Chapter 76 - A Blessing in Disguise: A Two-in-One Story
As soon as he finished speaking, the voices of the old lady and the young apprentice came from both inside and outside the house. In an instant, the young apprentice came in with a needle pouch. Doctor He took the needle pouch and quickly inserted a needle into the patient's cervix. When the old lady brought over the ginseng slices, Doctor He said directly, "Let her hold it in her mouth."
The old woman gently pried open Lin Shuilian's mouth and stuffed the ginseng slice inside.
"Hold it in your mouth, don't swallow it."
Lin Shuilian nodded weakly.
Dr. He looked at the old lady and said, "Boil another pot of water and prepare it."
After the old lady agreed, she left in a hurry. Doctor He continued to administer acupuncture. Lin Chuntao and Aunt Guizhi stood by, not daring to breathe, just waiting for the doctor to finish administering the acupuncture.
But before Aunt Guizhi could ask, Doctor He said, "Who are your children?"
Aunt Guizhi hurriedly replied, "I am her mother. This child is married. I only found out about the great suffering she has endured when I went to her husband's house today. Doctor, how is she?"
Dr. He sighed deeply, looking at Aunt Guizhi with a sense of helplessness.
“The baby in her belly has stopped breathing a long time ago, but I can tell from her belly that she is at least four or five months pregnant. She needs to take medicine to see if the baby can come out, otherwise we will have to find a midwife to help her.”
Aunt Guizhi swayed and almost fell to the ground, but Lin Chuntao quickly pulled her up.
"Doctor, how is the master now?"
"You're hanging by a thread, you need to decide what to do quickly?"
Aunt Guizhi felt dizzy and couldn't breathe. She gripped Lin Chuntao's arm tightly. Seeing her like this, Lin Chuntao could only ask Doctor He, "How can we reduce her suffering and save her life?"
Hearing Lin Chuntao's words, Doctor He stared at her intently, thinking that in this situation, it was already a miracle she was alive; she didn't expect her to suffer less...
But Lin Chuntao was not old, and the woman next to her was also at a loss. He said, "Take the medicine first. If there is no movement in 25 minutes, ask the midwife for help. She will suffer unavoidably. I will do my best to save her life."
Lin Chuntao dared not make such a suggestion. She looked at Aunt Guizhi and said, "Auntie, you make a decision."
Aunt Guizhi looked at Lin Shuilian lying there, wiped away her tears haphazardly, and said, "Thank you for your help, doctor. I'll do as you say! Please show me the way to fetch a midwife."
Doctor He said, "You don't need to go in person, I'll send someone to invite you."
After saying this, Doctor He called another boy to run and fetch the midwife, while he went to prepare the medicine. He took out a few pills and gave the dried herbs to the old lady to boil. He showed the pills to Aunt Guizhi.
He had specially prepared and brewed these pills to help women abort their pregnancies. After he finished speaking with Aunt Guizhi, Aunt Guizhi's gaze towards him changed. He then looked at Lin Chuntao and saw that Lin Chuntao's expression remained normal.
He continued looking at Aunt Guizhi and said, "Take three pills, and it will be effective in a quarter of an hour. The fetus is already dead. This medicine can only help her get rid of the fetus. I'll give you the medicine, you can feed it yourself."
Aunt Guizhi tremblingly took the pill. The dark pill felt like an invisible hand, tightly gripping her throat, making it impossible for her to breathe.
Will my daughter be able to have children again?
Dr. He shook his head. There might be a chance, but he couldn't guarantee it.
Aunt Guizhi was heartbroken to the point of near death, but nothing was more important than her daughter being alive.
The boy who was in charge of medicine quickly brought back the midwife. The midwife quickly boiled water, warmed the wine, and scalded the tools. Aunt Guizhi fed Lin Shuilian the medicine, and soon she cried out in pain!
After waiting for two incense sticks to burn, Lin Shuilian was writhing in pain. She hung up the curtain, and the midwife examined her and said to Aunt Guizhi, "I have to help her with a massage."
Aunt Guizhi nodded numbly. Lin Chuntao was still standing beside her. The midwife glanced at her and said, "Little girl, go wait outside."
Aunt Guizhi suddenly came to her senses and pushed Lin Chuntao out.
"Peach Girl, go wait outside."
Lin Chuntao was also afraid of such a bloody scene. After Aunt Guizhi pushed her out, she sat outside with Pei Ying.
