Chapter 295 The Source of the Silver

Chapter 295 The Source of the Silver

Back then, Doctor Chen only gave away some common herbs he found in the nearby mountains and forests, but now he is preparing to empty his savings to hoard medicinal materials.

This was certainly because he knew that he always had Chen Lizheng and Xie Wanniang as his strong backers, and even if he used all the money in the house to buy medicine, they would never let him and his family go hungry. However, he could also understand the fierce opposition from his wife and children and grandchildren.

After all, no one knows the scale of the potential natural disaster or how long it will last. Under these circumstances, it is always better to stockpile as much money and food as possible.

Furthermore, his eldest and second grandsons are already of marriageable age, and in two or three years, his eldest granddaughter will also be of marriageable age. In order to make this important event in their lives more respectable for their children, his wife, son, and daughter-in-law have been working hard to save money in recent years.

If it weren't for the fact that in addition to treating patients, he also received a separate allowance to help Xie Wanniang manage her medicinal herb garden, his wife would have argued with him long ago because he always reduced the cost of medicine for people.

The fact that it only came to light now is simply thanks to Xie Wanniang's generosity.

Thinking about the hardships his family had endured with him over the years, and looking at his wife who was as agitated as a fire-breathing dragon, Dr. Chen reluctantly compromised, "Alright, alright, I'll go and talk to the village head later. Our family can't afford that much money to buy medicinal herbs."

Upon hearing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Good heavens, they were truly terrified. Their father/grandfather was getting more and more arrogant the richer he was.

When Dr. Chen's wife saw that he was no longer interested in taking money from the house, she immediately stopped scolding him.

To prevent him from suddenly changing his mind later, Dr. Chen's wife pushed him out of the house without saying a word and told him to go and talk to Chen the village head.

His neighbors all heard Dr. Chen's wife's shrewish outburst, but none of them dared to step forward and interfere.

The reason is simple: they and some of their relatives had all received free medicinal herbs from Dr. Chen by crying and kneeling. Getting Dr. Chen to reduce the cost of the medicine was a common occurrence for them.

They weren't unaware that Dr. Chen supported his family with this skill, and that his family was actually struggling financially, but they still chose to save money for themselves in this way without hesitation.

After all, if you save a little money in this area, your children can eat more at the dinner table and will be easier to raise.

People are selfish, especially when it comes to their own and their family's safety.

As for Dr. Chen, they didn't force him to reduce the cost of the medicine. He was just too embarrassed to accept the pleas from others, so ultimately it was his own problem.

Moreover, everyone secretly believed that the fact that Dr. Chen would soften because of their pleas and crying proved that his family was not actually starving.

If his family truly had no rice left, they didn't believe Dr. Chen could still act like such a good person.

When it comes down to him having to choose between his family and someone else, they believe he will choose his family, just like they did.

Of course, no one would say these things aloud; outwardly, everyone still spoke highly of Dr. Chen.

As for Dr. Chen's wife, who caused him a lot of trouble because of his excessive kindness, the villagers didn't like her much, but they only dared to whisper about her in their own homes and didn't dare to speak recklessly to outsiders.

It wasn't that they felt there was anything wrong with disliking each other, but rather that they were afraid that someone would be eager to stir up trouble and spread the gossip about them behind their backs to Dr. Chen's family.

Dr. Chen's wife has always been a feisty woman. If they really offend her, even if she doesn't stop Dr. Chen from treating them and their family and relatives, she will absolutely not allow Dr. Chen to charge them even a single copper coin less in the future.

When it comes to their own vital interests, the vast majority of villagers can control their tongues well. As for the very few who can't, there's always Chen Lizheng and the village elders to give them a good talking-to.

After they had already punished him, Dr. Chen and his wife felt embarrassed to continue pursuing the matter.

Those villagers who originally wanted to gossip would also choose to keep quiet because of Chen Lizheng and others' example of making an example of someone.

Let's get back to the present.

Dr. Chen, who had been scolded by his wife, hung his head and went to Chen the village head, explaining in detail that his family could not afford the money needed to stockpile medicine.

When Chen Lizheng heard that he had been scolded by his wife again, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

But Chen Lizheng's wife was different from her husband; she sympathized with Dr. Chen's wife instead.

As the wife of the village head, she had often felt resentful over the years because her husband was subsidizing the poor households in the village. However, her husband was slightly better than Dr. Chen. What he gave to outsiders was never as good as what he gave to his family.

Unlike Dr. Chen, whose family is starving, he's still there dispensing medicine to the villagers for free.

Thinking of how her family had had to secretly provide food assistance to Dr. Chen because of his excessive kindness, Chen's wife couldn't help but earnestly persuade him.

Before he could even comfort Dr. Chen, Chen Lizheng, feeling particularly guilty after being bombarded with his wife's nagging, silently swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

Only after Chen Lizheng's wife finished nagging did Chen Lizheng tell Doctor Chen about the method he had figured out during this time. "How about this? You should stock up on more of the other medicinal herbs you usually keep on hand. As for the herbs for preventing and treating the plague, I'll discuss with the village elders and use the money in the village's public account to buy them."

Every village can sell homesteads and surrounding wasteland, forests, and even unclaimed farmland to its residents. Some village leaders would embezzle this money, but Chen Lizheng and his father, the old village head, never touched the money in the village's public accounts.

Although they also like to take advantage of small things, they only do so for the money the villagers give them when they help them with their work.

For money with traceable origins, they keep detailed records and calculate every single transaction.

Thanks to the current peace and prosperity of the country, Mingfu Village has sold off many abandoned houses and nearby wasteland in recent years.

In addition, some villagers, including Xie Wanniang, have bought barren hills next to the village to grow cash crops such as herbs and fruit trees. The village's public accounts are now more abundant than ever before.

Now that Chen Lizheng is willing to provide this money, Doctor Chen no longer needs to worry about the source of funds.

He assured Chen Lizheng, "I will keep a detailed record of every expense, and every time I go to buy medicine, I will ask you and the elders' children and grandchildren to go with me."

Chen Lizheng was in charge of paying, while the other able-bodied men were in charge of moving the money. As long as he didn't touch the money and kept a clear record of the accounts afterward, no one could smear him.