Chapter 355: Rebirth in the Nineties: Overbearing Flower Chapter 356: Scoundrel

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

In this era, studying was actually difficult. Especially for many women, studying was truly a particularly difficult thing.

First was the problem of preference for sons over daughters common in this era; even though later generations had progressed with the times, society as a whole still was not particularly fair to women. The topic of preference for sons over daughters had not seen much improvement.

Many people said on their lips that having a boy or girl was the same, even saying things like having a daughter was better. It was just a cover for their own poverty.

Second, this era was still relatively poor. The nineties, meaning the economy had just started, and there wasn't even nine-year compulsory education yet; many mountainous areas still had to run illiteracy eradication classes. Like in Sanjiacun, many people were illiterate, such as Chai Mi's mother, who was basically illiterate too; when doing arithmetic, she often couldn't tell thousands from hundreds.

Being able to study was difficult.

Although tuition didn't seem like much, many people would calculate economic accounts in another way.

For example, Chai Mi remembered that in her previous life, many parents in the village who hadn't studied spoke very freely and pleasantly; their children hadn't spent money, they didn't even know what spending money meant, basically except for eating and drinking, there were no other expenses. Those people were relatively more well-off; those who had daughters or sons who grew up to study only then knew studying cost money.

In the village, there weren't only children like Chai Xiu who were so old and not studying; there were some such children.

Third, there were also many people who weren't smart enough.

Many people were close relatives or relatives through the aunt's side, causing many children to not be smart. Also, enlightenment started particularly late, plus there were no prenatal checkups, so there were some children who weren't very smart; these children, even if they studied, found it difficult.

In her previous life, Chai Mi's "good younger brother" Chai Dajun, as mentioned before, later relied on a wife he had tricked.

But it's well known that if one isn't a fool, how could they be tricked into Chai Dajun's kind of family?

So he had three children, all not very smart. Especially having a son who, by the age of ten, couldn't even do problems like one plus one equals two.

A child as absurdly smart as Chai Xiu was truly one in ten thousand.

Chai Mi felt she wasn't too stupid, but compared to Chai Xiu, that kind of talent was truly the lesser witch meeting the greater witch.

An Baoyu didn't take a single cent from Chai Mi; after the exam, Chai Mi had already taken Chai Xiu and left.

An Baoyu still went to find Class Teacher Cao Xinghua of Class One and told him about Chai Xiu.

Although An Baoyu was now the Teaching Director, when he was young he had also taught, stepping up bit by bit. The children he had seen numbered not ten thousand, but eight thousand.

But someone as sharp as Chai Xiu was still the first he had ever seen in his life.

And Teacher Cao Xinghua was actually An Baoyu's former student, respecting An Baoyu immensely; upon hearing there was such a smart child, he also took it to heart. When Chai Xiu came the next day, he casually asked a few questions, all multiplication problems, and Chai Xiu solved them effortlessly.

As for the ancient poems in the textbook...

When Cao Xinghua asked, Chai Xiu casually recited two hundred of the three hundred Tang poems...

Cao Xinghua was completely stunned at that moment.

After all, he hadn't even memorized all three hundred Tang poems himself.

So Chai Xiu was immediately placed in the first row.

Cao Xinghua was also someone who had taught for many years; although Chai Xiu was smart, her foundation was too thin, especially her handwriting, which was not ideal, with characters written crookedly; this needed improvement.

After Chai Xiu went to school at home, Chai Mi always felt an empty feeling.

Usually seeing Chai Xiu loitering there made Chai Mi uncomfortable.

But once Chai Xiu went to study and wasn't home, this older sister of hers started thinking again.

After Chai Mi sent Chai Xiu to school in the morning, she didn't go to set up her stall again; instead, she cooked a big pot of spare ribs at home, planning to let Xiu'er eat spare ribs at every meal this week...

As a result...

Just as Chai Mi had ladled out the hot spare ribs, the house door was slammed open with a "bang," and Song Qiushui rushed in, her face showing rare anxiety: "Chai Mi! Quick! Quick, look at my mom!"

Chai Mi put down the ladle, frowned at her: "What's wrong? What's wrong with your mom again?"

It turned out Meng Shi's waist pain had flared up; it was an old problem, but this time it was probably severe.

Because a few days ago, Meng Shi had invested that two hundred yuan...

The money was definitely wasted; now there definitely wasn't any money.

Meng Shi got angry.

Plus, Song Qingshan sighed all day, chattering about how his brother was cheated out of five thousand, his niece was cheated out of five thousand, and what his old mother would do afterward...

Meng Shi's anger grew even greater.

