Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 74 - 074: Reunion with Doctor Du

Chapter 74: Chapter 074: Reunion with Doctor Du

"Why?" Gu Dashan was anxious, "These are the herbs Xiao Yu gathered all the way here, and they’re all good quality!"

His voice was a bit too loud. The pharmacy’s attendants, apprentices, sitting doctors, and the patients seeking treatment all turned their heads towards the sound.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Gu Dashan slightly bowed and lowered his voice to the attendant, saying, "Young fellow, the herbs from our family are truly high quality. We caught colds on the road and it was by using these herbs that we got better."

Gu Dashan knew that Gu Jinli treasured these herbs, eagerly saving them to sell for some money. If they couldn’t be sold, the child would surely be devastated.

The attendant said, "Uncle, we really can’t buy your herbs."

Seeing that the attendant still refused to buy the herbs, Gu Dashan’s forehead began to sweat anxiously.

Gu Jinli stepped forward and said with a smile to the attendant, "Big brother, are you worried about something? If you’re not at ease, you can have the doctors in the shop check all the herbs. We live in Da Feng Village in Qingfu Town, right by Dafeng Mountain. Our family is the Gu Family, a well-known and honest family. We would never sell problematic herbs."

The attendant’s refusal to buy her herbs must be due to fear that she had added other substances to them. Since they were new faces who fled from famine, drifting like duckweed, if there were issues with the herbs, the pharmacy would not want to take responsibility, fearing they couldn’t afford the accountability.

It’s also possible that they suspected her family of being bribed to deliberately set up the pharmacy.

Hearing her words, the attendant looked at her and said, "Young lady, by the fact that you can speak like this, you seem to know some rules. Then you should also know that these are age-old customs. You’ve come here fleeing famine without a local reference to vouch for you, so no shop dares to buy anything meant for consumption or treatment."

Third Grandpa knew of this custom; it was the same in Long’an Prefecture, Goshui County.

If a local person went to sell consumable items to a shop, just leaving a name and home address would be enough for the shop to accept them. But for outsiders looking to sell, the shops would not take the risk, fearing the seller might commit fraud and become untraceable after an incident.

Third Grandpa knew this would be difficult to handle. It was impossible to force others to buy their herbs. He wanted to give up, but thinking about how Gu Jinli cherished and protected the herbs along the way made him brazen enough to ask the attendant, "Young man, could you please call out your shopkeeper so we can talk to him in person?"

Upon hearing this, the attendant’s face turned sour, "Old man, what you’re asking is out of line. Which shopkeeper would see just any person who asks?"

If they had to meet each person who came by in a day, the shop would be thrown into chaos.

Gu Jinli frowned upon hearing this and said to Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan, "Third Grandpa, Father, let’s go."

She could wait to sell these herbs after finding someone to vouch for her, but she didn’t want Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan to be mocked on her account.

Qin San Lang wanted to help, but this was Qingfu Town, not Longshan Prefecture or the border army camp; he was powerless to assist.

Third Grandpa sighed and called out to Gu Dashan, "Let’s go."

The attendant sighed in relief upon seeing they were willing to leave, and personally escorted them out the door.

"Dashan? Xiao Yu? Isn’t that the nephew from the Old Gu Family in Gu Family Village up ahead?"

They had only taken a few steps out of the pharmacy when a voice filled with excitement came from behind them.

Gu Jinli and the others stopped and turned around to see an old man standing at the doorway to the back yard of the pharmacy, wearing an old cotton-padded coat, carrying a medicine box, with his neck craned as he looked towards them.

Gu Jinli had sharp eyes, and recognized at a glance the person who had treated her wounds a few days ago: "Dad, it’s Doctor Du, Doctor Du from our old hometown!"

"Ah, it really is Doctor Du." Gu Dashan saw Doctor Du, hurriedly called out to Third Grandpa, and they all made their way back to the pharmacy.

Running over with his medicine chest on his back, Doctor Du, upon seeing them, was moved to tears: "Brother Gu, Dashan, Xiao Yu, it’s really you... I never expected to encounter you here, this is really..."

Doctor Du’s voice choked up and for a while, he couldn’t continue. After a pause, he asked: "How is your family? The, the people at home... are they well?"

Doctor Du had experienced the calamity of evil men slaughtering refugees; that night, many people died, and he feared that not a few from the Gu Family had perished as well. He was somewhat afraid to ask.

Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan also had tears in their eyes. Encountering an acquaintance from back home thousands of miles away left them both excited and moved.

Third Grandpa said: "We’re fine, although we suffered quite a bit on the road, both our family and Dashan’s family are safe. We’ve settled down in Da Feng Village now, and become villagers of Da Feng."

Then they asked Doctor Du: "Where does your family reside now? Is it far from Da Feng Village?"

Doctor Du replied: "Not too far, not too far, just in the southern Chen Village."

"Not far? Chen Village is nearly thirty miles away from Da Feng Village, which is more than an hour’s journey, including a stretch of mountain road." An elderly man in a grey cotton jacket, with a ruddy complexion and a small white goatee, walked over with his hands behind his back. After glancing at them, he addressed Doctor Du: "There are too many people here; it’s not the place for a long talk. Follow me to the backyard, where you all can speak comfortably."

Doctor Du was pleased and thanked the old man: "Thank you, Doctor Wu." It was apparent they were not very familiar with each other and must have just recently met.

Elder Wu waved his hand and said: "Don’t mention it, let’s go."

Then, pointing to the two sacks of herbal materials that Gu Jinli was carrying, he said: "These contain herbal materials, right? Bring them to the backyard."

The attendant, sensing the opportunity, quickly said to Gu Jinli: "Miss, this is the master and shopkeeper of our pharmacy; please hurry and bring your herbs inside."

Gu Jinli smiled with crescent eyes, thanking Elder Wu: "Thank you, Grandpa Wu." She picked up the herbal materials, greeted Qin San Lang, and followed the adults toward the backyard.

Qin San Lang did not know Doctor Du, so he did not go inside but instead stayed outside to watch over the baskets.

Xuanhu Fang had a storefront with a residence in the back. The backyard was vast, about half an acre in size, filled with racks upon which large circular sieves lay, each sieve drying different kinds of herbs.

Under the eaves was a square table and a few small wooden stools. Elder Wu amiably invited them to sit down and talk.

Once everyone was seated, Doctor Du inquired about their experiences after being separated. Upon hearing they had waited at the foot of the mountain for three days after the massacre by the evil men, Doctor Du slapped his thigh and exclaimed: "Ah! If only I had known where you were waiting, I should have looked for you?"

He began to tear up again: "If we had waited at the foot of the mountain with you for a few more days, maybe not so many of the Du Family People would have died."

They learned that after the band of evil men had left, the survivors ran out from their hiding places and continued to move eastward. When they reached Yongtai Prefecture, they were met with Yongtai’s soldiers engaged in a slaughter. The Du family was caught unprepared, and many were killed, with only about a dozen managing to escape.

As for his own family, only he and his eight-year-old grandson and five-year-old granddaughter were left alive.

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