Chapter 102: Emergency Treatment For an Old Woman
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Qu Xiao spent her holidays sequestered in the Chinese Medicine Hall, pouring through large tomes and ancient texts searching for treatment methods for leg conditions.
On the occasions Shang Yan wrapped up his work ahead of time, he would pick her up and send her home.
Qu Xiao eyed the pot of medicinal soup, watching it bubble and foam. She turned around, sharing a smile with Shang Yan, who was soaking his feet. They shared a tacit understanding that needed no words to communicate their thoughts.
Suddenly, a noisy noise came from outside the pharmacy. A young man rushed in with an old woman who looked like she was on her last breath. “Quick! I beg you to save my grandmother. She is dying!” Qu Xiao frowned and gave the old woman a once over; she did not respond immediately.
The boss of the establishment thought that they were looking for trouble. Grabbing his broom, he rushed toward them, wanting to chase them out the door.
The young man placed the old woman on the single bed next to him. He knelt with a plop and continued kowtowing.
The boss was scared out of his wits, being the one receiving the young man’s entreaty.
Thankfully, he quickly recovered from his shock and said, “This is the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Centre; it is not the A&E. I’ll call for an ambulance…” Qu Xiao walked to the old woman’s side. Using the tips of her fingers, she checked the old woman’s pulse. Her vital signs were still stable.
“Grandma always gave me medicine dispensed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Centre, which always helped my condition. There must be something you can do!”
“Grandma returned from her check-up at the hospital, and they said… they said she was too old to be operated on. They fear she might die on the table. I don’t believe it. No, they must be lying! There has to be another way. Doctor, please, please save my grandmother!”
The young man hugged the boss’s thigh, his eyes burning pitifully.
The boss quickly tried extricating himself from the young man’s death grip but to no avail; his strength was too great. Helpless, he looked to Qu Xiao, motioning for her assistance.
“Prepare the list of medicine I’m about to give you. It would be best if you could steam it for a while. Also, bring me my needles…” As soon as Qu Xiao finished speaking, the boss stared at the boy who refused to let go and urged, “She’s the doctor here, not me! If you don’t let go, don’t blame us if your grandmother experiences complications because of the delay!”
The young man’s eyes flew open. Shock mingled with incredulity as he stared blankly at Qu Xiao as if he could not process the words said to him.
She looked young, exceedingly so. Could she save his grandmother?
Qu Xiao remembered the old woman. She was one of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Centre’s earliest patients.
The old woman overworked herself in her youth, supporting her entire family with nothing more than a pair of hands and slim shoulders to bear the burden, which resulted in her present frailty in her twilight years.
The old woman’s breathing was weak. Occasionally, she would mumble a few words and speak of funerary arrangements.
Qu Xiao could not guarantee that she could preserve the old woman’s life, only that she would do her best.
Dozens of silver needles flew out of her hands, inserting themselves into the old woman’s acupoints, drawing viscous black blood like poison from a wound.
The old woman frowned in pain. Sweat covered her body from head to toe while she sat in what was a sauna of steaming medicinal herbs. She panted heavily, and her fingers spasmed erratically.
“Slice the wild ginseng in the medicine cabinet and fry it well. Get me a bowl of soup for now.”
The boss did not dare to delay after Qu Xiao instructed him. He rushed to the medicine cabinet and looked at the wild ginseng that he had bought at a heavy price with a pained expression.
The young boy’s expression became awkward when he heard their conversation.
He fingered his pocket, surreptitiously checking his bank account.
Through the mirror on the wall, Qu Xiao noticed his panic. She opened her red lips and said, “You don’t have to pay for the wild ginseng. Treat it as my way of returning the debt of gratitude I owe for having had your grandmother’s faith placed in me. Please, don’t worry.”
When the Chinese Medicine Health Center’s business was not good, the old woman would come to the shop every day to help Qu Xiao attract customers and advertise her services despite her ailing health. It was a favour Qu Xiao felt she ought to repay.
The young man’s mouth fell open. The young man stuttered, not knowing how to respond for the longest time, but eventually settled for his sincere expression of gratitude, “Thank you.”
The old woman’s condition stabilised after a gruelling hour of treatment.
Qu Xiao wiped the soybean-sized beads of perspiration lining her forehead and wrote down a few prescriptions.
“Although her condition is stable, your grandmother’s body is weak, and she will need constant attention.”
“Follow this prescription and have her take it three times a day. I’d like to review her condition in half a month. Remember not to mix what I’ve prescribed with western medicine.”
Medicines, if ingested without proper care, were no different from poisons.
Balance and harmony were the focal points of Chinese medicine. If a patient were to consume western and eastern medicine together, it could cause an adverse reaction, producing life-threatening consequences.
The young man nodded, understanding the gravity of Qu Xiao’s words. The gaze he used to look at Qu Xiao also became more respectful.
While waiting for his grandmother to wake up, he noticed Shang Yan, still soaking his feet in a bed next to where his grandmother was lying. He had not moved since they arrived.
The young man leaned over as if he was familiar with him. He lowered his voice and communicated with Shang Yan, “Are you also Doctor Qu’s patient? Do you know how old she is? Does she have a girlfriend? And how did you hurt your leg?”
Shang Yan remained silent while the young man continued muttering, “I wonder what type of person Doctor Qu likes. How am I going to woo her?”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend, but she has a husband.”
Shang Yan’s expression turned livid. His eyes were dark and menacing as he stared at the young boy. He smirked with an upturn of his lips and said, “I am her husband!”
Awkward!
The young man felt his scalp go numb, his face turning into a shade of pig’s liver. He got up and wished for a hole to bury himself.
Qu Xiao burst into laughter as she listened to their conversation.
She did not expect Shang Yan to look so cute when he was jealous.
Shang Yan saw her expression, and his thin lips arched into a teasing smile. Qu Xiao understood the words left unsaid. Tugging at a few loose bundles of medicinal herbs, she pretended not to have seen the look he shot at her.
It was a look that said: “I’ll settle the score with you tonight!”
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