Coincidentally, that day Chai Mi's aunt went to Chai Mi's house; Chai Mi asked Song Qiushui to buy a few cans of canned food. After buying the canned food, it started raining, so Song Qiushui didn't go to Chai Mi's house and took the canned food home. Seeing Meng Shi was uncomfortable, she gave her some canned food to eat.

As a result, that canned food had expired...

Meng Shi had severe diarrhea.

Going to the toilet too many times strained her waist...

Plus, it got cold and rainy, and Meng Shi forgot to heat the kang...

One could say multiple negative buffs stacked up, and Meng Shi's waist was ruined.

It hurt terribly; she was already lying at the kang head, unable to move.

Song Qiushui panted, her eye rims a bit red: "It hurts so much I can't get off the kang! I just wanted to pour a bowl of water for my dad, and suddenly I fell to the ground! Oh my, it scared me! Cold sweat broke out, and I couldn't speak clearly!"

"Is it that serious?" Chai Mi's heart thumped; she took off her apron: "Come, let's go see!"

Waist pain shouldn't be that serious; maybe her bone had a problem.

When they arrived at Song Qiushui's house, Meng Shi was indeed curled up on the kang, her face deathly pale, her forehead covered in cold sweat, softly moaning "ow ow" in her mouth.

Song Qingshan squatted by the edge of the kang, rubbing his hands, his face full of worry.

Chai Mi leaned in to look at Meng Shi's face, then gently pressed her waist: "Auntie, does it hurt piercingly here?"

"Ow... ow... right... here... like... like being pricked by needles... with... with electricity..." Meng Shi gasped for air, her words broken and intermittent.

Chai Mi pondered for a moment: "This looks like 'cold bi' attacking the waist; just lying down probably won't cure it easily. I remember... on the shady slope of Beigou Gazi grows a kind of 'Choose Shen,' with red roots and serrated leaves. Crush it, mix with alcohol, and apply it to the painful area; it's most effective for dispelling cold and unblocking the meridians!"

This backache either calls for some back pain medicine, or some Chinese medicine, or acupuncture.

Put simply, Meng Shi has cold poison in her waist; surgery can't be done in this era, and even going to a hospital wouldn't help much—at most they'd give her some painkillers, and otherwise just let her rest.

Treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

Choose Shen is a type of ginseng, just not as valuable as forest ginseng, but it's excellent for invigorating blood and such.

Song Qiushui's eyes lit up: "Really? What does that thing look like? I'll go dig it up right now!"

Chai Mi pulled her back: "You know what it looks like? That place is remote, with lots of snakes and bugs in the grass clumps. I'm not letting you go alone. Let me take the ribs back to my mom first, then we'll go together."

"What ribs! Saving people is more important!" Song Qiushui stamped her foot in anxiety, turned around and went to find the basket and hoe.

Chai Mi said helplessly to Song Qingshan: "Uncle, you look after Aunt first, try not to let her move. We'll go quickly and come back quickly."

……

Beigou Gazi; it's quite far from Sanjiacun, basically in the territory of the neighboring county.

The neighboring county has even fewer people and is even more desolate, so there are some wild Choose Shen there.

Chai Mi only had a slight impression because she'd heard people in her previous life say someone once dug up a lot of Choose Shen around there and sold it for a lot of money.

Deep in Beigou Gazi, the trees blocked out the sky and sun, and the air was damp and cold.

The two carefully searched along the steep shady slope.

"Is it this kind?" Song Qiushui pushed aside a clump of ferns, pointing to several dark green plants with small serrations on the leaf edges.

Chai Mi squatted down, brushed away the dirt to look at the rhizome, and shook her head: "No, the root is white. Choose Shen roots should look like old ginger, reddish-brown." Her gaze swept over the damp stone crevices and humus soil.

The two searched for a while longer, and Chai Mi suddenly stopped under a moss-covered stone wall, brushing away thick fallen leaves: "Found it! Look, it's this!" Several plants about half a chi tall, with deep green toothed leaves, and the exposed parts of the roots showing a deep reddish-brown.

Song Qiushui was overjoyed: "Great!" She raised her hoe to dig.

"Slowly, don't hurt the rootlets, the medicinal properties are in the roots." Chai Mi told her to be careful, and also drew her spare firewood knife to help clear the weeds and bushes around.

Just as the two were focused on digging, the bushes not far behind them suddenly made a "huala" rustling sound. Two raggedly dressed men with stubbly beards burst out, their gazes vicious and panicked, one of them with a fresh cut on his face.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The tall man shouted in a rough voice, gripping a thick wooden stick in his hand.

Chai Mi's heart sank, and she quickly pulled Song Qiushui behind her, gripping the firewood knife in her hand tightly. But her face remained calm: "Digging some herbs, an old person at home has a terrible backache. You are...?"

