In his room, he had nothing to do.
He reorganized his medicine bag, putting everything back in it's proper place. Then he closed his eyes, listening to the two girls chattering in the outer room.
The midday meal was porridge again.
No wonder the girl was sick. He would get sick too if he had to eat this three times a day everyday.
He left for a walk after the meal.
Outside the village in the woods, he blew the whistle and Gu Zhang appeared soon.
"I need a servant to look after me. You should get some supplies too. Coal and food."
"I'll have someone get the supplies. In the evening?"
The doctor nodded.
Gu Zhang bowed, "I'll be there."
---
Back in his room, the doctor sat on the chair, then sat on his bed, then laid down, tried to sleep.
Feeling restless, he sat up again, then moved back to the chair.
He reorganized the medicine bag again, even undoing, cleaning, and redoing all the pre-prepared prescriptions for common ailments.
He hung the bag upside down, shook it to get rid of herbal crumbs aggregated at the bottom, then carefully placed all the raw medicines and prescriptions back in.
Closing the bag again, he placed it carefully on the table.
Looking back, less than an hour had passed.
He paced around the room impatiently, wishing he'd asked Gu Zheng to get a go board as well. At worst he could play with himself.
He walked to the outer room where girl and maid were whispering together on the bed. They raised their heads in unison to look up at him.
For some reason, he was reminded of his dogs.
He stared at the two of them. Then asked, "Is there any tea?"
The maid hurried out of bed, and went to fiddle in the kitchen. He sat at the table, drumming his fingers against the wood.
Two bright black eyes watched him from the bed.
"How's your cough?" he asked.
"It's better Mr. Doctor," Lu Yan said cautiously, "But not completely gone."
"Hmm, it will take at least five days."
She nodded, but remained silent.
"You need to eat better food. More eggs, meat and vegetables. Otherwise you'll get ill more often."
"I used to eat more in the summer, but now-"
She looked out of the window.
There was almost no light despite it being early afternoon. Heavy dark clouds hung in the sky. Thick flakes of snow fell, swirling silently.
They both stopped speaking.
Luizhu emerged from the kitchen soon, carrying two bowls and a little pot. She placed the tray on the table, and poured two cups, handing one to him, and one to her miss.
He took a sniff, then a sip. His displeasure grew.
He placed his cup down with a little thud, "Is there no better tea?"
Luizhu, bristling at his tone, said defensively, "We don't get guests often. This is the best tea we have. If you-"
The young miss glanced at her. Luizhu fell silent immediately.
"I'm sorry for our poor hospitality Mr. Doctor. I'll send someone to get better tea tomorrow."
"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said pointedly.
There was a pause before she said, "Just in case you visit in the future."
He didn't answer, lifted his cup to take another sip.
At least it was hot.
---
When the knock on the door finally arrived, he couldn't help but stand quickly, and fling the door open.
The two girls stared at him.
At the door, Gu Zheng, covered in snow, bowed, "Master, I've finally arrived."
"Come in, come in," he urged.
Gu Zheng was carrying several heavy bags.
"Did you get any tea?"
Gu Zheng nodded.
"What about a go board?"
Gu Zheng nodded again.
The doctor was overjoyed. Truly, Gu Zheng knew him well.
---
That night, dinner was made by Gu Zheng using the ingredients he had brought.
Luizhu whispered privately to her mistress, "You didn't see it miss. One of those big bags he has contains many different types of dried meats and vegetables."
The young miss sniffed carefully through her mostly blocked nose, and indeed the inside of the house was full of an appetizing scent.
"What's he making now?"
"He brought a big basket of fresh meat. That's what he stewed today, with many spices."
Both their mouths watered. It had been almost two months since they last ate meat.
"And he made a big pot of white rice," Luizhu added.
"Hmm."
The two of them stared intently at the kitchen door.
The doctor, sitting at the table with a go board, paid no attention to them.
Soon Luizhu was called away by Gu Sheng to help set the table for the doctor.
The young miss sat up straight to watch: a big steaming bowl of meat stew, another big bowl of rice, and a small dish containing pickles.
This doctor was indeed rich.
Suddenly, she thought of his expression when she'd handed him the copper coins in the morning, and felt a little uneasy.
Luizhu brought her a tray with the same meal as the doctor.
Forgetting everything else, she dug in without restraint. The salty meaty broth slid down her aching throat easily. It tasted so good!
Luizhu even got her a second bowl.
The rice was soft, and perfectly complemented the salt and spices of the broth. The pickle was crisp and made her tongue shiver at the sourness.
She took a mouthful of rice, a little bite of the pickle and a spoonful of the broth, and ate it all together.
It was amazing!
Luizhu sitting beside her on the floor had brought her own bowl over. The two of them were hyper focused on eating.
Seated at the table, the two men studied them, then exchanged glances, before returning to their own meals.
After the food, Luizhu brought her miss medicine.
She was reluctant to spoil the good taste in her mouth, but seeing the sideways glance from the doctor, she hurriedly drank it up quickly.
Her face scrunched. Luizhu handed her warm water. She drank it to push down the bitterness.
After the meal, Gu Sheng produced coal from one of his big bags.
He filled the stove in the main room where the fifth miss and Luizhu slept.
"Keep the door open at night, so the other room can also warm up," he instructed Luizhu.
Luizhu looked at the high grade coal that would burn all night and thinking of the warmth, she nodded and agreed eagerly.
The two men retired into the inner room. Luizhu and the young miss huddled into their bed, putting the candles out.
The stove burnt steadily. Warmth spread inside the house.
Outside, big flakes of snow swirled and fell all night.
The two girls slept peacefully.