Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside Chapter 1761: Selling Water

Doctor Qi was raised by the Qi family. When the poisonous insect disease broke out and doctors were in short supply, he assisted Doctor Fang and others at the Lei Family’s Courtyard. However, due to Vice Magistrate Qi’s desire for the insect attractant formula, he was kicked out.

During the subsequent city defense battles and the cleaning of poisonous insects, Doctor Qi also made significant contributions. He was very interested in the Kangrong Soldiers’ insect repellent and knew that developing it would be a monumental achievement in history, so he sought Ms. Gao Lei and Gu Jinli to let him participate in developing the anti-parasitic medicine to contribute to the people.

The two saw that he was purely coming to cure and save people, thinking that having more doctors would share the load, so they permitted him to join Doctor Xu Fang and the others at the Lei Family’s Courtyard to study the anti-parasitic medicine.

Today, Doctor Qi also came with Doctors Xu Fang to see off Qin San Lang and the others. Just as he was lamenting whether they would meet again, he heard Ms. Gao Lei’s words, angering him so much that his eyes turned red.

He wasn’t angry with Ms. Gao Lei but with Vice Magistrate Qi.

Damn it, wasn’t the lesson from the insect attractant formula enough? Again and again, he decided to redeem himself and leave the Qi family!

Vice Magistrate Qi also realized his verbal misstep and quickly came forward to appeal, "Old Madam Gao, please calm your anger. This official bore no ill intention, just that... after Xing’an Prefecture endured such a calamity, I thought we should perform a religious rite to ward off disaster and seek blessings. There’s no intention to blame the soldiers’ families. They are our lucky stars; without them, Xing’an Prefecture would have long been overrun!"

General Liang’s face was as dark as coal: "..."

Seems like all our desperate battling meant nothing in your eyes.

Magistrate Hao: "..."

Used to fear that Qi Vice Magistrate would find a way to snatch the Magistrate position from him, but now it seems he overthought it. With someone this foolish, even ten roads wouldn’t topple him!

Yet Ms. Gao Lei completely ignored Vice Magistrate Qi... After Qin San Lang and the others left, she intended to manage the Lei Family’s Courtyard more strictly since Ye Jingzi and the others still needed to make medicine there. Outsiders who can be expelled should be expelled.

"Thanks to both of you for coming to see us off. This old lady will head back first," said Ms. Gao Lei, instructing the driver to drive away.

Vice Magistrate Qi wanted to chase after her to plead but lacked the face to do so in public, so he had to let Doctor Qi try himself.

Doctor Qi chased after them to plead but was unsuccessful.

Ms. Gao Lei said it wasn’t his fault; rather, some people received benefits yet belittle others and even find them unlucky. So why should they give them any more benefits?

With those words, Doctor Qi found himself at a loss for words and could only return in tears... The opportunity for monumental recognition had been ruined by his own master!

Doctors Xu Fang and the others saw this and could only offer some comfort... It truly wasn’t Doctor Qi’s fault, but one couldn’t ignore Vice Magistrate Qi. If Doctor Qi continued to stay, what if he handed over the formula before the anti-parasitic medicine was fully developed and claimed all the credit for himself by giving it to the Emperor?

Already, when the insect attractant was made, Vice Magistrate Qi had tried something similar, leading the elderly doctors to be wary. Thus, they didn’t intercede for Doctor Qi, offering only a few comforting words.

Unable to get Ms. Gao Lei, Vice Magistrate Qi saw that Lei Mao hadn’t yet left and wanted to ask him to intercede.

But seeing him approach, Lei Mao simply clasped his hands and said, "The Old Madam has sent us to find old craftsmen skilled in digging deep wells. We are heading off now."

With those words, he went about his business.

Master Sheng San overheard this and felt inwardly pleased, using his connections to find out within four hours why Lei Mao sought out these craftsmen.

"They say that Company Commander Qin and his wife are worried about drought in the Northwest and seek old craftsmen to dig deep wells." After explaining, the person asked, "Does the Third Master have any instructions?"

