Qin Sang smiled and said:
"In-law, don't worry. As long as they want to learn, they can all go. It's not just the children; even Huan'er's brothers, if they want to learn to read and write, can go.
However, this blackboard is being made for the whole village, so you should charge for your labor. Otherwise, when it comes time to make desks and benches later, if you don't charge for such skilled work, should the other villagers charge for their physical labor?
If no one charges, eventually no one will want to do the work."
Carpenter Zhao heard this and felt it made sense, so he didn't refuse further and only asked for a very small amount.
Coming out of the Zhao house, Qin Sang saw Eldest Girl leading a group of children picking up stones from the ground, knowing they were preparing to play with slingshots.
Qin Sang gave a shout, and the children all ran over. Some called her Grandma, others called her Aunt. Qin Sang took out a handful of pitted dried red dates from her robe and gave one to each of them. After they had finished eating, she asked:
"Do you want more?"
The children all jumped up:
"Yes, yes..."
Qin Sang said again:
"Since you do, how about helping me make something? If it's successful, everyone gets two red dates, and I'll also teach you a new game."
What Qin Sang wanted them to make was chalk.
Qin Sang brought out a handful of gypsum stone and had them carefully grind it into powder, then add water to stir it into a slurry. Once stirred evenly, she had the children carefully pour it into small bamboo tube molds.
After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qin Sang used a small wooden stick to push the chalk out of the bamboo tubes and drew on a stone, leaving a very clear white mark.
Although it was a bit crude, it was usable. They made about a hundred pieces this time. Later, she could take a few boxes out of the Mall, and they would last for over half a year.
She just didn't know if that boy Wen Mo would learn the ultimate skill of throwing pieces of chalk.
After giving each child a piece of chalk and teaching them to draw little turtles and flowers, Qin Sang smiled and said:
"It's a success! Everyone is great. Now I'll teach you all a game called hopscotch."
Qin Sang used the white chalk to draw square grids on the ground and wrote the Chinese numbers from one to ten inside.
After drawing, she taught the children these numbers once. Fortunately, Eldest Girl had already learned them at home. With Eldest Girl leading them, she believed these children would be able to write these ten numbers by tomorrow.
After Qin Sang Devilstrated how to play twice, they no longer needed her. Seeing a dozen or so children lining up to play hopscotch was a joyful sight.
Carrying a large pile of chalk home, it wasn't long before many women came by with baskets:
"Da Zhuangs Mother, these are the plant roots we dug up while you were away. Can you see if there are any Medicinal Herbs among them?"
Qin Sang nodded. After putting down the chalk, she called Er Fu over to teach her how to identify them.
Because she had to teach Er Fu, the identification process was a bit slow.
The villagers weren't in a hurry either and asked with a smile:
"Da Zhuangs Mother, is Er Fu going to learn to be a doctor from you in the future?"
Qin Sang nodded:
"Yes."
The village women all became happy:
"That's wonderful! A female doctor is great. Sometimes when we women feel unwell, it's awkward to go to the Town to find a doctor. Er Fu, study hard with your mother."
"Right, right, Er Fu, do you need to take pulses? Aunt will let you practice on her."
"Old Sixth's wife, you're too shrewd! If you want a free medical check-up, just say so. No need to sound so kind-hearted, as if no one knows your little scheme."
Old Sixth Tian's wife didn't care and scoffed:
"As if you don't want Er Fu and Da Zhuangs Mother to take a look at you too."
This comment actually made the other woman fall silent.
Qin Sang took it seriously. In these ancient times, without any technological aids for examination, one could only practice more, see more, and accumulate experience:
"Do you all really want me to take a look?"
The group of people nodded one after another.
"Alright then, everyone line up outside and enter the tent one by one."
Hearing this arrangement, everyone agreed. Not minding the heat outside, they all left the tent.
The first one was the shrewd Old Sixth Tian's wife, a sister-In-law from the same clan. Qin Sang asked directly:
"Sister-In-law, do you feel unwell anywhere?"
"Well... well..."
Seeing her embarrassed look, Qin Sang smiled and said:
"Sister-In-law, you were just volunteering to be Er Fu's practice subject, and now you're afraid? Or do you not feel unwell anywhere? In that case, there's no need to make up any symptoms."
"I do, I do... It's itchy there, and sometimes it hurts..."
...
Over the course of the afternoon, Qin Sang took Er Fu and examined all the women. The situation was not optimistic.
Due to the lack of water and poor hygienic conditions, most of the women suffered from itching, and some even had rashes.
These were very common women's diseases. Most weren't life-threatening, but they were extremely uncomfortable, both in ancient and modern times.
Telling them to keep clean was just empty talk.
The biggest problem was still the lack of water.
After everyone had left, Qin Sang asked the girls in her family. Thanks to Qin Sang's efforts, the water at home had always been sufficient. Moreover, they knew Qin Sang loved cleanliness and would wash their faces and hands from time to time, so they were all doing fine.
If the camp where she was helping was having such a hard time, one could imagine how difficult it was for the other refugees who had entered the mountains.
In the evening, the Patrol Team returned. Da Zhuang brought back news that the Patrol Team had expanded their range today and encountered four groups of refugees. They had all been notified that tomorrow evening, they could send a leader to exchange useful plant roots for rice and grain.
"Did you find the location I asked you to look for?"
Qin Sang asked. She had asked the Patrol Team to find a suitable location for exchanging grain while they were on patrol.
It couldn't be too far from the camp, nor too close, and it needed to have a geographical advantage that was easy to defend and hard to attack.
After all, who could guarantee that the refugees coming to exchange grain wouldn't cause trouble?"
Da Zhuang nodded:
"There are two places. Paternal Cousin Uncle only notified them of one. Tomorrow we'll just go to that Cave; the other one can be used when we need to change locations."
Qin Sang nodded.
In the evening, Qin Sang brewed a pot of medicinal soup. Smelling the scent of the herbs, Er Fu's eyes showed surprise:
"It smells like mugwort, Motherwort, ginger... Mother, this medicine is..."
Qin Sang smiled slightly:
"Yes, this pot is intended for the women in the village. When they come tomorrow, ask them if they want any. If they do, they can take a bamboo tube's worth back."
There was no reason to deliver medicine to someone's door; even if it was out of goodwill, people would only find it unlucky.
Er Fu nodded:
"Then Mother, do we charge for this medicinal soup?"
"Don't charge. If we really charge, few families will want it. Just consider it payment for the Aunts acting as your free practice subjects."
At night, Qin Sang went to the tent to organize the Medicinal Herbs. This had already become a routine in her house. If anyone else wanted to help, Qin Sang would assign them other tasks to keep them away.
Today's herb sales added 3,400 mall coins to the Mall, giving her the feeling of making money while lying at home.
After finishing everything, Qin Sang returned to the room and found that Wen Mo, who was sleeping on the bottom bunk, was not yet asleep. His large eyes were wide open, staring at the bedboard above.
"Wen Mo? What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
Hearing Qin Sang's question, Tian Wenmo rolled over and sat up, asking in a small voice:
"Mother, I... can I really teach the villagers how to read?"