The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 712 - 701: Charity Clinic (Part 5)

Chapter 712: Chapter 701: Charity Clinic (Part 5)

Manbao cradled the rice in one hand and, with the other, gently pressed the old woman’s belly over the cloth, nodding, "Okay, let me eat, and then I’ll do the acupuncture for you."

The elderly woman didn’t expect her to agree so readily and was momentarily stunned.

Manbao shared some dishes with Zhou Lijun, and then quickly shoveled down her rice. Zhou Lijun felt a pang of heartache watching her eat so fast.

In her family, they only ate like this during the busiest farming seasons, and even then, it was the adults’ affair; when had the little girl ever suffered like this?

However, Zhou Lijun said nothing.

She knew that the little girl was already formidable; she was learning a skill. The more formidable she became, the better her days would be in the future.

Manbao, however, didn’t think too much about it, mostly because she had noticed that the queue of patients waiting for her seemed to be growing longer. If she didn’t speed up, she feared that she wouldn’t be able to see all them within three days.

After eating her fill to about 80 percent, Manbao drank a bit of water, then told the old woman to go inside and wait; it was time for her to wash her hands and fetch the needles.

Seeing how amenable Manbao was, the old woman asked, "Young doctor, can I come again tomorrow?"

She said somewhat sheepishly, "When I press down hard, my belly still hurts. I’m thinking, maybe it’s because I ate too much tree bark before. If you could do acupuncture for me for a few more days, maybe it would get better."

Manbao nodded, "It would be better, but if you want to come, either come early in the morning when I’ve just arrived, or at lunchtime when I’m eating and resting. I’m free then."

The old woman’s eyes crinkled happily as she poured out her gratitude as if sweet words cost her nothing, "Young doctor, you truly have a heart of a Bodhisattva."

Manbao casually inquired, "Do you believe in Bodhisattvas?"

"Yes, people say that the heart of a Bodhisattva is kind. Even though we’re poor, we’re also very devout and good people."

Manbao nodded, wanting to say she believed in the Heaven Master but then thought better of it, so she said, "I believe in Bian Que and Hua Tuo."

"I know Hua Tuo; he’s a miracle doctor. But who is this Bian Que?"

"Bian Que is also a miracle doctor..." Manbao chatted idly as she inserted the needles, "He’s an even earlier miracle doctor than Hua Tuo, quite amazing."

Zhou Lijun stood by, taking the boiled needles, drying them off, and putting them away while listening to Manbao prattle on with the patients.

The old woman, seeing Manbao also roll up her trouser leg to insert needles there, felt a bit embarrassed, "Really troubling the young doctor, these needles are necessary on the leg too?"

"Mhm, to regulate the qi. Since you have the time, I’ll insert a few more. That way, the effect is better," Manbao explained.

Zhou Lijun glanced at the water clock and said, "Lijun, it’s time."

Manbao also looked at the water clock, nodded slightly, and after she had inserted the remaining two needles for the old woman, she lifted the curtain and went over to the bed next to her, where she begin to remove the needles from Gao Clan’s body.

Only then did the old woman realize there was someone else behind the partition. Once Manbao helped the person out, she was surprised, "Chen Family’s daughter-in-law, you’re here too?"

Gao Clan, seeing the old woman, smiled faintly and said, "It’s Auntie, I’ve also come to have a look."

"It’s good that you came, it’s good. I told you to come earlier. Your husband always worries about this and that—what’s there to worry about? When you’re sick, you must see a doctor. The most important thing for people is to go on living."

Gao Clan nodded perfunctorily, accepted the prescription Manbao gave her, and, not understanding the characters written on it, waved the paper and asked, "Doctor Zhou, is this only a three-day supply of medicine?"

Manbao confirmed with a nod.

Gao Clan began to sob, "But what will I do after three days?"

After a moment’s thought, Manbao said, "In three days, I’ll see if I still have any herbs left. If so, I can prescribe another batch for you. If not, you’ll need to buy it with money."

She continued, "You’re illness now hasn’t deepened too much, it’s treatable. If you don’t take the opportunity to get fully treated now, it will only become more severe later. In a lighter case, in five or six years, you won’t even be able to get out of bed. In a more serious case, continuous postpartum bleeding can lead to a hemorrhage. You’ve given birth before; I don’t need to teach you, right?"

Gao Clan was startled and nodded repeatedly.

Manbao then gestured for her to head in a certain direction and said, "The place to get the herbs is over there. Go on."

Gao Clan left with the prescription.

Zhou Lijun went to take down the ’resting’ sign, letting the next patient in, and then took the needles Gao Clan had just used to boil them again in the pot.

"Lijun, I think you’ll need a new set of needles after these five days," she mentioned.

Manbao thought about Keke. She had searched in the marketplace before, but perhaps because people in the future didn’t use acupuncture, there were none for sale there.

But just because it wasn’t available in the marketplace didn’t mean it didn’t exist in that world. Teacher Mo had said that while he was teaching her, he was also practicing acupuncture.

So, Manbao decided to talk to Teacher Mo that night. If their materials were better and not too outrageously priced, she would use her points to buy several sets from Teacher Mo to keep in stock.

Manbao started seeing the next patient.

Throughout the day, there were more than twenty patients, all either young wives or unmarried girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two, who came with burlap sacks or torn cloths to seek medical help.

As Manbao treated them, she wondered why they were acting so secretive; their illnesses were nothing to be ashamed of, so why the need to cover up?

The old woman, who had returned from the toilet after being needled, joined in heating the fire, boiling the needles or decocting the medicine, and explained, "Their conditions aren’t anything shameful, but because they crop up in the wrong places, what’s so hard to comprehend?"

She said, "All the doctors here are men. Look at the last one, a fifteen-year-old girl bit by a poisonous insect on her buttocks. Would you dare to loosen your trousers and show it to the doctor?"

The woman currently receiving treatment quickly interjected in agreement, "Exactly, exactly. It’s already good that their families can go to the pharmacy and describe the symptoms to bring back some ointment. If it were up to the more heartless ones, they’d chew some herbs and slap them on, leaving it to fate whether they live or die."

Manbao thought carefully about it; she couldn’t recall ever being bitten by an insect on her buttocks, but she felt that even if she were, her mother would likely pull down her trousers for Eldest to have a look.

Between honor and life, life was obviously more important.

Moreover, Manbao felt she had to make a point for the doctors, "In our doctors’ eyes, all patients, male or female, are the same."

"But how can they be the same when the parts on their bodies are different..."

The old woman, seeing the conversation getting too explicit, couldn’t help but cough loudly, causing the woman to express her awkwardness, "I forgot the young doctor and Miss Zhou are still unmarried, not yet wed."

Zhou Lijun: ...

Manbao indicated that it was fine.

Then, she took clean needles and inserted a few into the woman’s hands, asking her to sit aside and wait, while calling the next person in.

While waiting for the patient to come in, she took up her pen, dipped it in ink, and briskly wrote down her prescription, putting it to one side afterward.

The old woman looked on in admiration and, glancing at Manbao’s fresh face, inquired, "Young doctor, your medical skills are truly impressive. You must have a family heritage, right?"

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