Chapter 3 Heal Her First

Chapter 3 Heal Her First

"Jiang Yuan, you get out here right now!" A middle-aged man with a weathered face rushed into the courtyard, cursing and looking around. When he saw Jiang Yuan standing under the eaves of the main house with a frown, he immediately rushed to Jiang Yuan with his wife and children.

Jiang Yuan blocked the doorway, "Get out!"

The middle-aged man was so angry he almost fell over. He pointed his right index finger at Jiang Yuan, "You little bastard, you've gone too far! How dare you speak to your elders like that? You..."

"Father!" The toad-eyed youth tugged hard at the middle-aged man's clothes. "Let's get down to business."

The middle-aged man was somewhat annoyed that his son had interrupted him, but considering the potential benefits his son had mentioned about the young woman, he ultimately listened to the advice of the toad-eyed youth.

He glared at Jiang Yuan, who was expressionless. "Where's the person you stole? Hand him over right now!"

Jiang Yuan didn't answer his question, but instead repeated his previous words, "Get out!"

The middle-aged man was so angry that his veins were bulging. He pointed at Jiang Yuan and said, "Erhu and I will subdue him together. Sanhu and your mother, go inside and find someone!"

His wife and son responded and were about to make a move when a loud shout suddenly rang out from the gate of the courtyard, "Stop it, all of you!"

Wang Er recognized the voice as that of the village head and couldn't help but think to himself, "This is bad."

He forced a smile and played the victim.

"Village head, you have to stand up for Sanhu! That little brat Jiang Yuan even tries to steal Sanhu's thunder when it comes to saving lives. He doesn't have a woman at home, so what good could he possibly be up to by bringing that young woman home?"

Chen Lizheng frowned and glanced at him. "The person is in the water, not in your house. How come in your mouth, it's become Jiang Yuan fighting with your three tigers?"

Wang Er stubbornly argued, "Then all three of my tigers went into the water..."

"There are plenty of people going into the water, why don't you say that your Sanhu is competing with others?" So many boys in the village are catching fish by the river, and most of them go directly into the water to spear or net fish.

"That's different! I..."

Chen Lizheng was too lazy to listen to his sophistry anymore, and waved his hand impatiently at him. "I've already heard what happened from others. It was your Sanhu who had the crooked idea. Jiang Yuan didn't consider whether the girl's family was rich, whether she was unmarried, or whether she could stay and be his little wife."

Seeing Chen Lizheng's unfriendly expression, Wang Eryou dared not continue to cause trouble. He glared hatefully at Jiang Yuan, who had ruined his family's plans, and then left with his wife and son in a dejected manner.

Having finally gotten a chance to speak, Doctor Chen first greeted Chen Lizheng, and then waved slightly to Jiang Yuan.

"I'll prescribe some medicine for her later. You should decoct it and give it to her to drink twice a day, morning and evening. Also, pay attention to whether she has any signs of fever after nightfall. If she does, go to my house and call me over."

Jiang Yuan nodded vigorously, "Okay."

Dr. Chen beckoned to his grandson to bring him the medicine box. Since very few people in the village bring their own writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, Dr. Chen always carries one with him in his medicine box whenever he goes out to make a house call.

Dr. Chen quickly wrote out the prescription in the main room of Jiang Yuan's house, then handed it to his grandson, telling him to go home and get the medicine according to the prescription.

Just then, the women who had been driven out of the house by Doctor Chen brought over a wooden bucket filled with warm water and a wooden basin containing clean cloths.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuan immediately invited Chen Lizheng and Doctor Chen to other rooms.

After Chen Lizheng sat down, he asked Jiang Yuan, "What are your plans?"

"Cure her first, then we'll talk about everything else."

Chen Lizheng: ......

He just wanted to know about this "other" one. What's the difference between him answering and not answering?

Receiving a disgruntled glare from Chen Lizheng, Jiang Yuan added, "I have no intention of taking advantage of this opportunity, much less going so far as to ruin someone's reputation."

Chen Li glared at him even harder. He had never worried that Jiang Yuan would learn from the greedy, stupid, and wicked Wang Sanhu family.

He said, "I'm asking about the girl's consultation fees, medicine costs, food and clothing. Where do you plan to get the money for all of that?"

Jiang Yuan said, "Uncle Hao left me some money for emergencies."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of both Chen Lizheng and Doctor Chen became complicated.

To be honest, this kid is really lucky.

After a brief but eerie silence, Chen, maintaining his composure as a village head, nodded slightly. "Alright. If you run out of money later, you can borrow some from me."

Jiang Yuan nodded to indicate that he understood.

Chen Lizheng added, "Once the girl is feeling better, ask her for her name, family, and original address. I'll try to help her send a message to her family."

Jiang Yuan nodded again.

"If the Wang Sanhu family comes to cause you trouble again, have my second son call me over."

Chen Lizheng's second son now lives next door to Jiang Yuan. After he and his wife got married, Chen Lizheng separated the young couple and made them live separately.

Jiang Yuan nodded silently for the third time.

Chen Lizheng was already used to his taciturn nature. After giving his instructions, he turned to chat with Doctor Chen.

After the women finished their work and came out of the house carrying the used water and Xie Wanniang's wet clothes, Chen Lizheng and Doctor Chen stood up to say goodbye and leave.

This time, Aunt Wu also came out. After watching the excitement, she had to go back to work.

At this moment, she was carrying a wooden bucket containing her family's bed sheets and Xie Wanniang's wet clothes.

She said to Jiang Yuan, "I asked around, and this girl's surname is Xie, and her given name is Wan Niang. She's the 'Wan' in 'a gentle smile,' not the 'Wan' in 'stepmother.'"

Jiang Yuan: ......

Fifth Aunt said again, "She's asleep now. I'll take her clothes to the river to wash them clean later, and then bring them back with your wooden bucket."

Jiang Yuan nodded, then thanked the women, including Aunt Wu. He also gave cloth, dried meat, and vegetables in exchange to the women who brought new clothes, brown sugar, and other items.

The women had done a good deed, enjoyed the spectacle, and in a way, the things they had given away had returned to them. They were all very satisfied and excited.

They walked away together, discussing what had happened that day, while Wang Xiaozhi, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, looked worried. She carried a basket and hurried into the courtyard, calling out, "A-Yuan."

Jiang Yuan picked up the earthenware pot, intending to wash it and use it to brew medicine later. He stood up and turned around, "Sister."

Wang Xiaozhi stared at him, looking him up and down. "I heard you got into a fight with your second uncle's family?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head. "No."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaozhi breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

That's how rumors are; they get distorted as they're passed around. Wang Xiaozhi was used to hearing completely different versions of the story, so she didn't dwell on why Jiang Yuan's version was different from what she had heard from others before.

She asked Jiang Yuan, "Can I meet the girl you rescued?"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "She's asleep in that room."

The direction he was pointing was the room he had been living in since he moved in.

As he nodded, Wang Xiaozhi, who had already stepped one foot towards the east wing: ...

She withdrew her foot, her face filled with surprise and uncertainty. "You...you..."