A season swiftly passed by.
In the new year, the new emperor introduced the era name Zhaode, marking the first year of Zhaode.
This year was unlike any other.
Since the end of last year, heavy snowfalls had besieged the northern provinces for days on end, and each province suffered disasters to various extents. The situation was severe, and grain prices sky-rocketed without any sign of easing even during the Spring Festival period, casting a deep shadow over the New Year.
Many elders did not survive this lengthy winter...
...
The slightest stir awoke Yang Ge, who had been dozing off in his chair.
He quickly rose and walked up to the bed, where he saw the shopkeeper with clouded eyes, gasping for breath as if he was suffocating...
He hurriedly unveiled the thick brocade quilt covering him and helped him sit up, with one hand radiating a faint bluish light slowly along his thin, bony back... The room was heated with a charcoal stove, and the bed was covered with a thick and soft bear skin mattress, but the elder’s body was scarcely warm, his dry palms as cold as last night’s rice.
The shopkeeper had fallen ill last December and had been fluctuating between good and bad states, gradually losing weight. Yang Ge had sought medical advice everywhere without seeing any improvement, leaving him no choice but to watch over the elder day and night. He used Taiji True Qi to regulate the elder’s bodily functions and stabilize his vitality, hoping for spring to come soon.
After a while, the shopkeeper finally caught his breath and exhaled deeply.
Yang Ge helped the elder lean against the headboard and tucked him in, "Would you like to eat something, Elder?"
The shopkeeper shook his head weakly, "Can’t eat..."
"You’ve hardly eaten anything all day, you might not want to, but you need to force down a few bites!"
Yang Ge touched the egg soup that had been set upside down on the bedside, feeling slightly cold. He secured the bowl with one hand and released True Qi, feeling the icy ceramic rapidly warm in his palm. He withdrew the True Qi and lifted the lid off the bowl, allowing the steam to rise.
He picked up the egg soup, scooped it with a spoon, and fed it to the shopkeeper’s lips, "Man is iron, food is steel, miss a meal, and you’ll feel the ordeal... ah."
The shopkeeper managed a weak smile, opened his mouth, and took a spoonful of the warm egg soup, struggling to swallow. Straining too hard, the veins on his head bulged.
Seeing this, Yang Ge quickly set down the soup, picked up a glass of water, and brought the bamboo straw to his lips, "Take a sip of water, that’ll help it down."
The shopkeeper hastily opened his mouth and took a sip, stretching his neck with bulging veins to swallow.
Yang Ge then hastily put down the glass and carefully released a stream of cleansing True Qi along the elder’s chest... His Taiji True Qi had the power to promote the growth of all things, but the premise was that it could withstand the growth induced by Taiji True Qi.
The shopkeeper was too weak; further stimulating his remaining vitality would be akin to burning his life force, prematurely triggering a brief revival.
"Ah..."
The elder slowly recovered, breathed out deeply, and visibly deflated.
He tried to smile weakly and said in a feeble voice, "If the Heavens want to take someone, it looks like I might not make it this time..."
"Don’t talk nonsense!"
Yang Ge firmly picked up the egg soup again but, lacking the heart to proceed, he set it back down, forcing a smile, "Spring has begun, and if you eat a bit more, I guarantee you’ll feel better when the weather warms up!"
He knew from experience that as long as the elder could still eat, there was still a chance, but once he could no longer eat and relied only on liquid medicine, the end was nearly upon him...
The elder leaned his head powerlessly against the headboard, his eyes unfocused as he gazed at the beams of the house, muttering faintly, "Stop fussing. Nobody can fight the will of the Heavens. I’ve lived enough... just that I won’t see you settle down and start a family..."
Listening to his mutterings, Yang Ge felt a suffocating pressure on his chest as if he had been struck by a-heart rending blast, his lips tightly pursed, he took a deep breath, pretending to speak lightly, "Then you must hold on, Elder. Miaomiao and I have already planned, as soon as her father’s mourning period is over, we’ll get married... I’m counting on you to be there for us."
"Really?"
The elder strained to lower his head, staring directly at Yang Ge, with a slow spark returning to his eyes, yet his pupils still unfocused.
"Really!"
Yang Ge readily answered, "When have I ever lied to you?"
The elder grinned, showing his teeth, "That’s wonderful, wonderful, then I’ll hold on, hold on. You mustn’t..."
His voice faded, and before he could finish, he fell back into a faint.
Yang Ge lowered his eyelids, silently helping the elder lie down, tucking in the corners of the quilt, and released threads of True Qi through the quilt to regulate his chaotic internal energies.
Just then, the door opened, and Liu Mang, bracing the cold, entered and closed the door softly, tiptoeing to the bedside to glance at the elder, "How is he?"
Yang Ge withdrew his True Qi and began slowly tidying up the used dishes, "He woke up for a bit, ate some egg soup, drank some water, then went back to sleep."
Liu Mang glanced at the medicine bowl on the bedside, "And the medicine?"
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Yang Ge replied softly, "He still vomits it as soon as he drinks it..."
Liu Mang stood silently by the bedside for a moment, then spoke softly, "I’ll watch him for a while. You should go back and rest, you haven’t rested for two days."
"I’m fine."
Yang Ge shook his head, "My True Qi can regulate energy and vitality, you can’t do that."
Liu Mang opened his mouth to persuade further when he heard Yang Ge ask, "How are things on your end?"
Liu Mang glanced around, grabbed a stool, and sat by the bed, speaking in a low, worried tone, "We’re out of grain, the little we have in the store won’t last much longer..."
Liu Grain Shop had long established its network as planned previously by Yang Ge, with the main store located in the capital, dealing with major grain merchants across the country, focusing mainly on business in Lu Ting.