Chapter 149: Treating Tao Hua’s Disease
In the end, under Bai Ruozhu’s persuasion, Tao Hua finally agreed. Bai Ruozhu wiped the sweat off her forehead. She’s a doctor and here she was acting like she was the one asking for a favor. She thought being a dentist in her previous life was far easier.
"Tao Hua, take a break. I’ll send the child home first, then come back with herbs and tools. You guys should start boiling some water. Make sure to clean the pot thoroughly, it shouldn’t have any grease. After boiling the water, let it cool. Also, make sure nothing filthy gets in it. Also, prepare some clean white cotton cloth." Bai Ruozhu left a few instructions and then took Dengdeng home.
The Zhou family doesn’t have the necessary herbs and tools, she needed to go back home to fetch them. Plus, she didn’t want Dengdeng to be scared staying here. It was clear that Tao Hua was delicate; who knows if she would break down later.
Once home, Bai Ruozhu entrusted Dengdeng to her mother and told her about Tao Hua’s situation. Upon hearing, Lin Ping’er shook her head and said, "That black dog jumping over the shoulder isn’t helpful at all. When I was young, a girl from the village tried that method. She still ended up dying from the disease."
"With a disease ignored and relying on such superstitious beliefs, how can it not worsen?" Bai Ruozhu helplessly shook her head.
Lin Ping’er didn’t know what the word superstitious meant, but she felt that it wasn’t good. She echoed Bai Ruozhu’s sentiment. "Not all home remedies work. Even if they do, it’s probably because they either endured it or something else contributed to their recovery."
Bai Ruozhu was pleased that her mother’s thoughts were quite progressive. Otherwise, if her mother had tried the jumping black dog cure for her blood deficiency, she would have been on the verge of tears.
She prepared the acupuncture kit, grabbed some herbal medicine, found a clean pair of small scissors, and filled a small porcelain bottle with the distilled wine she had purified. After saying goodbye to her mother, she was ready to leave.
"Ruozhu, you don’t suppose Guizhi is sick. Her mother unwilling to go see a doctor and resorting to such a rustic recipe, do you?" Lin Ping’er held Dengdeng as they walked to the doorway and somehow this thought occurred to her.
Bai Ruozhu was startled, a knot of anxiety formed in her stomach worrying about Fang Guizhi.
"Her mother does not want me to see Guizhi. You might as well privately ask around under the pretext of visiting with the baby. Just make sure it doesn’t tire you out." Bai Ruozhu suggested.
Lin Ping’er couldn’t help but laugh, "Are you suggesting I would get tired just from visiting? You underestimate me."
Bai Ruozhu helplessly chuckled. Her mother just couldn’t sit idle. If not for Rongrong’s mother’s assistance, her mom would have resumed working long ago.
Bai Ruozhu and Lin Ping’er split ways to attend to their respective tasks.
By the time Bai Ruozhu got to the Zhou family, Tao Hua was having porridge. Her eyes red as if she had just cried.
Bai Ruozhu inwardly sighed, she spoke to Tao Hua’s mom and Zhou Deshun’s wife, "You will need to hold down her legs later, to prevent her from moving and disrupting the treatment."
As soon as she said that, Tao Hua started shaking, her face filled with panic. She asked Bai Ruozhu, "Why would I move? Is it going to hurt a lot?"
"Didn’t I already tell you this? Of course, it’s going to hurt. However, it’s better to endure short-term pain than prolonged pain. Plus, I’ll be using needles to alleviate some of the pain as well. Don’t worry." Bai Ruozhu felt sympathetic to Tao Hua’s plight but she also felt, given Tao Hua’s delicate nature, her second brother surely would not take a liking to her.
Perhaps Tao Hua was afraid of upsetting Bai Ruozhu. Although she was clearly hesitant, she did not ask any further.
