Song Shixue sat on a small stool, using chopsticks to fish noodles out of the ice water and into a basket. "We are cooking cold noodles. Big Sister is going to the city to sell them at noon."
Old Man Song's eyes widened as the realization hit him, and he asked, dumbfounded, "You're going to the city to do business?"
Song Jinzhao nodded. "There are no stall fees at the canal dock right now, so many people are setting up there."
Old Man Song asked, "How is business?"
"Not bad. Once I sell these, I should be back by early afternoon."
Song Jinzhao planned to set up a stall at the dock until July, selling smoked plum drink first. Once they moved to Central Street, she would switch back to the original recipe and raise the price.
After returning to the old house, Old Man Song stood in a daze at the door for a long time.
His eldest granddaughter came up with a new scheme to make money every day; he was finding it hard to keep up.
Old Lady Song, holding a straw hat and preparing to go weed the fields, saw him looking like he had no intention of going out. "What's wrong? What did Jinzhao say?"
Old Man Song shook his head. "Jinzhao said it's fine."
Old Lady Song frowned as a thought occurred to her, and she asked hesitantly, "Jinzhao hasn't gone to the fields for a few days, and the weeds have grown back. Should we ask Dalang and the others to help pull them?"
Old Man Song nodded vigorously without hesitation. "Yes. They have nothing to do anyway. Jinzhao probably doesn't have the time to manage the fields."
Old Lady Song lowered her voice. "I'm just afraid that over time, the first and second branches of the family will get upset."
Old Man Song puffed out his chest, his tone firm. "Do they think they get two carriage rides a day for free? If they don't help, they can forget about riding the carriage in the future."
On the way out of the city after dropping off the children, Second Song watched the pedestrians on the roadside as he drove.
Whenever someone looked up at him, he would lift his chin high, the corners of his mouth curling up, feeling smug inside.
"Make way~ Make way."
Lahuang‘s Wife, walking along the roadside, heard someone behind her shouting for room and hurriedly stepped to the side.
Stopping and realizing the driver was Second Song, she immediately waved for him to stop.
"Second Song, does this carriage take passengers?"
Everyone in the village knew the village chief's ox cart cost one copper coin per person, but Song Jinzhao's carriage had never carried passengers before. Lahuang‘s Wife didn't know if they were in that business.
Second Song paused slightly, then his eyes lit up. He immediately hopped down to let Lahuang‘s Wife board.
"Yes, it does. One copper coin per person, same as the village chief's."
Lahuang‘s Wife fished out a coin and handed it to Second Song. She crawled into the carriage, and seeing it was clean and fitted with benches, she leaned back in satisfaction to enjoy the ride.
Second Song took the copper coin out of his pocket repeatedly, examining it over and over.
If he could pick up passengers every time, wouldn't he strike it rich?
He hadn't mentioned it when he returned the carriage, so Song Jinzhao didn't know he had made money by giving people rides.
At noon, Song Shixue was reading in the main room, while Song Anhao was sleeping soundly on a bamboo mat covered by a thin quilt.
A throat-tearing shout from outside the courtyard gate startled Song Anhao awake. He instantly opened his mouth and began to wail.
Song Shixue hurriedly put down her book to pick up the child.
She supported the baby's back, stroking him with her small hand while walking and coaxing, "Anhao be good~ Don't cry, don't be afraid, Second Sister is here~"
The banging on the gate outside grew louder. Song Shixue carried the child to the courtyard entrance and shouted at the closed double doors, "Who is outside?"
Doctor Liu was sweating profusely from anxiety. "It's me, Doctor Liu."
Hearing this, Song Shixue looked through the crack in the door and saw a familiar face. It was Doctor Liu.
As soon as she opened the door, Doctor Liu craned his neck to look inside, his eyes filled with urgency. "Where is your eldest sister?"
"Big Sister went to the city and hasn't come back yet."
"What! When will she be back?" Hearing that Song Jinzhao wasn't home, Doctor Liu paced around in circles at the door.
