Chapter 214: Chapter 214: Size

The woman hurriedly said, “I can manage, I can manage!”

Xia Wenjin: “…”

As they were speaking, a child’s voice came from the doorway. A seven or eight-year-old boy, full of energy and sweating profusely, rushed in and yelled, “Mom, Mom, is there any water to drink? I’m dying of thirst.”

The woman went to get water for the child. Xia Wenjin looked at the boy and took out a piece of candy from his sleeve, saying, “Your name is Hu Tou, right? Brother here has candy, come, have a piece.”

Hu Tou opened his large eyes, his face covered in dirt and dust. Despite his drooling, he didn’t immediately take the candy but looked at the woman instead.

The woman said, “How can I accept such kindness? Hu Tou, thank your brother!”

Hu Tou promptly said, “Thank you, brother!” He took the candy and began to eat it.

Xia Wenjin glanced at the woman, “Sister-in-law, can I take a look at Hu Tou’s body?”

Without waiting for Xia Wenjin to make a move, the woman took off Hu Tou’s clothes herself. There were no red spots on the child’s chest.

Xia Wenjin sighed in relief and said to the woman, “Sister-in-law, can you go check if big brother has any?”

The woman curiously replied, “Didn’t you say these spots are not serious? Can everyone have them?”

Xia Wenjin hesitated for a moment and spoke about Doctor Zhang, saying, “When I worked at Doctor Zhang’s clinic, Doctor Zhang said that spots on the body are due to inhaling miasma and that you need medicine to clear the miasma. If not, as miasma toxins become severe, a major illness will occur.”

Upon hearing this, the woman became somewhat worried and hurriedly went to ask the strong man.

Xia Wenjin looked at Hu Tou playing happily in front of the house, with a trace of hidden worry in her eyes.

Soon, the woman came back, looking flustered and lost. As soon as she saw Xia Wenjin, she didn’t care about Hu Tou beside her and said, “Sister, Brother Hai also has them. Is this truly due to miasma poisoning?”

Xia Wenjin replied calmly, “How big?”

Hu Tou looked curiously at Xia Wenjin and then at his mother. Although he was a rural child without education, he knew some things and said perplexedly, “Mother, he is obviously the older brother, why do you call him sister? You’re mistaken!”

However, at this time, the woman couldn’t care to attend to him and just said to Xia Wenjin, “The size of soybean!”

That’s slightly larger than a mung bean and smaller than a fingernail.

Only when they reach the size of a pea do people start feeling discomfort and coughing blood. The woman feels she has a cough, mistakenly thinking she just caught cold, which should be an early symptom.

Xia Wenjin said to the woman, “Sister-in-law, does Hu Zi have uncles or aunties?”

The woman was unsure why Xia Wenjin asked this and said blankly, “I have a brother… Hu Zi’s father is the sole heir in three generations!”

Xia Wenjin said seriously, “Sister-in-law, listen to me, Uncle Liu, Hu Zi’s father, and the miasma poisoning on your body are contagious. Currently, Hu Zi is fine, but he shouldn’t stay with you all. Until you’re cured, send Hu Zi to live with his uncle for a few days!”

She couldn’t say it was a contagious disease. Otherwise, the family would either completely distrust her and expel her, turning a deaf ear to her words and doing the opposite to prove her wrong, or they would panic, which would then spread panic throughout the village and town.

If everyone starts panicking, things will spiral out of control.

Right now, things are just beginning, and taking timely measures can still keep the situation under control.

The woman was shocked, “Contagious… contagious?”

Her voice was so loud that it alarmed the strong man who was attending to Uncle Liu in the room. He stepped out, displeased, saying, “Xiang’er, you are too loud, you’ll disturb father. Also, what are you talking about?”

The woman felt a bit lost and, upon seeing the strong man come out, hurriedly pulled him to the side and whispered, “Brother Hai, it’s bad, this young… gentleman says we have miasma poisoning, which is why we have red spots. This miasma is contagious. We’ll all be seriously ill, what should we do?”

The strong man glanced at Xia Wenjin and then turned to the woman: “How old is this young fellow? Frightening himself!”

On one hand, he was fond of Xia Wenjin coming to see his father and check his pulse. But after examining him and saying nothing substantial, and then talking privately with his wife which turned her pale, he didn’t have a good impression anymore.

The woman saw he was about to leave, hurriedly stopping him, “Brother Hai, we all have spots on our bodies…”

“So what if we have spots?” The strong man became even more annoyed, “People eat grains and cereals; it’s normal to have spots or moles or something, isn’t it? It’s neither painful nor itchy.” He turned to look at Xia Wenjin, speaking more rudely, “Young brother, our family is really out of money. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been sent back by Doctor Zhang. If you want to earn some silver coins, go to another house!”

Contagious? What good does a contagious disease bring?

If people knew, wouldn’t they see them as monsters?

Father has been ill for six or seven days, yet he and his wife are fine, Hu Zi is fine, what contagion? Initially, he saw the teenager’s delicate and refined appearance and reserved some face, but unexpectedly, when he spoke, there was no kindness.

Is she seen as a fraud?

Xia Wenjin knew it was difficult to make people believe her right now as nobody had seen her medical skills or believed them. Her body was after all not yet sixteen; even if she tried to appear mature, she couldn’t hide her youthful appearance, making it difficult for people to trust her.

The strong man worried that if she stayed longer, she’d speak more frightening things to his wife. His tall stature moved like a mountain, with a stern expression, he said, “Young brother, we need to care for our father; we have no time to host you. You should leave!”

Xia Wenjin said urgently, “You can choose not to believe me, but haven’t you considered what if what I say is true? When a miasma sickness breaks out, people feel very uncomfortable, like Uncle Liu now. Currently, Hu Zi hasn’t been infected, send him away for a few days, and then bring him back after you’re well. There’s no loss to you!”

The strong man shouted angrily, “Get out!”

His father’s illness and the family’s poverty already made him extremely anxious. The more agitated he felt, the less he liked hearing Xia Wenjin’s words. Initially maintaining a bit of politeness, he now resorted to harsh words directly.

Xia Wenjin felt helpless; anything she said now was useless.

Furthermore, she didn’t have medicine.

She hadn’t seen these symptoms before.

Medicine needed to be developed.

Driven out by the strong man, she had to return.

When she returned to Uncle Kuang’s place, it was already evening. Huangfu Jingchen had been waiting for her. Seeing her gloomy face, Huangfu Jingchen asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xia Wenjin was about to speak but, upon turning her head, saw Auntie Kang coming out of the house and held back her words.

Auntie Kang smiled, “Child, you must be starving, right? The food is ready, come eat!”

The sincere and kind smile made Xia Wenjin’s heart feel heavy!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep