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

A glimmer of hope flashed in Ji Yongfei's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again: "You can guard against the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth. I've seen through it all. In my mother's eyes, I'm just a woman like her, a burden, born to bring benefits to my family!"

Ji Yongling sensed the deep helplessness and disappointment in Ji Yongfei's words, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart, but at the same time, she was happy that Ji Yongfei had a clear understanding of reality.

Expectation is the root of all pain and disappointment. Some things, once seen clearly, lead to disappointment, and disappointment chills the heart. For a child, what could be more heartbreaking and painful than their own mother being ready to sacrifice them at any moment?

However, Ji Yongfei's incident also reminded Ji Yongling of another important matter, namely the deadly infectious disease—"smallpox".

Her modern soul had long forgotten the existence of smallpox, the ancient scourge of infectious diseases with an extremely high mortality rate. Perhaps it was because the villages in the Northwest were relatively sparsely populated, so few people contracted smallpox, which is why she hadn't even considered this top killer.

That night was the first time Ji Yongling had someone beside her when she was sick, so she couldn't sleep.

She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), tossing and turning, her mind filled with various pieces of information about smallpox. Smallpox no longer existed in later generations; everything about it came from documentaries and books.

A key aspect of preventing infectious diseases is protecting vulnerable populations, and vaccination is one of the most effective methods of protection.

Historically, smallpox vaccination was key to defeating smallpox, but implementing it in this era posed a significant challenge. Although she understood the principle of smallpox vaccination—stimulating immunity against smallpox through vaccination with the cowpox virus—the actual practice was far more complex than the theory.

She recalled what she had learned in her later life: the cowpox virus was similar to the smallpox virus, but less virulent; vaccination could induce antibodies in the body, thus preventing smallpox. However, in this era, there was no modern laboratory equipment, no sterile operating environment, and even basic medical knowledge was lacking. How could she ensure the safety and effectiveness of the vaccination?

Ji Yongling knew that the first step in smallpox vaccination was finding the smallpox virus. This meant she needed to find cows infected with smallpox and extract the virus from them. However, smallpox was not common, especially in the Northwest, which was not the Mongolian grasslands and did not have large herds of cattle and sheep grazing. Finding infected cows, extracting the virus, and preserving the virus were all major challenges.

Secondly, the vaccination process requires extreme caution. Improper procedures could lead to infection or other complications. She needs to find a safe method to introduce the vaccinia virus into the human body while avoiding contamination by other bacteria or viruses.

"Perhaps we could experiment on animals first?" Ji Yongling thought to herself. She could first inoculate some small animals with the cowpox virus, observe their reactions, and ensure the safety and effectiveness of the virus. Then, she could gradually extend it to humans.

However, all of this required time, effort, and manpower. She certainly couldn't complete this work alone; she had to find help. But in that era, people's fear of smallpox was deeply ingrained, and the acceptance of smallpox vaccination was an unknown quantity.

"We can only start with the people around us." Ji Yongling thought of Ji Manqing and Guowa, who might be her assistants. If people could see the effects of smallpox vaccination firsthand, they might gradually accept this method.

Thinking of this, Ji Yongling calmed down a little. At the same time, she felt a little self-deprecating, realizing that she, like other transmigrated women, had to prove herself through smallpox.

As night deepened, Ji Yongling finally felt a bit sleepy. She closed her eyes and silently made up her mind: starting tomorrow, she would first find cows infected with cowpox!

The next day, when Ji Yongling woke up, Ji Yongfei was nowhere to be found on the kang (a heated brick bed).

She hurriedly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the courtyard. Jia Ronghua said that Ji Yongfei had already gone to find Old Master Ji and Madam Yang, saying that she wanted Ji Yongling to help go to the county to invite her father and brother back after she got up.

Ji Yongling frowned and thought for a moment, then hurriedly packed up and went to the county.

When she rushed to the paper mill and briefly recounted what had happened the day before, Ji Mantun and his son immediately put down what they were doing and followed her back to the village.

When they returned to the village, they could see from afar, through the gate, that Grandpa Ji and Madam Yang were already sitting on chairs in the courtyard, waiting for them.

Ji Mantun entered the courtyard with a gloomy expression. Old Master Ji glanced at them, nodded, and gestured for them to sit down. Zhao Yunxia, ​​who had been standing nervously to the side, hurriedly stepped forward to explain upon seeing Ji Mantun return.

Ji Mantun turned aside to avoid Zhao Yunxia, ​​greeted Old Master Ji and Madam Yang first, and then pulled over a stool to sit down.

Grandpa Ji glanced at Ji Mantun and said in a deep voice, "People say, 'At sixty, you're no longer in charge; at seventy, you don't care about anything.' Logically speaking, you brothers all live separately now, and you're all heads of your own families. As an elder, I shouldn't interfere in anything. But with Yongfei's matter, your mother and I have no choice but to get involved!"

Finding a husband for a young woman is a life-altering event. One wrong step, and there's no turning back. You've all seen what your second sister looks like! Our Ji family doesn't have many daughters; we only have a handful! When we find husbands for our daughters, we don't need them to be incredibly wealthy or powerful, but at least they should be decent-looking, of good character, and know how to manage a household. That should be the bare minimum!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunxia quickly stepped forward to explain, "Dad, Mom, this isn't a big deal. It's just that Yongfei is too strong-willed and stubborn! Her aunt meant well and wanted to find a good marriage for her. The other family is well-off, so life will be easier for them in the future! They won't have to go through the hardships we faced when we were young. We're doing this all for the good of our child!"

Grandpa Ji snorted coldly and said, "For the child's good? Have you even asked the child what she thinks? How old is Yongfei? Are you in such a hurry to find her a husband? Is it because no one wants the girls in our family and they can't get married? Besides, you know perfectly well that the other party is a 'pockmarked man,' and you still think this is a good match?"

Zhao Yunxia was a little embarrassed by the question, but she still argued, "Father, our family has been poor for generations. I'm tired of living such a hard life! I only have one daughter, Yongfei. If she can marry into a wealthy family, Yongfei will never have to worry about food or clothing, and she will be waited on hand and foot. Her life will be as wonderful as it gets!"

As long as life is good, having pockmarks on your face isn't a big deal! Being good-looking can't put food on the table or clothes on your head! So what if someone has pockmarks? The fact that they survived such a "divine punishment" means they're lucky and have a long life ahead of them. Besides, they're wealthy; Yongfei definitely won't suffer if she marries into their family!