Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Ah Jiang, who was outside the house, got anxious upon hearing this and shouted into the house, "What? Sister Li will become foolish? You turned her foolish?!"

Gu Jinli: "So young and you're already deaf, what a tragedy in this world."

Qin San Lang grabbed Ah Jiang who was about to rush into the house and said in a steady voice, "Xiao Yu said she doesn't know if the patient will become foolish, which means she's still not sure. If you dare to slander her again, I'll cripple your hands!"

Xiao Yu loves money so much, yet she helped them without asking for any payment. Not only did Ah Jiang not appreciate it, but he also wrongfully accused Xiao Yu. If he is tired of living, he can just say so; Qin San Lang wouldn't mind sending him to reincarnation.

The girl from before hurriedly said, "Benefactor, please forgive us, Brother Ah Jiang didn't mean it, he was just too worried about Sister Li. I am here to apologize on behalf of him."

Ah Jiang's hand was almost dislocated by Qin San Lang, and ignoring the pain, he hurriedly said, "I was wrong. If the benefactor is upset, come hit me, but please don't blame Ah Shi."

Gu Jinli couldn't care less about Ah Jiang; he was just a brash man, and she didn't know what Qiu Lang was thinking to make him the leader of these children, possibly leading them to their deaths.

She untied the cloth bag from her waist, took out paper, pen, and a small bamboo tube of ink, and began to write prescriptions. In a few quick strokes, she finished two prescriptions and put them aside for now, then went to check on the other five patients.

These five patients were all teenagers, the oldest no more than fifteen, the youngest not even ten, all exhibiting similar symptoms of both qi and blood deficiencies, compounded by wind-chill causing febrile diseases.

However, their bodies were severely depleted and they had been feverish for too long, which had turned into serious illnesses.

She gave these people acupuncture as well, then according to their symptoms, wrote out prescriptions and handed them to Ah Shi, "Go immediately to the clinic and get these medicines. Their conditions cannot be delayed; acupuncture alone won't cure them, they need to take medication."

As she was going to give Ah Shi the silver to pay for the medicine, she realized she had no broken silver on her and had to get up to step outside the house. She extended her hand to Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, lend me fifteen taels of silver; I've run out of broken silver."

There were only silver notes.

Qin San Lang laughed and gave her his money bag full of broken silver, "Take it."

Gu Jinli happily took it, finding more than thirty taels of silver inside. She took twenty taels and gave them to Ah Shi, "Go get the medicine, and buy two large wooden tubs for bathing, some pots for boiling medicine, a few sets of clean clothes, and some rice to bring back. They need to eat; otherwise, they'll die of starvation before disease takes them."

Ah Shi took the prescription and the twenty taels of silver, and burst into tears, wanting to thank Gu Jinli, but she could only cry without forming a complete word.

They had lived so bitterly during the past half year, being deceived, bullied, suffering from hunger, cold, enduring disdain, and beatings. In order to survive, they had eaten leftovers from the market, inns, and restaurants, hardly living like humans.

Now, this benefactor was actually giving them silver to buy medicine and rice. Ah Shi cried so hard that she sat down on the ground.

The children outside heard Ah Shi's crying and started to shed tears as well.

Ah Jiang also started crying, quite pitifully.

Gu Jinli was getting a headache and yelled out, "Stop crying, go get the medicine or they'll die of illness!"

This was not the time for sentimentality; they urgently needed to get medicine to save lives.

Startled by her yell, Ah Shi hiccupped through her tears, quickly got up, and said to the other beggars, "Ah Chun, Bingzi, Zezi, Da Tuan, Xiao Tuan, come with me to get the medicine and buy rice."

She then said to Ah Jiang, "Brother Ah Jiang, you take Xiao Ji and the others to look after everyone, be careful with your words, and don't wrongly blame the benefactor again."

Brother Ah Jiang is alright in all aspects, just too straightforward and says the wrong thing when anxious.

"Eh, I got it. You hurry up and gather the medicine. Be careful, and keep an eye on the silver you carry, don't get deceived again," Brother Ah Jiang nervously instructed again.

Ah Shi nodded and hastily left with five people.

After they left, Brother Ah Jiang immediately moved over two wooden stumps, swept them with his torn sleeve several times, and gestured invitingly, "Benefactress, Benefactor, please have a seat."

Then, with a bit of embarrassment, added, "It's too shabby here, we don't have chairs, so you'll have to make do with these wooden stumps."

Gu Jinli was not picky and stepped forward to sit on a stump, with Qin San Lang sitting next to her. His gaze swept around, still vigilant as he watched these older children.

Gu Jinli pointed to Xiao Ji and instructed: "You go inside and take care of Sister Li. If she has another convulsion, come out and call me immediately."

Xiao Ji was a girl, and it was appropriate for her to go in and care for Sister Li.

"Hey, little benefactor," Xiao Ji greeted Gu Jinli with a bow before turning to enter the house.

Gu Jinli raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was Xiao Ji formerly a maid?"

Brother Ah Jiang nodded, "Yes, Xiao Ji's family were servants of the escort agency's Dong Family, but the Dong Family didn't take them when they fled. The night Peng Changyong attacked the wealthy families, her parents and her little brother died, leaving only her older brother, named Xiangzi, who along with Brother Lang and others, went to sell himself for servitude."

Gu Jinli knew this Xiangzi, as he was one of the little escort masters she had hired. After hearing Brother Ah Jiang's words, she nodded and said, "Continue."

"Ah?" Brother Ah Jiang was a bit confused.

Gu Jinli, somewhat helpless, thought that Brother Ah Jiang really wasn't very bright: "I'm asking you to continue. Tell me how many people are here? What are their identities? What can they do? Explain everything."

Brother Ah Jiang, upon hearing this, promptly described their situation.

There were originally forty people who escaped; among them, eight were women, the mothers of these children. But along the way, fleeing through famine and enduring half a year of hunger and cold, the eight women either died or left, and several children also died or were lost. Now, only twenty-five remained.

"Brother Lang and four others sold themselves into servitude, leaving only twenty of us in this house," Brother Ah Jiang said, tears falling as he spoke of the sorrowful part.

Gu Jinli, however, was full of admiration, impressed by the fathers of these children. On the night Peng Changyong attacked the wealthy families in Yongtai Prefecture, the situation was extremely dire. The children's fathers managed to escort forty of them out of the city using their sheer bravery and skill.

Brother Ah Jiang then brought the remaining children in front of Gu Jinli and Qin San Lang, introducing each of them one by one. It took about half an hour, and as the night turned pitch-black, he finally finished explaining the situation of the children.

The children were not very young; only three were under ten years old. The others ranged from ten to fifteen. Qiu Lang, Xiangzi, Ah Duo, Danian, and Feng Jin were the older ones, with the youngest being fifteen and the oldest, Qiu Lang, being eighteen.

Children had already started a fire in the yard, and had automatically gone out, as well as to the four corners of the yard, to keep watch and guard.

Xiao Ji explained, "There are many bad people here... When bad people wanted to rob us, Brother Lang had Brother Ah Jiang and the others keep watch every night, so no ruffians or hooligans could break in."

After speaking, she lowered her head, her cheeks still reddening.