As for after death... the old couple were quite open-minded, believing that once they were dead they wouldn’t know whether anyone was performing the ritual of breaking a bowl for them. Since they had already spent half their lives steeped in hardship, how much worse could it get in the next life?
Perhaps because the suppressed feelings in her heart had been relieved, the worry lines on the old lady’s face had faded a bit. Toward the end, she sowhat embarrassedly said to Mo Yan, "Look at , going on and on without end. Don’t take it amiss, Little Divine Doctor."
Mo Yan smiled and shook her head, indicating she didn’t mind.
The old lady hesitated for a mont, then asked in a low voice, "Little Divine Doctor, my old man’s illness isn’t serious, is it? Approximately how much silver will it take to cure him?"
Mo Yan understood that the old lady hoped her husband’s illness could be cured. She was weighing whether they could afford it, so she told the truth, "The old master’s condition isn’t severe at the mont. He just needs to rest more, avoid overworking and pay more attention to his diet, that’s all. If you’re worried, I’ll prepare so dicinal pills for him. Whenever he feels unwell, just have him take one."
The elderly couple, despite their age, were still working the land, which suggested life was quite difficult for them. Even if they had so savings, it was ant for a ti when they truly couldn’t do any work. The old master’s condition really wasn’t serious, not to the point where he needed dication every day. But without his labor, life would beco even harder for both of them.
The old lady’s eyes lit up with hope upon hearing this, and she said without hesitation, "Little Divine Doctor, then please trouble yourself to prepare those pills. I won’t let him overwork in the future."
Mo Yan agreed and casually asked, "What about the farm work? Are you going to hire soone to do it?"
The old lady shook her head and said helplessly, "Hiring soone costs quite a bit of silver, better to lease the land out. Each year, the lessee can give us half of the crop yield. My partner also has a skill in wood carving. In the future, he can carve so things to sell. We should be able to scrape by."
The old lady spoke lightly, but Mo Yan felt a pang in her heart. If wood carving really brought in money, the old couple wouldn’t still be farming at their age. Moreover, at his advanced age, the physical and visual demands of wood carving weren’t much easier than farming.
She respected the optimistic and resilient old lady and wanted to help them, but at the mont she couldn’t think of a solution to their predicant, so she changed the subject for the ti being.
By noon, the old master was still quite weak, but he was able to walk around. Since it was too hot, and their ho was three or four miles from here, Mo Yan had them stay for lunch and suggested they go ho in the evening.
Unable to refuse, the two old folks accepted Mo Yan’s kindness. After lunch, the old lady insisted on washing the dishes and cleaned the kitchen spotlessly, leaving not a trace of grease on the stove.
The dicinal pills Mo Yan was preparing for the old master wouldn’t be ready in a jiffy, so she told the old lady to co pick them up in the morning. In the evening, with Mo Yan’s gifts of herbs to prevent and relieve the heat, the old lady, expressing profound gratitude, helped the old master ho.
After the elderly couple had left, Xin Er asked curiously, "Sis, you’ve seen so many patients before, why have I never seen you take such care?"
Mo Yan didn’t explain but simply recounted the unfortunate experiences of the old master and the old lady.
After listening, Xin Er remarked, "The old couple wanted children but had none, while so who have children discard them like worn-out shoes. If only they could trade places, then everyone would be happy."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yan suddenly thought of those more than twenty children living in the Zhuangzi, and an idea began to stir in her heart...
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