Chapter 50: Iodine Deficiency - Are the Supplies We Bring Sufficient?
Heng Qing hugged Cheng Liu tenderly and said softly, "Don't cry. Maybe you're just imagining things. Let Doctor Yu Yan take a look first."
Cheng Liu nodded as if grasping at a straw, his eyes glistening with tears: "Mmm."
Yu Yan was also watching the young couple who came from the highland tribe.
The beastman in the form of a black panther had short black hair and a pair of sharp, bright yellow eyes; the orc in his arms was half a head shorter than him, with gray hair and pale blue eyes.
Needless to say, Yu Yan had never seen anything ugly in the beast world. The long journey had only made them dusty and weary, but it had not diminished their good looks.
To Yu Yan's slight surprise, Cheng Liu looked very haggard, whether from being slightly overweight or bloated.
His lower abdomen was slightly protruding, and combined with what he had just said, he was probably pregnant.
This was the first time she had treated a "pregnant man" since she transmigrated to the beast world, so she couldn't help but glance at his lower abdomen a few more times.
Various thoughts flashed through Yu Yan's mind, but she maintained a serious and reliable demeanor on her face.
"Come with me." He gently led the two into the thatched hut, casually moving aside anything blocking their way. "Sorry, there's a lot of stuff."
Heng Qing: "It's alright."
The hut was small, so the people from the highland tribe who had come with them stood outside and waited.
"Sit here." Yu Yan pointed to the long bench on the ground.
This was made by cutting the parts after the metal tools were made, and then using mortise and tenon joints.
Heng Qing and Cheng Liu had never met before, so they sat down very carefully.
Once they were settled, they exchanged a surprised look.
Yu Yan pulled over a new stool, sat down opposite them, and took out her notebook and charcoal pencil.
As he asked questions, he kept his head down taking notes: "What's the patient's name? How old is she? How far along is she in her pregnancy? Where does she feel unwell?"
Cheng Liu answered one by one. He and Xin Yu were the same age, and based on the timeline, he guessed that the baby was conceived in late spring.
“Lately, I feel like my baby is becoming less and less energetic... I’m so scared, is he going to leave me?” he asked sadly.
Yu Yan counted on her fingers, and realized it had only been a little over three months?
Although he was a pediatrician in modern times, he also treated pregnant women when he rotated to the emergency department.
At such a young age, one shouldn't be able to feel fetal movement.
Are the people of the beast world perhaps a little different in this respect?
With too few medical records, Yu Yan dared not draw any conclusions.
"Wait a minute, let me check it for you."
Hearing his gentle tone, Cheng Liu felt an even stronger urge to cry.
"I consulted the best orc doctor in our area, but he couldn't see anything wrong with me at all, and even said I was overthinking it. But I could sense it! Something must have happened to my baby!"
Yu Yan: "Okay, don't rush."
He stood up, turned around and found Lan Xiu: "Lan Xiu, go to the tribe and call Xue Fei, Xin Yu and the other sub-beastmen who have had offspring over here."
Lan Xiu nodded: "Okay."
He transformed into his beast form and quickly left.
Yu Yan put away her notebook, washed her hands, and walked up to Cheng Liu.
He is now severely lacking in medical equipment, not even a stethoscope, and can only examine his condition through observation, listening, questioning, and palpation.
Fortunately, Cheng Liu was very cooperative, doing whatever he was asked and answering all his questions seriously.
"The patient's family members, please move aside a bit, let me try to listen again."
Heng Qing quickly got up.
Yu Yan squatted down and put her ear to Cheng Liu's stomach.
The fabric had not yet reached the highland tribes, so he was wearing a smooth fish skin garment.
Yu Yan covered her other ear with her hand, listened for a while, and then gave up.
He stood up and explained, "There's too much background noise; I can't hear the cub's heartbeat." If only he could take its pulse. Sigh.
Cheng Liu's face turned deathly pale, and he asked helplessly, "What does it mean if I can't hear you... Could it be that he's already..."
He simply couldn't bring himself to say the word "death."
Yu Yan: "No, nothing is certain yet. Don't scare yourself. Maintaining a good mood is also very important during pregnancy."
Cheng Liu: "Mmm."
Footsteps came from the woods; it was Xin Yu and the others.
"Yu Yan! You're looking for us?"
Yu Yan turned around: "Okay, you guys come."
