Volume One, Chapter 11: No Doctor? Forcing the Unwilling

At dawn, Zhou Wu dressed and prepared to head up the mountain to check his traps—a routine he had come to observe daily. Yet, someone seemed even more diligent than him; as he approached, it was Niu Bi standing there.

“So, it’s you?” Zhou Wu said.

“Oh, it’s the scholar,” Niu Bi replied, his mood surprisingly good despite their recent conflicts.

“You...” Zhou Wu started, but when he saw the prey in Niu Bi’s hands, it dawned on him. This rascal, usually a petty thief, had somehow been out hunting before dawn. Zhou Wu hadn’t heard of Niu Bi hunting before.

“Scholar, I have something to do, I’m leaving now,” Niu Bi said suddenly, his eyes flickering with unease, and before Zhou Wu could react, he bolted away.

For a moment, Zhou Wu didn’t sense anything amiss, but upon checking his traps, it became clear—none held any prey, yet the animal fur caught in the snares proved something had been trapped. The answer was obvious: that bastard Niu Bi had beaten him to it.

“Damn it,” Zhou Wu cursed, unable to hold back despite his usual temperance. Worse still, all the traps had been deliberately damaged, rendering them useless. It was clear Niu Bi was retaliating.

This grievance burnt deep in Zhou Wu’s chest, though he had no immediate solution. He added Niu Bi firmly to his blacklist.

Sullen, Zhou Wu trudged homeward, but something caught his eye and brightened his mood.

“This is dodder,” he murmured.

Dodder is a common herb that clings to tree trunks, known for nourishing the kidneys, liver, and spleen. It’s used to treat kidney deficiency, lower back pain, impotence, frequent urination, cold womb causing infertility, blurred vision, and diarrhea—replenishing yin and yang, consolidating essence, calming the fetus, improving eyesight, and stopping diarrhea.

Zhou Wu’s joy stemmed from dodder’s antidiarrheal properties. Just yesterday, he had visited Old Zhang, who was nearly debilitated by diarrhea. Thinking of this, Zhou Wu swiftly set down his basket and began gathering the herb.

Even more exciting, while collecting dodder, Zhou Wu discovered a small patch of cocklebur. He was intimately familiar with this prickly little plant from childhood in the countryside—children loved picking cockleburs and throwing them at each other, their burrs clinging stubbornly to sweaters.

Beyond its playful nature, cocklebur was also medicinal.

The root treats sores, abscesses, throat swelling, erysipelas, hypertension, and dysentery.

The stems and leaves dispel wind and heat, detoxify, and kill parasites—used for headaches, dizziness, rheumatism, eye redness, abscesses, bleeding, and leprosy.

The flowers treat stubborn vitiligo and leukorrhea.

The fruit alleviates wind-dampness, clears nasal passages, relieves pain, and kills parasites—used for cold-induced headaches, nasal congestion, toothache, rheumatism, limb spasms, scabies, and itching.

Dodder’s antidiarrheal effect, combined with cocklebur root’s efficacy against dysentery, promised relief for Old Zhang.

“With the basket empty anyway, I might as well gather more to keep at home,” Zhou Wu thought.

After collecting the herbs, he hurried down the mountain to Old Zhang’s home.

“Knock knock—Old Zhang, Auntie, it’s Zhou Wu,” he called.

“Scholar, come in, sit,” greeted Old Zhang’s wife. Zhou Wu immediately noticed her tear-streaked face, though she quickly masked it with a forced smile.

“Auntie, how is Old Zhang? Any better?” he asked.

“Oh, the old man is weaker than yesterday. He had some spirit yesterday morning, but after several bouts of diarrhea in the afternoon, I rushed to send for the doctor in the neighboring village. But the doctor apparently moved away with his family. This morning, the old man was so weak he could barely speak. What are we to do?” Auntie broke down in tears. Old Zhang was the pillar of their family, and any misfortune to him would spell disaster.

“Don’t cry, Auntie. I gathered some herbs today; I’ll prepare a decoction for Old Zhang right away.”

“You know medicine?” Auntie was worried—she could not risk giving her husband random remedies.

“I read about it in medical texts before,” Zhou Wu said, sensing her concern. Mentioning medical knowledge eased her fears.

Zhou Wu brewed the first potion himself and instructed Auntie on the care needed afterward, as she would be administering treatments alone from then on.

“This is roughly how you do it. Got it?”

“Yes, scholar. Thank you so much.”

“No problem, we’re neighbors; helping each other is what’s right. I’ll be going now.”

“Scholar, have some food before you leave,” Auntie called after him.

Ignoring her, Zhou Wu dashed off, thinking that Niu Er must already be at his place.

Indeed, when Zhou Wu returned, Niu Er was already working in the fields.

Lately, Zhou Wu had focused on farm work rather than repairing his traps, which Niu Bi had sabotaged. Since fixing them only benefited Niu Bi, Zhou Wu decided to finish the fieldwork first.

With Niu Er’s help, all the vegetables were planted, reducing future field maintenance time and freeing Zhou Wu to pursue other tasks.

“Niu Er, thanks for your hard work these days.”

“No trouble at all, brother Wu. I’ve been eating well at your place.”

They laughed together.

After dinner, Zhou Wu saw Niu Er to the door. Just as Niu Er was about to leave, he turned back.

“Brother Wu, want to go fish scavenging tomorrow?”

“Fish scavenging? Where?”

Zhou Wu looked puzzled. He knew about fishing, but this was new to him.

“By the seaside, of course. Tomorrow’s the once-a-month low tide when everyone goes to gather fish stranded in tide pools.”

“The seaside? We live by the sea?”

Zhou Wu was stunned—he hadn’t realized their home was coastal.

“Brother Wu, that fall must have scrambled your brain. You live by the sea and don’t even know it. I’ll come get you in the morning.”

After Niu Er left, Zhou Wu stood rooted, his heart racing.

“The sea… we’re by the sea. Amazing.”

The sea was a boundless treasure, rich in resources, especially fisheries. Yet Zhou Wu wondered why, with such natural wealth, the people of Niu’s Village still struggled to fill their stomachs.

...

“Zhou Lang, no catch today?” Li Baiwei asked kindly as Zhou Wu returned empty-handed.