Seeing him so anxious, Song Shixue felt her heart leap into her throat.
"She should be back soon."
"Doctor Liu, what do you need my sister for?"
Doctor Liu didn't have the patience to explain to a child like Song Shixue, only saying, "There is a patient in the neighboring village I want your sister to help with."
Just as the two were at an impasse, the sound of a carriage came from behind them.
Song Shixue reached out excitedly. "Big Sister is back."
Doctor Liu turned around; it was indeed Song Jinzhao.
He immediately rushed up. "Miss Song, a man in the next village chopped his thigh with an axe. The bleeding won't stop. Can you go over and staunch it?"
Song Jinzhao frowned. "How deep is the cut?"
Doctor Liu used his hand to indicate the length of a finger joint. "About this deep."
"How much blood has he lost?"
"Not too much. My house is right next door. I went over immediately and have been keeping pressure on it with gauze."
Song Jinzhao grabbed her medical kit and had Doctor Liu and Song Shixue get in the carriage. Passing the old house, she left the child with Old Lady Song to look after.
"Grandma, please watch Anhao for me. Shixue and I are going out for a bit."
When they arrived, the whole family in the courtyard rushed forward.
Doctor Liu pushed through the crowd and led Song Jinzhao into the house.
He handed her silver needles. "Stop the bleeding for him, just like you did at Song Shigen's house that day."
Song Jinzhao saw that he had brought over a red-hot branding iron, and her eyes widened in shock.
"You aren't planning to cauterize his blood vessels with that branding iron, are you?"
Doctor Liu raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised. "You haven't learned the cauterization method?"
That shouldn't be. Her medical skills were so superb; even if she hadn't practiced it, she should have read plenty of medical books.
Song Jinzhao's head buzzed.
Ancient medicine was limited by the level of science and technology, so treatment methods were relatively primitive.
But seeing it in reality was still shocking.
"Using cauterization makes the wound prone to infection. It won't heal completely, will recur often, and will cause walking impairments later on."
Doctor Liu's brows knitted into a tight knot, puzzled by Song Jinzhao's reaction.
"With such a deep wound, saving his life is already a stroke of luck. Do you have another way?"
Song Jinzhao nodded and said to the people standing by, "Hold him down. Don't let him move."
The seven people in the room—four adults and three children—all looked at Doctor Liu.
Seeing that the expression on Song Jinzhao's face was exactly the same as when she had revived Song Shigen, Doctor Liu hesitated for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "Listen to Miss Song."
Song Jinzhao first quickly rinsed the wound twice with alcohol. Then she took out prepared silk threads from her medical box and, under everyone's horrified gaze, began to sew the wound with a needle and thread.
Doctor Liu froze in place, his whole body turning cold, as if all his blood had been drained.
How could anyone in the world think of using a needle and thread to sew up a wound?
Standing aside, Song Shixue stared unblinkingly at Song Jinzhao's every move, firmly memorizing every detail.
The wound was quickly stitched up. Song Jinzhao sprinkled a layer of medicinal powder on it and wrapped it with gauze.
The man lying on the bed was sweating profusely from the pain. If not for the wooden stick in his mouth, he might have shattered his teeth.
"Do not move for seven days to prevent the wound from splitting open."
When sending Song Jinzhao off, Doctor Liu was in a daze, swaying as he walked.
"Miss Song, who taught you all this?"
"Half a year ago, I met a traveling doctor in the mountains. He said he wouldn't live much longer and had no one to pass his medical skills to, so he insisted on taking me as an apprentice."
"He taught me for about a month in total. But when practicing stitching, I used animals in the mountains. This is my first time using a needle and thread to sew a human wound."
Doctor Liu's pupils constricted and trembled. The look he gave Song Jinzhao was filled with envy and jealousy.
How could such a stroke of good luck have missed him, falling instead to a mere slip of a girl? The Heavens were truly unjust.
"I wonder, where is that miracle doctor now? Is he dead or alive?"
Song Jinzhao lowered her head with feigned sorrow. "He has passed away."
