Time rolled on like a wheel, the withered grass on the mountain sprouted new buds, and before we knew it, it was April.
Anzhi Hall has been incredibly popular these past few days.
Jin Shanyao sat behind the desk and patiently advised the old man who came to have his fortune told, "Life is nothing more than three things: being able to eat, being able to defecate, and being able to move your legs."
To live such a smooth and peaceful life, passing away without illness, is the greatest blessing.
The old man nodded repeatedly, his eyes gleaming. He took out ten taels of silver and placed them on the table. "Master... you are indeed a wise man. Give me a toilet paper talisman."
Jin Shanyao used her fan to shove the silver ingots into the money box, and said with a smile, "Old man, you're too kind. You're so insightful. Medicine is three parts poison; nothing beats a talisman."
She handed the drawn talisman to the old man, saying, "Go back and keep it safe. Wear it on your body for fifteen minutes every morning, and you'll poop... Remember, take it off after you poop, otherwise you'll keep having diarrhea."
Upon hearing this, the old man exclaimed, "Oh dear! Well... if I take it now... I hope I won't have to leave it halfway there?"
Jin Shanyao the old man's forehead with her finger, "Now it's all right, the talisman won't take effect until tomorrow..."
"Sigh..." The old man stood up as if he had found a treasure, but as soon as he got off the chair, another person took his place. "Master... my son will be taking the imperial examination in two months."
I want to buy a talisman to refresh my mind and enhance my memory.
Jin Shanyao tapped the table with her folding fan, "Twenty taels..."
The woman pointed to the old man who was walking out shakily, "Why did he have ten taels of silver?"
"He bought talismans for defecating, you should buy some too..."
The woman was taken aback by the rebuke. Reluctantly, she took out twenty taels of silver and placed it on the table. She shoved the Jin Shanyao into the money box, picked up a brush, quickly drew a talisman, and handed it to her.
"Take it and use it... Remember, what is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force."
The woman, holding the talisman, listened in utter confusion, completely bewildered by the master's words, and was thus unwittingly pushed aside.
"Master, I also want a talisman to enhance memory," a scholar-looking man placed twenty taels on the table, Jin Shanyao, and handed it to him.
The man took the talisman and stared expectantly at the Jin Shanyao, "Master, don't you have anything to say to me?"
Jin Shanyao down her brush, glanced at him, and said, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."
Upon hearing this, the man's face drained of color instantly. "Master... what do you mean? Will I pass the provincial examination this time...?"
Before Jin Shanyao speak, Shopkeeper Wang, cried out in a panic from outside the shop, " Shopkeeper Jin... something terrible has happened! Xiaohua is pregnant!"
Jin Shanyao got up and looked out the window. "What's going on...? Isn't she still a few days away from her due date?"
Shopkeeper Wang rushed into the shop, panting, "Don't even mention it... This morning, her stepmother-in-law was drawing water from the well when she slipped and fell right into the well."
Xiaohua happened to come out of the outhouse and saw this scene. Without thinking, she rushed over... "That's how she got a strain."
Jin Shanyao out to Meng Anzhi, ignoring the calls of the customers in line, and hurried towards Xiaohua Hua's mother-in-law's house with her medicine box.
Meng Anzhi asked anxiously, "Where is her husband...? Has the midwife we hired in advance gone yet?"
Shopkeeper Wang rushed over in a panic, "The men of the Lu family are all away. The midwife we hired was too scared to deliver the baby when she saw her covered in blood. The Lu family is in complete chaos now, that's why I rushed over to get you."
Meng Anzhi didn't ask any more questions and quickened her pace.
When the three arrived at the Lu family's house, they saw a young woman clinging tightly to the midwife's arm, shouting, "You can't leave! My sister-in-law is still lying on the kang (heated brick bed)!"
"Young lady, I'm a midwife, not a doctor... Please let me go."
At this moment, Wang Xiaohua's suppressed, intermittent moans came from the side room. Madam Lu rushed out with a wood-chopping knife and saw Shopkeeper Wang returning with two girls.
