Chapter 38: Veterinarian

The peddler's residence.

Before eating dinner, Wen Gu returned and first took care of the one thing everyone cared about most—distributing sugar.

It had been agreed upon beforehand: distribution according to labor.

"Additionally, to celebrate today's bountiful harvest, every child may receive an extra half-piece of sugar."

Twelve or thirteen-year-olds were also counted among the children.

All three families had children; there were more on County Lieutenant Zhou's side, but since County Lieutenant Zhou had contributed more effort today and was the first to find the malt sugar, the others had no objections to him receiving a larger share.

The supplies scavenged today were plentiful, so the quality of dinner improved; He Da even took the initiative to state that once his share of the supplies was handed out, he would contribute his rice and grain to eat from the same pot as everyone else.

Taking advantage of dinner time, Wen Gu told everyone about the upcoming arrangements.

Now that the situation in the Town was roughly understood, they would stay here for three to four days, longer than originally planned.

"The further north we go, the less likely we are to encounter such small towns that still have supplies and not too many evil entities. Let's prepare more things, and everyone can also rest here for a few days."

There were still young children in the group, and their bodies were weak.

The others also consumed physical strength while scavenging for supplies and slaying evil entities, so they needed extra rest time.

Neither adults nor children could afford to get sick at a time like this.

Now that there was salt and sugar, and grain had been found, everyone should eat well and recuperate.

The livestock pulling the carts needed to eat concentrated feed to have the strength to pull heavy loads, let alone the people.

If people were continuously exhausted like this, how could they hold up? Besides, people like He Da and Yu Er did not have much physical activity before joining the team, so they needed to take it slow.

The ancestors once said: if the body labors without rest, it will be damaged; if the spirit is used without ceasing, it will be exhausted; and exhaustion leads to depletion.

Of course, this rest did not mean there was nothing to do.

Without having to be on edge while traveling all day, doing other things was, relatively speaking, quite relaxing.

By the campfire, Wen Gu began assigning tasks.

It was also necessary for every member to have a concept in their minds of where they stood and what they could do.

After the work was assigned the previous night, the team members woke up one after another the next morning, each doing their own tasks.

Even the Cheng Jia who had come knocking were quickly arranged by Wen Gu to work within the team.

The original feelings of hesitation, sorrow, and unfamiliar timidity were all set aside.

It had now been proven that working in this team truly meant getting food. Not just grain, but salt, sugar, and clothing—all laid out before their eyes, real things to eat!

Knowing what to do and what they could obtain made them feel at ease.

Cheng Zhi was a local and had a good memory, so he provided everyone with a lot of important information, saving a great deal of time.

In addition to the single-wheeled cart from the peddler, they also collected broken cart remnants from various places.

When the wealthy families in the Town left, they left their broken carts behind instead of taking them; by searching everywhere, there were still usable parts and components, and those that needed processing were processed further.

By piecing things together, they could assemble another two-wheeled Wooden Board Cart.

During this time, Cheng Zhi brought someone in.

The other person wore a cloth covering most of their face, and the hair showing was somewhat silver-white.

Their body looked alright.

This person entered the courtyard and pulled down the cloth. They looked to be in their forties or fifties and seemed like the silent, reserved type.

Cheng Zhi introduced them to Wen Gu, saying this person's surname was Fu, everyone called him Fu Bo, and he was the Town's veterinarian.

Wen Gu was very pleased in his heart.

He knew that in such a small place, anyone still alive while acting alone at a time like this must have a special skill!

A veterinarian!

A talent!

In this era, veterinarians were roughly divided into official and civilian types.

There were no official veterinarians here.

Cheng Zhi told Wen Gu that when his family came looking, they stopped to check on a few nearby households. There had been survivors there before, but now only Fu Bo responded to them.

Months ago, when Cheng Zhi's brother was out looking for food, he was almost attacked by an evil entity, and it was Fu Bo who saved him. Afterward, the two sides had no interaction and lived their own lives. Before today, they didn't even know if Fu Bo was still alive.

Upon learning that the Cheng family was going to flee north, Fu Bo thought it over and came anyway.

Cheng Zhi had a good impression of the man who had saved his brother and, fearing Wen Gu might turn him away, hurriedly told Wen Gu more about the past.

"Our town used to have only two veterinarians."

Cheng Zhi walked to the side and said in a low voice to Wen Gu.

