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The next day arrived, and the physician announced that Song Chunsheng’s leg was ready for bone setting.
When Old Physician Li initially decided that amputation was necessary, no one expected such a miracle.
It seemed that the method of elevating the leg truly aided in the healing process.
Yesterday, this technique was also applied to other injured patients, who all responded well—at the very least, they felt much more comfortable. It appeared that the Li Family Medical Hall had gained another secret weapon.
Old Physician Li even felt that, in his lifetime, there might really come a day when he would bring honor to his family back in the capital.
With that hope in mind, Old Physician Li decided to personally perform the bone setting on Song Chunsheng and offered to reduce his medical fees by half.
“Don’t be afraid. You should know that my grandfather rarely intervenes personally nowadays. Today, having him set your bones himself—that’s truly your destiny.”
The young physician spoke as he handed Song Chunsheng a cloth, “If it hurts, bite down on this cloth and bear with it. No matter how much it hurts, don’t move. Once the bones are set, you’ll be able to walk normally again.”
Song Chunsheng nodded, biting the cloth to endure the pain, too afraid to move.
After feeling the bones, Old Physician Li said, “Your leg bones not only have new injuries but also old ones. And those old injuries were never set properly.”
Song Chunsheng took a breath, released the cloth, and said, “They weren’t set. At the time, Grandma said there was no money. Big Brother Dalang had to pay for his apprenticeship fees, so they didn’t want to waste money on my leg. They just dragged me back home.”
The young physician shook his head helplessly. This was a family matter he couldn’t really comment on.
At first, he had thought there were no adults in the household and worried that these children wouldn’t be able to afford treatment for the leg.
It was still grandfather’s kindness that decided, “Treat him. If we don’t, this child will be ruined.”
If they truly couldn’t afford the medicine fees, then the two girls would stay at the medical hall to work off the debt.
But now, it seemed there was an adult in the family after all!
The young physician glanced at Song Chunsheng. “Hey, don’t speak. Keep biting the cloth and don’t move. The treatment hasn’t even started yet. Don’t move until I tell you to, understand?”
Song Chunsheng quickly bit down on the cloth again, afraid to move.
Though Old Physician Li was old, his hands were still strong. With a sudden forceful pull and twist from him, a painful scream escaped Song Chunsheng’s lips.
Startled, Song Jinfang hurriedly held her brother tightly, unable to watch.
Song Jinxiu also turned her head away. She hadn’t expected bone setting to be so brutal—no anesthesia—and her big brother had to endure it all like this.
After two full hours, Old Physician Li finally panted, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Alright, everything is finally back in place. Ah, you can’t fight old age—I’m going to have back pain for the next two days.”
He straightened up and, with the help of a medicine boy, slowly walked away.
The young physician quickly took over the remaining tasks.
Song Chunsheng’s leg was then covered with a layer of crushed medicinal paste and wrapped in white cloth.
“Don’t move this leg for three days. I’ll come by to check on you during this time. From now on, you’ll need someone to assist you with eating, drinking, and even using the bathroom.”
He glanced at the Song Jinxiu sisters and added, “If it’s inconvenient, you can call one of the male helpers from the medical hall for assistance. But you’ll need to pay a few copper coins each time.”
Song Jinxiu nodded in understanding—indeed, her big brother would need a male helper for trips to the bathroom.
Seeing the young physician about to leave, she quickly asked, “Young Physician Li, doesn’t my brother’s leg need a plaster cast?”
Noticing the young physician’s doubtful look, Song Jinxiu guessed it might be inconvenient to apply a cast if her brother’s leg needed frequent dressing changes.
She then added, “Shouldn’t it be immobilized with a wooden board? What if he accidentally twists it and the bones that were just set become misaligned again?”
“I already told you,” the young physician replied, “I’ll come every day to check. If it gets misaligned, I’ll set it right again.”
His expression clearly said, Are you serious?