His eyes lit up instantly. "Father-in-law, is this a doctor?!"
"Yes..." As soon as Shopkeeper Wang finished speaking, Madam Lu grabbed Jin Shanyao's hand and rushed into the side room.
Inside the room, Wang Xiaohua lay on the bed, her face deathly pale, her lips bitten until they bled. Xiaohua stood around her, at a loss for what to do.
Meng Anzhi, carrying her medicine kit, hurried to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and grabbed Wang Xiaohua's hand. "Sister Xiaohua, I'm here. It's alright."
When Wang Xiaohua saw Meng Anzhi, she stammered as if grasping at a straw, "My... my child..."
"Don't move, everything will be alright..." Jin Shanyao a few steps forward, her hand already on her wrist.
The pulse was weak and shallow, and the fetal movements were erratic; the situation was indeed not good. She turned to look at Xiaohua, "How long has it been?"
"It's been almost half an hour, the water broke, but the cervix isn't fully dilated yet. The midwife says this baby... might not be able to come down..."
The Xiaohua's voice grew softer and softer.
Hearing this, Wang Xiaohua's tears streamed down her face. She forced out each word through gritted teeth, " Shopkeeper Jin... protect... protect the child..."
Jin Shanyao through her medicine box and pulled out a ginseng pill, stuffing it into her mouth. "It's alright... Trust me, both mother and child will be safe."
Wang Xiaohua stared blankly at her, tears streaming down her face.
Outside, when Ma Xinghua saw the doctor arrive, she changed her tone from pleading to grabbing the midwife by the collar and began slapping her face with both hands.
He muttered curses under his breath, "My family paid you to deliver our baby, and you just left the mother on the bed and ran away... Shameless old hag, I'll beat you to death!"
The midwife clutched her head and desperately tore at it, while Shopkeeper Wang stood guard outside the side room, constantly peering inside.
Madam Lu was filled with self-reproach. She had married into the family later, and everyone was watching her every move. Now that such a big thing had happened, what was she to do?
She squatted by the stove to boil water, glancing out every now and then, her heart pounding with anxiety.
While scolding herself for not being careful when fetching water, she wondered how to explain it to the men in her family. The water in the pot was steaming, and seeing that the hot water was running low, Madam Lu hurriedly picked up the wooden bucket and went to the well to fetch water, not daring to say a word more than necessary.
I don't know how much time passed... maybe an hour, maybe two hours... when suddenly a loud cry came from the side room.
Madam Lu's legs went weak, and she slid down the wall to sit on the ground.
Shopkeeper Wang rushed to the door in a panic, shouting through the door, " Xiaohua! Xiaohua! How are you!"
The door was opened.
Jin Shanyao up, her hands still stained with blood.
Looking at Shopkeeper Wang's face, which was on the verge of tears, she comforted him, "Mother and child are safe... it's a big, healthy boy."
Shopkeeper Wang was slightly taken aback, then happily peered inside, " Xiaohua... Xiaohua, don't be afraid, it's all over, it's all over..."
Inside the house, Meng Anzhi was placing the wrapped-up baby into Wang Xiaohua's arms.
Wang Xiaohua looked down at the wrinkled little face, and tears welled up in her eyes again. She whispered, "Silly boy, you scared your mother to death."
As Xiaohua cleaned her body, she wiped away her tears. Only then did Madam Lu dare to bring in the basin of water. She glanced at Xiaohua and then looked the child over.
She said awkwardly, " Xiaohua... I'm sorry, it was because I didn't notice where I was stepping..." She paused, as if to say, "Could you please not tell the master?"
She simply couldn't bring herself to say it. If Xiaohua hadn't pulled her up, she would have fallen into the well and drowned long ago. She stammered for a long time without being able to get a clear answer.
Wang Xiaohua spoke weakly, "Mother... I don't blame you, you don't need to feel guilty."
Madam Lu uttered two "Ah, ah," glanced at Xiaohua, and seeing her expression was not right, quickly made an excuse, saying, "I'll go pay the consultation fee..." and then left the side room.