Chapter 168 - 168 Mommy, Let me Feed you Dinner
168 Mommy, Let me Feed you Dinner
The third grandma and her family left in a hurry. Back at the third grandma’s house, they immediately brewed medicine for Tong Xiaoyu.
Back at the Xie house, all the children were crying and running around. As they ran home, they muttered about the worms in their stomach.
Lu Jiao prepared to go into the mountains to get more herbs to deworm the four little ones. She planned on getting a lot and making a whole pot of medicine so all the children in the village could get a bowl.
The healthy children only needed to take the medicine for two days to deworm.
Inside the east bedroom, the four little ones were pitifully telling Xie Yunjin about the worms in their stomach.
“Mommy said we have worms inside us.”
“Daddy, I’m scared.”
“Mommy said she’ll get some herbs for us and make us medicine.”
“After taking medicine, the worms would get out. Mommy said we need to wash hands before we eat. We also need to wash food before we make anything. We need to ensure food is cooked through, or else we’d get more worms.”
Xie Yunjin was aware of what happened just now and he too, was a little stunned, “There really are worms inside the stomach?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “It’s true. Poor hygiene results in parasites growing.”
“How come we were okay before?”
Xie Yunjin asked curiously. He’s never heard about worms inside the stomach. That was rather terrifying. However, Xie Yunjin didn’t suspect Lu Jiao. After all, that woman’s medical skills were out of the world. So then… there truly were worms inside the children’s stomachs?
Xie Yunjin couldn’t help but worry. Looking at the four little ones’ smooth faces, however, he stopped worrying.
Lu Jiao liked the children so much and she wasn’t panicking. That means the worms couldn’t hurt people too much.
“There’s no obvious symptoms for those who don’t deworm. Maybe the occasional stomach ache or a messy intestine. However, those with bad worms would be unable to absorb nutrients and lose weight. Young children like Xiaoyu, they are likely to become malnourished. They lose weight and appetite, which eventually trigger more symptoms.”
Xie Yunjin became worried and rushed Lu Jiao, “Then, hurry and get some herbs so the four little ones can be dewormed.”
“Sure.”
Lu Jiao smiled and left. The four little ones followed.
Once they left the yard, Xie Xiaobao, Mutou, and Gousheng found them.
They each wore a wooden bow today and walked alongside them almost heroically.
This time, they were mostly curious about the worms and asked Lu Jiao repetitively.
“Third aunt, do we really have worms?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “Yes, you do.”
“Will the worms eat us?”
Gousheng was in shock.
Lu Jiao shook her head, “No way. It likes to eat the nutrition inside us, not us. As long as we deworm once a year, there won’t be any worms anymore. Most importantly, we need to be clean.”
Xie Xiaobao, Mutou, and Gousheng quickly vowed, “We will be clean. We’ll wash hands, wash the food we eat, and refuse to eat anything raw.”
The four little ones quickly added, “You need to wash your hands after using the potty.”
Xie Xiaobao, Mutou, and Gousheng nodded.
The children chatted about other things and soon forgot their fear of worms. Happily, they went up the mountain and started to practice shooting.
This time, Lu Jiao didn’t watch them. She collected herbs around the mountain. Given the large number of children in the village, she only stopped once she got two giant bundles of herbs.
“Boys, let’s go home. We need to deworm tonight. We can come back tomorrow.”
The four little ones agreed. After all, they were worried about the worms.
By the time they got home, lots of people had crowded their yard. They were villagers of all ages and gender and they surrounded Lu Jiao to ask about the worms.
Lu Jiao repeated herself and finally said, “I harvested some herbs and I will make a giant pot of medicine. Every child here gets a bowl.”
Though the villagers said “okay”, they were still anxious.
They’ve never heard about worms growing inside the stomach. Was that true?
Some people here were completely devoted to Lu Jiao and jumped up, “Jiaojiao is a miracle doctor. If she says there was a worm inside that child, then there was.”
Aung Guihua volunteered, “Jiaojiao, I’ll help you brew the medicine. I will take a bow for Tiedan later.”
“Okay.”
Other than Aunt Guihua, a few other housewives offered to help. Everyone chaotically cleaned the herbs Lu Jiao harvested and placed them into a pot. In the end, one pot wasn’t enough and they had to make two pots to share among the children.
Because of this, Lu Jiao’s family didn’t get to eat until it was already dark outside.
Xie Yunjin felt bad seeing how absolutely exhausted Lu Jiao was at the end of the day.
“You don’t have to do so well. You could’ve made the medicine tomorrow. All these years, they were oblivious to this and they were fine.”
The four little ones also noticed how tired their mother was and circled her, “Mommy, let me massage your hands for you.”
“I’ll give you a back rub.”
“Mommy, let me get you some sugar water.”
The Fourth Born asked with anticipation, “Mommy, let me feed you dinner.”
Lu Jiao giggled and patted his head, “I’m not so old that I cannot eat myself. Why would I need you to feed me?”
She then gestured for the children to eat, “Okay, it’s late. Eat, clean up, bathe, and sleep.”
Since the children knew their mother was tired and didn’t want to annoy her, they crawled up their chairs and ate peacefully.
Right after, Xie Erzhu arrived.
Nobody from the Xie family came to get deworming medicine earlier.
Lady Ruan and Chen Liu didn’t believe anything Lu Jiao said and were laughing at her in their own home.
Miracle doctor? She was a scam. Just because others complimented her a few times, she really thought of herself as a miracle doctor? How could worms grow inside people’s stomachs? If that was true, everyone would be dead.
Since nobody from the Xie family came, Xie Erzhu’s two daughters also didn’t get any medicine.
Knowing what happened today, Xie Erzhu couldn’t help but ask Lu Jiao, “Sister-in-law, is it true that there are worms inside children’s stomachs?”
“Yes.”
Xie Erzhu trusted Lu Jiao – her medical knowledge was profound. If she said they existed, then they must exist.
Xie Erzhu then said, “Then, sister-in-law, do you have more of that medicine?”
Lu Jiao saved a big bowl for each of Xie Erzhu’s daughters. She wasn’t going to give it to him if he doubted her. However, if he believed her, then she would give it to him.
Lu Jiao smiled, “I saved them a big bowl each. Go home and give it to them.”
Xie Erzhu thanked Lu Jiao profusely, “Thank you, sister-in-law.”
Just then, noises of excited chatter were heard outside, along with clamorous babbles.