Chapter 62: Two Patients

Village Chief Zhao said apologetically, "There's no way; these past two days, using the method you taught us, we've killed too many rats."

"When walking at night, you have to be careful, or else you might step on one..."

Just as he finished speaking, Gu Xixi saw a bloody, mangled dead rat in the torchlight.

Although she'd seen many lately, she still felt a wave of psychological discomfort, somewhat nauseous.

Village Chief Zhao said warmly, "Let's go to my place first; my wife has prepared food."

Gu Xixi countered, "Village Chief Zhao, are you certain we'll definitely come?"

Village Chief Zhao smiled sheepishly and spoke frankly, "Because people seeking profit is only natural. But you directly gave out the rat‑killing prescription and method, holding nothing back, and you didn't try to take advantage in a crisis."

"Just this alone is enough to leave many in the dust; I figured you must be broad‑minded good people, so as long as I sincerely plead, Miss, and you, old sir, will surely agree."

"Turns out we were schemed against." Gu Xixi said half‑jokingly.

Village Chief Zhao gave another embarrassed laugh, "Watch your step as you go this way."

In the village chief's main hall, Zhao's wife served the meal: steaming hot wheat rice, verdant tender spinach, glossy red‑brown cured sausage—having meat, vegetables, and dry rice, already a high‑end spread for such a time.

But Zhao's wife also brought out a black‑pottery stew jar; lifting the lid revealed a jar of clear‑stewed chicken.

Lao Langzhong wrinkled his nose, "The village chief and his wife are being too extravagant."

Zhao's wife said softly, "I only did a little; it's nothing."

"You helping us exterminate the rats is already a great favor."

"Today I've let you come at risk; if I were even negligent with food and drink, I'd truly have no face to show before my husband."

Village Chief Zhao asked, "Are the eldest and second still outside?"

Zhao's wife nodded, "Dead rats are everywhere; someone must go collect them, and before night's rest, the honey bait also needs to be replenished everywhere."

She forced a slight smile onto her worried face, "Husband, keep the guests company while they eat; I still need to tidy the granary."

"Just now I went to check our granary, and at last there are no rats."

Gu Xixi thought, The village chief's children also have to go out to kill rats, showing how severe the rat plague is in Shitou Village.

Lao Langzhong mused, "Village Chief Zhao, could you immediately inform the whole village that when picking up rats, people should avoid direct contact, using tools such as hooks, bamboo picks, or iron rods?"

"Also, they should find a cloth to cover the face at home, making sure to cover both mouth and nose."

He paused, then spoke solemnly, "Even if it's not plague, we should still take precautions early."

Village Chief Zhao blinked, "Alright, then I'll go notify everyone right away!"

He didn't even bother to eat, rushing off in haste.

Gu Xixi and Lao Langzhong quickly shoved a few bites of food, then had Zhao's wife lead the way to find the feverish person.

Zhao's wife said anxiously, "But the chicken soup hasn't been touched yet."

Lao Langzhong laughed, "Leave it; eating it later when we return is just the same."

Two households; in the first, the feverish one is an eight‑year‑old boy.

Lao Langzhong told Zhao's wife to stay outside, but she had already stepped ahead into the courtyard.

"I naturally ought to accompany the honored guests."

The woman who opened the door, Gu Xixi felt, seemed somewhat familiar.

Upon walking into the bright interior and looking closely, Gu Xixi suddenly remembered.

The first time she came to Shitou Village to find Lao Langzhong, she had once asked this woman for directions.

Back then the woman had cursed at Lao Langzhong, saying he had blocked her child and falsely claimed the child was ill.

Gu Xixi directed her gaze toward the kang bed, wondering if that could be him.

The boy lay flat, both cheeks flushed, eyes tightly shut.

On the kang were two small children playing, a boy and a girl, showing nothing unusual.

The woman wiped tears beside him, saying, "Today I gave him medicine twice, yet his body is still burning hot."

"He's probably delirious from the fever; he's been asleep since this afternoon and hasn't woken."

Lao Langzhong sat sideways on the edge of the kang, feeling the boy's pulse.

Zhao's wife pressed the woman's shoulder, signaling her to hold her tongue.

After a moment, Lao Langzhong solemnly released his fingers, "This child's illness has been neglected."

"Ah?" The woman's body went limp, swaying as if about to collapse.

Zhao's wife supported her, her lips also turning pale, "Could it really be rat……rat……"

She ultimately couldn't utter that word.

The interior was as silent as a graveyard at night, as if an invisible sword hung over everyone's heads.

Lao Langzhong lifted the boy's eyelid and pried open his mouth to have a look.

"No mistake; I've seen this boy before in the village."

He asked the boy's mother, "Does the child have a white, thick tongue coating, worsening appetite, constantly saying his belly is bloated, occasionally saying his belly hurts, and speaking with a foul odor when he opens his mouth?"

"These symptoms have persisted for at least three months, and have they worsened over time?"

Hearing this, Gu Xixi felt somewhat reassured and whispered to Zhao's wife, "Master said three months, so it's not plague."

Zhao's wife nodded, clutching her chest and letting out a big sigh of relief.

The woman panicked, thought a moment, and said, "Yes, all of them!"

She then asked, eyes brimming with tears, "Could it be some serious illness? The child's father is still out catching rats; should I go call him back?"

Lao Langzhong said, "For now it's not yet a major illness, but if we keep delaying it, who knows what will happen."

Upon hearing hope, the woman fell to her knees with a thud, "Old immortal, save me! In the past I was blind and deaf, didn't heed your words; it's my fault the child is ill. Please don't treat me as an equal, just save the child!"

Gu Xixi needed no prompting from her master; together with Zhao's wife she helped the woman to her feet.

Lao Langzhong explained the condition, "This boy likely overate wild fruits in summer, ate them at the wrong time, and they congealed in his stomach into a gastrolith."

The woman exclaimed, "You said my son has a Shitou in his belly?! How can we save him?"

Lao Langzhong said, "Although this Shitou has been forming for a long time, it is not as easy to dissolve as when it was first discovered."

"Wait for me to write a prescription for you; if you persist in taking it for a period, plus dietary regulation, it will get better."

The woman, hearing that taking medicine would help, burst into tears of joy: "Thank you, old immortal!"

After leaving the prescription, Gu Xixi and her group went to the second house.

Before knocking, Zhao's wife clasped her hands, looked up to heaven, and said, "May heaven bless us that this time we still have a scare but no danger."

"Make sure we don't let an epidemic break out in our village!"

The host of this household and the children also went out to exterminate rats; the ones who opened the door were the elderly couple and the eldest daughter-in-law.

The one with fever is the elderly couple's young son, who just turned nineteen and is still unmarried.

His symptoms are also a burning fever all over, but he remains conscious; just now he was still talking with his family.

Unlike the previous boy, his cough is very severe.

Before Gu Xixi and the others even entered the house, they heard successive bursts of explosive coughing and wheezing.

Lao Langzhong's expression suddenly changed; he stopped and had Zhao's wife take out the few cloths she brought.

The three of them each covered their mouths and noses.

Lao Langzhong told this family, "Open the windows and come out; don't leave anyone inside."

The family looked at each other, still not knowing what was happening.