Chapter 37: Visiting as Guests

The ge’er, with his child, knelt on the ground, wanting to kowtow to him. Cao Xiangnan quickly had Wanfeng help them up, unable to bear the father and son’s kowtowing.

After such a commotion, the child was saved, but also frightened. Old Doctor Luo prescribed a calming medicine, and the ge’er took the medicine and went home with his child. The people blocking the entrance of the medical hall dispersed, and those seeking treatment consciously lined up, restoring order.

They were invited into the backyard of Luo’s Medical Hall. The front was the medical hall, and the back was a small courtyard with several brick-and-tile houses, where Old Doctor Luo’s family lived. Various herbs were drying in the small courtyard, and the air was filled with the scent of medicine upon entering.

Old Doctor Luo had someone bring them in and handed them over to his wife, Zhang Qiao. Old Doctor Luo was still outside treating patients and didn’t have time to return yet.

“Come, have a cup of tea and some snacks to fill your stomach.” Zhang Qiao, Old Doctor Luo’s wife, greeted them with a gentle smile. She carried tea and snacks over and placed them on the table, then sat down in a seat beside them.

“Thank you,” Cao Xiangnan said politely.

Qi Wanfeng also said “Thank you” to the A-ma.

An’an, in an unfamiliar place, clung timidly to his A-mu, his round eyes sizing up the strange environment.

“I haven’t asked what your names are yet?” He had heard about what happened outside earlier. Fortunately, the child was saved, so he roughly knew why his husband had invited this family in. Now, he was responsible for entertaining them properly.

“My surname is Cao, and my name is Cao Xiangnan. This is my wife, Qi Wanfeng, and our child, Cao Ruian, nickname An’an,” Cao Xiangnan introduced them one by one.

“Oh. My surname is Zhang, you can just call me Zhang A-ma.” Zhang Qiao saw this thin and small ge’er. Seeing the child staring at the pastries on the table but not daring to reach for them, she knew he was well-behaved. So, she picked up a piece of pastry and handed it to the child, saying, “Take it and eat. You must be hungry; eat some snacks to fill your stomach first.”

“An’an, A-ma is giving it to you; what should you say to A-ma?” Cao Xiangnan knew that the child was timid in an unfamiliar place, but even if he was timid, he wouldn’t allow his child to be impolite. He said to the child, who was gazing at the pastries but not daring to reach for them.

“Thank you, A-ma,” An’an glanced at his A-die, took the pastry from A-ma, and said in a clear voice.

“Haha, so good. It’s almost noon. Why don’t you stay here for a meal today? There’s not much to eat at home, just simple fare. I hope you don’t mind.” He had already instructed the people in the small kitchen to prepare lunch. Since there were guests in the house today, he had specially instructed them to add meat.

Although the family ran a medical hall, their practice of medicine was for the sake of helping the world and saving people. Most of those who came to see the doctor were poor people, and some couldn’t even afford the medicine. Therefore, the family was barely making ends meet and couldn’t be considered wealthy.

“No, no, farm families also live on simple fare every day. Then we’ll thank Zhang A-ma,” Cao Xiangnan didn’t refuse. He hadn’t even asked Old Doctor Luo to look at his leg yet, and he couldn’t leave for the time being. Now that they were in someone else’s backyard, it was considered going through a convenient back door.

Zhang Qiao nodded. He had a good impression of this family, and the smile on his face became more genuine. He noticed the inconvenience with his legs and asked, “Your leg?”

Cao Xiangnan then told him about being hit by the carriage. He said, “So Wanfeng and I brought the child from Caojia Village to have Old Doctor Luo look at my leg.”

“Oh, you’ve had it hard.” Zhang Qiao nodded, knowing that it wasn’t easy for a family to come from Caojia Village. He said, “When Old Luo comes in for lunch later, I’ll have him take a look at you.”

“Then I’ll thank Zhang A-ma.” Cao Xiangnan’s purpose in coming here was to see the doctor. It would naturally be good to go through the back door.

Zhang Qiao saw the well-behaved ge’er eating the pastry. He also liked obedient ge’ers. However, he only had a mischievous son in his family. Thinking of his grandson, the smile in his eyes deepened, and he said, “I also have a little grandson who has been sent to school. He’s very naughty all day long. Only the teacher in the school can handle him.”

“It’s good for children to be a little naughty. Most naughty children are clever and quick-witted,” Cao Xiangnan said.

Hearing about going to school, An’an’s eyes rolled as he looked at his A-mu and asked, “A-mu, An’an also wants to go to school to read. A-mu, do you think that’s okay?”

Qi Wanfeng didn’t know what to do because no ge’er went to school here. Poor families wouldn’t spend that money to send a ge’er to school. He looked at his husband for help.

“Okay, when An’an gets a little older, A-die will send you to school. One day, our An’an will pass the imperial exam and come back as zhuangyuan.” As a modern person, Cao Xiangnan believed in equality, so he also thought that it seemed reasonable for a ge’er to study in this era.

“Is passing the zhuangyuan exam more impressive than passing the xiucai exam?” An’an remembered that in the grand courtyard, A-ma always said that his fifth uncle was going to school and would pass the xiucai exam in the future. In his young mind, he felt that being able to go to school was a very remarkable thing.

