Chapter 55: Lending a Helping Hand in Passing

Xie Wannian did not mind his rambling and patiently continued to ask, "Where exactly does it hurt?"
The middle-aged man vaguely gestured, "It-it all hurts."
Well, it seemed she could not rely on the patient himself.
Giving up on further questioning, she said, "I know a little bit about medicine. If you trust me, may I take your pulse?"
The man was breaking out in cold sweat from the pain and was in no condition to mind that Xie Wannian was just a young girl. "Alright," he replied.
Xie Wannian reached out and took his pulse. After finishing, she asked, "Before this, have you ever experienced similar symptoms?"
The man shook his head. "No."
Xie Wannian asked again, "What did you eat last night? Did you have anything raw, cold, spicy, or anything that usually upsets your stomach?"
The man uttered an "uh" and said, "Yes... pickled fish, braised pig's head, braised pork knuckle, and... cold tossed century eggs, peanuts, and tofu."
Last night, he had been drinking with a friend and ordered quite a few side dishes to go with the wine, including the four cold dishes he just mentioned.
Xie Wannian looked at Jiang Yuan. "Ah-Yuan, could you please help me carry him into the room, and then ask the innkeeper for some hot soup or hot porridge? Also, tell the waiter to bring a new hand-warmer."
Jiang Yuan nodded. "Alright."
With that, he bent down, picked up the middle-aged man, and carried him back to his original guest room.
Xie Wannian carried the man's small bundle and placed it by the head of his bed.
After Jiang Yuan left, Xie Wannian began to help the man ease his pain.
She only had silver needles and some self-defense medicinal powder on hand; she lacked the specific herbs needed to prescribe a targeted remedy for this man. Fortunately, he was merely suffering from a common gastrointestinal spasm, which could be treated using other methods.
After a brief moment of thought, Xie Wannian decided to massage specific acupoints such as the Neiguan and Hegu points for him.
The Neiguan point is located on the anterior aspect of the forearm, two cun above the transverse crease of the wrist, between the tendons of the palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis. Massaging the Neiguan point can calm the mind, soothe the spirit, regulate vital energy, and relieve pain.
The Hegu point is located on the back of the hand, at the midpoint of the radial side of the second metacarpal bone. Massaging the Hegu point helps to dispel wind, release the exterior, promote the flow of vital energy and blood, clear the collaterals, and alleviate pain.
Additionally, she instructed the man to gently massage his abdomen in a clockwise direction using his palm, with his navel as the center, to promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, aid digestion, and relieve pain caused by qi stagnation.
The man was quite obedient, making a grimace as he massaged himself according to Xie Wannian's instructions.
It was not until Jiang Yuan and a morning-shift waiter arrived with a steaming hot-warmer and a large bowl of freshly cooked white rice porridge from the kitchen that the man finally stopped what he was doing.
Upon seeing the waiter, Xie Wannian immediately pointed at the man and said, "Could you please place the hot-warmer over this uncle's abdomen?"
The temperature of the hot-warmer was quite high, but placed over the man's thick cotton garment, the warmth was just right.
Xie Wannian then motioned for Jiang Yuan to hand the bowl of porridge to the man. "Drink it while it's hot."
The man's outstretched hands were trembling. Fearing that he might spill the porridge on the bedding, the waiter took the bowl and spoon, feeding him mouthful by mouthful.
With these combined measures, the man's pain began to subside. Seeing that his condition had improved significantly, Xie Wannian asked him, "When you fell earlier, did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
Though she figured that such a sudden gastrointestinal spasm shouldn't have caused him any serious injury from the fall, just in case, it was better to ask to be safe.
The man checked over his physical condition. "I don't think so."
It certainly hurt a bit. In the pitch darkness, his stomach had started aching so severely that one foot tripped over the other, causing him to take a tumble right there. But compared to the intensity of the stomachache, the pain caused by the fall was truly negligible.
Xie Wannian nodded. "Then once you are able to walk on your own, you should visit a medical clinic and have a doctor prescribe some medicine."
First, taking medicine would help his stomach condition recover faster; second, he could also have the doctor perform a physical examination to make sure his fall was truly without consequence.
After the man finished drinking the hot porridge, Xie Wannian exchanged pleasantries with him and the inn waiter, then left together with Jiang Yuan.
The man offered to pay her a consultation fee, but Xie Wannian simply waved her hand in refusal.
She didn't make a living out of this; she had merely run into him by chance and decided to do a good deed alongside Jiang Yuan.
By this time, the sky had completely brightened. After leaving the man's room, the two did not return to bed for extra sleep; instead, they washed up, checked out of the inn, and departed immediately.
The great thing about not having many belongings was precisely this: they could leave whenever they wanted, enjoying complete freedom.
Upon stepping out of the inn, Xie Wannian and Jiang Yuan did not immediately look for a rented ox-cart or carriage. Instead, they first stopped at a small street-side eatery to buy soybean milk and fried dough sticks for breakfast, and then visited various shops that had already opened for business to purchase household necessities or simply items that caught Xie Wannian's fancy.
What the two did not know was that after the man's physical condition improved, he began pondering Xie Wannian's appearance.
He felt certain he had seen this young girl somewhere before, yet he could not quite recall where.
It was not until he visited the medical clinic, took a carriage home, and inadvertently glanced at a letter sent by an old friend resting on the corner of his table that he was struck with sudden realization. He managed to match the young woman's face with another, much more youthful face from his memory that he had nearly forgotten.
***
After Xie Wannian and Jiang Yuan returned to Mingfu Village, Hao Yu called Jiang Yuan into his room for a private chat.
He told Jiang Yuan that he had personally made inquiries about the three young women whom Wang Xiaozhi believed were promising candidates.
What he didn't tell Jiang Yuan was that he had actually sneaked over to observe the young women themselves and their families.
That Miss Yang, who carried a heavy family burden, had been eliminated from the list of candidates during this process.
It wasn't that she or her family members had flawed personalities or morals; in fact, that family supported each other, maintained harmonious relationships, and were well-liked among their neighbors and peers.
The reason Hao Yu directly crossed Miss Yang off his list was because she had a hidden marriage criterion that she had not publicly disclosed, yet had been quietly upholding all along.
The future husband she desired either had to live near her home and be willing to help support her maternal family after marriage, or possess substantial wealth so that she could financially subsidize her parents' home.
In short, even after getting married, she intended to continue contributing to her natal family.
To reiterate, while Hao Yu was entirely devoted to Jiang Yuan, he certainly wasn't about to offer unconditional, selfless dedication to strangers.
As for the remaining two young women, Hao Yu didn't have an obvious preference for either.
Miss Zheng had a gentle, obedient, and filial personality; when her father told her to remain a faithful unmarried fiancee, she complied; when her mother told her to marry, she wed.
Miss Chen, on the other hand, possessed a resilient personality and a strong sense of agency. Even under the shadow of the "husband-cursing" reputation, she refused to marry just anyone casually.
As for Hao Yu, he didn't mind Miss Chen's ill-fated reputation, could easily afford the twenty taels of betrothal gift demanded by Miss Zheng's brother and sister-in-law, and even better matched Miss Zheng's mother's requirement for "a solid family foundation with a small, harmonious household."
Therefore, Hao Yu decided to leave the choice entirely up to the women's side.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan immediately ran off to find Wang Xiaozhi and asked her to act as a matchmaker to initiate the process.