eurekapd Chapter 229 Gratitude
Chapter 229 Gratitude
Chapter 229 229 Gratitude
"Here it comes, here it comes, the hot water is here!" At this moment, Zhang Niangzi carefully brought in a basin of hot water from outside. When she saw the old woman's appearance, she was so frightened that her hands went limp, and the iron basin in her hands fell to the ground with a "clatter," spilling all the hot water.
She rushed to the bedside and reached out to check the old woman's breathing. She felt two faint breaths of air on her hand and then breathed a long sigh of relief.
The blacksmith was also shocked. He hurriedly looked up at Ye Pianran and asked anxiously, "Miss, what happened to my mother? Why didn't she get better after taking the pills? Instead, she turned into this!"
Ye Pianran grasped the old woman's pulse, then observed her complexion and breathing. She noticed that after vomiting out the black blood, her pulse had stabilized, her face had regained some color, and her breathing was stronger than when she was first rescued. Clearly, she had regained her life. Only then did she say:
"Don't worry, the black blood she vomited and the dirty sweat she shed were all cold and damp toxins that were trapped in her body and couldn't be expelled. There are still seven pills in this porcelain bottle. Every time you feed her one, she will experience the same symptoms as today. After seven days, the toxins in her body will be completely expelled, and she will recover."
"I see, I see." Zhang Niangzi breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the water she had splashed all over the floor. Her cheeks flushed, and she said:
"I...I'll go boil some more water to help Mother bathe..."
After saying that, he picked up the basin from the ground and hurriedly went out again.
After vomiting that phlegm, the old woman gradually regained consciousness. Later, after being treated with the Five Elements Formation and the Heaven-Mending and Spirit-Stabilizing Pill, her wandering soul was finally able to return to its original position, and she tremblingly opened her bloodshot eyes.
"Doctor..."
Her voice was accompanied by a hissing sound as she spoke, which was a sign of tuberculosis, although the symptoms had lessened considerably compared to before.
"Thank you... Doctor... for saving my life..." She seemed to want to thank Ye Pianran herself, but Ye Pianran couldn't bear to hear it and quickly said:
"The elderly person has not fully recovered yet, so please don't overexert yourself and just rest."
The old woman, having just experienced life and death, was indeed indescribably exhausted. After listening, she nodded gently, closed her eyes to continue resting, and two hot tears rolled down her withered and wrinkled face.
When the blacksmith saw that his mother had not only woken up but could also speak, he trembled with excitement. Holding his elderly mother in his arms, he couldn't kneel to thank Ye Pianran again, and could only express his gratitude to her:
"If it weren't for your presence today, young lady, I would be preparing for my mother's funeral! You and Mr. Green Ivy are both kind-hearted people, I, I, I thank you both!"
"Your mother has tuberculosis, a disease that can be transmitted to those around her. I see that you and your wife have sallow complexions, pale lips, and cloudy eyes, which are signs of infection. I have some health-preserving pills here, which I have made myself. Taking them can dispel the disease and strengthen your bodies. You should both keep them."
Ye Pianran took out some health-preserving pills that she had previously refined using the alchemy system in the space from her mustard seed bag and handed them to Zhang the blacksmith.
"This—this—" Zhang the blacksmith held the medicine box containing the health-preserving pills, somewhat at a loss. Then, suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly said to his son, who was leaning on a table not far away, watching curiously:
"Dog, hurry up and get the earthenware pot that Dad put in the corner!"
"Oh..." the mischievous boy responded, jumped off the chair, and ran to the corner of the wall. He pulled a clay pot out of a hole in the corner and returned to the bedside to hand it to his father.
Zhang the blacksmith opened the earthenware pot, took out a heavy cloth bag from it, unfolded it in front of Ye Pianran, and said rather embarrassedly:
"This is all the silver I have. I hope you won't find it too much, young lady. If you still think it's not enough, I'll go and get some more later and deliver it to the Incense Burning Courtyard for you tomorrow."
The silver looked to be only about five taels, and it was being held carefully by Zhang the blacksmith, so it must have been hard-earned.
