Chapter 3: Granny Gu Beats Someone
Gu Jin’an was very worried: "Doctor Du, is Xiao Yu’s condition serious? What should we do?" Could she actually forget things to the point of becoming foolish?
Doctor Du shook his head and smiled: "It’s very common for those who have injured their brains to forget things more or less—it’s normal and no major concern. It’s good that she’s alive, and it doesn’t matter if she can’t remember some past events very clearly. You can tell Xiao Yu about this."
Doctor Du’s words eased the worries of Gu Jin’an and the others.
Doctor Du left a small packet of golden sore medicine for Gu Xiaoyu, and instructed her to change the dressing once a day before packing up his medicine box to take his leave: "I’ll be going back now. If Xiao Yu experiences severe dizziness or headaches, come and find me again."
Gu Dashan hurriedly handed over a bamboo tube filled with water to Doctor Du: "Doctor Du saved Xiao Yu, you must accept this water."
When they had gone to request Doctor Du’s help, he hadn’t accepted the water, so Gu Dashan could only bring it back, now once again earnestly requesting Doctor Du to accept it.
Doctor Du waved his hand: "Keep the water for Xiao Yu to drink, she’s in need of rehydration after just waking up. My home still has half a jar of water; I don’t lack this bit of yours."
Escaping famine was not easy. He was a doctor and had already accepted half a bowl of grain from the Gu Family—how could he take the water that was critical for the Gu Family’s survival?
He had witnessed how the Gu Family father and son had carried Gu Xiaoyu on their travels these past three days. Gu Family’s eldest son was an honest man; he couldn’t cut off their livelihood.
Having said that, he left quickly with his medicine box on his back.
Gu Dashan wanted to follow, but he was so hungry that his vision was blurry and his legs were shaky; he couldn’t catch up to Doctor Du at all. He had to turn back and said to the children: "Doctor Du has been gracious to our family. We must remember this kindness and repay it when we have the opportunity."
Gu Jin’an and Gu Jinli nodded in agreement.
The family was very happy about Gu Jinli’s awakening, but the journey to escape the famine had been too tiring, and they were very hungry; after just exchanging a few words, the whole family began to rest.
Before sleeping, Gu Jinli asked Mrs. Cui: "Mother, where is the medical book that Grandpa Bai gave me?"
The original owner was a very bold and enthusiastic girl, who had helped many people along the way. Among them was an elderly man surnamed Bai. Because she gave him a few sips of water and supported him for several days, the old man left her a medical book before he died, telling her that she could keep it and learn from it herself, or she could sell it to a pharmacy in exchange for silver—either way, it was a valuable item.
The original owner cherished this medical book and always carried it with her, flipping through it whenever she had the time. Gu Jinli was pleasantly surprised to have this memory; she didn’t need to struggle to find an excuse to explain her knowledge of medical skills.
Mrs. Cui unfolded a bundle and handed her the medical book: "Your mother has been hiding it for you and didn’t let your grandma throw it away."
Because she knew how to read and taught a few children to recognize words, this angered her mother-in-law, who forbade the children from reading. If she ever caught them, it would result in a severe beating.
"You’ve just woken up, you should rest well. Don’t read tonight, if you want to read tomorrow, do it behind your grandma’s back so she won’t find out," Mrs. Cui instructed.
"Thank you, mother," Gu Jinli said as she took the medical book.
The medical book was thick, with the cover bearing the complex characters of "You’s Medical Book". Flipping through, the pages were yellowed and tattered.
After reading a few pages, Gu Jinli found that most of it described how to distinguish herbs, with only a few about diagnosing diseases and even fewer prescriptions. Not many of them were useful.
However, it didn’t matter to her; she was a military doctor in her previous life and had studied traditional Chinese medicine. She knew what she should know. This medical book was just an excuse for her to practice medicine.
Gu Jinli knew she had to set off before dawn the next day, so she put the medical book away and lay down on the grass mat, soon falling asleep.
