As patients in the neighboring city gradually decreased, Su Yaoguang and the others finally found some leisure.
Su Yaoguang approached the government officials, explaining to them that the illness here had been contained, and by following Jiang Jing’s prescriptions and taking the medicine on time, the remaining patients could fully recover.
Her suggestion was that their presence was no longer needed here. Rather than people from outside the city staying here to do good deeds, it would be better to assign their own trusted aides to do so. This way, the Lord Imperial Envoy would have more reason to believe in his benevolent governance.
The County Magistrate was indeed moved by her words and agreed to let them go home.
As soon as the County Magistrate agreed, Su Yaoguang and others immediately packed up their belongings and left the neighboring city in a hurry, heading back to their home.
Zhang Zhaodi leaned against the wall of the carriage, massaging her arm, and said, "I’m exhausted, I’m exhausted. Once we’re back, I must rest well. Let’s just close the shop for a few days first!"
"Boss Su... Su Da..."
"Lady Zhang..."
"Doctor Jiang, may I ask if Doctor Jiang is inside?"
The carriage was stopped at the city gate.
Su Yaoguang lifted the curtain and saw that the outside was filled with people of all ages, and she loudly asked, "What’s going on?"
The carriage was driven by Zhou Wangshu and Wang Huanzhi. The citizens recognized these two faces, so upon seeing them, they knew whose carriage it was and who was inside, thus surrounding it.
"Boss Su, are you going home?"
Su Yaoguang recognized these people as former patients under her care, their faces still bearing various pustule scars.
"Yes, we must go home. Everyone, feel free to visit us. Meeting is destined. When we see each other again, we are friends." Su Yaoguang said with a smile, "Don’t worry about the scars on your faces. My family runs a Rouge Shop, and we have a face cream that helps with these marks. If you visit, I’ll only charge you the cost price when I see the marks on your faces, recognizing you as old friends."
"Boss Su, Doctor Jiang, Lady Zhang, all Living Bodhisattvas, we will never forget your kindness. You all saved our lives."
"This is homemade lamb buns from my family. Take them to eat on the road, and I hope you won’t mind our rough skills."
"These are vegetables from my family’s garden. Please take them and add some dishes for your meals at home."
"This is a sheep raised by my family. You can take one back and enjoy some lamb."
...
Seeing things getting a bit out of control, Su Yaoguang quickly thanked everyone for their goodwill and then said, "Everyone, we appreciate your intentions. You’ve just recovered from a serious illness and need to nourish your bodies, so please take these supplies home for yourselves. When you’re fully recovered and your business thrives, you’re welcome to visit me again. Alright, we have a schedule to keep, or else it’ll get dark soon."
Zhou Wangshu snapped the whip, loudly saying, "Please make way, make way. The horse is frightened; be careful not to get kicked."
The horse wasn’t actually frightened, but if Zhou Wangshu wanted it to seem so, then it was. The townspeople, fearing that the horse might get injured Su Yaoguang and others, quickly cleared the path, watching them ride off.
After leaving the neighboring city, everyone exchanged smiles.
Jia Chunni leaned on Zhang Pandi’s leg, happily closing her eyes.
Life is really good now.
Lately, she rarely dreamt of the days when her father and grandmother would hit and scold her.
Doing a lot of work was the same, but in the past, it wasn’t just the various exhausting tasks; she was also cursed as a "losing bet," humiliated, and whipped at any given moment, as if she had no right to exist. She had the worst food in the family and had never worn decent clothes from childhood. But now it was different. Now she still did a lot of work, but they called her Living Bodhisattva, good girl, little fairy. She could eat well and have plenty of meat every day. She even had new clothes, instead of wearing ill-fitting clothes and shoes, not daring to lift her head.
"Wang Shu, take turns driving with Uncle, rest when you’re tired," Zhang Zhaodi shouted.
"Relax, Mother, I know," Zhou Wangshu said, "You all can sleep for a bit, and we’ll call you when we arrive."
Wang Huanzhi was talking with Zhou Wangshu.
"Once we’re back, you’ll return to the academy, won’t you?" Wang Huanzhi asked.
Zhou Wangshu said, "Yes, that’s what I plan to do."
"Will you take the imperial exam?"
"I will."
"Are you confident?"
Zhou Wangshu smiled, "With my little knowledge, I’m really not confident. Uncle, what about you? What are your plans?"
"I won’t deny it; I think my health has improved a lot recently, and I plan to give it a try as well," Wang Huanzhi said, "My wife has suffered alongside me, and I wish to make a name for myself for her."
"I’ve heard of your talents long ago, Uncle. If your health didn’t hold you back, your name would surely be on the list of honors," Zhou Wangshu said, "Uncle, you will certainly succeed."
When their carriage arrived at the county gate, it was already dusk.
The officers guarding the gate were standing on the city wall, seeing the arrival of a carriage, shouted, "The city gates are closed for today. Enter tomorrow."
"Understood, we’ll find a place to rest," Zhou Wangshu said.
"Wait a minute... Doesn’t that voice sound like Brother Zhou’s?" Chief Qian asked, "Are you from Taoyao Square?"
Zhou Wangshu said, "Brother Qian, it’s us, can’t you recognize my voice?"
"Open the gate, open the gate. They’re from Taoyao Square. The official has ordered that people from Taoyao Square be let in at any time,"
The city gate opened, and Chief Qian, accompanied by several officers, came out to greet them.
"Brother Zhou, Boss Su, you’ve returned."
Su Yaoguang lifted the curtain and replied with a smile, "Indeed. Even though everything outside is wonderful, nothing is better than home. If we don’t come back soon, I might just fall ill from longing."
"The official always had you all in mind and even sent people to inquire about your whereabouts," Chief Qian said, "No more talk, you should go and rest now; we’ll catch up another time."
"Alright, see you later."
Su Yaoguang and others returned to Taoyao Square.
Now that the epidemic has ended, the whole city is lively as usual once again.
When their carriage pulled into the doorsteps, they just happened to see the Fenghua Pavilion across the street bustling with customers.
"Ugh, while we were away, they got to enjoy the benefits," Zhang Zhaodi grumbled with displeasure, "Tomorrow, we’ll reopen our shop, and we definitely can’t let them take our business."
"Mother, didn’t you say you were tired and wanted to rest for a few days this time?" Su Yaoguang laughed.
"I just can’t stand seeing Zhong Lanhua being smug."
"She earns her share, we earn ours. Anyway, our customers can’t be taken by them. Also, if we reopen the shop right after coming back, people might think it’s easy for us! We went out to do good deeds, so we should definitely advertise ourselves properly. We can open the shop tomorrow, but let’s tell others we’ve just come back and need to rest for half a month, although we can take pre-orders," Su Yaoguang suggested.
As there was movement on the Taoyao Square side, Fenghua Pavilion across the street also got wind of the news.
Zhong Lanhua stood at the doorway, watching the carriage from Taoyao Square go in and spat, "Why didn’t they just die out there?"
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