Zhang the blacksmith was afraid Ye Pianran would refuse again, but she didn't. Instead, she had Ye Lingyue take the silver, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at his son standing to the side, and a thought struck him. He stroked his son's head and said:
“Does the young lady need any servants? Why not let Gouzi serve her? My family is poor, and I don’t have any skills. All I know is blacksmithing. If Gouzi follows me, he’ll only inherit my blacksmith shop and won’t amount to anything. It’s better for him to follow the young lady, and he won’t have to worry about food and clothing in the future.”
Ordinary families, unless born into slavery, would never allow their children to work as servants. Yet this blacksmith, in gratitude, was willing to let his child serve others.
He was willing, but Ye Pianran was not.
"Among the thirty-six trades, ironwork is a trade of its own. Blacksmithing is not without a future, it's just a matter of how hard you work. Besides, healing the sick and saving lives is the duty of us doctors. If you really want to repay your master and me, then your family living a good life from now on is the greatest way to repay us."
Rejected again, Zhang the blacksmith had no choice but to pat his son's head once more.
When Madam Zhang returned with a basin of hot water, Ye Pianran had already left Zhang the blacksmith's house. Madam Zhang wiped the dirty sweat and black blood from the old woman's body with a handkerchief, listening to Zhang the blacksmith recount what had just happened. After he finished, she heard him sigh with emotion:
"Although this girl's face is veiled and her features are not visible, she is truly kind-hearted and must be a woman of unparalleled beauty."
The woman's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered a piece of gossip she had overheard while washing clothes by the river a long time ago. She said:
"I once heard someone say that the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Anshi's family personally broke off her engagement with the son of Master Ouyang's family in order to pray for her mother's well-being, and devoted herself to studying medicine and doing good deeds. She also wore a veil on her face. Could she be..."
"Father! Father!" Zhang Gouzi suddenly ran in from outside, carrying a cloth bag in his hand, which was the silver that Zhang the blacksmith had given to Ye Pianran earlier.
"Ah!" Zhang the blacksmith exclaimed in surprise, took the cloth bag containing the silver, and found that the weight was wrong. He quickly opened the bag and poured out the silver, only to find that there was twice as much silver as before!
"This—" He suddenly raised his head, his eyes gradually becoming moist. This big, burly man had lost count of how many times his eyes had welled up with tears today. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, becoming even more determined to live a good life from now on.
At this moment, Ye Pianran, who had already left Sanhua Lane and was heading towards the Zhao family's house in the south of the city, received a notification from the space system.
[Zhang the Blacksmith's Favorability +100, Good/Evil Value +5, gained one 'Heart of Loyalty'. Host's current Good/Evil Value is 35. Please claim the reward for reaching maximum Favorability.]
[Zhang Niangzi's favorability +100, good/evil value +5, gained one 'Heart of Loyalty'. Host's current good/evil value is 40. Please claim the reward for reaching the maximum favorability level.]
[Grandma Zhang's favorability +100, Good/Evil value +5, gained one 'Heart of Loyalty'. Host's current Good/Evil value is 45. Please claim the reward for reaching maximum favorability.]
[Zhang Gouzi's favorability +100, good/evil value +5, gained one 'Heart of Loyalty'. Host's current good/evil value is 50. Please claim the reward for reaching maximum favorability.]
[Side Quest Completed: Deliver Medicine to the Zhang Family in Sanhua Lane, East of the City. Difficulty: Easy, Progress: 100%, Rating: Excellent. Rewards: 2000 Experience Points, 1000 Spiritual Energy, 15 Good/Evil Points, 1 Mysterious Gift Pack.]
Ye Pianran never expected that the Zhang family would instantly develop a high level of goodwill towards her, not even the naughty, naked boy Zhang Gouzi!
The system's constant chiming was incredibly pleasant, bringing with it a large amount of experience points, good/evil points, and spiritual energy. The reward for completing the task also included a mysterious gift pack, which excited Ye Pianran. She couldn't wait to enter the space and collect the rewards.