In ancient times, a village was only so big, and there were few leisure activities, so any small incident in a household would quickly become known to everyone. Some people couldn't stand others doing well, so the gossip spread that Old Lady Wang was mistreating her third son, who was now critically ill, yet she didn't call for a doctor, only letting the Divine Woman have a look.
Not every era puts faith in the shamanistic practices of a Divine Woman. Most people, when sick, would rather spend money to buy some medicine. Business for the Divine Woman was slow, so her fees were cheap; sometimes, she might just get a meal — even a cup of wine was hard to obtain. If someone called for her, they were either genuinely beyond medical help or so poor they had absolutely nothing.