“Of course, the most impressive is the zhuangyuan.” Cao Xiangnan couldn’t help but tease his child, seeing his serious little appearance. He didn’t really think his child could pass the zhuangyuan exam.

“Okay. An’an wants to pass the zhuangyuan exam.” An’an nodded seriously with a solemn expression, setting a great goal for his life.

Zhang Qiao looked at the family of three, infected by their kind of joy. It was the first time he had heard a A-die say that he would send a ge’er to school and even have his ge’er take the zhuangyuan exam.

The Feng Dynasty didn’t lack ge’ers who became officials, but ge’ers who became officials weren’t allowed to marry. Therefore, there were few ge’ers in the Feng Dynasty who didn’t marry and chose to become officials. Even those who did eventually resigned and married.

In their laughter and conversation, time gradually passed.

At noon, after finishing half a day of consultations, Old Doctor Luo also returned from the medical hall in front to the back, changing out of his clothes before coming to see his distinguished guests. As soon as he saw them, he clasped his hands and said sincerely, “Please accept a bow from this old man.”

“Old Doctor Luo, you mustn’t, you mustn’t.” Cao Xiangnan tried to stand up anxiously, but his movements were too big, and he almost fell. Fortunately, Qi Wanfeng, who was quick-witted, supported him. Qi Wanfeng was so frightened by his husband that his heart almost jumped out. “This old man is ashamed. If it weren’t for you today, that child probably would have… alas, it’s this old man’s lack of skill that almost killed him.” Old Doctor Luo was also frightened and reached out to help Cao Xiangnan up. Seeing his leg, he asked, “Your leg?”

“That was also a coincidence. If it had been a minute later, I’m afraid no one could have saved him.” It was also that the child’s life wasn’t meant to end, encountering him, who had come to another world.

“I was hit by a carriage, and I suspect it may be a dislocation or a bone misalignment, so I came to see Old Doctor Luo,” Cao Xiangnan said, looking at his leg. In the past two days, he felt that it had gotten a little better, but he still wanted to have it checked to be sure.

“You came to the right place today. Setting bones is what this old man is best at.” Old Doctor Luo nodded, confident in his expertise. He bent down to examine Cao Xiangnan’s leg, but his wife, Zhang Qiao, stopped him with a smile, “Wait, lunch is ready. Let’s have lunch first, and then you can take a look at Xiangnan.”

“This…” Old Doctor Luo seemed to want to check his leg first.

“If you don’t eat, this child needs to eat,” Zhang Qiao said, looking at the thin ge’er beside him and glancing at Old Luo.

“There’s no rush. Old Doctor Luo has been busy outside for so long and is tired. Let’s have lunch first and then take a look,” Cao Xiangnan said, not in a hurry at this moment. He had waited so long, and he couldn’t let Old Doctor Luo examine him on an empty stomach.

“Alright, alright, this old man wasn’t thoughtful enough,” Old Doctor Luo said with a smile, not annoyed.

Lunch was served, with two vegetable dishes and one meat dish. They ate yellowish rice and a large plate of cornbread. Since there were guests today, the meal was a little more lavish. The ge’er who cooked in the kitchen also came out. He was Old Doctor Luo’s daughter-in-law, and he sat down with them.

“Xiangnan, Wanfeng, let me introduce you. This is my daughter-in-law, Wang Xueji,” Zhang Qiao introduced the guests to his daughter-in-law. “Xueji, this is Xiangnan and Wanfeng, and their child, An’an.”

Old Doctor Luo had a son named Luo Jin, who didn’t become a doctor like his A-die but became a drug merchant, traveling outside all year round. He married a ge’er, Wang Xueji, and had a son who was also ten years old.

Wang Xueji had delicate features and seemed to have a good temperament and wasn’t a talkative person. He smiled at the guests who had come to the house, considering it a greeting.

During the meal, Old Doctor Luo mentioned that not far from South Street was the Fenshui River, lamenting that several children drowned there every year. Fenshui Town was a small town near the river. In recent years, ships traveling to and from would stop here to rest, which had promoted the development of the town. However, it was not surprising that people drowned in places with water.

“Old Doctor Luo, the method I used to save people today is called CPR. It can have a certain effect on people who are drowning, suffocating, or having a heart attack,” Cao Xiangnan suddenly understood why Old Doctor Luo had asked him to stay. However, he was happy to tell this life-saving method to this doctor, and even more people. He said, “After the meal, I’ll demonstrate it for you. This method is very simple.”

“Will you?” Because many things were passed down from ancestors, Old Doctor Luo, as a doctor, could understand that some family secrets were not suitable to be passed on to outsiders. So he asked, “Is this something passed down from your ancestors? Would it be inconvenient to pass it on to outsiders?”

“Not at all. I hope Old Doctor Luo can use this method to save more people, and I hope more people here can understand this method.” So Cao Xiangnan meant that he could teach it to Old Doctor Luo, but he hoped that Old Doctor Luo could teach it to more people.

“Good, good, good.” Old Doctor Luo was so happy that he almost burst into tears.

After the meal, Cao Xiangnan personally demonstrated it for Old Doctor Luo. It was slightly different for adults and children. He tried his best to explain it in words that people could understand. Even Qi Wanfeng, who was next to him, listened carefully and remembered it in his heart.