The short man greedily glanced at the Choose Shen roots just dug up in Chai Mi's basket, then looked at their tools, and licked his dry, cracked lips: "Herbs? Worth money? Brothers got lost in the mountains, starving to the point our chests stick to our backs. Hand over the food and... anything valuable on you!"

Song Qiushui was both shocked and angry, sticking out her neck: "Damn! Are you out of your mind? Rule of law society, why should I give you money? We have no money! Just this bit of herbs for saving lives!"

"No money?" The tall man gave a sinister laugh, waved his stick, and stepped closer: "No money? Then use your lousy grass to pay! Keep talking and I'll deal with you too!"

Chai Mi's mind raced, the corner of her eye catching the slippery moss on the stone wall beside them and the soft rotten leaves underfoot.

She quietly used her foot to crush part of the freshly dug Choose Shen root still covered in wet mud, mixing it into the rotten leaves and mud underfoot, while pushing Song Qiushui further back, her voice deliberately soft, with a hint of panic:

"Big Brother... Big Brother don't attack! We can still talk... this bit of herbs isn't worth money. How about... how about you take these freshly dug grass roots first? At least... at least they can be exchanged for some money..."

As she spoke, she pretended to be afraid and pushed forward the firewood knife covered in wet mud and broken grass roots, and tilted her basket slightly, exposing the herbs inside.

The short man was indeed attracted by the herbs, and seeing Chai Mi submit, lowered his guard a bit and reached out to grab the basket: "You know what's good for you! Hand it over!"

Just as his hand was about to touch the basket, a cold light flashed in Chai Mi's eyes, and the foot she had been stepping in the rotten mud suddenly flicked up!

A large clump of mud mixed with slippery moss, black rotten leaves, and crushed grass roots giving off a pungent smell, like a shell, precisely plastered onto the short man's face!

"Ah—! My eyes!" The short man was caught off guard, that stinky, pungent mud plastered all over his face and eyes, the pungent irritating smell and mud instantly making his eyes hurt terribly, tears and snot flowing, covering his face and screaming.

"Qiushui! Run!" Chai Mi simultaneously threw the basket hard at the tall man beside them!

The tall man was shaken by the flying basket, and hadn't reacted yet, only to see Chai Mi not running back, but instead crouching low and charging straight at him, then a stone smashed onto his head.

"Ow!" The tall man was in severe pain, the wooden stick "clang" dropped from his hand.

Song Qiushui was stunned by Chai Mi's ruthlessness, but hearing the word "run", she instantly came to her senses, seeing the short man covering his face and screaming, the tall man holding his wrist and hopping on one foot, she picked up the hoe on the ground and swung at the tall man's leg without thinking: "Get lost! You worthless wretch thing, damn it, given face but don't want face!"

"Bang!" The hoe smashed onto his shin, hurting the tall man so much he staggered.

"Damn! Two stinky bitches!" The tall man was both shocked and angry.

Chai Mi landed a hit, didn't linger, grabbed the still fierce Song Qiushui: "Stop hitting! Let's go!"

The two took advantage of the bandits, one covering his eyes wailing, the other hugging his leg crying in pain, in a mess, Chai Mi quickly grabbed several intact Choose Shen roots scattered on the ground and stuffed them into her bosom, pulled Song Qiushui, turned around and ran toward the more familiar small path down the mountain, stumbling and running wildly, their figures quickly disappearing into the dense forest.

"Stop! Damn... don't run!" The tall man roared in anger and frustration, wanting to chase, but his wrist and shin were piercingly painful, and seeing his companion still there howling and rubbing his eyes, he could only stamp his foot in hatred, "Damn! Bad luck!"

……

Until they had run far away and confirmed no one was chasing, did the two lean against a big tree, panting.

Song Qiushui patted her chest, still frightened: "My god... scared me to death! Chai Mi, you just... how did you think of using mud to plaster his face? Too... too amazing!"

Chai Mi was also panting heavily, wiping away sweat.

Opening her palm, revealing those few precious Choose Shen roots, with lingering fear and a bit of relief: "Fortunately... the medicine wasn't lost."

"Oh, I feel like I broke that person's leg......."

She looked at the still shaken Song Qiushui: "Not that serious, a broken leg wouldn't hurt like that."

Chai Mi had seen broken legs several times; when Chai Youde broke his leg, it swelled up immediately, and he was in so much pain he almost fainted.

"Keep this in your stomach, don't tell anyone. Those two don't look like good people, probably committed a crime. Let's hurry back, applying medicine for Aunt is important!"

Song Qiushui nodded hard: "Mm! Go! Go home!"

The two dared not delay any longer, and quickened their pace.

After leaving the forest, they rode an inverted donkey home.