<h4>Chapter 1012: Chapter 1012: Poverty in the Vige</h4>


    The egg went down.


    Xiaoyu patted her stomach contentedly; she didn’t often get the chance to eat eggs.


    Most of her father’s and her own sry went to help his patients.


    So their family wasn’t much better off than the vige chief’s.


    It had been a long time since shest ate an egg.


    Thest time she ate an egg seemed to be on her birthday.


    Her biological mother passed away early, leaving her and her father to rely on each other. Every year on her birthday, her father would cook her an egg, which was a treatment she only received on her birthday. Year after year, it had always been like this, so the taste of the egg was indescribably delicious.


    Xiaoyu was still smacking her lips.


    Suddenly, her wide-open mouth was stuffed with another egg, she almost choked.


    Then Bai Xiao seriously said, "I’m allergic to eggs, you eat it for me, otherwise it will go to waste! If Auntie sees it, she’ll think I’m being picky."


    Xiaoyu was so anxious that she wanted to spit it out. How had the egg ended up in her mouth?


    Allergic to eggs?


    That’s a lie!


    She’s not a three-year-old child, who would believe that?


    Bai Xiao said with extreme disdain, "Don’t spit it out, if you spit it out, it would be so disgustinging out of your mouth."


    Xiaoyu paused!


    Spitting it out wasn’t an option, but not spitting it out wasn’t an option either.


    This really made her choke.


    Bai Xiao quickly handed her some water, asking her to take a few sips and pat her back.


    Finally, Xiaoyu swallowed.


    She choked and rolled her eyes.


    "You... Bai Doctor, you are really something! Allergic to eggs? I’m allergic to sweet potatoes then!"


    Xiaoyu jumped in anger, her father had repeatedly emphasized to take good care of Bai Doctor and Zhang Doctor. She had taken care of them so well they almost ended up in the river, and now she had entrusted the egg into her own stomach. How would she exin this to her father?


    The young girl was extremely anxious.


    "Stop jumping about, the egg is already down; you can’t spit it out even if you wanted to. Quick, eat your meal, eat your meal, after eating we need to hurry and see if we can attend to some patients."


    Bai Xiao didn’t mind and continued eating her sweet potato. If you eat too much of this, it might cause stomach acid, and she didn’t know why in this vige they were still stuck in the initial stage of household contract responsibility system; people’s living standards were really not better than their original Liupan Vige before the system.


    These harsh conditions of mountains and rivers were one aspect, but there must be some natural advantages to utilize.


    The vige chief entered only after they had almost finished eating, a man in his forties, who personally said they all carried the surname Ji, the vige chief was called Ji Xiang, and if he hadn’t told them, Bai Xiao and the others could never have guessed he was only a little over forty.


    Because Ji Xiang looked hunched over, with white hair, deeply grooved face, and a darkplexion that did not resemble what a man in the prime of life should look like.


    They understood the burden of the vige and family had prematurely aged this man.


    Out of respect for them, Mayor Ji Xiang chatted with them for a long time.


    It was at this moment Bai Xiao realized the vige was poor partly due to barrennd and too many people. Before family nning came into effect, every household had many children despite not having enough food. Why have so many children then?


    Because each family had disabled children, and in hopes that one day someone would take care of them, they had more, hoping to give birth to a child with a sound body and a sharp mind to care for these ill brothers and sisters. Otherwise, when the parents passed, there was no one else but death for those children.


    So, the more they gave birth, the poorer they became.


    Moreover, the mountainous area was treacherous with no road. Even if someone had the idea of breeding or nting, they didn’t have the technique, and it couldn’t be sold.


    With mountains high over rivers, the journey was far—where would they sell?


    Traders outside were not willing to make the effort toe to the mountains—it was cumbersome and not profitable.


    So the vige was destitute and impoverished.


    Every family was so poor they probably shared pants.


    In many homes, several people shared one pair of pants, wearing them when going out.


    If a guest came to the house, it was awkward; everyone would hide under the quilt.


    The problem was not everyone had a quilt.


    They didn’t grow cotton there, and cotton was costly both in money and ration stamps, which they couldn’t afford.


    In many homes, the quilts were filled with reeds and straw; it was just too poor.


    Bai Xiao was left speechless too; she had thought her hometown was impoverished too, considering geographical reasons, their vige was not a wealthy one either, butpared to here, it was simply heaven.


    Bai Xiao asked the vige chief, "Why don’t you lead the vigers off the mountain, it would at least offer a way of survival?"


    She didn’t understand why these vigers clung to the mountain?


    Mayor Ji Xiang shook his head, "You don’t understand, it’s been handed down from generation to generation. It can’t be lost on our watch! Even if they moved down, where would they go? How would they survive? The viges at the bottom of the mountain have long been upied, and theirnd cannot be taken to cultivate. Not farming? Old and young here have no skills, the vige chief has the highest education, graduating from fourth grade, many others don’t know how to read a single word.


    Moving down the mountain, they would starve to death! So an unsatisfying life is better than death; at least up here we can scrape by without starving."


    What the vige chief didn’t say was that only in recent years had people stopped dying of starvation; in the past, people died every year. For them, being able to eat was a good thing—they really hadn’t pursued much else.


    Move down the mountain?


    The vige had many suffering from intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and polio. How could these people live if they went down?


    Thinking of this, the man in his forties truly shed tears.


    He was the vige chief yet helpless in the plight of the vigers.


    Bai Xiao and Doctor Zhang were speechless too.


    This was once themon issue of all rural areas—the poorer they were, the more they gave birth, the more they gave birth, the poorer they became.


    Additionally, with inconvenient transportation, even if people here wanted to be wealthy, it would be extremely difficult.


    After speaking at length, Mayor Ji Xiang seemed more at ease; the simple man seemed somewhat embarrassed, as if by telling strangers all the troubles and worries of the vige, he was seeking help.


    "Doctor Zhang, Doctor Bai, I just beg you to look at the vigers’ ailments. In recent days, whether due to the water and soil, many people have fallen ill in every household. If you hadn’te, we would have had to invite Dean Lu from the town.


    Arge number of people in the vige has fallen ill."


    Upon hearing this, Bai Xiao and Doctor Zhang were shocked.


    Earlier, sittingfortably eating and drinking, they thought the vige might only have minor ailments, unlikely to have so many sick people, but now hearing Mayor Ji Xiang, it seemed there were indeed not few patients who had fallen ill.