245 Smallpox

Old Madam Liu carried a tray filled with nourishing soup that had just been stewed. She smiled and said, “Madam, Old Master asked me to stew chicken soup with ginseng for you.” _{Please visit f𝑟e𝙚𝒘𝗲𝚋𝚗oѵ𝘦𝙡. c𝒐m}

Li Yu took the soup and scooped up a spoonful. It was neither cold nor hot. The food prepared for the confinement period did not taste good. Li Yu simply picked up the bowl and drank it in one gulp.

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At this moment, the child started crying. Li Yu’s heart ached as she picked up the child and coaxed him for a while. However, the child showed no signs of stopping. He cried even louder.

Zhou Jia also panicked. “What’s going on? Why is she always crying?”

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Old Madam Liu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Madam, Master, the child will cry if he’s hungry or has pooped. However, we don’t seem to have found a nanny in our residence.”

Li Yu said, “I planned to feed him myself, so I didn’t hire a nanny. Xiao Xi, do you want to ask Sir for medicine to help with the feeding?”

“Alright, I’ll ask.” Zhou Jia had mentioned hiring a nanny a few months ago. Li Yu did not agree and even spoke logically. Zhou Jia felt that what Li Yu said made sense, so he let her be.

Soon, Zhou Jia returned with a red face. He waved his hand and asked Old Madam Liu to leave.

After a while, the child finally got his first sip of breast milk while lying in his mother’s arms. Zhou Jia looked at his son’s anxious expression and smiled gently.

On the third day of the bath, Zhou Jia only invited Scribe Tu, the Yu family, and the Zhong family.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. After Zhou Jia paid his respects to his grandfather and mother, he went to the study and spread out the drawing paper to begin drawing a family portrait.

Four hours later, Zhou Jia showed the family portrait to Li Yu and said with a smile, “Yu’er, from this year onwards, I’ll draw a family portrait every year during the new year. When our son grows to our age and sees the family photo, he will know that he grew up from such a young child.”

Li Yu looked at the happy woman standing in front of the flowers with the child in her arms and Zhou Jia standing beside her. Her eyes were moist as she looked at Zhou Jia and said gently, “Xiao Xi, thank you.”

Zhou Jia rolled up the painting and sat beside Li Yu. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and lowered his head to press against her forehead. “I should be the one thanking you. Yu’er, thank you!” The couple leaned their heads against each other and smiled at each other.

On the day of the child’s full month, the couple did not plan to hold the full month ceremony. They were afraid that they would not be able to return the favor if the merchants sent gifts, so they invited the scribe and called Ruyi’s family back from the manor. Everyone sat down to celebrate and that was regarded as the full moon banquet.

After the New Year, Zhou Jia began to get busy. Mr. Qian was busy buying credit to lend to those poor people so they could acquire sees, farming tools, and cattle. Zhou Jia and Scribe Tu were busy dividing the fields for the people who wanted to farm. The migrating families had to register their households. The two of them spent a month running around several towns before settling those people down.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the families to be busy again in March. After the New Year, Yang Wei brought Uncle Dashui to Dagon Village to explore the wasteland. Ruyi took over the management of the farmstead.

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After the child turned three months old, he could play with Li Yu for a while every day. Zhou Jia looked at his fair and chubby son who liked to laugh when he was teased. Every day, when he came back from the government office, he would wash his hands and look at his son first. The father and son got along very well.

Mr. Wen also loved Yangyang. Every day, when he came back from the volunteer medical consultation, he would carry him to look at his herbs. He would even explain the uses of various herbs. Li Yu felt that if the child was a little older, he would probably be able to recognize many herbs and even know the medicinal properties and uses of various herbs.

Zhou Jia and Li Yu received another reward from the emperor. The emperor rewarded them with a box of antique calligraphy and paintings and a box of gold and silver. The empress rewarded Li Yu with two sets of hair accessories, a box of eastern beads of the same size, and a few bolts of silk brocade. The emperor ordered Zhou Jia to plant as many kinds of corn as he could. After the autumn harvest, someone would come to haul the corn seeds.

When the grains were being planted, Li Yu brought Yangyang to the farmstead. The families who had decided on the seeds with Li Yu last year all came. Li Yu kept her promise and exchanged the seeds for those families.

Yang Wei returned from Dagon Village and reported to Li Yu, “Madam, more than 200 acres of flatland and more than 100 acres of mountain land have been developed. The rest of the land will be plowed after the farmers are busy.”

Li Yu looked at Yang Wei’s dark and thin appearance and said lovingly, “Child, look at you. You’re dark and thin. You’re still growing. Why don’t you hire more people?”

Yang Wei scratched his head and smiled. “Madam, don’t worry. I’m strong! There are less than twenty families in Dagon Village. I’ve hired everyone who can work.”

“Alright! Go and rest first. You can return to Dagon Village tomorrow morning,” Yang Wei agreed and left.

Seven Pounds from Ruyi’s family was already nine months old. He drooled as he looked at Yangyang in the cradle. He would poke Yangyang’s chubby face with his chubby fingers every now and then. After succeeding, he pursed his lips and secretly laughed.

The two children were babbling in baby talk that no one could understand. After talking for a while, Yangyang yawned and closed his eyes to ignore Seven Pounds.

Seeing that Yangyang was no longer playing with him, Seven Pounds cried loudly. Li Yu picked up Seven Pounds and coaxed, “Little brother wants to sleep. He will grow faster when he sleeps a lot. When he grows up, he’ll go to school with Seven Pounds.” Seven Pounds nodded, no longer crying.

When the seedlings were getting planted, Zhou Jia became even busier. He often went to the countryside to take a look, paying special attention to those families who had just started farming. Zhou Jia often brought the people from the farmstead to guide them.

Li Yu returned to the county office from the farm. When Mr. Wen returned from the volunteer medical consultation, he did not approach the mother and son. He stood in the courtyard and watched from afar. He said with a heavy expression, “Xiaoyu, I treated a child today and confirmed that the child has smallpox. The child lives at the end of East Street. I’ve already asked the clerk to take care of him. Don’t bring Yangyang outside these days. The child in Ruyi’s family has been brought back to the county office from the farm. Also, send someone to check on Yu Niang.”

Li Yu cried out in shock. Thinking that this was a fatal virus in this world, Li Yu nodded and immediately got someone to inform Xiaoyu and Yu Niang.

Mr. Wen said to Li Yu, “Yes, everyone has to be careful, especially with the children. I’ll go back and flip through the medical books to find a useful prescription.”

“Alright, be careful too. Don’t tire yourself out.” Mr. Wen waved his hand and pointed at his robe. “I have to change out of my clothes and burn them.”

Li Yu nodded and carried the sleeping Yangyang into the house to put him on the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his red face, recalling the situation when she was vaccinated when she was young.

Although most people in the future knew that cowpox could provide vaccination against smallpox, would the effect be the same when applied in this world? Would it be deadly?

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