Qishui'ao Village
The mountains were high and the emperor was far away. The villagers were self-sufficient, free from the noise and scheming of the cities, and life in the mountains moved at a leisurely, carefree pace.
But mountain life had its inconveniences too, such as seeing a doctor.
For minor ailments like headaches, colds, and itchy skin, people usually had to tough them out or grab some herbs, boil them, and make do.
For more serious illnesses like fevers, or injuries involving broken bones and damaged muscles, there was nothing to be done but send the patient to the township, or even the County Town, through the night.
The journey was long. Even a man made of iron would be exhausted after running there in a panic. It was common for an entire family to collapse from exhaustion while caring for one patient, and sometimes a few more patients would be added to the number.
Sometimes, when an emergency struck, the patient failed to make it to the hospital and died on the way.
In Zhelou County, things like that happened once or twice every year.
When the Medical Team arrived at such a remote mountain village, the villagers' excitement and joy were absolutely genuine.
Some long-term patients had been unable to go to the township clinic because they could not move around easily, so they had no choice but to drag themselves along and tough it out in the village.
Just after they crossed the bridge, a crowd of villagers came pouring out of the village. Without a word, they tried to drag the ox carts and doctors toward their own homes.
"There are wild boars! Wild boars! We've got pork to eat!"
A child shouted in surprise and delight. Holy crap, what's that thing on the ox cart?