afar. Er Dan was so itchy that he kept rubbing against the tree. Er Dan said that his testicles were covered with small bumps, and they were swollen, red, and shiny, just like the testicles of Gen Sheng's grandpa's cow.

So I wanted to ask, if this lice can get rid of lice, can it also cure Erdan's itching?

Ji Yongling asked in confusion, "Isn't Grandpa Gensheng's cow a cow?"

Ji Yongning scratched his head and said, "Anyway, it's very swollen."

Ji Yongling thought for a moment and said, "I haven't seen what Erdan's 'rotten head' looks like, so I can't talk nonsense. In the end, I should see it with my own eyes to know what kind of disease it is and treat it accordingly."

Ji Yongning immediately beamed: "Sis, when we pass by Tiedan's house later, I'll have Tiedan call Erdan and have him sneak over to show you."

The two talked all the way until they reached the vicinity of Chenhu Village.

Ji Yongning first ran to the courtyard of a cave dwelling by the roadside, where a fence served as the gate, and shouted a few times, "Tiedan, Tiedan—"

A child about the same age as Ji Yongning emerged from a cave dwelling. His face was also somewhat red and swollen. He asked, "Yongning, what's wrong? What are you doing here?"

Ji Yongning glanced back at Ji Yongling and said, "Don't worry about it. Go and call Erdan over. Tell him to wait for me at your door later. I'll have my sister take a look at his 'rotten head'."

"Oh, oh, oh—" Tie Dan replied, pulled up the fence, and walked towards Er Dan's house not far away.