Pei Ying looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you alright?"
Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. "It's nothing."
As Pei Ying listened to Lin Shuilian's screams, he experienced the pain of childbirth firsthand for the first time, and seemed to understand Lin Chuntao's words a little better.
After about 45 minutes, Lin Chuntao heard the midwife say, "It should be clean now."
Then, basins of bloody water were brought to the backyard.
The old lady from the clinic brought over a bowl of blackened herbal soup, which Aunt Guizhi fed to Lin Shuilian, saving her life.
The midwife's money was to be given in a red envelope. Doctor He's family had one, so they gave it to her. It contained sixty-six coins. Aunt Guizhi didn't have any money on her, so Lin Chuntao lent it to her.
The doctor prescribed several more doses of medicine to regulate the body, and charged a total of 486 coins.
Lin Chuntao looked at Doctor He and asked, "Can we take her back now?"
Doctor He said, "Let her sleep for a while. Wait another half an hour, and if everything is alright, you can take her back."
Lin Chuntao and the others hadn't eaten, as had Aunt Guizhi and the others. Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying had helped her a lot, and now she came over to ask Lin Chuntao and the others what they wanted to eat.
Lin Chuntao said, "Auntie, what would you like to eat? I'll go buy it. You stay with Sister Shuilian."
Aunt Guizhi wanted to go herself, but after glancing back at Lin Shuilian lying down, she listened to Lin Chuntao's arrangement. Since food was hard to buy, Lin Chuntao went and bought a few mutton pies, and they each ate one.
They gave the old lady some money, cooked some millet porridge, and fed it to Lin Shuilian.
Lin Chuntao and the others waited outside, and Doctor He was sitting next to them. He looked at Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying, and finally his gaze fell on Lin Chuntao.
First, I bought her mushrooms; then, she had a fever and Pei Ying carried her here; and now, it's today.
The first two times were fine, but this time he was impressed by Lin Chuntao. She was a girl who had never given birth, yet she was calm and clear-headed. In particular, when he took out the pill, many people said that he was heartless for making such a thing, but he only felt that it was convenient to use and effective.
As a doctor, he feels no guilt as long as he saves lives.
But every time he takes out the pill to use it, everyone gives him the same look, as if he has killed the unborn child.
"Miss Lin, would you like to study medicine?"
This sudden remark made Lin Chuntao's eyes widen. She looked at the old man in surprise, pointing to herself incredulously: "Me? Studying medicine?"
Dr. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "What? You're not up to it?"
Lin Chuntao twitched the corners of her lips. Whether it was modern medicine or traditional Chinese medicine, she felt they were both insurmountable mountains.
"I really can't."
She answered decisively, and Doctor He sighed, looking disappointed. Lin Chuntao said, "I'm not good at any of the four diagnostic methods: observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation."
Dr. He shook his head: "You're just unwilling."
“I was just saying it offhand, you can choose not to learn it.” He said without waiting for Lin Chuntao’s reply, “Come here, let me take your pulse.”
Lin Chuntao didn't refuse. She quickly went over and sat down. The old man took her pulse and wrote her a new prescription.
"After drinking for a while longer, I feel much better."
Lin Chuntao nodded her thanks, "Then I'll take the medicine back with me."
The old man prepared the medicine for her and instructed her, "Drink the rest of what you had before, then drink this."
Lin Chuntao agreed and counted the money over.
After Aunt Guizhi fed Lin Shuilian a bowl of porridge, Doctor He took her pulse again and, finding nothing serious, let them leave.
When they left the city gate, it was already past mid-morning.
Fortunately, Aunt Guizhi had taken the quilt out after fighting with Lin Shuilian's mother-in-law, and it was just in time to cover Lin Shuilian with it when she went back.
Aunt Guizhi led the mule, while Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying walked behind.
"Chuntao, your aunt will bring you the money when we get home," Aunt Guizhi said, turning back as she walked.
Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Shuilian on the mule cart, her face pale with exhaustion. This matter was only just over; there were still many things to come.
"Auntie, there's no rush."
Now that she's back home with her daughter in a mule cart, Aunt Guizhi still feels a lingering fear.
If it weren't for meeting Lin Chuntao on the way and asking her to take her daughter directly to the county town, and then having her bring the child home and return to the county town, it's unknown whether she could have been saved.
She was extremely grateful to Lin Chuntao.
