Chapter 650: A Half-Barreled Doctor (End)
"Are you crazy? Why are you letting your sister come to study medicine for no reason?" Li Shichu said in surprise. Bai He later followed Wei Qiaoyuan and became a general of the Duke. As long as his sister grew up well, she would be the Duke's daughter. Was it necessary for her to come to learn medicine from Li Shichu as an apprentice?
"What's wrong with studying medicine? She can cure diseases and save lives like you, Doctor Li. Even if she can only learn one or two points of your medical skills, that will be enough for her." Bai He said carelessly. He had no idea how successful he would be in the future.
"Studying medicine for a girl is not a good career path. If she just wants to learn some medical skills to strengthen her body, then she doesn't need to be my apprentice. You can just find a good doctor and ask her for advice." Li Shichu herself is a woman, and she knows best the situation of women studying medicine in this era, otherwise she would not have been working as a doctor as a man until now.
"Doctor Li, do you dislike my sister?" Bai He asked somewhat disappointedly when he saw that Li Shichu disagreed.
"No, I'm afraid that you will regret letting your sister study medicine in the future. You will definitely be able to achieve great things in the future and support your sister. If she follows me to study medicine, others will use this to attack her, which will be bad for her reputation." Li Shichu said very directly.
Bai He said nonchalantly, "What's that? When my sister and I were fleeing, we were even beggars. Now that we have food and drink and can live like a decent person, we are already satisfied. Who cares about our reputation or whether others will use this to attack us?"
Li Shichu choked. That was true. She had seen the brother and sister at their most miserable times. They were no different from little beggars. Since Bai He himself didn't care, she wouldn't say much.
After Bai He recovered from his injuries and returned, he sent all the family's accumulated property and his sister to Li Shichu. However, since he himself could not go out freely after recovering from his injuries, he had to let his sister go with him to repay his savior.
Bai He's sister is no longer called Bai Xiaoya, but Bai Ya. Bai Ya is eleven years old. Because she was too hungry when she was a child, even though she has made up for it in the past few years, she is still shorter and thinner than her peers. This is probably why Bai He insisted on letting her study medicine with Li Shichu, just to give her the ability to protect herself.
"Doctor Li, my brother asked me to come and study medicine with you." Bai Ya said shyly to Li Shichu, and handed a large bag of things to her very directly.
"This is the money my brother and I have saved over the years. My brother said that this is the medical fees we have owed you for a long time, and now we bring it to pay you back." Although Bai Ya was shy, she listened to her brother very much and opened the bag. Inside were some gold and silver jewelry, and even some small antiques. It was obviously something that Bai He had obtained during the war in recent years. She was very honest and gave all of them to Li Shichu.
Li Shichu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "The consultation fee doesn't need to be that high. Just give me ten copper coins, and you can take the rest."
"No, this is not only the medical fee for you, but also the reward for saving my life. The grace of saving my life is so precious that this money is not enough to repay you. In a sense, I am taking advantage of you. Doctor Li, please don't refuse." Although Bai Ya was shy, she was surprisingly eloquent.
Li Shichu still didn't want it, but Bai Ya said with a sad face: "Doctor Li, you don't want to accept these, do you think my life is cheap and not worth this money at all?"
Good man, Li Shichu hasn't felt choked by words for a long time. What else can she say? If she continues to refuse, wouldn't it really be true to her words?
Bai Ya suffered a lot when she was living under someone else's roof when she was young, and she learned to read people's faces and act accordingly. Seeing that Li Shichu's expression had relaxed, she continued, "Besides, Doctor Li, I still have to study medicine with you. If I eat, drink and live here, won't I have to pay for food, accommodation and tuition? This little money is not enough. No, I have to ask my brother to save some more money..."
"Enough, enough!" Li Shichu said hurriedly. She was worried that if she didn't say anything, Bai Ya would mortgage her brother to her.
Bai Ya immediately revealed a triumphant smile.
Li Shichu had no choice but to accept this little disciple with a special identity. Fortunately, the few disciples she had accepted before were both male and female, so it was not uncommon for Bai Ya, a little girl, to stand out from the crowd when she studied medicine.
Bai Ya is a very smart girl. She is down-to-earth and studious, has a good memory, and even has some talent in studying medicine. Li Shichu really treats her as his apprentice.
Perhaps because she suffered a lot in her childhood, Bai Ya does not become willful and arrogant just because her life is good now. Instead, she works harder to learn all the knowledge she can.
Li Shichu took Bai Ya to the clinic to learn medicine and save lives. Wei Qiaoyuan's territory became larger and larger, and Bai He's official position became higher and higher. Logically speaking, his status was enough for his sister Bai Ya to become the eldest daughter, but neither he nor Bai Ya had any intention of going back to being the eldest daughter. They still followed Li Shichu as an apprentice, conscientiously treating patients and saving lives.
During those years, Bai He was injured several times. Except for one time which was particularly serious and required Li Shichu to treat him personally, all other minor injuries were treated by military doctors in the barracks.
A few years passed, and Bai Ya had grown into a young girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. Although she was not a beauty, she became the most popular doctor in the clinic because of her gentle and calm temperament, and there were many young men pursuing her.
Bai He once wrote a letter to Li Shichu, saying that if he saw a young man he liked, he would ask Li Shichu to help settle Bai Ya down, saying that he trusted her judgment.
But Li Shichu didn't want to match people up randomly. Besides, in her eyes, Bai Ya was still too young and there was no need for her to get engaged and married so early, so she refused bluntly and asked Bai He to find a brother-in-law for himself.
It's not that no one has been concerned about Li Shichu's marriage over the years, but she used the fictitious and "missing" fiancées to block it. So as time passed, everyone knew that Li Shichu was a loyal and good man who was still obsessed with his fiancée who had long lost contact and refused to get married. So over time, everyone tacitly assumed that he would remain faithful to his fiancée... This was really a beautiful misunderstanding.
After another year or two, Wei Qiaoyuan finally unified the country and became the founding emperor. Bai He became the Duke of Anguo. Under Bai Ya's persuasion, Li Shichu moved her clinic from Funing City to the capital and continued to be her doctor. Everything was the same as before, except that there were fewer patients with trauma in her clinic, and more patients with various diseases.
Li Shichu has lived as a man all his life. Bai Ya probably found out her real gender later on, and she tried to match her brother Bai He with Li Shichu, but Li Shichu refused. She had no interest in Bai He, this little brother, and she was free being single.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
