Chapter 28: Learn to Enjoy Life

Standing at the entrance of the Zhang family courtyard, now the Chen family courtyard, Chen Xie saw a man pushing a wheelbarrow, with a boy around fifteen or sixteen years old pulling it with a rope. Chen Xie had a deep impression of this contraption; the road conditions in the Ming Dynasty were truly terrible. During the last cargo transport, the wheels got stuck in the pits several times. The wheelbarrow creaked incessantly, and the sound was very unpleasant, causing Chen Xie to frown and stare.

"Wait a moment, let me take a look at this wheelbarrow." Chen Xie stopped the man, squatted down, and examined it carefully. He felt something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it. When he saw the axle, he asked, "Why is the axle made of wood? Why not use iron?"

"Iron is expensive, sir." The man replied. Chen Xie, upon hearing this, realized why. No wonder!

There were no bearings! No wonder the wheelbarrow creaked so much; the problem was right here.

What was the steel production in the Ming Dynasty? Chen Xie didn't know, but after staying in Zhangjia Village for some time, he knew how many iron tools the common people had. Bearings and such technology were out of the question.

The problem at hand was very practical. Chen Xie needed a transportation tool suitable for the roads of the Ming Dynasty. A wheelbarrow was undoubtedly a good tool; one person could push it, and it could carry up to two hundred pounds without any issues. Although a transportation efficiency of two hundred pounds per person was very low, it was the only option available in the Ming Dynasty. At least for short-distance transport, it was cost-effective.

With this short-term goal in mind, Chen Xie added one more item to his shopping list: bearings! From the problem with the wheelbarrow, Chen Xie thought of another issue: Could he bring a few modern tricycles back to the Ming Dynasty? With a bit of diesel, a 12-horsepower tricycle could easily carry two tons of cargo.

Looking around to make sure no one was around, Chen Xie whispered, "Hey, beautiful!" After a while, with no response, he asked again, "Wu Qi, wake up."

This time, his hand finally vibrated, and the screen displayed a line of text: "What do you want? Don't you know I can't appear in the Ming Dynasty?"

"I don't know, why can't you appear?" Chen Xie asked instinctively. The woman's tone was clearly impatient, and she replied with a string of words: "If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you keep nagging, I'll get rid of you."

"I want to bring a few agricultural tricycles to the Ming Dynasty, the kind that runs on diesel." The threat was effective, and Chen Xie's response was simple and direct.

"No." The answer was concise. Chen Xie wanted to ask why but was afraid the woman would get angry and eliminate him. He could only ask regretfully, "Can I have bearings?" The screen quickly displayed: "Yes! That's enough, don't nag. When you return to the modern world, I'll give you a file with everything you can bring. That's it, I'm going back to sleep."

"You're just like a woman, changing your mind so easily!" Chen Xie muttered instinctively. Unexpectedly, his hand vibrated again, and the screen displayed: "Thank you for the compliment!" Then it went silent again. Damn!

Chen Xie felt that his struggle with this person had no hope of victory! Life is like that; since you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it. The words sounded rough, but upon careful thought, they were still rough.

Straightening his mood, Chen Xie, the poor man from the modern world (well, he was now rich, but the money was spent quickly), smiled and walked into the Zhang family courtyard. The main house was straight ahead, still the domain of Old Master Zhang. Chen Xie checked on him every three days, and his recovery was going well. To the left was the Zhangjia Village Hospital, now separated by a wall. A door was opened on the outer wall, and a sign hung there. The modern name showed how lazy someone was.

The hospital was small, with only six rooms. One was a treatment room, one was a pharmacy (the key was with Yuzhu), and the remaining four were patient rooms. The women from Chunxiang Building were very diligent. Walking on the stone path, not a single leaf could be seen, showing how thoroughly they cleaned. Next to the wall was a kitchen and a bathhouse (for now, only a bucket and hot water for bathing).

The courtyard was very quiet, and Chen Xie saw no one. He slowly walked in and heard voices from the treatment room. Upon closer inspection, he found several women practicing acupuncture. These women were illiterate, unlike Hongguo and the others, so Chen Xie hadn't planned to use them. After watching for a while, he noticed a problem. Each woman had a small notebook and a pencil. Chen Xie had given these to Hongguo and the others, but he didn't expect to see them here. The issue was that one woman was writing with a pencil, struggling but clearly writing.

"Hmm, let me see. What are you writing?" Chen Xie suddenly spoke, startling the three women inside. The woman writing was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Chen Xie remembered her condition was severe, with skin ulcers on both thighs that emitted a foul odor. After some treatment, her condition had improved by eighty percent. He remembered her name was Qingqing.

Qingqing's appearance was average, but that wasn't Chen Xie's main concern. The key was that this discovery made Chen Xie realize that even at her age, it wasn't too late to learn to read and write. A smart person could learn a thousand commonly used characters. Being a doctor was out of the question, but being a nurse was feasible. After all, this was the Ming Dynasty, and Chen Xie had limited options.

Blushing, Qingqing handed the notebook out the window. Chen Xie took it and saw the writing... well, it was barely legible, but it was a record of intravenous injection procedures.

Returning the notebook, Chen Xie encouraged her, "Very good, keep it up. Tell the sisters that if everyone can learn five hundred characters, they can stay as nurses. Of course, don't be satisfied with just five hundred characters. Keep working hard. One day, you will be able to stand tall and proud before the world, and no one will look down on you."

Smiling kindly, Chen Xie left a string of encouraging words and walked away. The three sisters in the treatment room blushed, their chests heaving with excitement. The doctor's approval was like music to their ears. At their age, none of them wanted to return to Chunxiang Building to live that life.

Qingqing watched Chen Xie leave, silently recalling every moment in this place. At first, she, like everyone else, was filled with despair about the future. An aging courtesan, living in a shack by the dock, selling herself for a few coins, struggling in filth and poverty. This was a common fate.

On the first night in the hospital, after the short-haired doctor treated her, he smiled and said, "You are still young. After you recover, you have a long life ahead. Don't be sad all the time; learn to enjoy life."

This simple sentence kept Qingqing awake all night. Do I have a future? Since entering Chunxiang Building, Qingqing had never experienced any sunlight in her life. At fourteen, she was taken by a sea merchant, who drank heavily and tormented her all night, leaving her bedridden for three days. She never felt any physical pleasure. From then on, each encounter with a client was a torment. She thought her life would continue in this cycle, deteriorating until death.

On the second day in the hospital, the morning sunlight was like the smile on the short-haired doctor's face. At her bedside were grooming tools, and she could use toothpaste and a toothbrush, which only wealthy families could afford. The towel was blue, with a cute little bear printed on it (the sisters said the doctor told them).

The itching that had been unbearable the day before was now tolerable. The infected area, which she washed daily, was no longer oozing as much yellow fluid. After washing up, the kitchen emitted a warm, inviting aroma.

Breakfast was free, with two meat buns and as much millet porridge as she wanted. Lunch was unlimited pancakes with a bowl of meat soup, and dinner was noodles with a thick meat sauce. By the end of the first day in the hospital, Qingqing believed everything Chen Xie said and told herself that the short-haired doctor was a savior