Notes on Longevity

Chapter 47 Heavy Snow and Bitter Wind Harm the Past, Encountering Corn at You'an Pharmacy

It was nearly noon. In the dilapidated house in the north of the city, Grandpa Yao sat on the bed with a vacant look in his eyes and a slightly pale face. He was covered with two thick, worn-out quilts and coughed from time to time. He looked much less energetic than he had been two months ago.

In the small room where cooking and medicine were prepared, Zhou Zhou squatted in front of the clay pot used to boil the medicine, looking at the flames burning below. His eyes were somewhat dazed, as if he had lost his mind or soul, and he quietly guarded the clay pot.

Suddenly a shout pulled him back from his wandering thoughts.

Hearing the sound, he got up and walked out of the small room. He saw Yumi, covered in dust, excitedly pulling a somewhat simple-looking, overweight middle-aged man to Grandpa Medicine's bedside.

The middle-aged man, who had been dragged here by Yumi, was already panting heavily, but Yumi ignored him and said to the man, "Doctor, please take his pulse quickly."

The middle-aged man, however, was panting heavily and waved his hand at the corn, saying, "Let me rest for a while, otherwise I won't be able to take your pulse properly."

"You're a doctor, how could you not be able to take my pulse accurately?" Corn said excitedly to the doctor.

Grandpa Medicine, standing to the side, seemed to want to say something, but kept coughing and couldn't speak. Seeing this, Zhou Zhou wanted to pull some corn along and ask him where he had found the doctor. But before he could take two steps, a man's voice rang out first: "Little Corn, let the doctor rest for a while. He's been running with you for so long, even if he were to take Grandpa Medicine's pulse, his breathing would be unstable, and he wouldn't be able to give an accurate diagnosis."

As the man finished speaking, a handsome face and tall figure appeared before Zhou Zhou. He recognized the man; it was none other than Young Master Yang You'an from the Five Mile Pear Garden.

Also appearing with him was Xie Xiaoshuang, a young lady from the Peking Opera troupe, and beside her was a boy who looked very familiar to him—Ping An.

Zhou Zhou looked at Ping An's delicate, rosy face and clear eyes and almost didn't recognize him.

He remembered the first time he met him was when he was carried back by Corn and lay unconscious on the bed where Grandpa Medicine was sitting.

He looked terrible back then. When he woke up, his eyes weren't as clear as they are now; they were more cloudy and filled with helplessness.

"You see, this young master understands things best. If my breathing is unsteady, my pulse reading won't be accurate," the doctor said, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

This morning, he was tidying up and counting the medicinal herbs in his own pharmacy when suddenly Yumi rushed in like a madwoman, yelling at him, "Dr. Zhu, please get me some more medicine. We're almost out of medicine, I'll pay you back in a few days."

Dr. Zhu, with his round belly protruding beneath his clothes, looked at the ragged, dust-covered Yumi with a troubled expression. "Sigh, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that you've already owed me a lot for medicine. This is just a small pharmacy, and I really can't afford to suffer like this anymore."

"Don't worry, we'll settle the debt for the medicine we owe in a few days. Please prescribe a few more doses for me. I'm begging you."

Yumi spoke excitedly, almost to the point of tears, and was just short of kneeling down to Dr. Zhu.

"Aren't you making things difficult for me?" Dr. Zhu came out from behind the counter, looked at the corn, and pointed to the medicine cabinets that had been pulled out of the counter. "My medicine cabinets are almost empty. It's not that I don't want to give you any, it's just that I really can't afford it right now."

Corn lowered her head, tears streaming down her face. Little Fish Fin died more than a month ago, and now Grandpa Medicine was also injured by the sudden, heavier snowfall and the biting wind that blew half a month ago. He has been lying in bed ever since, and no amount of medicine has helped.

He had previously visited Dr. Zhu, who had prescribed medicine for him several times. Knowing Yumi and the others' predicament, Dr. Zhu hadn't asked them for money for the medicine, only saying they could pay him when they had the funds. However, Dr. Zhu hadn't expected that the heavy snow two weeks ago would destroy many of the medicinal herbs he had grown. Now he had almost no herbs left, and the only solution was to go out and find others to buy them, but he didn't know how much time that would take.

Just as the two were feeling helpless, Corn heard someone calling him. "Isn't that Corn's voice? The back view looks just like it too. Corn!"

Yumi looked up at the sound and saw Jie Xiaoshuang waving at her.

After seeing Yumi turn around and confirming it was him, he also entered the not-so-large pharmacy.

"Yumi, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Xie Xiaoshuang came to Yumi, put her hands on Yumi's shoulders, and asked anxiously with concern.

"Grandpa is sick, and his medicine is almost finished?" When Yumi saw the three of them, he finally burst into tears. His gaze suddenly turned to Yang Youan, and he knelt down before him. "Young Master Yang, please save Grandpa!"

Yang Youan was somewhat taken aback by Yumi's kneeling. He first helped Yumi up, patted his shoulder, and stroked his head to soothe him. Then he asked Doctor Zhu, "Doctor, do you know what's wrong with Grandpa Yao?"

“I’ve seen it before. The cold has entered his body, and given his advanced age, I’m afraid… I’m afraid his illness is a bit more serious.”

Dr. Zhu was speaking when he suddenly stopped. He glanced at the corn that was facing away from him, then looked at Yang Youan, and changed his words.

Yang Youan knew what Doctor Zhu was going to say, so while comforting Yumi, he continued to say to Doctor Zhu, "Then please get some of the previous medicine and come with us again."

"It's not about the cost of the medicine, but that I'm out of herbs at my pharmacy. I've looked around, and all I can find are other places to get medicine. But Yumi and the others have no money left, and I'm afraid no one else will be willing to lend them money on credit," Doctor Zhu explained to Yang Youan, shaking his head.

“It’s alright, I’ll pay for the medicine. Please come with me.” Yang Youan said.

"Okay, let's go."

Dr. Zhu shook his head helplessly, placed one hand on Grandpa Yao's wrist, felt his unsteady pulse, and sighed as he looked at Grandpa Yao.

Grandpa Medicine seemed to have sensed something from Doctor Zhu's eyes, and gently shook his head at him. Doctor Zhu naturally understood what Grandpa Medicine meant. So he said, "I'll prescribe a few more doses of medicine. Just go and get the medicine according to this prescription."

After saying that, Doctor Zhu opened the medicine box placed by the bed, took out paper and pen, wrote down the prescription on the paper, and handed it to Yang Youan.

Yang Youan looked at the prescription and then at Doctor Zhu, before handing the prescription to Yumi. At the same time, he took out the silver from his pocket and gave it all to Yumi: "Take this money and go get the medicine for Grandpa now."

Yumi took the prescription and money without a word and ran out. Seeing his behavior, Yang Youan glanced at Zhou Zhou standing to the side and said, "You should know what kind of health condition Grandpa Yao has, right?"

(End of this chapter)