Master Sheng San said, "Do we have any craftsmen with such skills on our side? Gather all who do and send them to Company Commander Qin, so we can also establish a connection."

"Yes," the person immediately went to carry it out.

From today, in Xing’an Prefecture, Yongcheng Prefecture, Daliang Prefecture, and even Beicang Prefecture, people began searching for old craftsmen skilled in digging deep wells.

Meanwhile, Gu Jinli and the others began experiencing the difficulties of obtaining drinking water in the Northwest.

...

By evening, Gu Jinli and the others had camped over a hundred miles away. Just as they alighted from the carriage, they overheard Mrs. Kuang scolding someone, "What? The people from that village are too black-hearted; asking for water requires paying by the bucket, and they charge fifty cents per bucket. Isn’t a load of water worth a hundred copper coins? In the southern county, a porter earns only a few hundred copper coins a month. They dare to ask for that, and we are the Kangrong Soldiers who have bled for them!"

"Indeed, they’re heartless!" Aunt Han prodded her son, "They’re just bandits. Tell them you’re with the Kangrong Soldiers who saved them, and they should let everyone get water. If they dare charge such heartless prices, we’ll ruin their village!"

Han Sansong listened to his mother’s near-banditry-like words, feeling a headache as he tried to persuade her, "Mom, why are you in such a rush? The officials have already gone to discuss matters with the village; there will be a solution by nightfall. Let’s set up the camp and gather firewood for cooking when the water returns."

Aunt Han retorted, "Wait, wait, wait, always waiting. What if the water doesn’t come?"

Han Sansong replied, "If it doesn’t come, then we’ll eat dry rations, or we can fetch water from the river, boil it, and then drink it."

"Fetch water from the river? How could you say that? What if we end up with poisonous insects?!"

Han Sansong said, "Mom, poisonous insects aren’t very scary."

While fighting the Rong bandits, they drank river water in the wild. After boiling it, the poisonous insects would die.

However, now that there were many women, he couldn’t say this, or else they might feel nauseous.

Having overheard, Gu Jinli instructed Erqing, "Go tell Aunt Niu and the others not to worry; the villagers won’t disrespect our soldiers. Complete other tasks first. If the village refuses to provide water, we’ll conserve our supply, which should last until the next station."

The station has wells, so they could freely gather water there. They plan to fetch extra to avoid spending unnecessary money buying water on the road.

"Yes." Erqing went to relay the message to Mrs. Kuang and the others.

A moment later, their cursing stopped.

An hour later, Qin San Lang and the others returned, directing the soldiers to fetch water, with two hundred soldiers each bringing back a bucket.

Each clad in battle armor, with swords at their waists, they were seasoned and blood-hardened warriors, intimidating the villagers greatly. The village chief promptly reduced the price by ten cents on the spot.

Originally, it was twenty cents per bucket of water, now reduced to ten, much cheaper than the previous fifty cents.

"Yet we didn’t buy much, just two hundred buckets of water, enough for today and tomorrow. Tomorrow, when passing through the town, we’ll buy a batch of water jars and load up at the station, saving us from needing to buy along the way." Qin San Lang explained to Gu Jinli, lightly caressing her face and smiling, "With me here, Xiao Yu needn’t worry over such trivial matters."

Gu Jinli, pleased to hear this, further asked, "Is water scarce in the village? Are the well’s supplies depleting?"

Otherwise, why sell it so expensively?

Qin San Lang shook his head, "Water in the Northwest is precious, but not overly so. That village has two wells filled to the brim. They simply want to exploit traveling folks for their money."

In simple terms, taking advantage of travelers’ urgent need for water and intentionally setting high prices.

However...

"Xiao Yu doesn’t need to worry. We’re not the only batch of Kangrong Soldiers returning for family. Others are coming too; if they don’t mend their ways, they’ll face harsher consequences from tougher folks."