Along the way, she was so anxious and flustered that she was in a panic, but Lin Chuntao remained calm and composed. She recalled the disaster that had befallen the Lin family, when the officials came to arrest people. It was raining heavily that day, and Lin Chuntao had calmly arrested her three younger sisters.
At that time, she only felt sorry for the sisters. Only now did she realize that the girl behind her, who was even younger than her own daughter, was already an adult, and even more capable than an adult.
Thinking of her poor daughter, she felt endless regret. The child couldn't speak, and she and her husband only thought about finding her a good family. They never thought about keeping her with them. They had carefully selected the family, yet they still ruined the child like this.
If we had understood this earlier, we wouldn't have let our children suffer so much.
Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying helped take Lin Shuilian to Aunt Guizhi's house.
The women in the village knew that Aunt Guizhi had gone to see Lin Shuilian. Now that they saw her return and that she seemed to be in a bad mood, they all looked curiously at the mule cart behind her. But seeing that her expression was really strange, they didn't ask any of their curious or gossipy questions.
Aunt Guizhi pulled the mule cart straight into the house. When she saw her granddaughter lying on the cart, the old lady exclaimed, "What happened? How did she get like this?"
Lin Shan rushed over from the courtyard wall, pointing at his daughter and gesturing frantically to Aunt Guizhi. Aunt Guizhi's eyes instantly filled with tears as she looked at him, and she said through gritted teeth, "Your daughter was bullied by that beast!"
Uncle Lin was so angry that he spun around on the spot. Finally, he grabbed a sickle and was about to rush out when Pei Ying grabbed him and whispered, "Uncle, my sister's health is important. Let's wait until she's better."
Lin Shuilian has already been taken home. With her parents there, it wouldn't be appropriate to ask Pei Ying to carry her inside again.
Aunt Guizhi called Uncle Linshan to carry the person inside and settle them in. Aunt Guizhi then told Linshan what had happened. When they came out, the couple's eyes were red. The old lady stood in the courtyard looking at Lin Chuntao hopelessly. Before she could ask anything, Lin Chuntao said, "Sixth Grandma, don't worry, Sister Shuilian is alright."
After dropping the person off at home, Lin Chuntao and the others prepared to go home as well.
Aunt Guizhi hurriedly told her to wait a moment, went back into the house to get the money, and came out with six hundred coins. Lin Chuntao originally said that there was no rush and that she could give it to her in a few days.
Aunt Guizhi said that whatever was convenient in her hand, she should take it back. Lin Chuntao didn't stand on ceremony anymore. She counted the money and found that Aunt Guizhi had even included the money for the cakes. Lin Chuntao took out all that money, only keeping the money for the medicine and the red envelope money for the midwife.
Aunt Guizhi insisted on giving it to her, saying, "You child, you and Xiao Pei have helped me a lot. I don't need you to spend money to buy cakes. Take it."
Lin Chuntao ran off without taking anything, and Aunt Guizhi called out helplessly, "Why are you running away, you little brat? I'm going to go with you to bring those two children back."
"Auntie, you're busy. We'll bring those two children over to you in a bit."
Aunt Guizhi shook her head. When she arrived, the beast was beating her daughter. The two children were so frightened that they huddled in a corner. She had given the children to Lin Chunxing to bring back halfway. Aunt Guizhi thought that the children were worried and scared, so she decided to bring them back sooner.
When they arrived home, Lin Duo'er was playing with the two children in the yard, and they already knew each other.
Seeing Aunt Guizhi arrive, she stood up somewhat fearfully, wiped her hands behind her back, and then timidly called out, "Grandma."
Aunt Guizhi felt extremely sorry for the child. She went over, took the child's hand, and thanked Lin Chunxing. Lin Chunxing quickly replied, "Auntie, don't be so polite. We had a great time this afternoon."
Aunt Guizhi looked at the two children before saying to Lin Chuntao, "Chuntao, bring your sisters over for dinner tonight."
Lin Chuntao said, "Auntie, don't bother. Take care of Sister Shuilian first. We'll eat after she's better."
She mainly wanted to thank Lin Chuntao and the others for their help; otherwise, Aunt Guizhi wouldn't have had the energy to cook anything today. After Lin Chuntao said that, she agreed.
We're so close by, we can have a meal anytime, there's no rush.
After seeing Aunt Guizhi off, Lin Chunxing asked Lin Chuntao, "How is Sister Shuilian?"