Bai Ruozhu quickly disinfected the silver needles and the pair of scissors. Then she grabbed Tao Hua’s foot and swiftly punctured the pus-filled wound on the sole of her foot. The speed was so fast that not only Tao Hua, but Tao Hua’s mother and Zhou Deshun’s wife also didn’t get to react. By the time they regained their senses, pus from the wound had already squirted out.
"The abscess has turned green, you really waited too long. Thankfully, I found it in time." Bai Ruozhu drained the pus as she delicately cut away the skin on the abscess that had already died. This didn’t cause Zhou Taohua any pain. On the contrary, she felt the swelling in her foot lessen somewhat.
Soon, the wound was mostly treated, and Bai Ruozhu took out a silver needle, swiftly aiming for Zhou Taohua’s foot.
"Ah..." Zhou Taohua let out a horrified scream. The needle was thin but long. Surely, it would be unbearably painful?
However, before her scream had even ended, Bai Ruozhu’s second needle was already in place. Bai Ruozhu shot her an incredulous look, asking, "Does it really hurt that much? The real pain hasn’t even started yet."
Taohua’s face flushed, and she said embarrassedly, "It doesn’t hurt. I, I thought such a long needle would be extremely painful."
Hearing that it wasn’t painful, Taohua’s mother breathed a sigh of relief. Her gaze towards Bai Ruozhu was filled with admiration. She thought that if such a long needle didn’t cause pain when inserted, Bai Ruozhu must indeed be skilled in medicine.
When Bai Ruozhu finished the acupuncture, she turned to Taohua’s mother and Zhou Deshun’s wife, "You need to hold her down well. Her foot is badly infected. You must properly apply the medicine and clean it. Otherwise, it won’t heal properly."
Taohua’s mother and Zhou Deshun’s wife quickly did as she told. Bai Ruozhu took out a cotton ball she had prepared earlier, dipped it in the alcohol in the porcelain bottle, and wiped Zhou Taohua’s foot.
The abscess had been drained, and the flesh underneath was starting to rot but was also new tissue. The sting of the alcohol was extremely painful, but thankfully, Bai Ruozhu had already numbed Taohua’s foot with the needles. Nevertheless, Taohua let out a scream and struggled violently.
"Wuu wuu wuu, it hurts so much. I don’t want to be treated anymore, I don’t want to be treated anymore!" Taohua wept and screamed. Her cries could be heard in the neighboring yard.
Bai Ruozhu quickly finished wiping with the alcohol, then she took out the herbal medicine she had brought, crushed it, and made a paste that she applied to the wound before covering it with clean white cloth provided by Taohua’s mother.
By the time they finished all these, Taohua’s sobs had subsided. The sting of the alcohol was momentary. After enduring it, the pain eased. Moreover, after her wound was treated, her foot didn’t feel as swollen and painful as before, and she felt much more comfortable.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have time to attend to her, she took the other medical materials to make a decoction. Zhou Deshun’s wife hurried to help and kept thanking Bai Ruozhu from the side.
Once the medicine was done, Bai Ruozhu carried it over for Taohua to drink. Taohua’s face was still streaked with tears. Looking at the dark soup, she asked, "Will it be very bitter?"
Bai Ruozhu had seen difficult patients before, so she sighed quietly and asked, "Is it worse than your painful leg that you can’t even lift up?"
Zhou Taohua quickly shook her head and finally drank the medicine with a frown.
"Alright, let Taohua rest well. Be careful of what she eats, avoid foods that are greasy and spicy. I will come back tomorrow to change her dressing and make her more medicinal soup," Bai Ruozhu said.
After packing up her things and preparing to leave, Zhou Deshun’s wife rushed to her, gratefully saying, "You’ve really helped us a lot. You even brought the medicinal materials. Just state the cost, we won’t let you bear the expenses."
"Auntie, I would charge if it were any other family. But your family has helped me a lot. When I had my baby, you were there talking to me. If you give me money, I might not dare to visit you anymore," Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.