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

Madam Yang continued rambling on, "We're not paying Yuting to do the work; it's all the same whether we hire someone or not. You see, Yuting has younger brothers and sisters, and she's had to support the whole family since she was ten or so. We can't do much; we'll just let Yuting earn a couple of copper coins for the family."

Ji Yongling sighed, "Everyone has their own hardships."

“Child, remember this: when you are able, help others. Maybe when you are in trouble, others will lend you a hand.”

After Ji Yuting carefully finished making a medicine pouch, Ji Yongling inspected it and, seeing that the workmanship was excellent, exclaimed, "These sisters' needlework is truly superb."

Ji Yuting blinked and said, "Your eldest sister, Yongfang, still has the best cooking skills."

Madam Yang was somewhat pleased, but still modestly said, "Yongfang lives in the county and deals with city people, so she must have honed her needlework skills. Oh dear, Yuting, you're older than Yongfang, isn't it about time you got engaged?"

Ji Yuting's face flushed slightly, making her complexion appear less pale. She said, "My grandfather has spoken with several relatives to ask them to keep an eye on things. But I don't want to get married so early. I'm worried about my grandfather, my brother, and my sister."

Madam Yang looked somewhat worried: "Indeed, the old are old, the young are young, and the children are children. Alas, it must be hard on you, child, the whole family depends on you alone."

Ji Yuting's eyes instantly reddened.

Madam Yang then asked again, "Is your brother Yu Ning feeling any better now?"

Ji Yuting wiped her eyes with her hand, her voice tinged with sadness: "No, mistress. Sigh, it's still the same as before, my limbs are numb, I'm dizzy, and I seem to be getting more and more senile. My hair and nails have all fallen out. I've been to the county hospital countless times, but the doctors all say there's nothing they can do."

"How distressing!"

Ji Yongling frowned, her gaze fixed intently on the deformed, sunken nails on Ji Yuting's hand. Her professional instincts were triggered again, and she felt that the symptoms Ji Yuting described were very similar to chronic poisoning, but she couldn't immediately determine what was causing the poisoning.

First, we can rule out poisoning from various chemical agents. After all, unlike later times, it wasn't possible to easily obtain highly harmful chemical reagents in ancient times, either in laboratories or online. Therefore, chemical poisoning was unlikely.

Secondly, in families lacking food and clothing, medicine is very expensive, so drug poisoning can be ruled out, not to mention the possibility of someone deliberately poisoning them.

So, the only remaining possibility is heavy metal poisoning. After all, alchemy was prevalent in ancient society, and heavy metals were often used in alchemy and medicine, but Ji Yuting's family shouldn't have come into contact with these things.

However, if one lives in a mining area, the soil and drinking water may be contaminated, leading to heavy metal poisoning through the daily diet of locals.

But, is there a mine in the depression? I've never heard of that before. And even if there is a mine, the loess layer is very deep. In later years, the Loess Plateau became a major oil-producing area, and you had to drill very deep to extract oil.

Ji Yongling carefully recalled several common symptoms of heavy metal poisoning in clinical practice.

Thallium poisoning can cause hair loss and nail changes, lead poisoning can cause neurological symptoms, mercury poisoning can cause skin lesions, arsenic poisoning can cause digestive symptoms, and cadmium poisoning can cause kidney damage. The symptoms of these heavy metal poisonings vary, but they also share many similarities, making accurate diagnosis extremely difficult.

Ji Yongling went over these symptoms of heavy metal poisoning in his mind several times, but still had no clue. After all, even in later generations, it is not easy to determine the cause of some rare heavy metal poisoning, let alone in ancient times, when the diagnosis could only be made based on clinical manifestations.

Moreover, Ji Yongling had not yet met Ji Yuning in person, so he had to give up for the time being.

Ji Yuting chatted with Yang Shi for a while before saying goodbye, saying she needed to go back and tidy up her house. Ji Yongling then gave her two bundles of cloth to take back and make.

Watching Ji Yuting's departing figure, Ji Yongling's brows remained furrowed.

Seeing this, Madam Yang comforted her, saying, "Child, don't be sad. Everyone has their own fate. Yu Ting has had such a hard life. Her grandmother died when she gave birth to her father, and her mother died from postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to Yu Ping. Her father barely managed to make ends meet, but then he fell ill and died. And her brother, I don't know what he offended, he's become so dim-witted. Sigh—"

Ji Yongling didn't know how to respond, so she remained silent.

Yang continued, "Don't you think there's something wrong with her family's feng shui? I've heard that in the past two years, several families living near Wuli and Yuting's house have experienced hair and nail loss, but none as severe as hers. I heard that one family moved to our plateau and their condition gradually improved. In my opinion, it must be the feng shui in Wuli that's bad..."

Ji Yongling smiled without saying a word, "The end of science is metaphysics, and the end of metaphysics is theology."

Wait, why not just move it to the plateau? What about feng shui?

Although feng shui is often regarded as superstition, the geographical, environmental and human factors it contains are real.

Ji Yongling suddenly raised her head, a burning light flashing in her eyes. She was certain that Ji Yuning's strange symptoms were due to poisoning, and most likely related to the geographical location and surrounding environment of the depression.

However, to find a definite answer, she would have to go to the depression herself to see if she could find any clues. But then she thought, she's not a geologist, so even if something were right in front of her, she probably wouldn't see it.

"Sigh—" Ji Yongling couldn't help but sigh.

Yang glared and said, "At such a young age, why are you imitating old people sighing and groaning? The more you sigh, the faster you age."

Ji Yongling smiled and said to Madam Yang, "Grandma, when I earn a lot of money in the future, I'll give you an official position."

Yang rolled her eyes: "What kind of official position? A piss official (like a urinal)?"

"Director of the Poverty Alleviation Office—"

Madam Yang glared at her sideways: "Strange tone, do I, an old woman, need an official title? I'm clearly just a farmhand, cook, or maid in the Ji family..."

"Grandma, what kind of maid would want someone as old as you? At your age, you're just an old nanny at best..."

Yang pretended to take off her shoe and throw it at Ji Yongling: "Get out, get out, get out!"

Ji Yongling grinned and said, "I was wrong! Grandma, you're the head of our household, managing everything from food and drink to sleeping arrangements. Without you, our family wouldn't be able to function..."

Yang said smugly, "I'm the head manager, and you're the junior manager. Manager, when will our money arrive in the account...?"

……

Meanwhile, Hu Xirong led the three children to Maihua's house with their heads held high and chests puffed out.

Maihua's father, Yang Laosan, was squatting leisurely at the gate of the courtyard, smoking his pipe. Maihua's stepmother, Feng, was leaning against the big poplar tree outside the gate, talking to her ex-husband's daughter, Liu Taohua. The two looked quite intimate. Maihua was busy with something in the courtyard.

These days, the Ji family has been collecting mugwort leaves and medicinal herbs, bringing considerable income to the villagers. Although Maihua's family didn't earn much money, less than a hundred coins, it was still a pleasant surprise, since these were ordinary medicinal herbs that the pharmacies wouldn't accept before.

So the Ji family is now a hot commodity in the village, welcomed wherever they go.

When Feng saw Hu Xirong coming over, her face was full of smiles. She quickly took two steps to greet her and said from afar, "Oh my, what wind blew you here? Come in and sit down in the yard."

Hu Xirong raised her head, tilted her chin up, and said with a forced smile, "No need for that. I came here to look for Maihua. I heard that Maihua is good at needlework. My husband Yongling has some needlework to do, and I'd like to invite your Maihua to our home to do it."