Chapter 37 Surgery
People in ancient times loved to listen to operas, since they couldn't do much else besides that, especially women.
It's very difficult to hear opera in the countryside. The nearest theater is in town, and you have to spend a lot of money to get in, so country folk can't afford it.
Although the old lady couldn't sing, she could talk, and she talked quite in detail.
"Where did you hear the opera?" Gu Jiao asked, leaning closer.
"I don't remember," the old lady said, shaking her head.
Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Gu Jiao asked again, "Do you remember anything else?"
The old lady thought about it carefully: "That's all."
Gu Jiao: "..."
Gu Jiao then said, "Then can you please stop fooling people like this in the future?"
The old lady thought about it carefully again: "No."
Gu Jiao: "..."
——
As the year draws to a close, Gu Jiao becomes busy and can no longer keep a close eye on the old lady. The old lady occasionally causes trouble, but she can always handle it herself and doesn't cause any trouble for Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang.
Gu Jiao went to the temple again afterward, but the master in charge of finances had not yet returned, so Gu Jiao decided to come back after the New Year.
The academy held another exam before the new year. Perhaps due to the theft incident, Gu Dashun's performance was noticeably weaker this time, dropping to tenth place in the class.
Gu Xiaoshun's grades remained stable, still ranking last.
Xiao Liulang moved up one place, but this time it wasn't because he did well on the exam. Instead, the original second-to-last and fourth-to-last students were sick and on leave, tying for last place with Gu Xiaoshun.
Many teachers at the academy knew about the eight-legged essay Xiao Liulang wrote when he entered the academy, but he never wrote an essay again after that, and he basically submitted blank papers for exams.
Some people suspected that he had lost his talent, while others suspected that he had cheated to get into the university. However, Dean Li firmly believed that Xiao Liulang was talented.
No matter what others say, he doesn't want to give up on Xiao Liulang.
The imperial examinations are held every three years, and next year will be the autumn examination. If you miss it, you'll have to wait another three years.
Candidates participating in the autumn imperial examinations had to be students, also known as scholars.
There was a county examination right after the New Year. Dean Li hesitated for a moment, but then registered Xiao Liulang's name without authorization.
Gu Jiao is unaware of all this. The academy is on holiday for the New Year, and tomorrow is the day of Xiao Liulang's surgery. She needs to make sure she gets enough sleep and get herself into the best possible condition.
Before going to bed, Gu Jiao checked the medicine box and, sure enough, all the anesthetics and injections needed for the surgery were there.
These medicines weren't the ones sold in pharmacies in her previous life; they were all from the research institute. Gu Jiao strongly suspected that as long as the research institute didn't go bankrupt, her medicine kit would be able to keep replenished indefinitely.
Yes, that's a good thing!
Gu Jiao slept soundly and then made breakfast and brewed medicine for the old lady after getting up.
When Gu Jiao brought the medicine to the old lady's room, the old lady hesitated, looking at the pills on the plate and then at the medicine in the bowl, and frowned, saying, "Why do I feel that this medicine is something I can drink or not drink?"
"You're overthinking it. Herbal decoctions are just as important as pills," Gu Jiao said without changing her expression.
The old lady drank the pills and soup with some skepticism. The bitter taste made her roll her eyes, and she seriously suspected that Gu Jiao had come to retaliate against her for her usual mischief.
Gu Jiao entrusted the old lady to Xue Ningxiang again, and then went to the clinic with Xiao Liulang in Uncle Luo's oxcart.
Feng Lin would certainly not miss such an important day.
He had been waiting at the clinic for a long time, but the weather was getting colder and colder, and he didn't want to sit inside and wait, so he just stood outside and froze into a little icicle.
Feng Lin spotted the young couple on the oxcart and his face darkened.
He had an urge to curse the two of them, but he suppressed it. Brother Xiao was not wrong; it was this woman who was becoming more and more shameless, always clinging to Brother Xiao!
Gu Jiao looked at Feng Lin calmly and asked, "Didn't you go home for the New Year?"
Feng Lin scoffed, "My home is so far away, how am I supposed to get back?"
Gu Jiao then remembered that transportation was inconvenient in ancient times. A distance that could be covered in a day by high-speed rail in her previous life might take a month here. Feng Lin might not even be home yet, and his annual leave would already be over.
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
Feng Lin, who punched cotton: "..."
The date was set in advance, and Manager Wang and the old doctor were waiting in the clinic at dawn.
Feng Lin and Gu Jiao both followed them inside.
The old doctor first asked Xiao Liulang about the medicinal fumigation he had been doing at home these past few days.
“I have medicinal fumigation every night before I go to sleep,” Xiao Liulang said truthfully.
Every night when he got home from school, Gu Jiao would have already prepared the meal and his medicine.
The old doctor nodded.
Feng Lin asked, "Dr. Zhang, is Brother Xiao's leg almost healed?"
The old doctor said, "Whether it's good or not, we'll only know after the surgery."
"What did you say? Surgery?" Feng Lin was stunned.
A hint of surprise flashed across Xiao Liulang's eyes.
Gu Jiao was worried that this situation would occur, so she hadn't told them. Surgery was not common in this era, and people didn't accept it. It was generally believed that it was only used on the battlefield.
Feng Lin exclaimed in surprise, "Dr. Zhang! You didn't say that before!"
The old doctor, of course, wouldn't tell the truth. He said seriously, "It's just that the conditions didn't allow it at the time. Now that the medicine has been used for a while, the meridians have opened up, and the surgery can be performed."
But this was a serious matter, involving surgery on a person, and Feng Lin hesitated greatly: "Is there no other way besides surgery?"
"Hmm." The old doctor nodded.
"Is it guaranteed to succeed?" Feng Lin asked again.
"I can't guarantee that," the old doctor replied honestly. "If it works, he'll be able to walk normally again; if it fails, he might be in even worse shape than he is now."
These were Gu Jiao's original words. Even though she was the most skilled doctor in the research institute, she wouldn't dare to boast that any surgery was completely risk-free.
“Brother Xiao…” Feng Lin hesitated. He was a conservative and unwilling to take such a big risk.
Xiao Liulang merely moved the corners of his lips slightly and said casually, "Then let's proceed with the surgery. Thank you, Dr. Zhang."
He agreed so quickly that even Gu Jiao looked at him.
Even after spending so much time together, Gu Jiao had never truly understood him. But just a moment ago, she seemed to sense a cold indifference from him.
It's like... he doesn't care at all that the surgery might fail.
Is he genuinely brave, or does he simply not care about his own life?
Jiaojiao: What you don't care about, I care about for you!
*
Six months later, our little one was unwell again. This time, the local hospital couldn't do anything, so we had to come to Wuhan. Doctors in different departments gave different diagnoses. The neurologist said it was a psychological problem and recommended hospitalization for suggestion therapy; the orthopedic doctor said it was an atlantoaxial subluxation and recommended traction at home, prescribing a neck brace.
This little girl has her own ideas: "I don't want to be hospitalized! And I don't want a neck brace!"
I said, "Okay, let's discuss this further." But that night, I was in so much pain at the hotel that I couldn't eat, so I obediently put on the neck brace and ended up in the hospital.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
