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

Seeing Ji Manchuan leave, Ji Yongling took out several small packets of medicinal powder from his pocket, opened one of them, poured it into a bowl on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and said, "Uncle, I learned some medical skills from an old doctor from the south. This medicinal powder is perfect for your condition. Drink this first, and take the rest twice a day." This was actually cephalexin that Ji Yongling had taken from the storage warehouse.

Yu Fengshou smiled with difficulty and said, "I heard your father say last time that you are a really capable kid. You've been helping the family find business and you've also learned medicine. You're really doing great! Especially since you've learned medicine, the family won't have to ask for help when we need medical treatment, which will save a lot of money. But—" Yu Fengshou hesitated.

Seeing that Yu Fengshou didn't pick up the bowl of medicine, Ji Yongling asked in confusion, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

Yu Fengshou shook his head and said, "I heard that your master has passed away. There probably isn't much of this medicine powder left. It would be a waste to give it to me. You should save it for when someone in your family gets sick in the future."

"So that's how it is," Ji Yongling thought to herself. Some people are just like that, unwilling to take advantage of others, even when their own lives are hanging by a thread, they still try their best not to owe anyone favors.

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "Uncle, don't worry about taking your medicine. There's more at home."

Yu Fengshou hesitated for a moment, but finally picked up the bowl on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), drank it all in one gulp, and then said, "Alright, Uncle thanks Doctor Yongling."

Doctor? Ji Yongling was a little dazed; it had been a long time since she had heard anyone call her that.

After taking his medicine, Yu Fengshou felt a little tired. Seeing that he was not feeling unwell, Ji Yongling told him to lie down and rest, and then went to the courtyard.

A moment later, Ji Shuicao took the children home.

"Oh my, Yongling's here! She's grown into such a beautiful young lady! Let your aunt take a good look at her." As soon as Ji Shuicao entered the room and saw Ji Yongling, she warmly took her hand and spun around happily.

Ji Yongling also looked at her aunt, whom she rarely saw more than a few times a year. Seeing that although she was thin, she was healthy, so she felt relieved.

"Yongling, you've arrived." A muffled voice came from outside the door.

Ji Shuicao's second son, Yu Wangdi, walked in with a red face and red lips, and his face was swollen like a sausage.

Ji Yongling asked with amusement, "Brother Wangdi, what happened to you? Did you get stung by a bee?"

Yu Wangdi scratched his head sheepishly, grinned, but the grin made his mouth hurt. He hissed and quickly shut his mouth.

“Sister Yongling, my second brother got stung by a scorpion, hahaha, look at his mouth, doesn’t it look like a pig’s snout?” Ji Shuicao’s eldest daughter, Yu Maimiao, imitated Yu Wangdi and said with a pout.

Yu Wangdi feinted a kick, pretending to kick his sister.

Ji Yongling looked at Yu Wangdi and asked with a smile, "This scorpion is quite good at choosing where to sting. It just happened to sting your mouth. I thought you had eaten a raw scorpion and got poisoned."

Yu Wangdi touched his nose and said, "I was fine before, but this is what happened after I let the brat do drugs." He then pouted his swollen lips.

The people at the door also laughed.

Ji Shuicao turned around and saw smoke billowing out of the cave dwelling in her kitchen, so she asked, "What's going on in the kitchen?"

Ji Yongling said, "My dad is brewing medicine for my uncle."

Upon hearing that Ji Manchuan was brewing medicine, Ji Shuicao told Yu Maimiao and Yu Shuiqin to take over, while she busied herself pouring water for Ji Yongling.

Only Ji Yongling and Yu Wangdi remained in the courtyard. Ji Yongling suggested going to see the scorpions that Yu Wangdi had dug up.

Looking at the small scorpion in the earthenware jar, Ji Yongling asked, "Brother Wangdi, how many scorpions can you catch in a day?"

"Sigh, it depends on luck. When things were good, I could catch twenty, but lately there are more people catching them, so sometimes I can only catch three or four."

Ji Yongling nodded: "Does it sell well? What's the selling price?"

“We caught them and sent them to the next village. There was a scorpion collector in that village. He said he would send them to some wealthy families in the prefecture. They would buy them to make wine or dry them to eat. Anyway, the scorpion collector would pay us ten coins for every pound of scorpions we caught.”

Have you ever thought about raising scorpions yourself?

"What? What did you say? Raising scorpions? Yongling, are you kidding me?" Yu Wangdi exclaimed in surprise, hissing as he spoke.

"I'm not kidding, it's true. I know how to raise them. If you want to raise them, I can teach you."

In the past, there was an old man in Ji Yongling's hometown village who was widowed and suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. He had joint pain all year round, and sometimes the pain was so bad that he could not walk. Since he did not have money to buy antirheumatism medicine, he raised some scorpions and centipedes to soak in wine to relieve the pain. He would also send some medicinal wine to her grandparents from time to time.

She would often go with her grandfather to deliver medicine to this old man, and sometimes she would play at his house. Over time, she learned about the methods of raising scorpions.

Yu Wangdi paused for a moment, then shook his head: "Yongling, scorpions are wild animals, I've never heard of them being kept as pets. Look how fierce their stings are, they're not like cats or dogs, which are docile creatures. We can keep them as pets."

Ji Yongling looked at Yu Wangdi seriously and said, "Brother Wangdi, would you like to give it a try?"

Yu Wangdi was slightly flustered and stammered, "This, this, can it really be raised? Can it, can it survive?"

Ji Yongling nodded: "Yes, that's possible."

Yu Wangdi swallowed hard and said, "It won't cost any money, will it?"

"No need, just catch some scorpions and build a pond."

Yu Wangdi's bright red sausage lips twitched, as if he was eager to try.

"What are you two talking about? Ling'er, come and see your uncle, he seems to be much better." Ji Manchuan called out from the courtyard.

Yu Wangdi glanced at Ji Yongling, then hurriedly walked towards the cave dwelling where Yu Fengshou lived, turning back as he went and saying, "Yongling, tell me about raising scorpions later."

Ji Yongling followed.

Inside the cave dwelling, Yu Fengshou lay for a while and felt that breathing was not so difficult and his body was not so hot. He then sat up and, seeing everyone come in, smiled and said, "Manchuan, I just said I felt a little better. Why did you call all the kids in?"

Ji Manchuan said with a smile, "I noticed that your breathing is much more even and you're coughing less, so I invited the child in to make everyone happy."

Seeing that Yu Fengshou's face was no longer so flushed, his nostrils were no longer flaring, and his breathing had slowed down considerably, Ji Yongling knew that his fever had probably subsided and his breathing difficulties had eased. She thought to herself, "The ancients, who had never used antibiotics before, had such good results when they used them for the first time."

Yu Fengshou smiled, the first time he hadn't felt so bad in so many days, and said, "Thanks to Yongling, this medicine is really amazing. Look, I feel much better in just a short while."

Ji Manchuan didn't know what medicine Ji Yongling had given him, assuming it was another powder she had prepared herself. He sat on the stool, swung his crossed legs, and said with some pride, "It's all thanks to that Granny Liu's excellent teaching. I'm not saying this to be rude, but this girl has a real talent for this. Look at all the kids in the village, Granny Liu is willing to teach her, and she learns it in no time. I reckon if she goes to the clinic for a proper year or two of training, she could become a resident doctor."