The next morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, Gu Jinli was woken up by a bout of cursing.
"A bunch of deadbeats, what time is it and you’re still not up, waiting for this old woman to take care of you? And daring to borrow grain to hire a doctor for someone who causes losses, thinking you don’t have to return the grain? That’s all Old Gu Family’s grain!"
Ever since Granny Gu found out three days ago that Gu Jin’an had asked to borrow grain to save Gu Xiaoyu, she had been cursing every day. This morning, upon learning that Gu Xiaoyu had awakened, she was so angry she was jumping with rage. Grabbing her cane, she rushed to where Gu Dashan’s family slept and started hitting Gu Jin’an wildly.
Gu Jin’an knew Granny Gu was fierce. If he dared to dodge, and she couldn’t hit him, she would go beat his elder sister and little brother, so he had to endure the pain and stand still while Granny Gu hit him.
Mrs. Cui knelt down crying and pleaded with Granny Gu, "Mother, please don’t hit Brother An. Brother An borrowed the grain to save Xiao Yu."
Gu Dashan hugged Gu Jin’an to shield him from Granny Gu’s violent beating, also pleading, "Mother, I beg you, please don’t hit Brother An." Brother An is still halfway grown, how can he withstand such a beating?
Seeing Gu Dashan protecting Brother An, Granny Gu struck harder with her cane and said, "I’ll let you protect that wolf cub, I’ll kill you for being unfilial!"
Gu Jincheng was terribly frightened, but still sobbingly begged Granny Gu, "Granny, please stop hitting him, you’re going to beat my brother to death."
Gu Jinxiu shuddered and said, "Yes, yes granny, if you keep hitting, you’re going to break little brother."
"Pah, you vixen, shut your mouth, this is not your place to speak!" Granny Gu did not like Gu Dashan’s family, especially Gu Jinxiu, who was as beautiful as her mother, overshadowing all of her granddaughters. Every time she saw Gu Jinxiu’s face, she wanted to slash it with a knife.
Gu Jinli had never seen such a malicious old devout woman. Woken up by the noise, and gathering her tired strength, she rushed over, grabbed Granny Gu’s cane with both hands, and staring into her eyes, said, "Granny, my dad and elder brother are about to go find food. If you hurt them, do you want Uncle Gu Er’s family to go find food?"
Granny Gu was happily beating someone when her cane was suddenly grabbed, which made her furious. Just as she was about to lash out, she was silenced by Gu Jinli’s words.
Gu Family Village was all fleeing the famine together; every day, each household had to send several strong laborers to find food, keep watch at night, and fend off other disaster victims who were scrambling for food. In the Old Gu Family, these tasks were done by Gu Dashan and his son. If Granny Gu injured the father and son, the village chief would definitely require Old Gu Family to send replacement labor. Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinxiu were not strong laborers, so the village chief would not want them, only the men. That would mean that her own sons would have to take over these tasks.
Her second son was a student highly cherished by her. How could she allow Uncle Gu Er’s family to go find food?
Mrs. Gu from Uncle Gu Er’s house, being the daughter of the Scholar’s Family, coldly watched the drama unfold when Granny Gu came to beat someone. But hearing these words, she panicked and said to Ms. Zheng from Fourth Uncle Gu’s house, "Fourth Sister-in-Law, let’s persuade mother to come back. If she harms elder brother, it will be our families who suffer."
Ms. Zheng, who was enjoying the scene, hurried forward with Mrs. Gu to support Granny Gu, and coaxed her, "Mother, elder brother and Brother An realize their mistake, please calm down, don’t take the youngsters to heart."
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Granny Gu loved her own sons and would never let them go to forage for food, so she had to suppress her anger and huffed, "For the sake of being one family, this old woman will not quibble with you. But you borrowed the grain by yourselves, don’t expect the Old Gu Family to pay it back! Don’t think just because you’ve been hungry for three days that this old woman will give you rations. If you dare to borrow grain privately, your rations will be deducted until you repay the borrowed grain."