The Lucky Farmgirl

Is there ginger for sale at the big market?

There wasn’t any at the street stalls, but seeing them aimlessly wandering like headless flies, Zhou Erlang grabbed Zhou Wulang’s collar from behind, spun him half a circle, and pointed to old Doctor’s house’s entrance, "That’s where you can buy ginger."

Ginger is used to expel cold and remove the off-taste, so during the New Year, if people plan to stew mutton, many would buy chunks of ginger from the pharmacy or the doctor’s house.

Wulang was old enough to understand better.

Zhou Wulang looked towards the old Doctor’s door with a somewhat uneasy premonition and led Manbao and Liulang there.

The old Doctor had already opened his door, sitting in his rattan chair dozing on and off, and squinted his eyes when he saw two youths and a child standing in front of him. He scrutinized Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang, finding them somewhat familiar but could not quite remember their names, so he turned to Manbao.

Hmm, that’s a familiar face.

The old Doctor beckoned Manbao, "Your complexion is rosy; you don’t seem sick. What, is your mother ill again?"

When Manbao was younger, she fell ill every other day, and the old Doctor knew her quite well, having been carried to the Zhou family’s home by the Zhou brothers several times in the middle of the night.

Manbao also had a strong impression of the old Doctor because every time he saw her, he either gave her an injection or made her take bitter medicine, which made Manbao very afraid of him.

She counted her little fingers and said softly, "I’d like to buy some ginger."