Chapter 357: Accompany inspection

“Ziyu, do you know each other?” The man in the lead paused and asked in confusion.

“No, we don’t!” The two spoke in unison.

But the look in their eyes were glints and flashes of cold steel.

The man frowned and let go. By now, they had already entered the hall.

“You must be the elders of the Liu family, right? We are from the county office. I am Kang Shiming; this is my daughter Kang Ziyu; and the one behind is my secretary, Xi Jinglin. I am really sorry for taking the liberty of visiting.”

The Liu family stood up one after another, hearing the man introduce himself.

The man from the county office, Kang Shiming. Who was he if not the magistrate of Xiangshan?

The old man and others had seen him once before, when Nannan went to the county office to receive the imperial decree. Kang Shiming was there, but was wearing official clothes at that time. Now that he appeared in a brocade robe, he looked slightly different, so it took them a while to recognize him. 

“It turned out to be Your Excellency. Please take a seat. We didn’t know Your Excellency was coming, so please pardon our negligence.” Grandpa Liu invited them to the seats. It might be a seat, but was actually a stool next to the fireplace.

Their family had no high chairs nor main seats since everyone was free to sit wherever they like.

Fortunately, Kang Shiming also did not put up an official stance, lifted the hem of his coat and sat down casually.

Secretary Xi Jinglin followed him.

But Kang Ziyu looked at the small four-square stool and frowned.

Her cloak was relatively heavy, so if she sat on it, her cloak had to cover the ground.

Liu Zhiqiu’s attention has been on her. Seeing her frown and her disgust with their stool, the trace of contempt in his heart intensified.

What he hated most was her kind of rich Young Miss. She was arrogant all day long as if born superior, despising the country folks in her bones.

If it wasn’t for his elder brother secretly kicking him and stopping him from speaking, he could have opened his mouth forthwith and sarcastically told her off.

The only people who noticed Liu Zhiqiu’s gaffe were Liu Zhixia and Fu Yuzheng, but they didn’t know how these two people got involved and what happened in the process.

Meanwhile, Kang Ziyu has already sat down. Although it was very inconvenient, her dad and Secretary Shi were already sitting. If she remained standing, she might give off the impression that she disliked the dirty stool and was ill-bred.

“Xiulan, go and brew a pot of tea. Du Juan, go and inform Nannan to come here when she’s done.” Grandpa Liu instructed his two daughters-in-law. As the head of the family, he greeted an official lord this time and finally displayed his status. “I wonder what Your Excellency is looking for our Nannan for. Is it important?”

“There is indeed something.” Kang Shiming’s brow then wrinkled, his face heavy. “Recently, Xiangshan County and even the entire Yunzhou are suffering from the wind and snow. I received a report at the magistrate’s office that many villages and houses in Xiangshan were crushed by the heavy snowfall. Countless people were injured and freezing. The situation is very serious. Miss Liu is now a County Lady and has superb medical skills. I came to ask Miss Liu to accompany me to inspect the villages and lend some help when needed.”

Xi Jinglin added, “This matter was originally the government’s concern, and we shouldn’t have bothered Miss Liu. But the common people think highly of her. Many people who have suffered from the snow disaster prefer to come to see Miss Liu for medical treatment than the doctors in the medical center in the county town. All because Miss Liu is a kind-hearted doctor, we thought of asking her to accompany us.”

Liu Zhiqiu immediately secretly grimaced.

What kind-hearted doctor, they were directly saying that their Nannan charged extremely cheap consultation and treatment fees to the people. What high hat were they making her wear?

But this was really a matter of benefit to the people, so he did not show dissatisfaction.

The rest of the Liu family also understood the meaning of Xi Jinglin’s words.

In these few days, their family saw waves of people who came to seek medical treatment, and almost all of them were living on the edge of hardship.

They begged to come to their door because Nannan’s medical skills were excellent, and her fees were low.

The worst fear of the poor was to fall sick because they couldn’t afford it.

With an illness, they had no money for treatment.

And the existence of the Liu family just gave them hope.

Therefore, the Liu family did not object to Kang Shiming’s request.

Their family had also experienced the feeling of having no money for treatment and could not afford to get cured.

When Nannan was born, she did not open her eyes for a month, and in order to treat her eyes, the family tried various ways to raise money, suffering from poverty and anxiety.

When the old man fell down from the mountain, the doctor said he was hopeless. That grief and despair was something the family still remembered.

But they did not speak in favor of it.

They would leave the decision on this matter to Nannan. Even if they knew that she would not refuse, they would never easily make a decision for her.

The Lius fell silent and did not make a statement, so Kang Shiming was not in a hurry.

Before coming here, he had inquired about the Liu family’s style.

He also had a certain degree of understanding of their way of life.

He believed that no matter whether it was the Liu family or Liu Yusheng, they would not refuse.

Du Juan had already informed Liu Yusheng, but she did not immediately rush to the living room to entertain them.

Healing and saving lives came first.

By the time she finished her round of work, she was temporarily relieved, and that was already half an hour later.

The atmosphere in the living room was not warm, but not cold either.

Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu accompanied Kang Shiming on discussing some domestic trivia. The previous topic was no longer mentioned.

“Liu Yusheng greets Lord Kang.  I wonder if there is something important in this visit.?” Liu Yusheng walked into the hall, saluted Kang Shiming, and directly asked.

She was now a County Lady, and her rank was equal to the County Magistrate. There was no need for her to kneel and she could speak to him on equal footing.

Kang Shiming repeated the purpose of their visit. His eyes measured the young girl in front of him. She was still calm and gentle as the last time he saw her, with a slightly detached smile as she received them with courtesy.

By the time he finished, the young girl had already sat down next to the fireplace and baked her hands close to it, while nodding dryly in response. “When will your Excellency leave? I can go with you at any time.”

There was no unnecessary elaboration, nor any doubt; she was sharp and decisive.

“Great! Miss Liu is indeed a kind-hearted doctor! I’ll take down this favor on behalf of the people of Xiangshan!” Kang Shiming praised, “If it’s convenient for you, we will rush to Duanqiao Village, which is the most affected village at the moment.”

Liu Yusheng nodded, “Okay, I’ll withdraw and make some preparations. I’ll be ready to go when I get out.”

After speaking, she got up and went to her courtyard. Kang Shiming asked her to accompany them, but what he valued was her medical skills. There must be people in the disaster stricken villages who needed urgent attention and treatment. She had to bring a spare medical kit.

The Liu family knew that Nannan would agree, but they didn’t expect Kang Shiming to be so aggressive in his actions. He came to find her and took her away immediately.

The three women, Grandma Liu, Chen Xiulan and Du Juan quickly chased after Nannan to help her pack her things for the trip.

When they were a little farther away from the hall, Grandma Liu asked, “Nannan, if you go out with Magistrate Kang, what about the people who came to seek medical help in your consultation room?”