He had several sub-beastmen who had given birth to cubs communicate with Cheng Liu.
Xin Yu: "...I gave birth to Shuoxing several years ago, and I've forgotten what it felt like back then. Everything seems pretty normal now."
Xuefei remembered it more clearly. He said, "My Qiuze is a troublemaker. I was vomiting for more than half a year. It's scary to think about. But at that time, I was the one who was suffering. I didn't feel anything from him. You're not pregnant yet, and the baby hasn't moved in your belly."
Cheng Liu: "I didn't feel him move either. I just felt that his condition was very bad, like he was about to leave me at any moment..."
He looked at Yu Yan in despair: "Believe me, I'm not lying."
Yu Yan: "I believe you."
He explained to several pregnant men, "Actually, the baby moves around a lot in the womb, but you can't feel it when it's too small."
Xuefei and the others suddenly realized: "Oh, I see..."
It's incredibly difficult for humans in the beast world to conceive; many couples spend over a hundred years trying without ever getting pregnant.
Therefore, every cub is a treasure of the entire tribe.
As people who have been through similar experiences, Xin Yu and Xue Fei are particularly able to understand Cheng Liu's feelings.
Maybe something really is wrong with the baby.
But they dared not say it aloud, and comforted Cheng Liu, saying, "The little ones are very strong, maybe he's just sleeping. You are his adoptive father, so be strong and give him strength."
Cheng Liu responded gratefully, then looked at Yu Yan and asked, "Can't you tell what's wrong with me either?"
He insisted that there was something wrong with the baby, and after finding out that there was a sub-beastman in the peninsula tribe with very good medical skills, he asked Heng Qing to bring him over to see a doctor, despite the objections of the people in the tribe.
If Yu Yan dismissed him with just a few words, how he would face the people of the tribe would be secondary.
The truly devastating blow was that his baby was beyond saving...
Thinking of this, Cheng Liu's eyes instantly turned red.
Yu Yan sighed and said truthfully, "I really can't find anything wrong with the baby in your belly right now."
Cheng Liu pleaded anxiously, "Why don't you take another look? We brought a lot of things from the highland tribe this time, including food, animal hides, and a gray stone knife! We heard you like flowers, so we picked some too!"
He grabbed Heng Qing's arm, signaling him to take out the knife.
Heng Qing took out a rough little knife and solemnly explained, "This knife is the most valuable thing in our tribe. Cheng Liu and I used the resources of the next ten years to exchange for it. Yu Yan, we are giving this knife to you. Please save my partner and baby."
Cheng Liu also spoke frankly, saying, "Yu Yan, we see that you have many good things, even the knife you're carrying is much better than ours, but besides this, we really have nothing else to offer..."
He was on the verge of tears, pleading, "Please help us! Hengqing and I have been waiting so long for this child, I can't just watch him die inside me..."
Yu Yan raised her hand and explained, "That's not what I meant. Besides, you don't need to bring precious supplies to see me."
Heng Qing: "Then you are..."
"What I'm trying to say is, although I can't tell what's wrong with the little one, I can tell what's wrong with you adults."
"ah?"
Not only Heng Qing and Cheng Liu, but everyone else outside the thatched hut was stunned.
Are we...sick too?
Yu Yan nodded: "Yes. When I examined Cheng Liu just now, I felt a swelling in this area of his neck." He pointed to the thyroid gland.
His gaze swept over the necks of the highland tribesmen. "Look at you guys, your necks are all a bit big, haven't you noticed?"
After his reminder, everyone carefully compared the two.
“It really is…” Heng Qing touched his neck. “I always thought it was a problem with our beast form.”
Yu Yan shook her head: "No, the Mingyuan tribe next door has leopard beastmen. Their necks are normal, just like ours."
The people of the highland tribes could no longer remain calm.
I thought they were bringing Cheng Liu to see a doctor, but now they're all sick!
Someone asked fearfully, "Dr. Yu Yan, do we have something growing inside our necks? Will we die?"
"I've only lived for a little over twenty years, I don't want to die!"
Yu Yan: "It's not that something is growing, it's that an organ called the thyroid gland is swollen. Also, I see that your skin is a bit dry, and your animal-like fur isn't as shiny as the people in our tribe. Your complexion is also somewhat pale... Do you usually experience constipation, feeling cold, or excessive sleepiness?"
Everyone exclaimed in shock, "Yes! I have all of those things you're talking about!"
