The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 507 - 496: I Want to Get Married

Chapter 507: Chapter 496: I Want to Get Married

Chapter 496

At first, she could only walk to the doorway with the support of the doorframe, where she would stand for a while. Later, she was able to make it to the courtyard.

After a month of Manbao’s acupuncture treatment, she had already managed to make it to the front gate and sit on the threshold to enjoy the cool air.

Not to mention the villagers, even Zhou Hu was thrilled. When Manbao visited again, Zhou Hu specifically saved her a fat rabbit he caught from the mountain.

Rabbit meat was something Manbao had difficulty obtaining—her brothers lacked the skill to catch it, and her father was reluctant to buy it.

Therefore, she was particularly delighted to receive this gift, carrying her cloth bag and holding the rabbit as she ran back home.

Ms. Qian felt quite apologetic when she saw the rabbit, thinking it was improper to accept such a generous gift from Zhou Hu’s family, given that Manbao had been merely practicing her medical treatments on them, and on top of that, took such a fatty rabbit from them.

So, the next time Manbao went there, Ms. Qian had her bring a few eggs with her.

When Ms. Chen was able to sweep the yard with a broom, the frequency of the acupuncture sessions was adjusted from once every three days to once every five days.

The villagers of Qili Village were all astounded, flocking to Zhou Hu’s house to see Ms. Chen, who, despite her frail appearance, was now able to cook and manage simple household chores without gasping for breath or feeling dizzy.

Ms. Chen herself became an advocate for Manbao, saying, "It’s not only me who has benefited. Even my Sanshou, who had a cough last time, recovered after taking the prescription Manbao provided."

"When did the Zhou family’s girl ever learn medicine? How did she suddenly get the skill?"

"What do you mean suddenly? She’s been asking to take our pulses since before the new year. She has also liked taking pulses for a couple of years now. It’s no wonder she’s learned—it’s not strange at all."

"Not strange? Then you try learning it and show me."

"I wish I could learn, but first, I would need to know how to read."

"Even knowing how to read is not enough; you also have to be clever. There are plenty of kids in the village who study with Mr. Zhuang, but I haven’t seen any of them pick up medical skills on their own either."

The villagers discussed this amongst themselves; however, having a little doctor in the village was always a good thing. Now, for minor illnesses and pains, there was no need to travel all the way to the big market to find medicine. As for serious illnesses and pains, it was still safer to consult an experienced doctor.

Soon, Manbao began to see other patients, though they were mostly minor ailments, such as coughs or runny noses, or the occasional twisted foot or hand.

Manbao wrote prescriptions for them to fetch medicine, yet most people simply took the prescriptions and then asked if Manbao had any home remedies instead.

For such minor illnesses and pains, who would bother spending money on medicine?

If they were to buy medicine, they might as well have just gone to the experienced doctor in the first place.

So, while they took the prescriptions, they had no intention of actually getting them filled. They’d rather wait and see if the illness would improve on its own. If not, they’d wait until it got worse and then use the prescription, saving the money they would’ve had to pay for the consultation and prescription.

Manbao was well aware of this bad habit among the villagers because her father had the same bad habit.

If it wasn’t her mother or the children who were ill, the adults in her family generally toughed out their minor ailments. As Old Zhou would say, if you have cough, just drink more hot water—it will soothe the throat and you’ll be better in a few days.

If you have a runny nose, again, drink more hot water, and you’ll be fine after a few days.

If you’ve sprained an arm or a leg, you don’t even need to drink more hot water—just rest more, and it will also heal in a few days.

Thus, as Manbao provided them with prescriptions, she would also urge them to actually go and buy the medicine.

Of course, the vast majority of villagers agreed to her face but went back to their normal routines as soon as they turned away.

Manbao could only sigh and watch them leave.

Nevertheless, there were always some who took her prescriptions and actually had the medicine made. She paid close attention to the effects, and this helped her accumulate a lot of experience in prescribing.

If Manbao hadn’t been so young, Old Zhou would have considered hanging up a sign to open a small medical clinic right at home.

But there was no rush for that. After all, the girl was still young, and Old Zhou thought that the most urgent matter was finding a match for Zhou Wulang.

He had been looking for a year now, having started to arrange blind dates since last autumn harvest. Yet, he still hadn’t settled on a marriage.

Zhou Wu was already able to toddle into the kitchen to find his own food, but Zhou Wulang hadn’t made a move yet. Old Zhou was nearly frantic with worry.

Ms. Qian was also anxious, but insisted on not making hasty matches, "If there isn’t a suitable one, then there simply isn’t. How can you make him marry?"

Old Zhou then complained, "That Matchmaker Wang is becoming less and less reliable. Why are all the girls she introduces lacking in one way or another? Isn’t Wulang just as capable as Four? He must have saved quite a bit in his private savings by now. How come she doesn’t introduce any good ones to him?"

"Who says there aren’t any good ones?" Ms. Qian glared at him and whispered, "You better not say such things outside, or you’ll make enemies."

She explained, "Several of the girls are quite nice, but they just don’t click with Wulang, that’s all."

Old Zhou was puzzled, "How can they not click? Does your son expect to marry a goddess or something?"

"You should ask him that. If the child doesn’t feel it’s right, are you going to live with the girl he marries?"

"Tsk, what are you talking about?"

Outside, Manbao slipped over to Fifth Brother’s side and crouched next to him, "Fifth Brother, father and mother are arguing about your marriage again."

Zhou Wulang let out a melancholic sigh.

Manbao was puzzled, "Didn’t you always complain about wanting to get married? Mother said the girls she introduced are nice, so why haven’t you taken a fancy to any of them?"

"Nonsense, who said I didn’t fancy any?" Zhou Wulang said feeling wronged, "The ones I didn’t fancy are few. It’s mostly that they didn’t fancy me, or mother didn’t like them. You can’t put all the blame on me."

Curious, Manbao asked, "So, Fifth Brother, what kind of girl do you like?"

Zhou Wulang pondered, his cheeks turning slightly red, "At the very least, she should be more good-looking than me. Not much, just prettier than me."

Manbao nodded; she also preferred good-looking people.

"Then she can’t be too lazy. I’ll handle the work outside, so she should know how to take care of things inside. That means she has to know how to cook, wash clothes, and clean."

Manbao nodded again; her Fifth Brother could do all these things, so it was fair to expect Fifth Sister-in-law to do them too.

"Anything else?"

"That’s it," Zhou Wulang said, "Just these requirements. But if she likes me, then that’s even better."

"Such simple requirements, and you still haven’t found someone?"

Zhou Wulang sighed with a look of sorrow. "Yeah, either mother thinks their family isn’t good, or she thinks the girl isn’t good; or the girl’s family thinks we’re not good enough or the girl herself looks down on me."

"Actually, the ones I rejected are only three, and that’s because one was a bit lazy, one a bit ugly, and the third had a really bad temper."

"But after a year, you’ve pretty much met all the eligible girls from the nearby villages, haven’t you? If you still can’t find a wife, Fifth Brother, you might end up not getting married at all!"

Air of grievance almost seemed to seep from Zhou Wulang’s being. He had been saving for a wife since he was fourteen, and now, after five years, although he had money and a house, he was still unable to find a wife!

Zhou Wulang lamented, "Manbao, I’ll be twenty next year. After twenty, it’ll be even harder to find a wife."