"Elder brother, don’t worry. I’ve brought a whole cart of supplies, including plenty of medicinal herbs, and I’ve brought all the common ones."
Not only the common ones, but she has also brought many rare and precious ones.
In places where medicine is scarce, these herbs can truly save lives.
"Elder brother, this medicine is a bit tricky, you need to remember it clearly."
"Tell me."
"It’s like this: first grind six ingredients including borax, realgar, litharge, and cinnabar into fine powder. Then add camphor and mint frost, grind into a very fine powder, and store it in a bottle for later use."
"Apply to the affected area three to four times daily."
"Isn’t it for consumption?"
"No, it’s for applying."
This does seem a bit troublesome.
Xiao Chunhua thinks it would be more practical to just drink a bowl directly.
Chun Nuan not only provides medicine but also teaches them how to make it.
Her coming to the Northern Desert basically spreads medical knowledge.
"By the way, Nuannuan, I often have sores in my mouth too. Does this medicine apply?"
Xiao Changqing asks his daughter.
"Father, let me check your pulse."
What gratifies Chun Nuan is that her father Xiao Changqing’s health is better than her uncle and elder brother.
"All medicine has some toxicity. If you have mouth sores, you don’t necessarily need to use medicine. You can boil an egg, take the yolk, refine it into oil over the fire, and apply the yolk oil to the sore."
"Sounds simple."
Xiao Changqing smiles: "It’s just that in this place, sometimes even buying eggs is quite difficult."
"Who wouldn’t say so."
Lack of resources indeed.
"There’s another method: peel raw garlic, cut it into two slices, put it in the mouth and hold, chew when tasteless..."
This is very simple, it should work.
But, there’s no garlic here.
"If you easily get mouth sores or oral ulcers, you can stew snow pear and radish soup, adding a little rock sugar and cook until soft."
Seeing her family smiling bitterly at her, Chun Nuan knows: again lacking pear and rock sugar.
What can one say, the Northern Desert is just full of wants.
Chun Nuan is resigned to it.
"I will let the caravan bring these things to you when I return."
"Actually it’s not like we don’t have, it’s just a bit expensive."
It’s like tofu is sold at meat prices.
"No matter the price, as long as it’s good for health, you should all eat more, buy more." Chun Nuan hands over five hundred taels of silver notes to Xiao Changhe, "Uncle, take this."
"No, no, you need money for your marriage too, how can you give it to us." Xiao Changhe quickly refuses: "Don’t worry, though we endure hardship, we still have food to eat. Besides, with you sending supplies nonstop these past two years, our life is already better than others."
The same exile to the Northern Desert, the Xiao family’s life is indeed getting better.
The worst off naturally is the Wu family.
Yes, speaking of the Wu family, Xiao Changhe asks Chun Nuan if she knows why the Wu family was so ruthless back then.
"The Wu family thought the Xiao family had fallen, hence was of no use, so they betrayed and humiliated elder sister." Speaking of this, it was still Qiu Yan who wrote a letter telling her, so Chun Nuan knows very well.
"When elder sister gave birth, they didn’t even hire a midwife. Fortunately, several loyal servants including Molan risked their lives to bring a midwife, saving elder sister and Panpan’s lives."
"Just after confinement, the Wu family wanted to divorce, chasing elder sister out of the house."
"They say even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs, but the Wu family didn’t even recognize Panpan, their daughter." Chun Nuan feels particularly heartache for elder sister when she thinks of that scene: "The Wu family was too excessive, elder sister went to appeal, sending their whole family to prison."
"Your elder sister looks soft-natured, but is actually very strong inside." Xiao Changhe says: "Had the Wu family any conscience, your elder sister wouldn’t have gone this road."
"Elder sister being able to fight her way out is also good, otherwise, silently disappearing in the private section, we wouldn’t even know how she passed."
"Indeed, not making a decision will result in more chaos later." Xiao Changhe says: "I’m proud of her, she fought for her life."
Perhaps, she will fight to provide a way out for the Xiao family too.
These words, the Xiao family knows in their hearts, but cannot say aloud.
"Elder sister is now a lady of the General Mansion, Uncle need not worry about her."
"How can one not worry?" Xiao Changhe sighs: "Previously, as a daughter-in-law of the Wu family, their status wasn’t even half that of the Xia Mansion, yet they despised her like that. Now, what is your elder sister’s life like?"
"Uncle need not worry, seeing from elder sister’s letters, she truly lives a good life. General Xia cherishes her greatly, and the old lady of the General Mansion handed over household management to elder sister the day after she entered."