"I lost the baby in my belly," Lin Chuntao said.
Lin Chunxing's eyes widened: "Why?"
Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er, who were standing nearby, also looked at her curiously. Pei Ying went inside to change her clothes, and when she came out, she took a basin to the river to wash.
Watching Pei Ying leave, Lin Chuntao said to the three of them, "I don't know why, but when we got to the clinic, the doctor tried to save her. He gave her acupuncture and ginseng slices to suck on, but the doctor said the baby in her belly was long gone."
Pregnancy itself is full of unexpected events. Even with modern medicine, some women experience fetal movement one day and then no heartbeat the next, without any warning and with no way to help. Moreover, in this era, Lin Shuilian was probably beaten like that before. It's impossible to say whether she was injured by that beast or if it was due to the embryo itself.
Seeing her younger sisters' bewildered expressions, Lin Chuntao said solemnly, "You're still young. I was planning to tell you after you got married, but since something like this happened today, I have to say it. Pregnancy is a wonderful thing, but it also comes with dangers. Like Sister Shuilian today, her baby was lost before it was fully developed. Naturally, it couldn't stay in her belly, so it had to be removed. The doctor prescribed medicine and a midwife was called to help. It was just as painful as childbirth, and she almost lost her life."
"When you grow up and get married, don't get pregnant and have children if you haven't thought it through."
Lin Duo'er was still young and didn't understand. She only knew that if her sister said no, then she couldn't do it, and she nodded repeatedly.
Lin Chunxing seemed to understand something, her cheeks flushed slightly as she felt a little awkward. Only Lin Chunhe remained impulsive, looking at Lin Chuntao and asking, "Sister, does a baby grow in the belly after marriage? Does that mean you won't grow a baby if you don't get married?"
Lin Chuntao was stunned. Only then did she realize that sex education seemed easy to talk about but difficult to do.
She should be able to explain things clearly about Lin Chunhe and Lin Chunxing, but what about Lin Duo'er? Should she tell or not?
Just as I was worrying, a shout came from outside.
"Duo'er! Duo'er, are you home?"
Hearing the shout, Lin Duo'er said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, it's Meng Yue calling me."
Lin Chuntao said, "Go ahead."
After Lin Duo'er finished speaking, she ran out. Lin Chuntao then heard Meng Yue and Lin Duo'er say, "I'm going to pick wild purple fruit, do you want to come?"
Lin Duo'er certainly wanted to go. She was lively and active all day long. Upon hearing this, she ran to the door and said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, Meng Yue and I are going to pick purple fruits."
"Okay." Lin Chuntao responded and then instructed, "Don't go too far. You have to be back before dark."
"good!"
Lin Duo'er ran far away, leaving only Lin Chunxing and Lin Chunhe in front of her. She then had no more reservations and explained the physiological structure of men and women and how babies are conceived.
Lin Chunxing's cheeks grew even redder, while Lin Chunhe stared in disbelief, her face filled with astonishment.
Lin Chuntao said, "Many people don't pay attention to contraception nowadays, so they keep getting pregnant again after giving birth to one child."
"If I don't do that, will I not get pregnant?" Lin Chunhe asked.
Lin Chuntao nodded. "That's the principle, but it's normal for couples to have intimate relations. It's not like you can avoid sex just to prevent pregnancy. There are sheep intestines that men can wear to prevent pregnancy."
Lin Chunhe exclaimed "Eh!" and Lin Chuntao laughed, "I'm just explaining this to you so you can understand. You're both still very young, so it's enough for you to know it in your hearts."
The two sisters nodded. They had never heard of what Lin Chuntao had just told them. So that's how it was.
But they didn't know how their older sister knew.
"Sister, did Mother tell you all this?" Lin Chunxing asked.
Lin Chuntao paused for a moment, looking at the two sisters in front of her. They would be living together for a long time to come, and as long as they lived together, they would gradually discover the differences between themselves and the people around them.
She remembered that Lin Chunxing had looked at her like that a few times, and she must have had doubts in her heart, but she never asked her about it.
Since she asked today, Lin Chuntao simply came up with a reason.
"no."
Lin Chunxing's expression froze upon hearing Lin Chuntao's answer. Lin Chuntao continued, "The time I jumped into the lake, I was on the verge of death when I entered a bizarre and wonderful world. That's where I learned about it."