"My family didn't have much contact with Fu Bo in the past; I usually spent my time at the County Academy, so I didn't know much about affairs in the Town, only hearing scattered rumors..."

Cheng Zhi told Wen Gu that of the two veterinarians in the Town, Fu Bo had properly apprenticed under a master to learn his craft; his medical skills couldn't compare to those famous figures, but they were considered quite good in the Town.

However, in terms of popularity and business, the other veterinarian was superior.

"The other veterinarian... knew sorcery and talismans!" Cheng Zhi was very surprised when he mentioned this. He had only focused on his studies before and didn't know these things; he only heard it from his mother.

Wen Gu hurriedly asked, "What about the one who knew sorcery?"

Cheng Zhi pursed his lips, "He was shot to death by County Lieutenant Zhou and his men."

Wen Gu: "... Oh."

Understood, the one who knew sorcery had become possessed.

The one who knew sorcery must have had professional ability to have done business in the Town for so many years, only packaging it with metaphysics. Perhaps he even knew some Chemical knowledge.

A pity.

Judging by the current outcome, Fu Bo was more cautious and careful.

"Fu Bo is not good with words, but his medical skills are decent," Cheng Zhi recommended again.

Wen Gu invited Fu Bo into the courtyard, asked a couple of simple questions, and had him help check if the three head of livestock in the team needed any other care.

After testing the other party's professional knowledge, Wen Gu asked him, "We have no Doctor in our team; if someone falls ill, could we ask you to help take a look?"

This kind of veterinarian understands medicinal herbs better, so he must also know about medication for some simple illnesses.

After Fu Bo carefully finished examining the ox hooves, he heard Wen Gu's question and replied, "I can. Humans are no different from oxen and horses."

Wen Gu: "..." Look at you, don't say things so harshly!

I understand what you mean, but saying it like that easily leads to misunderstandings.

No wonder your business can't compare to the other one; not only can you not liven things up, but you also offend people when you speak.

Professional talent must of course be retained; Wen Gu put him in charge of caring for the three head of livestock, and the mixing of feed was also handed over to him.

Of course, the person originally responsible for this task was also there to assist on the side.

The three head of livestock are all valuable assets of the team and cannot afford any losses. Whether this newcomer can truly be trusted remains to be observed; there must be someone familiar watching over him.

In the current team, those who light fires to cook, those who work together as laborers, and those who care for the livestock and mix feed—having more contact, they have become familiar with each other.

After two days, the Cheng Jia had more healthy color on their faces, and they were more spirited, with light in their eyes; they got along well with everyone, and the distance and defensiveness had lessened.

Qingyi Daozhang needs some other tools for refining coarse salt and vinegar.

Existing ones can be gathered for use, and those that don't exist should be made as much as possible, unless the technical difficulty is truly too high.

Yu Er the blacksmith was arranged by Wen Gu to do some work.

Although conditions are limited, skills are things that regress if not practiced; he must not let them get rusty.

Yu Er the blacksmith kept tapping and hammering with his various types of tools, hardly stopping at all.

On the other side, Qingyi Daozhang, who was responsible for the work of refining salt and vinegar, was in a foul mood.

Why did he only target wealthy households in the past?

Because wealthy households could quickly find the things he needed, or if they didn't have them, they would spend a high price to buy them. Now the conditions are different; he can only make do with those shabby, pieced-together pieces of junk!

He is not satisfied with what is refined either; in the past, taking such things out would have smashed his own reputation.

With these lousy conditions, he doesn't even want to take a second look at the results he refined!

"This is all there is!"

Take it or leave it!

Looking at the finished products, Wen Gu did not mind them in the slightest.

"I have wronged you, Daoist Priest!"

Wen Gu comforted him: "Once we reach Beidi in the future, all the Danfang equipment—altars, furnaces, cauldrons, tripods, pots, stoves, and jars—will all be prepared for you, Daoist Priest!"

Qingyi Daozhang snorted and laughed: "Do you think I don't know what you're plotting?"

He thought to himself: With Gou Shusheng's capabilities, he might really be able to get all these things together for him.

Hmm... I can also wait until the things are gathered and then refuse to take Gou Shusheng's bait; he won't be able to do anything to me either!

Thinking that Gou Shusheng still had high utility value, the Daoist Priest's mood improved somewhat.

Overslept, didn't finish writing, posting a short chapter first.

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(End of this chapter)