How did you know?
When they first met Yu Yan, they all thought he was too young and doubted that his good medical skills were just rumors.
Now that Yu Yan accurately described their symptoms, their perspective completely changed!
Yu Yan is simply amazing!
“This is a rather complicated issue…” Yu Yan said, “Anyway, please line up one by one so I can check you all.”
The people of the Highland tribe immediately lined up, starting with their chief, Heng Qing, to be inspected by Yu Yan.
Cheng Liu's physical condition was actually not bad; he looked weak, but he was more exhausted.
Now that there was hope, his complexion improved somewhat. He stood beside Yu Yan, his light blue eyes darting around.
Yu Yan examined each person individually, and asked questions not only about their physical condition, but also about their eating habits.
Finally, he concluded: "The people in your tribe are probably iodine deficient. Iodine is an essential nutrient for human growth, and in addition to the symptoms I just mentioned, iodine deficiency can also cause miscarriage in pregnant women. Even if the baby is born, there is a risk that it will be mentally challenged or grow slowly."
Cheng Liu gasped, his face turning as white as paper.
He couldn't accept that his child was dead, nor could he accept that his child was mentally challenged! What would happen to their child when he and Hengqing grew old and died?
Feng Gui was working outside the thatched shed when he heard the word "idiot." He looked at Yu Yan with a look of guilt in his eyes.
Heng Qing grasped Cheng Liu's hand, giving him strength.
He asked, "Dr. Yu Yan, what should we do if we are deficient in... iodine?"
"Supplement with iodine." Yu Yan gave them a boost of confidence. "Our tribe is near the sea, so we have iodine-rich foods. Don't worry about that."
Just as Heng Qing and the others breathed a sigh of relief, Yu Yan said again, "However, I don't know if Cheng Liu's condition is caused by iodine deficiency. I can only suggest trying to supplement with iodine first."
The couple's hearts clenched again.
Cheng Liu gritted his teeth, forcing himself to be strong.
In any case, having a solution is better than going back to wait to die.
He will work hard with his son and never give up until the very last step!
He firmly told Yu Yan, "We will listen to you."
Yu Yan said that seaweed is a good source of iodine. A few days ago, when they went to the beach to collect limestone, they even brought some back and ate it.
He instructed Xin Yu to take people to prepare accommodations for Heng Qing and the others, leaving Cheng Liu to rest in the tribe, while he himself led the orcs from the Highland Tribe and the Peninsula Tribe to the seaside.
A group of bird-beastmen, tiger-beastmen, and leopard-beastmen stopped on the beach.
The sea under the sunlight stretched to the horizon, a magnificent sight that deeply impressed the people of the highland tribes.
Heng Qing murmured, "Our tribe lives on a plateau, where there is no sea at all. I never knew the sea was so vast..."
Others exclaimed in amazement, "It's so beautiful! The people who live here are so lucky!"
Mo Ye smiled slightly: "We used to dislike the sea, thinking the food there was unpalatable and that it was always stormy."
Heng Qing realized something and asked, "And now?"
Mo Ye looked at Yu Yan gratefully: "I like it very much now."
Thanks to Yu Yan, they learned that there were so many treasures in the sea.
"There's lots of seaweed here!" Yu Yan, who had flown to the front, tapped the air with her foot. "Let's start catching it!"
Everyone: "They're here!"
The kelp was quite long, and after catching more than a dozen pieces, Yu Yan told them to stop.
"That's enough. This is enough for our whole tribe. It's getting late today, so we'll come back tomorrow and catch more to dry."
Lan Xiu understood: "Should we have Clan Chief Heng Qing and the others take it back?"
Yu Yan nodded: "Yes. There must be other people in their tribe who have goiter, and they will continue to eat it after they go back."
Heng Qing and the others were deeply moved upon hearing this and repeatedly thanked Yu Yan.
At night, the people of the Highland Tribe stayed in the bird nests that Xin Yu and his group had prepared.
After spending the afternoon watching over the charcoal burning, Cangfeng returned, learned about the situation, and said to Hengqing, "Most of our tribe are bird-beast people, and we don't live in caves much. Please make do with this."
Heng Qing quickly replied, "How could we feel wronged? We are grateful for the accommodation and food you provided us."
Cheng Liu rested for half an afternoon, and his complexion became a little rosier.
He laughed and said, "Yes, I've never lived in a bird's nest before, so it's quite a novel experience."
Heng Qing then asked, "Speaking of which, I saw a tiger-beastman named Lan Xiu following Yu Yan. How come your bird tribe has tiger-beastmen?"
Cangfeng explained, "His father and his adoptive father got old and couldn't adapt to the cold climate, so they migrated to our tribe and he was born here."
Heng Qing nodded: "I see."
Cheng Liu asked curiously, "Is he Yu Yan's partner?"
Cang Feng laughed and said, "Not yet."
Cheng Liu understood his implied meaning and gave him a blessing smile.
Yu Yan prepared dinner for the group herself, which included seaweed soup and cold seaweed salad.
Yu Yan told them that this was enough for one meal, and they didn't need to take any more supplements.
They were so captivated by the smell that they couldn't move.
"By the Beast God, it smells so good..."
"There's meat, vegetables, and eggs—this is such a feast!"
"With such good food, are the supplies we brought enough?"
"Let me go ask."
A moment later, the orc who had asked the question ran back, excitedly saying, "Enough, enough, enough! They don't want much supplies! And they said that while we're in the tribe, we can hunt for ourselves, and the game is ours!"
Now everyone was relieved and got to work with great enthusiasm.
The moment the food was put into their mouths, it triggered a series of exclamations.
"Delicious!! So delicious! It's all animal meat, how come they can make it without any gamey smell at all!"
"This wild vegetable is sour, it tastes so refreshing!"
"The fried fish smells so good! Even the bones are crispy!"
"You guys should try the seaweed strips! The texture is so unique, and the taste is great too!"
They were talking without it affecting their eating. They ate like they hadn't eaten in decades, and in a short while, they had finished half of the food.
Since becoming pregnant, Cheng Liu has experienced significant mood swings and a poor appetite.
This is the most I've eaten in a few days.
The delicious food brought tears to his eyes.
"I heard Yu Yan is a good cook, but I didn't expect her to be this good... I'm so envious of the people in the peninsula tribe."
His companions nodded: "Indeed."
The next morning, the people from the peninsula tribe delivered ingredients, and Heng Qing and his group cooked their own meal.
To their shock, the ingredients also contained fresh animal milk!
The group was at a loss for words to describe their feelings. They, who possessed metal swords, were once the most powerful tribe on the plateau.
But the metal knife they regard as a treasure is one in every tribe on the peninsula.
The people of the peninsula tribes wear clothes made of "cloth," use brightly colored and sturdy pottery, and use a kind of soap to wash their hands and faces.
They even said that Yu Yan had saved up enough "cement" to build a house, which the people of the Highland Tribe couldn't understand.
What is cement? What is a house?
In short, they were certain that the peninsula tribes were wealthy and powerful!
They no longer dared to show off, and walked and spoke with extreme caution.
Because dietary supplements don't take effect so quickly, Yu Yan suggested that they stay in the tribe for a few more days, which would also give them time to dry the seaweed.
When Heng Qing and the others went to find Yu Yan under the ginkgo tree, a group of young people were waving their fists and chanting, "Rock, paper, scissors!"
A handsome sub-orc raised his hand and burst into laughter: "Hahaha, I'm going out!"
The other person said, "Come on, let's continue."
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
After several rounds, Heng Qing and his friends understood the rules of the game.
Cloth can "kill" stone, stone can "kill" scissors, and scissors can "kill" cloth.
The last one left was an orc named Qinghui.
He sighed heavily: "Fine, I'll go then."
Heng Qing: "Where to?"
Yu Yan looked over and smiled, "I'll take you to harvest and dry seaweed. Cheng Liu, how are you feeling today?"
Cheng Liu: "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems a little better than before."
"Hmm, let's observe further."
"Why don't you check our necks? See if they've gotten a little thinner?"
"It's only been one night, it won't be that fast. You shouldn't touch it or stimulate it normally."
The couple nodded earnestly, indicating that they had remembered.
Thinking of Qinghui and the others' behavior just now, Heng Qing felt bad and asked, "Aren't we troubling you too much? Otherwise, you can tell us how to dry the seaweed, and we can go over by ourselves."
Yu Yan waved her hand: "No, no, you are guests and you are not familiar with the peninsula tribes, so how can we let you act on your own?"
"They did this because I had planned to build the house today, and they all wanted to come and help."
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