"This is not a good thing either. I can't explain it, and I don't want to tell outsiders. You are my dearest sisters. If we had been a little slower that day, I might have gone to the underworld and never come back."
As she finished speaking, her two younger sisters' eyes dimmed, as if they had returned to that day.
Thinking back on everything that happened that day, they couldn't ask any more questions and just nodded.
Lin Chuntao said, "You mustn't tell anyone about this, not even Duo'er."
"Okay," the two sisters replied in unison.
After she finished speaking, the courtyard fell silent. The two sisters were both a little downcast. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Don't be upset. Aren't you doing well now? You could say it's a blessing in disguise."
"What do you mean by turning misfortune into blessing?"
Pei Ying returned, and when he asked, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I was talking to my sisters about Sister Shuilian. I wonder what Aunt Guizhi and the others are planning to do."
Based on Pei Ying's understanding of these kinds of things, she estimated that in a few days Lin Shuilian's husband's family would come to make peace and apologize, and then take her back. Especially those families with brothers would feel that a married sister shouldn't stay in her parents' home for too long.
But Aunt Guizhi has no sons, so it depends on what they think.
"It depends on what Aunt Guizhi and the others want to do."
Lin Chuntao said, "Aunt Guizhi and the others don't have any children either. If you ask me, it would be better to leave Sister Shuilian at home."
Aunt Guizhi's house is in the middle of the village, surrounded by other houses, so everyone knows about any little thing that happens.
When they saw that Aunt Guizhi had brought two children back with her, they all said, "Are these Shuilian's two kids? They've grown so much."
Aunt Guizhi, with a little strength, responded and took the child home.
At this time, at Aunt Guizhi's house, the old lady went into the house to see Lin Shuilian. Seeing her haggard and weak appearance, the old lady was in a bad mood. She ran to catch an old hen and handed it to Lin Shan.
"Go kill them."
Lin Shan took the old hen, carried it into the house to get a knife, and the old lady prepared half a bowl of water for him to collect the chicken blood. After taking the chicken blood away, she went to get a pot and two eggs. She boiled some water, cracked the two eggs into it, and poached them. After they were cooked, she scooped them into a bowl, added two spoonfuls of honey, stirred it, and then took it to Lin Shuilian.
Lin Shuilian gestured a few times, and the old lady said, "Grandma will feed you, or you can drink some water."
When Aunt Guizhi returned with the children, her husband was scalding chicken feathers, and the old lady was feeding Lin Shuilian sweet egg soup by the bedside.
Upon seeing the two children, the old lady, holding a bowl, said to Aunt Guizhi, "I only cooked two, you can go and cook two more for the children."
"Grandma, we don't want to eat."
As soon as Tian Hu finished speaking, Zhao'er, who was standing next to him, said, "Grandma, that auntie cooked some for us at noon and shared it with us."
Aunt Guizhi asked, "Did you share the stir-fried eggs with spring apricots?"
The two children nodded. "She also cooked some meat. She gave my brother and me a lot to eat."
The old lady and Lin Shan were taken aback by the children's words. Aunt Guizhi said to the two children, "The one who brought you back today is Second Aunt Chunxing, and the one who went with Grandma to send Mother to the county town is First Aunt. They are both very good people."
The two children nodded upon hearing this, and Aunt Guizhi asked, "Are you hungry? If you are, Grandma will cook. If you are not hungry, we will wait a while before eating."
"Grandma, we're not hungry."
Aunt Guizhi said, "Then you can play in the yard."
After the child agreed, she went inside to check on Lin Shuilian. There was still some sugar water and half an egg left in the bowl. Aunt Guizhi said, "Mother, let me do it."
The old lady didn't argue; she handed the bowl and small bamboo spoon to Aunt Guizhi, while she stood aside and watched.
After Aunt Guizhi fed her two more bites, Lin Shuilian shook her head.
She coaxed, "Then drink two more sips of sugar water."
Lin Shuilian only drank a couple of sips of the sugar water and then stopped. She gestured that she was a little sleepy, and Aunt Guizhi asked, "Does your stomach hurt?"
"If it hurts a lot, you should tell your mother."
Lin Shuilian shook her head, still gesturing that she wanted to sleep. Aunt Guizhi tucked the corner of the blanket around her and didn't disturb her any further. She then took the bowl and left the room.
The old lady followed behind Aunt Guizhi; she still didn't know what had happened to the child.
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