Song Jinxiu looked utterly incredulous and asked, “Then why not just immobilize it with a wooden board?”
The young physician looked equally puzzled. “How would you do that? You can’t just find a piece of wood and tie it to his leg. He’s not a child. He just has to bear with it and not move.”
He imagined Song Chunsheng’s leg tied to a door plank—wouldn’t that make it even harder for him to relieve himself?
Unaware of the young physician’s mental image, Song Jinxiu nodded and said, “Even for an adult, after a long time, accidents can happen. Wouldn’t it be safer to immobilize it with wooden boards?”
She gestured on her brother’s leg, “Using several thin, narrow boards this long to fix it in place would make it much harder for his leg to twist.”
If the bones hadn’t just been set, she would have dared to try it herself—she would have found some wood and secured it.
“Oh, so you mean using small wooden boards.” Young Physician Li suddenly understood.
After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Alright, that really is a good idea.”
He glanced at Song Jinxiu and thought to himself that this girl was quite clever. Why hadn’t anyone at their medical hall ever thought to use wooden boards to immobilize a leg?
Immediately, he instructed the medicine boy to find some wooden boards.
The medicine boy hurried toward the kitchen, and Song Jinxiu, after a moment’s thought, followed him.
Since this was their first time treating an injured limb here and they hadn’t yet realized the benefits of immobilization, it was better for someone experienced like her to find the right wood for the splints.
Sure enough, the medicine boy was in the kitchen, scratching his head in front of a pile of dry firewood.
Song Jinxiu walked over and picked out several smooth wooden sticks.
“Little Brother, there aren’t any boards, but these sticks will work.”
The medicine boy quickly replied, “Perfect, give them to me—I’ll take care of it.”
After securing Song Chunsheng’s injured leg with the wooden sticks, Young Physician Li suddenly spoke politely to Song Jinxiu,
“This afternoon, the medical hall’s kitchen is simmering a big pot of bone broth. I’ll have someone bring some over to you. You don’t need to cook lunch today.”
Song Chunsheng quickly replied, embarrassed, “No, no, we can manage on our own.”
Old Physician Li had already said he would reduce the medical fees by half when setting his bones. Accepting more help now felt a bit too much.
Young Physician Li looked to be about twenty, not much older than himself.
But now, the other was a physician, and he was nothing.
When Song Chunsheng spoke with Young Physician Li, there was naturally a tone of restraint and respect.
Young Physician Li smiled and said, “Don’t be so polite. This meal is on me. Your younger sister’s idea of using wooden splints to fix the leg really opened my eyes. The method of elevating the leg is good too. So please, don’t hesitate.”
Song Jinxiu thought to herself: The common knowledge from her own time and place, so well known to everyone, actually opened the eyes of a professional orthopedic physician here.
What kind of era had she crossed into?
Young Physician Li looked at Song Jinxiu kindly and asked, “Earlier, you mentioned something about a plaster cast. What does that mean?”
Song Jinxiu replied, “It’s using plaster to immobilize a limb. Young Physician Li, have you never heard of plaster?”
“I haven’t. I humbly ask Miss Song to enlighten me.”
Young Physician Li showed no embarrassment at his ignorance and solemnly bowed to Song Jinxiu, startling her.
Well, these ancient people sure knew their manners—constantly saying things like, ‘I, this humble one, salute you.’
Song Jinxiu wasn’t sure if she should return the bow or how to do it properly.
She looked to her big brother for help, but he was too stunned to catch her signal.
Resigned, Song Jinxiu mimicked what she had seen on television and gave a polite nod and bow to Young Physician Li.
“Um, Young Physician Li, please don’t be so formal with me,” she said in an awkward, almost coquettish tone, calling herself “little lady.” Everyone around was taken aback once again.
Seeing their expressions, Song Jinxiu felt deeply embarrassed.
The problem was, she didn’t even know what she had done wrong.