Chapter 48 The Test (Part 8): Fate vs. Etiquette
Li San Niang went to see who it was, and kept asking some rather valuable questions. Hehe, it was none other than Sun Chenyang, who came from a family with a long tradition of scholarship.
This kid isn't ashamed to ask questions. Judging from his appearance, he's probably a proud but kind-hearted young master from a noble family who doesn't understand the ways of the world.
"Dr. Sun, that's an excellent question!"
Li San Niang is also a devil. The technique of first praising and then suppressing is something that every elementary school Chinese teacher has heard about. Let's use this trick today.
“Third Sister is a woman, and not a farm girl who does farm work all the time, so she doesn’t have that kind of strength. Besides, everyone here knows the natural difference in physical strength between a woman and a young man. But the human body is truly amazing. You all probably don’t know that I have an elder brother. My elder brother is a martial artist. The young man who just demonstrated for you is my elder brother’s eldest son.”
As she spoke, Li San Niang gestured to Li Da Lang to hurry up and show his face again. Naturally, she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to let her family members make a name for themselves.
Although those present were just ordinary doctors from the alliance practicing medicine in the clinics of Chang'an City, a few of them held minor official positions in the Imperial Medical Bureau. Of course, this did not apply to Physician Sun, as Physician Sun was a rare talent who was also influential in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
However, these people's families and relatives always have officials in other places. What the Li family lacks is connections in officialdom. Although it is a bit late to start building them from Li Dalang's generation, it is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. Perhaps when Li Dalang is able to stand on his own, the Li family will really change its allegiance.
“My eldest son has been learning martial arts from his father since he was a child. Don’t let his age fool you; he’s not even fifteen yet, but his strength is no less than that of an adult. As for why I was able to save the young lady from the Liang State Duke’s family using the extremely strenuous CPR technique, it was partly because she was lucky, and partly because there was a female martial arts guard who worked with me, and we took turns saving her.”
As soon as Li Sanniang finished speaking, she gave Sun Chenyang a playful glance before continuing, "In Sanniang's opinion, the strength of a female martial arts guard who has practiced martial arts for many years is not necessarily weaker than that of an adult man. In fact, because she is a martial artist, she can master the skills of CPR better and faster, making her stronger than someone like me who only knows the steps but has no strength."
"Third Sister is sharing these techniques with you all not without her own selfish motives. Third Sister hopes to use these techniques to gain the qualification to take the same examinations as the men, join the alliance, and eventually practice medicine. But Third Sister is not one to be ungrateful. Of course, she also hopes that spreading these methods can save more lives, snatching a life from the jaws of death so that the parents won't have to cry. Third Sister has taught you the advantages and disadvantages of the Hai family techniques and the CPR method. Whether to use them or report them to the Imperial Medical Academy is up to you. But here, Third Sister has one more method that she must share with physicians specializing in ulcers!"
"Oh, Third Sister truly brings endless surprises. I made the right decision to come today."
"Has Madam Li finished explaining the CPR method? I've heard that she used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save the daughter of the Duke of Liang."
Following Li San Niang's trailing words, Doctor Sun and Sun Chenyang spoke at the same time, neither giving way to the other without pausing, each only concerned with their own words.
"Hmph! The Sun family of Jingzhao has excellent manners!"
Everyone present found this scene amusing, and even the doctor was so angry that he mocked Sun Chenyang's upbringing.
Sun Chenyang, who had been criticized, realized his mistake and quickly stood up, his face flushed, and bowed to Physician Sun, saying, "I was just being impatient, please forgive me, Physician Sun."
Li San Niang thought to herself that when she rescued the daughter of the Duke of Liang, she was too focused on it and didn't notice whether the many noble ladies present had seen it or not. Judging from Sun Chenyang's words, there must have been noble ladies who saw it from beginning to end. After seeing it, they must have gone home and told their parents and family members about it, and told them exactly what happened. In the end, somehow it reached Sun Chenyang's ears.
Actually, the most important part of CPR is chest compressions, and artificial respiration is an auxiliary method. Considering the practical issues of etiquette, Li San Niang originally planned to talk about it separately later, but she didn't expect this kid to reveal it in advance.
If she didn't speak up now, some people present might think that Li Sanniang was hiding something, like the story of a disciple starving his master, and that she was keeping something to herself. That would not have been Li Sanniang's intention.
"Everyone, Doctor Sun is right. This method does indeed involve a step of transferring breaths through the mouth. I originally intended to discuss it later, but given the current weather, it would be difficult to finish explaining the topic of surgical medicine before you all have time to go home for dinner. I believe you all read the manuscript that our master took from my house before coming here, right? The manuscript contains detailed descriptions. If you read it carefully beforehand, you would certainly know this."
As Li San Niang spoke, Li Er Xiong took out a written version of the technique explanation that he had copied at home from his cloth bag. Of course, there was only one copy. He first showed it to Doctor Gao, and then passed it on to Doctor Sun, Doctor Qian, and others.
"Third Sister is kind and righteous. We do not doubt that Third Sister has a secret weapon. I remember now, I did see this manuscript at the guild hall at the time, but I did not read it carefully and do not remember it very well."
This was said by one of the doctors who was close to Dr. Gao. As soon as he finished speaking, the doctors sitting in the chairs around him also whispered. Indeed, Dr. Gao had called everyone to a meeting and taken a few copies of the manuscript, but at the time no one paid any attention to it and just thought it was a routine way of introducing people to the alliance.
Li San Niang bowed to the doctor who had spoken up for her, and watched as the manuscript was passed around among the doctors. Without waiting for them, Li San Niang spoke up loudly, "Gentlemen, besides the fear of not having enough time and wanting to postpone the lecture on breath-passing through the mouth, I am also afraid that this method will arouse the aversion or even criticism of those who uphold the Confucian code of propriety!"
After bowing to everyone again, Li Sanniang said with a slightly worried tone, "Everyone, our profession as doctors still has some prestige in this dynasty. The establishment of the Imperial Medical Bureau has also given us doctors a path to advancement. Although my father taught me from a young age that doctors should be benevolent and help others when they can, I am not someone who is ignorant of the ways of the world." At this point, Li Sanniang glanced at Sun Chenyang intentionally or unintentionally before continuing, "I have also seen my father work hard to raise the family since I was a child. Doctors are also human beings. If they do not hold official positions, they cannot receive a salary. They are just ordinary people who have to support their families."
"The next step in CPR after chest compressions is mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which, as the name suggests, involves blowing air into the lungs to provide artificial respiration and restore heartbeat and breathing. This involves physical contact, and not just ordinary contact, but mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
The previous chest compressions were already somewhat against etiquette. If those strict civil officials knew about it and insisted on mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, who knows what kind of vile women they would portray Third Sister as? Although Third Sister is a divorced woman, she still has a daughter to raise and family members living with her. Third Sister can endure those rumors, but why should my family suffer? If those civil officials directly pin the blame on us physicians and even the Imperial Medical Bureau, wouldn't Third Sister have done more harm than good and implicated all of you seniors?
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