Chapter 202: Outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant!
Everyone in the village looked at the children and fell silent.
Aunt Fang and Sister Lian exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking, clearly considering the matter. Sister Ling, however, made the final decision: "Let them treat her."
Sister Ling said in a muffled voice, "These children are not originally from our village. They haven't contracted our disease yet. If you can't cure them, take them away and let them live. Don't abandon them."
Zhou Mujiao smiled faintly: "Sister Ling, I'm just a doctor, not a philanthropist. Besides, if I take these children away, aren't you afraid I'll train them into assassins or turn them into drug users?"
Sister Ling's expression changed: "You dare!"
"Don't be nervous, I was just saying. Come, Lord Chen, please have them line up."
Lord Chen led his officers over. Although they were unarmed, their gender and physique still intimidated the villagers, who involuntarily raised their knives, shouting, "Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll chop you down!"
"Dear ladies and aunties, please don't be nervous. I am the magistrate of Qili County. I have come here every year for the past few years..."
Under Lord Chen's gentle persuasion, everyone laid down their weapons, though they remained wary. Zhou Mujiao wasn't in a hurry; she simply sat there drinking tea. Xi'er and Le'er, on the other hand, flipped through medical books, glancing at Aunt Fang, Sister Ling, and Sister Lian, frowning with each glance, which unsettled the villagers.
With a county magistrate, officials, and so many bodyguards, everyone thought Zhou Mujiao would force her way in, but it turned out she was genuinely in no hurry.
As if knowing what everyone was thinking, Zhou Mujiao put the lid on the thermos and said, "Everyone, treating illness also depends on fate. If the doctor and the patient are not destined to be together, even a common cold or fever cannot be cured. If the doctor's medical skills are good and the patient gives enough trust, then the fate between the doctor and the patient will truly come."
"I've come to Wuqi Village today on behalf of Lord Chen. You have a truly benevolent official who cares for the people and has never given up on you all these years. Based on this, a connection has been established between us. But whether a genuine doctor-patient relationship can be built depends on your choices."
Sister Ling was clearly the leader of this village. Upon hearing this, she glanced at Lord Chen and then said, "Doctor, we need to discuss this."
While the villagers were discussing, Zhou Mujiao explained to her apprentices: "Aunt Fang, the one whose face is covered with small pits, is preliminarily diagnosed with urticaria. Initially, her skin turns red and itchy. After two or three days, it hardens and becomes even itchier. If you scratch it, it is easy to scratch and cause small pits. If it is not treated in time, it will become a habitual attack."
Sister Lian, the one whose body was covered in skin armor, was someone I had never seen before in Daliang. My initial assessment was that it was a disease called "tooth person," which is a folk term. This type of case is very rare; medically, it is called a dislocation tumor. For example, what should have grown on her hands were skin, but instead, teeth grew out of them. This is dislocation.
As for Sister Ling, her kidney stones are likely caused by gout; they're small, pearl-like stones, so she could also be called the "Pearl Person." I haven't examined the others closely yet, so I can't tell anything for now, but one thing is certain: there are definitely infectious diseases among them.
Jinling was taking notes rapidly when she heard this, and she paused, shivering. Xi'er and Le'er didn't shiver, but their writing became a bit messy.
"Scared?" Zhou Mujiao asked with a smile.
"Who, who's afraid? I'm not afraid at all!"
When Jinling said this, her teeth were chattering. Then came the usual regret about why she had studied medicine, and the optimistic spirit of "what can I do now that I'm here?"
Jinling was clearly just putting on a brave face, while Xi'er and Le'er nodded obediently, "We're scared."
“Fear is right. But this fear is not about running away because you are afraid of being infected, but about respecting the disease and respecting life,” Zhou Mujiao said. “Only when you have enough respect for the disease and life can doctors take every symptom and patient seriously, whether it is a cold and headache or a stroke and hemiplegia.”
The three women nodded in unison.
Doctors need to have reverence for disease and reverence for life. These three women will probably remember this for the rest of their lives.
Soon, Sister Ling and the others came to a conclusion: first, Zhou Mujiao would treat her, Aunt Fang, and Sister Lian; if it was effective, then they would treat the others.
All three of them suffer from intractable diseases that would take at least a year and a half to cure. Moreover, Zhou Mujiao's plan was only to stay here for a week. However, after arriving at Wuqi Village and seeing its appearance, she sensed the villagers' hidden desire to survive among the roads and flowers. Therefore, she decided to stay longer until she could find the cause of each person's illness.
The first person to come for a consultation was Sister Ling.
Her face was covered with countless red bumps; anyone with trypophobia would be terrified if they saw it.
Zhou Mujiao examined Sister Ling for about fifteen minutes, then carefully inquired about her dietary habits. Finally, she nodded and said, "Just as I suspected, these are stones caused by gout, which need to be surgically removed. Also, you need to be careful with your diet, avoiding animal organs, seafood, hot pot, etc..."
Zhou Mujiao said so much, but Sister Ling only heard the phrase "needs to have surgery to remove it." She didn't understand what "surgery" meant, but "remove" was immediately clear to her.
She immediately asked if it was contagious, and received a negative answer. She said she wouldn't have the surgery: "I've been like this for almost ten years. As long as I don't infect others, it doesn't matter whether I get it cut or not."
"Whatever you want." Zhou Mujiao stared at her. "Sister Ling, this isn't a terminal illness. As long as the tumor is removed, it will be fine. Although there will be scars on your face, your pain will be reduced by more than half, and the children will be able to see your face clearly. Besides, Sister Ling, you're the only one in the village with a crooked head. If you don't dare let me treat you, do you think anyone else would?"
Sister Ling paused, then said, "Their situation is better than mine, they will definitely be willing to treat you."
Zhou Mujiao waved her hand dismissively: "Next."
Aunt Fang's urticaria is quite complicated, and it will take a lot of patience to cure it completely. However, like Sister Ling, she is not very enthusiastic about treatment after knowing that she is not contagious.
Sister Lian's face was covered with teeth, and you couldn't feel any skin on it; it was all hard. Her teeth could be surgically removed, but like Sister Ling, she knew they wouldn't spread to others, so she chose not to get treatment.
Zhou Mujiao vaguely guessed why the three of them were unwilling to receive treatment, but she didn't say it out loud.
As she said, the three of them, including Sister Ling, chose not to be treated. Others followed suit, saying they were fine now. They didn't need to go outside, and outsiders didn't dare to come in. The village was self-sufficient, and they were very satisfied with their current situation.
Since that's the case, Zhou Mujiao has nothing more to say.
She stood up and packed her things: "Since everyone thinks the current situation is good, then I respect that, and I wish everyone all the best in the future. Lord Chen, let's go back to the city!"
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