Chapter 156 The Doctor-Obsessed Father and Son
Upon hearing this, the caravan guard's expression immediately relaxed. He turned around, intending to explain the situation to the county officials, but the county constable decisively waved his hand at him, "We can talk about other things later. Saving lives is the priority now."
He turned around and personally led the yamen runners to negotiate with the soldiers guarding the city gate on Xie Wanniang's behalf.
The soldiers guarding the city gate had already received orders from their superiors, and now that the county magistrate had personally intervened, they opened the city gate without saying a word.
Of course, they still need to carry out the routine checks, but they are now much more agile and quick.
After Xie Wanniang and the others got off the bus and underwent a check-up, they got back on the bus and headed with the injured to the largest clinic in the county town—the only place that could accommodate so many injured people at the same time.
The clinic closes later than other shops, and even when it's closed, patients or their relatives and friends will rush over to knock on the door if there's an emergency. So, the doctors at the clinic either live behind the clinic or nearby.
When Xie Wanniang and the others arrived, the doors of Anshuntang, the largest hospital in the county, were already mostly closed. When they saw so many carriages rushing over, the two young apprentices responsible for closing the doors hurriedly called out to their master, who was about to wash his hands and go back to the backyard to rest.
Their master was the young owner of the clinic and also the best of the three resident doctors. When he heard his two young disciples say that many carriages were parked in front of their clinic, he quickly walked a few steps and peeked outside.
The caravan leader's trusted attendant walked over with a small bag of silver, briefly explained the situation to the doctor, and then, without further ado, stuffed the bag into the doctor's hand.
As the doctor instructed them to carry the person inside, he handed the money bag to his father, who had come from the backyard to investigate after hearing the commotion.
His father was also a doctor, but because of his advanced age, he had basically stopped seeing patients in the past year or so.
Now that the clinic's accountant is not here, the father and son have to handle the money collection themselves.
The doctor and his two apprentices directed everyone to carry the injured to an empty room in the backyard and settle them in according to the severity of their injuries. After his father finished counting the money and depositing it into the account, he also came over to help.
Then, the old doctor witnessed a scene that he would never forget.
His son, whom he had expected to be flustered and overwhelmed, was instead standing aside, playing a supporting role. Meanwhile, several of the patient's relatives and friends, who were supposed to be waiting quietly, had taken his place as the main force in treating the injured.
The experienced doctor quickly realized that, at least in the treatment of external injuries, the other person was indeed more capable than his son, or even himself.
That rough-looking guy who wasn't much younger than him was one thing, but those three little girls and that stern-faced dark-skinned boy also had such abilities...
The old doctor stroked his gray beard, both surprised and excited... and began to learn the trade with complete concentration.
Although Xie Wanniang and the others were busy, they were not so busy that they could not have missed such intense and focused gazes, but none of them drove the old doctor and his son away because of this.
Xie Wanniang had already said when she was compiling the booklet recording relevant knowledge that she did not mind spreading this knowledge. Therefore, as soon as Chang Yao got the booklet, he had many copies made.
Besides providing a copy to each military doctor within the border troops for their study purposes, he also had one copy sent to the capital by express courier.
From then until now, regardless of the state of private clinics, the imperial physicians and military doctors of various garrisons and border armies have most likely read through it all.
With such a wide reach, it was only a matter of time before folk doctors learned about it, so Xie Wanniang and the others didn't keep anything secret about it.
The father and son, both doctors, were obsessed with medicine. At first, they didn't think much about it; they were simply captivated by the sight and couldn't take their eyes off it.
It wasn't until Xie Wanniang and the others finished their work and invited the two of them over for a consultation, discussing how to prescribe medicine for the injured person, that they seemed to wake up from a dream and belatedly realized that their actions had actually violated a major taboo.
The father and son looked at each other, both somewhat at a loss.
The veteran military doctor, with his extensive experience and long-standing connections in the field, instantly understood the awkwardness between the father and son.
He waved to the two of them, "Want to learn? If you do, come and help."
The father and son looked on with a mixture of surprise, astonishment, and trepidation, as if they had been hit by a huge pie. The son pointed to himself and asked the old military doctor, "Can...can we really learn this?"
The old military doctor nodded.
The father and son exchanged a glance, then simultaneously bent their knees, about to kneel down and kowtow to the old army doctor.
The old military doctor was startled and quickly signaled to his two apprentices to stop the father and son.
"Don't kneel before me. I learned this skill from a kind young girl who does good deeds anonymously." The old military doctor wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and looked at the simple-minded father and son with a helpless expression. "If you really feel unworthy of this skill, then use it to save more people in the future."
The father and son nodded vigorously, repeatedly assuring each other that they would definitely do so.
Haitang and the others glanced silently at Xie Wanniang, who remained calm and composed, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
Xie Wanniang pretended not to notice the subtle glances cast at her by the others. While pondering the prescription in her mind, she took two steps back to make room for the father and son to take their pulses.
As a medical student with little practical experience, all she could do was follow the textbook. Fortunately, there were three experienced doctors present at the time.
She picked up her pen and, using her handwriting—which her father described as proper and neat, but which others considered bland, unremarkable, and lacking in character—carefully wrote out several prescriptions.
Following her, the veteran military doctor also wrote several prescriptions applicable to different wounded patients based on their conditions.
After the two of them put down their pens, the father and son also came over one after the other.
The son picked up a pen and, while discussing things with his father, would occasionally jot down some notes.
The prescriptions from all three families were written out, then compared and discussed together. The final drafts, which were suitable for different injured people, were written out by the son.
They don't need to handle the dispensing and decocting of medicine themselves; there are apprentices to do it.
With some free time, the old military doctor began discussing medical principles with the father and son. Xie Wanniang, who benefited greatly from the discussion, wrote down everything that interested her on the paper.
Once the medicine was ready, the injured people drank it and fell asleep. Xie Wanniang and the others handed the people over to the medical staff for care, while they followed the constables to the county government office.
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