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

Ji Yongning immediately covered his mouth in a panic, muttering, "No, no! I just... ate a little bit... of the licorice you gave Yongru... just a tiny bit..."

Ji Yongling smiled helplessly, took out ten copper coins from the bag and handed them to Ji Yongning, saying, "Alright, stop running around aimlessly! Take this money, each of you make a sugar figurine, and buy some other snacks. Wait for me at that sugar figurine stall."

I have something to do, I'll come find you guys in a bit, but you absolutely mustn't run off! If you get lost, I won't be responsible! Also, make sure to keep a close eye on Guowa! Don't let anyone take him away!

Ji Yongzhou looked innocent and said, "Doesn't Guowa wash his face? His eyebrows and eyes are so dirty you can't even see them. He looks like a beggar. When Uncle San sees him, he'll probably scold him, right?"

Ji Yongling shook her head, smiled, and said, "No way! Guowa's face isn't washed all day; the dirtier it is, the less recognizable it will be! Go on, go buy some sugar figurines!"

After settling the children in, Ji Yongling turned and went to the scene of the incident.

Right now, the herbal medicine stall where Xu Shirong and the fair-skinned man were located was in complete chaos, even more disorderly than the scene of "scrambling for steamed buns" just now.

Just as the group of beggars had finished grabbing the steamed buns and dispersed, the fair-skinned man suddenly felt an unbearable, intense pain in his calf. He was about to reach out to grab someone next to him for support when, before he could even extend his hand, his leg gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, sir?"

The sight of the fair-skinned man falling to the ground terrified the group of people nearby.

"Oh dear, what's going on?" Upon seeing this, Xu Shirong hurriedly squatted down, panicked and trying to help the fair-skinned man.

"My lord, my lord, what's wrong?" Several servants accompanying the fair-skinned man immediately surrounded their master. Among them, Manager Ma grabbed the fair-skinned man's upper body and shouted loudly.

The fair-skinned man was now drenched in sweat and pale with pain. He clenched his teeth, his face contorted in agony, trying to open his mouth, but he didn't even have the strength to speak.

It hurts, it hurts so much! His leg hurts so much!

He felt his vision was blurry, and he struggled to open his eyes, trying to see the people surrounding him clearly. He wanted to say, "Look at my legs! I don't know if my calves were pricked with needles or bitten by insects, but they hurt so much I feel like I'm going to die."

But the intense pain came too quickly and too violently. In an instant, it drained all the strength from his body. With the last of his remaining strength, he managed to say, "It hurts...it hurts...help...help me..."

But his voice was so weak that the people around him couldn't hear him at all, only hearing him say "it hurts".

"Sir, sir, how are you? Where does it hurt?" Manager Ma asked anxiously.

However, after the fair-skinned man finished speaking, his body jerked violently, his head tilted back, and he fainted.

"My lord, my lord!"

Upon seeing this, Manager Ma, who was holding the fair-skinned man, was panicked and didn't know how to react except to shake the person in his arms.

"Quickly, pinch the philtrum!" Xu Shirong shouted urgently.

"Oh oh oh—" The shopkeeper, Ma, was so panicked that his hands and feet were shaking. His mind was completely blank, and he could only follow Xu Shirong's instructions and use one hand to pinch the fair-skinned man's philtrum.

"What happened? Why did the person suddenly collapse?" The people nearby, seeing that something had happened, all gathered around to see what was going on.

The herbal medicine stall owner, disregarding the herbs on his own stall, had already gotten up, jumped over the pile of herbs, and joined in the fun.

He was spitting as he excitedly introduced the man to the person next to him: "This esteemed person was just looking at herbs at my stall, and I thought I had stumbled upon a great deal. But somehow, he was perfectly fine at first, and then suddenly, 'bang!' he collapsed to the ground."

The old man selling his handwoven baskets and mats nodded in agreement, saying, "Do you think this person might have fainted from hunger? Look at the sweat on his head, it's pouring down like beans. His face is pale and emaciated, almost like a dead person's face. He's definitely starving! Once, an old woman in my village starved to that extent and eventually died!"

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let people hear!"

"That doesn't seem likely! This person clearly has plenty to eat and wear, how could he have fainted from hunger? He's probably just been exposed to the sun!"

"I can't quite put my finger on what it was! I heard from a geomancer the other day that he observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw some kind of star that was afflicted by evil spirits?"

“You’re all wrong! I saw it clearly just now. Oh, it looks like the person is in pain. I wonder if it’s a chest pain? Last time I heard the storyteller say that there was a big shot in the capital who had a chest pain and died from it. He couldn’t be saved.”

.......

There was a lot of discussion in the crowd, with all sorts of opinions.

Manager Ma pinched the fair-skinned man's philtrum for a long time, but the man didn't wake up, which made him even more panicked.

He looked anxiously at Xu Shirong and said, "Master Xu, this is your territory. You're a doctor, so please think of a solution!"

Xu Shirong was also flustered. Although this wasn't a distinguished guest he had invited, the person was still a high-ranking imperial physician. How could he bear the responsibility if something happened to this person beside him? These nobles had eccentric temperaments; who knew if he would be blamed?

However, this was the first time he had encountered such an acute illness. The nobleman's appearance was neither epilepsy nor stroke, and he couldn't immediately diagnose the illness or know how to treat it.

What's more, he didn't carry any acupuncture needles or medicine with him. He didn't even know where to begin in trying to save the person!

"Quickly, quickly, send someone to invite my second uncle over, he has a prescription!" He had no choice but to turn to his second uncle, Doctor Xu, for help.

At this moment, Ji Manchuan and Ji Manqing, who had finished watching the oil press at the other end of the market, also strolled over to the north end of the market. Seeing that there were many people here, they thought there was some kind of acrobatic performance, so they hurriedly squeezed over as well.

Ji Manqing patted a man watching in front of him and asked, "Hey buddy, what are they selling here? Or are they putting on some kind of variety show?"

The man was standing on tiptoe, peering into the crowd. When someone asked him, he glanced back at Ji Manqing and said, "Someone has fainted."

"Oh?"

Ji Manqing rubbed his hands together, becoming interested. Taking advantage of his tall stature, he jumped up and saw Xu Shirong squatting next to a man inside.

He immediately pushed through the crowd, squeezed to the very back, bent down to look at Xu Shirong, and said, "Oh dear, Manager Xu, what's wrong with this person? Has he fainted?"