The Wild Wizard
Granny Hua had been a young intellectual sent to the countryside who had put down roots there. She had become related to a family in Qishui'ao Village, and A Qiang called her his great-aunt. She had once had an unhappy marriage, but never had any children.
After her husband passed away, she simply moved to the edge of the village and lived alone.
No one knew where she had found several pieces of hide inscribed with methods for taming poisonous insects and snakes. Drawing on her youthful studies in entomology, Granny Hua had tinkered with the methods on her own until she gradually achieved some results—and became absorbed in the work.
At first, Granny Hua had used what she developed to help villagers treat minor ailments. She could treat people who had been poisoned or eaten something bad, and her remedies worked almost immediately.
But as time went on, a barefoot doctor from the countryside came to set up in the village. He believed Granny Hua's witchcraft was not only unscientific but also a heretical form of feudal superstition.
When it came to clashing beliefs, two tigers could not share one mountain. Naturally, the conflict only grew.
On top of that, the number of snakes, insects, and rodents she kept kept growing. The villagers, who trusted the government more, became increasingly afraid to go near her little courtyard and stopped coming to her for prescriptions and treatment.
Over time, Granny Hua, living alone on the edge of the village, became unwelcome.
In simple terms, it was a familiar story about the warmth and coldness of human nature.
Though it was a long story, Granny Hua still kept it brief, giving a simple explanation of why she had started raising poisonous snakes and insects.
"Doctor Li, just listen